Hi, guys we are flying to tanzania and from tanzania over to zanzibar, we have a 4-5hr layover and looking at all the lounges available won't be able to use them as we fly from terminal 2 and need to gather our luggage and check them in again for the 30min flight to zanzibar.

Does any 1 know of lounges at the airport we can use, we are landing in the early morning around 1am.

Thanks!

This is tz😭😭😭

To preface, our safari guide miscalculated the time needed to get to the airport, so when we alighted and made our way to the entrance, we were 10min away from check in closure. This was def the fault of the company/guide, not the airport.

1.First thing through JRO’s entrance, is a bag and luggage check where an officer requested our passports and our tickets. We told him that we have the reservation but we don’t have our tickets yet because we haven’t checked in (the airline website didn’t allow online checkin).

He flat out told us that we were not allowed into the airport, and had to go to one of the offices in another building. We were confused, we had never encountered anything like this before in all the 40+ countries we’ve been to.

We thought it might be a misunderstanding and explained that we already paid and reserved the tickets for the flight, even showed the email. It was just that we hadn’t checked in and so didn’t have the actual tickets, and also explained that the check in for the flight we booked was closing soon.

He was very rude and unempathetic, disallowing us from entering and insisted that we had to go to another building to resolve this. I even explicitly asked him if the check in counters were inside – he said no, only boarding (????).

At this point I really thought the check-in counters and the boarding gates were in separate buildings. So we went on a wild goose chase to this other office, and when we got there, was a small ticketing office. They were so confused why we were even there and then told us that we were definitely fine to enter the airport…..

1. So we went back to the entrance of JRO airport and now there is a long line. Aaaand of course, there had been also a shift change, so a different person was there now. We had to explain the whole situation to him, and our guide helped to ask if we could possibly go to the front to scan our bags, since check in is closing soon.

This second officer said okay - but did not escort us or explain this to the travellers in the line.

So we had to very awkwardly cut the line ourselves and profusely apologise to the people who understandably were not happy. (Tbf, I wouldn’t be happy if people who were late tried to cut the line!)

Some tried to push their way ahead of us, putting their things on top of ours, etc. I felt sooo bad and really hated the whole thing. Also, there weren’t any clear signs or any instructions from the officers, and the whole area was congested because confused people had to keep backtracking because some had to take off shoes/belt and some didn’t which just made the whole process much more unpleasant.

1. After we got through the body scanner, an airline staff approached us and asked if we were on flight X (which we were) and was clearly pissed at us. She said in a very annoyed tone that they were all waiting for us to check in. Again, I apologised, said that there was some confusion at the bag check, but we are heading over asap.

Then, one of our bags got flagged. We emptied and opened everything of course. Then they told us it’s the wrong bag and it’s our other bag …… So we did same thing again, but nothing was amiss.

And this whole time, the airline lady was literally rushing us, saying things like “excuse me, we are all waiting for you” “hurry up” “can you be faster” like as if we were hasten the process any further 😭😭

after we were done, my partner started wearing his shoes (he didn’t get the chance to wear his boots because he had to assist with the bag inspection) and the lady started rushing us to the counter saying “what are you doing you are already late hurry up” ?????? Anyway at that point, I felt so bad and all I could do was apologise to them for waiting.

—
Anyway, we reached the gate on time, which was a relief. But the whole experience was really stressful and unpleasant for us. We have been to many airports, including small, domestic ones, and while many are slow and not as efficient, none have ever been so rude.

Everyone we met during our time here – people in the hospitality/service industry as well as locals – had been very friendly (and we only stayed in budget/mid-tier places, too), so we were definitely surprised that our experience in JRO turned out as such.

We do understand that it’s not their fault we arrived pretty close to the closing time, though we hope that officers could be better trained wrt airport procedures (so that they don’t send travellers on unnecessary wild goose chases) and perhaps more understanding when certain things are out of our control.

Nimeikuta zizini.

Haya sasa watu wa mazingira, nina jambo la kudiscuss with you guys!

Recently, I noticed something interesting in Germany. You rarely see plastic bottles littering the streets, and one thing that seems to help is a system called Pfand.

For those who haven't heard of it, here's how it works: when you buy a drink, you pay a small deposit for the bottle or can. In Germany, it's usually €0.25 (25 cents) for single-use plastic bottles and cans, while some reusable bottles have a deposit of around €0.08 (8 cents).

