Tanzania Travel Directory and Travel Information

THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA

INTRODUCTION
Tanzania is situated in East Africa, presently south of the equator. The mainland of Tanzania lies between the area of the great lakes; Victoria, Tanganyika and Malawi - with the Indian Ocean on its' coastline to the east. Tanzania is the largest (land area) among the East African countries (i.e. Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania).
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It is boarded by Uganda and Kenya in the North, Zambia in the south west, Zaire, Burundi, and Rwanda in the west as well as Mozambique and Malawi to the south. Tanzania is three hours ahead of GMT and the main international languages spoken in Tanzania are Swahili and English respectively.

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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF TANZANIA
Before the amalgamation with Zanzibar, Tanganyika was one independent country. It became a sovereign state on 9th December, 1961 and became a Republic in the following year. Zanzibar became independent on 10th December, 1963 and the People's Republic of Zanzibar was formed following the revolts of 12th, January, 1964. These two Sovereign republics later combined and formed the united republic of Tanzania on the 24th, April, 1964 creating Tanzania into a united republic of the union government and the Zanzibar revolutionary government. At first the capital city of Tanzania was Dar es Salaam but later it was transferred to Dodoma. Nevertheless, Dar es Salaam still remains the commercial capital and major sea port of Tanzania.
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GEOGRAPHY INFORMATION
Vegetation; Extended human occupation has led to the clearance of most of the forests, which have been replaced with cloves, coconuts, citrus, bananas, and other crops. On the eastern side of the islands, especially on Zanzibar, there is bush (scrub). Vegetation in the rest of Tanzania ranges from Equatorial rainforest to tropical savanna.

Population; Tanzania has a total population of 36,766,356

Latitudes; located between longitude 29o and 41o East, Latitude 1o and 12o South.

Climate; Tanzania has three major climatic areas i.e.
The coastal area and instantaneous hinterland; Here situations are tropical with temperatures averaging 26.6°C (80°), rainfall varying from, 40 to 76 inches and high in humidity.

The central plateau; this one is hot and dry (rainfall 20 to 30 inches), though with substantial daily and seasonal temperature deviation.

The semi-temperate highland areas; here the climate is fine and cool. There is seasonal variation in the Lake Victoria area. The eastern sections average only 30 to 40 inches of rain, while the western parts receive up to 90 inches. A small area north of Lake Malawi receive 100 inches of rain. There are two rainy seasons; from November to December and from April to mid-June.

Altitude; The lowest point in Tanzania is the Indian Ocean (0m) and the Highest Point is Kilimanjaro (5,895m).The country lies at an altitude of over 1,000ft, apart from a coastal strip varying in width from 10 to 40 miles. The greater part of the country is made up of plateau averaging 3,000 to 4,500ft in height. Mountains are grouped in various sections. The Pare and Usambara ranges are in the northeast and the Livingstone Mountains in the southwest. Kilimanjaro (19,340ft) in the north is the highest mountain in Africa.

TANZANIA TOURISTS INFORMATION
Tanzania’s tourism industry provides excellent investment opportunities in construction and management of hotels, lodges and restaurants, infrastructure ventures, aviation projects, training institutions, tour operations, travel agencies and marketing organizations.

Wilderness; the country has the largest concentration of wild animals It is certainly one of the best wildlife pictorial destinations in the continent. Tanzania is home to the world famous National game Parks and Game Reserves of: Ngorongoro Crater, Selous Game Reserve, Gombe Stream, Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Mikumi, Arusha, Ruaha, Saadani, Udzungwa Mountains, and Mkomazi Game Reserve. Other Game Reserves include: Amani, Kigosi, Lukwika-Lumesule, Maswa, Monduli Mountains, Msangesi and Ugala. All these parks have a variety of wild animals like elephants, lions, Rhinos, Zebras among others.

Lakes; Lying on the boundaries of Tanzania are three great lakes; Tanganyika, second only to Lake Baykal as the deepest in the world; Victoria, the second-largest freshwater lake in the world, and Lake Malawi. Other Lakes within Tanzania include Natron, Eyasi, Manyara and Rukwa al most all these lake harbor a great number of wilderness like lions, wildebeests , among others

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Rivers; though three grand African rivers; the Zaire, the Nile and the Zambezi, have their origins in Tanzania, the country has few permanent rivers. During half the year, the central plateau has no running water, but in the rainy season flooding presents a problem.

The Great Rift Valley that runs from north east of Africa through central Tanzania is another landmark that adds to the scenic view of the country.

Beaches and Mountains; Tanzania has a variety of Pristine sandy beaches especially on the Indian Ocean and Africa’s highest and snow-capped mountain, Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Cities; Dar es Salaam is the commercial capital and major sea port for Tanzania Mainland and it serves neighbouring land-locked countries of Malawi, Zambia, Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda, as well as Eastern DRC. Other sea ports include Zanzibar, Tanga, and Mtwara. Because of its geographical and locational advantage, Dar es Salaam Port presents itself as the gateway into East and Central Africa. Furthermore, this renders Tanzania as a logical investment destination for investors.

