Advantages: Great senery, cheap food, accom and beer, friendly people!
Disadvantages: Poor roads and accom, long waits for busses, altitude sickness

...This review is about my short stay (one month) in Tanzania during my gap year in 2003 with World Challenge Expiditions - Read on and enjoy... I signed up for the World Challenge Expedition to Tanzania way back in 2001 and knew as soon as I had put my name down I had done the right thing. Apart for the high price tag of around £3000 I was determined to make this happen, along with financial help from my parents of course! Throughout the two agonising years waiting for my departure I worked at my local Tesco's saving every penny I earned (apart from the odd pint down the pub and that chocolate doughnut that just begged to be eaten!) As the clock counted down to our departure I began meeting with the other team members, most of whom I didn't know that well, to discuss our itinerary whilst in country: Week 1: Project work at Vudoi... Read review

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Advantages: Fluttering Palms & Sandy Beaches
Disadvantages: Beware the pick pockets

...Having lived in Dar Es salaam(Tanzania) for almost 25 years till I moved to London, it was nothing strange that I felt "homesick" and wanted to revisit the city where I had spent my child hood and having finished studies spent part of my youth. The very thought of going to Dar es salaam, made me tingle with pleasure at the memories of the warm and lush beaches and cool evenings, with wind rustling through the palm trees The vast open plains dominate much of Tanzania and you suddenly feel very, very small. And so you should. You have just joined one of the largest, wildest animal populations in the world. Wildebeest, Monkey, Antelope, Lion, Cheetah, Crocodile, Gazelle, Flamingo - you name them, Tanzania has them. Tanzania offers some of the best wildlife spotting opportunities on the continent. Famous parks such as the Serengeti... Read review

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Advantages: Great views, satisfying to achive a goal like this
Disadvantages: Altitude sickness, expensive, a bit harder than expected

...Summary In the end of September I had the pleasure of going to Tanzania to make an attempt to reach the top of Kilimanjaro at 5895 meters. Our group used the Machame route and we used Marangu hotel as our tour operator. This day by day diary is one of the chapters that I have posted on my homepage www.gardkarlsen.com when it comes to my hike on Kilimanjaro. On the homepage you can read more about the trip, costs, equipment review etc Friday September 26th –Norway to Tanzania After a normal working day I got a ride to the airport by my wife Nikki. It was strange to leave my wife Nikki at home this time. I have become so used to having the pleasure of travelling with her and it felt like something was missing when I was walking around alone at the airport. I was using KLM/Kenya Airways this time and at 5 pm I lifted of from... Read review

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Advantages: Beautiful scenery, amazing experience.
Disadvantages: Can prove costly, risk of malaria

...I have been lucky enough to go on an expedition to Tanzania, Africa, and thought I would share a few pearls of wisdom to anyone who is planning a trip, or is just interested! So, BEFORE YOU GO: Obviously you must gather together the obvious things, for example a rusksack, your equipment, possibly a tent. But things that I would also advice you to take are as follows. Bungees - these proved invaluable for me, and could be used in many situations. They are also very cheap at just a few pounds. That clever soap that doesn't need water - it's by Carex and is widely available. This is excellent- and perfect for when there is no running water to hand. A few luxury items - I simply took a few face and hand creams. After several weeks without civilisation, you may miss your luxuries. Obviously you can't ship your own bed over- so take... Read review

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Advantages: Beaches, Sun, Culture, Food
Disadvantages: Not that easy to get around unless you have experience

...As part of a world challenge expedition to Tanzania i got the chance to visit this awesome island for 5 days at the end of our month long stay in the country doing volunteer work and trecking. It was very much a last minute decision to go there as the east coast of Tanzania was much more convenient and cheaper. The one thing on the side of the small island of Zanzibar was the awesome beaches and culture which as we found out was much different to that on the mainland. My stay was split into three parts. First an overnight stay in the Hotel Marine in Stone town (the capital of the island), secondly a three night stay in the Matenuve Bahariri beach bungalows on the north east side of the island. The final part was another overnight stay in the Hotel Marine. Because the boat journey from Dar es Salaam was fairly long we got a short... Read review

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Advantages: A holiday of a lifetime
Disadvantages: Really really tough

...The very peak of Mount Kilimanjaro is called Uhuru Peak and stands at 5895m above sea level....that's nearly 20,000ft. I stood there 5 months ago gazing across the clear sky with only the peak of Mount Meru visible in the distance above the clouds. Ladies and gentlemen....I cannot express the sense of accomplishment that such a climb brings and believe me when I tell you that the ascent was one of the most physically challenging things I have done in my life. The London Marathon which I ran soon after seemed like a piece of cake in comparison. For those interested in making the amazing climb I would heartily recommend it. Tanzania is a wonderful country and boasts the best game reserves in the world. Ngorogoro crater is close by to the Kilimanjaro, a huge crater within which an entire safari exists. If any of you are close... Read review

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Advantages: Great market food and masai jewellery.
Disadvantages: You can't walk about on your own.

...was the best that I found in the whole of Tanzania, and they like to bargain hard. Stone Town is a great place for a day or so, and you can also do Spice tours, go dolphin watching, or scuba diving from here.... Read review

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Advantages: Amazing scenery, friendly people
Disadvantages: Harder than expected, expensive park fees, altitude sickness on summit night :(

...at a hotel in Arusha it was time to start the walk. We were driven to the starting point, the Machame gate on a very old bus that belched oil at every gear change (this seems to be standard for Tanzania). The drive in was certainly eye-opening, villages that have no electricity and survive by a combination of subsistence farming and portering. It certainly puts things into perspective with regards to how life can be…. Kilimanjaro itself is split into several zones - there is the tropical rainforest zone, the temperate zone, the alpine zone and others and the demarcation between these can be quite startling, from tropical rainforest to arctic tundra in two days. Kilimanjaro is also a dormant volcano so the soil is very fertile and promotes abundant plant growth at the lower altitudes. On the third day we camped at a camp known... Read review

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Advantages: Great for animal lovers and safer than solo travel.
Disadvantages: Expensive for what you get.

...I chose to take a Kumuka tour through Tanzania and Zanzibar before settling down to work in Kenya. We set off from Nairobi on a 2-week trip that cost me about £500 excluding airfare. In retrospect this seems like a lot of money for what I got, but as a single female making the trip alone didn’t seem like much of an option. We travelled in a big truck, which was reasonably comfortable, but we did have to spend a long time in it and we did a lot of bouncing from side to side. It also got very cold! I took a fleece and my friends said I was mad, but I got a lot of use out of it. On the practical side, our accommodation was in tents until we got to Zanzibar when we had 2 nights in a hostel and 2 in huts on the beach. The camping was okay, but after a long day the grind of putting up and taking down tents was not much fun. Also if you... Read review

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Advantages: Lots of people have been, but there is plenty more to see
Disadvantages: the danger aspect- Just be sensible- it minimises the risks!

...in the situations! Never use the public transport- referred to as Matatus ofr the stagecoach- it's just not worth it; your face will sticvk out a mile; besides they are not very safe, it is a very common site to see matatus driving along with people literally hanging out the door, and window! The one thing you must visit is Nairobi National Park, a national park, that survives in the center of an up and coming (or so they say) city. This park is very special, unlike most small parcs, it is not fenced off, and therefore, animals are free to come and go, so the parc is very seasonal. National parcs; well you will never be stuck for choice. Game parks- the ones where you go to watch the animals are tourist traps. Watch out for Ambosseli (on the border with Tanzania approx. 8hrs drive over potholed roads from Nbi), being very small, you are guaranteed... Read review

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