Once you finish your drink, you can return the empty bottle to a machine at a supermarket and get your money back.

Instead of throwing it away, you have a reason to return it. You'll even find people collecting empty bottles from public places to get the deposit money.

Now, this got me thinking... what if we had something like this in Tanzania?

Imagine if returning your empty soda or water bottle meant getting some money back. It could help kupunguza uchafuzi wa mazingira, keep our streets and mitaro cleaner, and create opportunities for people to earn money by collecting bottles.

Of course, implementing it wouldn't be that simple. We'd need collection points, recycling infrastructure, and shops willing to participate.

But for watu wanaojali mazingira, do you think a system like this could work in Tanzania? What would it take to make it happen, and what challenges would we need to solve?

Let's discuss this. Maybe there are people here who have worked on waste management or environmental projects and have interesting perspectives.

Just bought it. I plan to bring it without trying to hide / disassemble it. Is this a risky move?

We are 3 weeks away from our first safari trip. We had to cancel this once before due to family illness…now we are concerned about the pending rains from the El Nino being predicted. How much should we worry about it? Our safari company (local Tanzanian) so far is saying it will be OK. I don’t want to have to rebook all this again and risk losing money but I don’t want to be stuck in the mud in the rain somewhere miserable. Thoughts please? Thank you…

Just curious as to whether it’s more of a tourist vibe

US citizens traveling to Tanzania at the end of this month. We’re landing around 2AM on a Sunday.

I’ve read differing things but most say getting Visa on arrival is much quicker. But is that still the case on a weekend and in the early morning?

Thanks for any advice!

Edit: flying into JRO

So, just to mention that this safari in the Serengeti/Ngorongoro wasn’t my first safari. I have experiences with other guides and companies.

Throughout the entire trip, there were issues with communication. We never received any communication beforehand. We always had to ask multiple questions, like “Where is my driver?”, “What is his name?”, “What is the car plate?”, “Where am I going to find this or that?”, and we always had to wait. The company was never proactive and never communicated anything to us.

Now, here comes the issue with our guide that met us in the Seronera. We spent four days in his company and ended up seeing the animals on our wishlist. The lodges were also nice, but we chose them ourselves, the safari company only booked them for us.

The rest of the things were just frustrating. The safari guide:
\-Didn’t tell us a single thing about the animals or the area unless we asked him to. When we asked him, the explanations were very dry.
\-He just kept talking on the phone all the time. Imagine a scene: we’re parked by a pride of lions enjoying their meals, we’re in total silence, and our driver is, in the meantime, talking on the phone. The same thing happened every day.
\-He never warned us when he decided to move abruptly from a spot. I tripped a couple of times because I would be standing up with my binoculars, and he would get started with no warning.
\-We booked a very nice hotel on our last day, with a view of the Ngorongoro Crater. We had our flight at 16:00 and had agreed with the tour company that we would be brought to Arusha Airport 2h before the flight. The night before, the driver started insisting that we had to wake up at 6:00, have breakfast at 6:30, and leave the hotel at 7:00. We argued that we wanted to enjoy the hotel longer and didn’t want to arrive at the airport with too much time to spare. We also don’t enjoy eating breakfast at 6:30, unless we really have to. Then the guy started telling us a bunch of things like, “You never know what happens on the roads, so it’s best if we leave 10 hours before,” and “Arusha Airport has three-hour waiting lines,” etc. The thing is, I’ve been to Arusha plenty of times before, and I know that the airport is sometimes busy, but to require four hours in advance for a domestic flight? Then we argued again, and the driver started offering us the Maasai experience for $50. We refused, as we find these things inauthentic, and we have also seen Maasai-related things before. Then the guide just texted us a message literally saying, “There’s no alternative. Please pack your bags, have your breakfast, and make sure you’re ready by 7:00.”

We were shocked. This has spoilt our last day of the trip, and we also ended up getting to the airport 4.5 hours before our flight. This, together with waking up at 5:45 that day, four hours on a bumpy road, and four hours of waiting, only to be followed by a 2h flight, made things extremely tiring.. Were we somehow in the wrong? Am I failing to see anything? Should we still tip them? Can they go after me for not tipping as this seems to be really expected of us?

And sorry for the many words!

UPD: the company is See Endless Adventures

Hi folks, I'm looking to get in a taster, one-day hike before an upcoming safari trip, but am having trouble sorting through the hundreds of tours advertised and getting clear details on the actual conditions of the routes.