The remains from the oriental architecture found along the coast and Zanzibar, the coral reefs such as those at the Wambe Shando and Mwamba Wamba area; the sulphur springs in Tanga, the Mbozi meteorite remains. The National Museum and other heritage sites add on more interesting sites to visit.

Cultural etiquette; It is not possible to list all the characteristics of a culture. However, visitor to Tanzania are advised to seek information a bout some Tanzanian cultural patterns that foreigners are most likely to encounter in regards to social greetings, food and eating, bargaining, manner of dress and certain practices and beliefs.

TRANSPORT

Sea: There is a daily speed boat service to Zanzibar from Dar es Salaam which takes approximately 3 hours. Lake Tanganyika and Lake Victoria have a steamer service.
Road; The majority roads in Tanzania are in wretched condition and pot-holed. All towns are linked by bus services and on long haul routes. However, there is a choice between luxury and ordinary service. You may need to book in advance on long haul journeys.

Flights Tanzania There are various inland and outland flights to and within the destinations. Foreign airline include; British Airways, Virgin, Emirates, American Airlines and many others.

VISAS & IMMIGRATION
Passport for each visitor to Tanzania must be valid for at least six months. Every visitor aspiring to visit United Republic of Tanzania MUST acquire an appropriate visa that will permit them to enter the country, except for permissible nationals provided they are traveling on national passport of any of the following countries: - Grenada, Guyana, Malaysia, Malawi, Malta, Maldives, Mauritius, Namibia, Jamaica, Kenya, , Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Island, Swaziland, Tuvalu, Tonga, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, Zimbabwe. Kiribati, Lesotho, Nauru, Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Botswana, Brunei, Cyprus, Dominica, Sao Tome & Principe Island, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Saint Christopher and Nevis

Nationals of the East African Community require neither visa nor entry permit to enter United Republic of Tanzania.

Visa requirements are subject to any changes and therefore it is more advisable for an aspiring visitor to go and check with the Tanzanian Embassy in his country for any updates’

TELECOMMUNICATION
Telecommunications services have continued improving due to efforts of the Tanzania Telecommunications Company (TTCL) and participation of private companies, including CELTEL, MOBITEL, VODACOM and Zantel. They are well distributed in the country. Other forms of telecommunications which have also been installed and developed particularly FAX communication which is more in demand than Telex Services

MONEY
Tanzania's official legal tender is known as Tanzania shillings. Travelers’ cheques can be swapped with certified dealers and bureau de change. These are best taken in US Dollars or Pounds Sterling. Many hotels and national parks require you make payment in foreign currency either in cash or by Travellers Cheque. However, MasterCard, Access and Diners Club have a limited acceptance.

TRAVEL INSURANCE
In case you are a visitor in Tanzania and in need of medical care whilst in Tanzania, Medical providers around may not accept payments through your travel insurance company. You will therefore have to pay in cash and file a claim for future compensation with your insurance company. This means that you should have enough money with you for emergencies like illness. In case you need more assistance, contact the country's local embassy representative for your country.

Note should be taken that your insurance companies in your country will only compensate you if you have ONLY got treatment from licensed medical personnel and please keep the documentation for quick assessment. It is advisable to always ensure you have a comprehensive travel insurance policy which covers you for repatriation to your home country.

LAW AND RESPECT FOR AUTHORITY
Visitors are anticipated to show respect for the Head of state and other leaders or uniformed officials of the public service. Tearing or burning of president’s portrait is an offence. Avoid infringing the law especially the foreign exchange control act, traffic regulations and laws against prostitution, sexual abuse and taking or drug trafficking.

WHERE TO STAY IN TANZANIA.HOTELS AND SAFARI LODGES
Wherever you travel in Tanzania and whatever your budget is, you will often find a suitable accommodation for your budget. Most towns, and tourism destinations have a good variance of moderately priced and budget hotels, even the smallest villages will have where one can stay for 2 dollars or more. Before going into further details about the different accommodation categories, it is worth noting a few potentially misleading fetishes in local hotel-speak. In Swahili, the word hoteli refers to restaurant while what we call hotel is generally called Lodgi or guesti. Tourists are also allowed to place camps in case they have the permission. Tanzania Hotels and Accommodation

Be aware too that Tanzanian Usage of the terms single, double or twin is rather incoherent and not always in accord with western conventions. A room with one double bed may be called single and the twin room may be referred to as double- in other words a ‘single’ may be more appropriate for a couple than the ‘double’ unlike in big international Hotel that are recognized by international standards.

In Tanzania, there is a huge gap between the price and quality of the very cheapest hotels that meet international standards and that of the most expensive hotels that are geared primarily towards local and budget travelers. Therefore, the moderate category is somewhat more imprecise than other accommodation categories. Basically, it embraces those hotels which, for one or other factors couldn’t truly be classified as up market but are also too expensive or of sufficiently high standard that they cannot be considered budget lodgings. The category embraces decent lodges or hotels in recognized tourist areas that charge considerably lower rates than up market competitors, but are clearly a notch or two above the budget category. Hotels in this range normally offer comfortable accommodation in self-contained rooms with a lot of amenities possibly connected with DSTV, direct dialing, they will also have decent restaurants. Their rates will vary according to the destinations and competitors.

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