Organize your stay Tanzania
Money Tanzania
Currency. The national currency is the Tanzanian shilling (TSH or TZS). Banknotes in circulation: 10,000 TSH (with elephant), 5,000 TSH (with rhinoceros), 2,000 TSH (with lion), 1,000 TSH (with Julius Nyerere) and 500 TSH (with buffalo). Coins in circulation: 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 TSH.
Exchange rates. 1 € = 2,747 TSH, and 1 US$ = 2,514 TSH (January 2024).
Budget & Tips Tanzania
Budget ideas (per person, for two weeks on site, excluding air tickets): small budget, €1,800; medium budget, €2,500; large budget, €4,000.
Passport and visas Tanzania
Tourists need a visa to enter Tanzania. Visas can be applied for at the Embassy of the United Republic of Tanzania in France, directly at Dar es Salaam airport, Kilimanjaro International Airport and Zanzibar airport, as well as at the ports of Dar es Salaam and Kigoma, and at certain land borders, notably Namanga (border with Kenya), Mutukula (Ugandan border), Tunduma (Zambian border) and Kasumulu (Malawian border). From now on, e-visa is available online, but a little early, and you'll still have to queue at the border to produce your visa.
At the embassy in Paris or online, the price is currently €50, payable by credit card, cash or money order to the Tanzanian embassy in France. For those taken on Tanzanian soil on arrival, the price is US$50 in cash or credit card. The ordinary visa is issued for a period of three months, renewable once for a further two months, without leaving the country.
Driver's license Tanzania
Apart from Zanzibar, where renting a small 4x4 is even recommended if you want to visit the island on your own, driving in Tanzania is very difficult and renting a car is not recommended. In Zanzibar, your driving license is sufficient, but the rental agency will arrange for you to obtain a local license from the police within the day. On the Tanzanian mainland, safaris are conducted in large 7-passenger 4x4s, which can only be driven by Tanzanian drivers.
Mandatory vaccination Tanzania
Yellow fever. A yellow fever vaccination certificate is no longer compulsory if you are arriving from Europe, it is simply recommended. It is compulsory if you arrive in or have stopped over for more than 12 hours in a country on the list of countries where the disease is endemic.
Time difference Tanzania
TU +3h. With France: +2h in winter, +1h in summer. When it's noon in Tanzania, it's 10 a.m. in France in January and 11 a.m. in July.
Spoken languages Tanzania
Swahili or Kiswahili, from the Arabic swahil (coast), declared the first national language in 1967 and now the language of higher education at the expense of English. English is the language of business and government. There are also over 100 different local languages, divided into 120 tribes.
Electricity and measurements Tanzania
The power is standard English (220/230 volts), at least in principle, because variations and cuts are frequent. In the lodges or the good permanent camps, generators also provide 220 volts. You will be able to recharge your batteries without difficulty, if possible in the evening during dinner, because around 10:30 or 11:00 am, the engine is usually stopped. The plugs are compatible with the French standard, but there is generally a safety device on the hole of the earth plug. The first time it is not so simple: you have to push a plastic pen or a pencil into it, to be able to plug the two male plugs of your cable into the two other holes. Do not use the wrong holes on the plug and avoid metal or carbon fibre pens.
Luggage Tanzania
Bring plenty of light clothing, especially cotton shirts or T-shirts, so you can change after the dust of the trails or the heat of the coast. If you're visiting Ngorongoro, bring a warm sweater for the evenings, as the bush hotels there are located at altitudes of over 2,200 m.
If you're going on safari, avoid flashy red or fluorescent skai: prefer discreet colors so as not to frighten the animals, which are already difficult to approach. No blue or black, which attract tsetse flies, and very thick clothing to prevent bites. For the same reason, avoid spraying yourself with your favorite Chanel No. 5, as its effect on male lions is notoriously unpredictable. In short, and this is important, avoid odors, both artificial and natural... Chunky shoes, a hat, sun cream and a pair of essential sunglasses will complete your outfit. In the evenings, a sweater is needed to keep things cool; in hotels or luxury camps, pants and, why not, jackets are even welcome.
On safari, avoid rigid suitcases that will have trouble fitting into the trunk of a Land Rover or bus; instead, opt for a soft, flexible travel bag. In any case, limit the size and weight of your luggage, as space is limited in vehicles (you risk having to add bags to the seats). Remember to take anti-malaria medication and, above all, repellent for tropical mosquitoes (skin and clothing), and take an impregnated mosquito net if you sleep in the bush.
On the coast, color doesn't scare away the friendly locals you meet: shimmering clothes are part of Swahili culture. But above all, bear in mind that the proportion of Muslims here is very high. It is therefore inadvisable to walk around Zanzibar in a tank top and tight shorts, and even more so in a bathing suit, except on the beach of course: it's a basic question of respect for the people who welcome you. Women are advised to keep their knees and shoulders covered. This is even truer in Pemba. By the pools and on the beaches set aside for this purpose, bathing suits pose no problem, but you should know that toplessness is not at all part of the local tradition.