In the U.S., I'm experienced in solo hiking pretty rugged trails (lots of big boulders, roots, scrambly sections), typically 10-12mi (16-19km) gaining upwards of 914m elevation. In terms of pace, I'm not trail runner, but I'm also not a total turtle. Ideally, I'd like a similar somewhat challenging day hike - it looks like this isn't really possible for day hikes, though?

Has anyone done a one-day hike on Kili or Mt. Meru, and if so, can you share some details about the route/s?

Thank you!

Hi everyone,
I’m looking for advice from people in Tanzania, particularly anyone familiar with NMB Bank or international wire transfers.
I initiated an international wire transfer from TD Canada Trust in Canada to a beneficiary’s account at NMB Bank in Tanzania for a legitimate travel-related payment. Several weeks later, the funds remain unaccounted for.
TD has advised me that the intermediary bank, Citibank, received the funds and forwarded them to NMB Bank. However, NMB has indicated that it has not received the payment to my safari operator.
I have shared the intermediary bank’s reference information with NMB and contacted both banks repeatedly. Unfortunately, I have not received a satisfactory resolution. My attempts to follow up with NMB have largely gone unanswered.My safari operator is also not being particularly helpful.At this point, I am frustrated by both the missing funds and the lack of accountability and communication from the banks involved.
I would appreciate advice on a few questions:
NMB Bank: What is the most effective way to escalate a missing international wire when customer care is not responding? Is there a specific complaints department or senior office that can help?
Bank of Tanzania: Has anyone successfully lodged a complaint with the Bank of Tanzania regarding an unresolved banking transaction? What is the process like?
TD/Citibank: Should TD be able to initiate a formal SWIFT trace and recall through Citibank, even if NMB is not responding?
Practical experience: Has anyone experienced a similar situation involving an international transfer to Tanzania, and how was it eventually resolved?
I am not looking to name or blame the beneficiary or any business publicly. I simply want to understand the appropriate escalation channels and how to get the funds traced and returned if they have not reached the intended recipient.
Any advice based on actual experience would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

We have a safaris for mid December doing the northern circuit in Tanzania. Any experiences with doing the safari during el niño ,how we should prepare, and how we may be affected? TYIA

What do you think of Mwalimu? How is his legacy panning out today?

My safari company has just cancelled our safari (due to El Niño) that was going to happen in the 2nd week of November 2026. They are cancelling all of their trips from mid October through the end of November. We had already known about El Niño but hadn’t been too worried based on everything we read and heard.

Has anyone else’s tour company also cancelled or is mine being overly cautious??

Would really like to hear about others plans for November as we now need to decide whether to rebook with a different company in Tanzania, or if we can do a last minute booking to a different country that may be less impacted by the rain.

I'll be in Tanzania (a week in Dar es Salaam and 3 weeks in Morogoro) this November. I train boxing & Muay Thai and I'd like to keep it up while I'm in TZ.

Any good gym/coach recommendations (esp Morogoro)?

Thank you/asante in advance!

I’m looking for recommendations for any shops or online services that rent out good quality -30c sleeping bags and jackets.

Ideally, I’m looking for somewhere that offers delivery and collection after the rental period, so I wouldn’t have to worry about going to the shop myself.

I’d really appreciate any recommendations or advice. If you could let me know name and contact info of reputable businesses that’d be great.
Thanks🙂

Can anyone recommend a shuttle or private transfer from Arusha to Diani? What was your experience crossing the border and roughly how much did it cost?

I’ve been wondering why Tanzania doesn’t seem to have a widely available car rental system like many other countries.
For example, imagine arriving at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam and having several things to do around the city over the next few days. You might prefer to rent a car, pick it up at the airport, drive yourself around, and return it when you’re done.
Why isn’t this option more common or easily accessible in Tanzania? Is it because of insurance, road conditions, security concerns, business costs, or a lack of demand?
I’d love to hear from Tanzanians and people who have visited the country. Is self-drive car rental available and reliable in Dar es Salaam, or is hiring a car with a driver the main option?

I have been here for a week, and planning to stay for another two weeks. I'd like to meet people and visit new spots. What are the recommendations and perhaps things that are fun to do around? I would also love to meet new tourists, so anyone open to that kindly DM. Thank you.