Bradt Travel Guide: Tanzania Safari Guide With Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar & the Coast

About this book

This new, thoroughly updated ninth edition of Bradt Travel Guide: Tanzania Safari Guide remains the only practical guidebook to the country that reflects tourism's shift away from backpackers and budget camping safaris to upper-end and mid-range safaris and beach holidays. Unlike other guidebooks, the main focus is practical information about Tanzania's peerless collection of national parks, game reserves and other safari destinations, including the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire, Ruaha, Katavi, Gombe Stream, Mahale Mountains, and four new national parks designated in 2019, including Nyerere, which encompasses much of the former Selous Game Reserve and is thought Africa's largest National Park. Every major reserve is given a dedicated chapter detailing its ecology, wildlife, accommodation options, game drives and other activities.

Written by acknowledged Africa experts and prolific guidebook writers Philip Briggs and Chris McIntyre, Bradt Travel Guide: Tanzania Safari Guide also focuses on other popular and off-the-beaten-track tourist attractions, including Mount Kilimanjaro, the 'Spice Island' of Zanzibar and the mysterious Kilwa Ruins and Kondoa Rock Art (UNESCO World Heritage Sites often relegated to the small print of other guides). Accommodation listings for the safari destinations are the most detailed and authoritative available, the authors weeding through the ever-growing number of lodges and camps to create a critically selective list of the best properties in every price bracket (upmarket, mid-range and budget). Meanwhile, a 48-page wildlife colour field guide details all species a visitor can expect to find on a safari.

Since the mid-1980s, when only basic camping safaris were feasible, Tanzania has grown to be one of Africa's top safari destinations. This new edition actively responds to this evolution by focusing on the country mainly as a safari and short-stay fly-in holiday destination. It also reflects the growing trend away from large lodges towards small, exclusive eco-friendly camps in remote parts of national parks and bordering community concessions. Beyond spectacular year-round game-viewing, Tanzania is one of Africa's most varied countries, its long palm-fringed coastline offering post-safari relaxation and complemented by the Great Rift Valley, portions of Africa's three largest lakes, and impressive mountains. Use this guide to discover everything Tanzania has to offer.

Contents

PART 1 GENERAL INFORMATION
Chapter 1 Background
      Information Geography, Climate, Habitats and vegetation, History, Government and politics, Economy, People, Language, Religion
Chapter 2 Tanzania Wildlife Guide
      Mammals, Reptiles, Birds
Chapter 3 Practical Information
      When to visit, Highlights, Itinerary planning, Tourist information, Tour operators, Red tape, Getting there and away, Safety, What to take, Money and banking, Getting around, Accommodation, Eating and drinking, Public holidays, Shopping, Media and communications, Cultural etiquette
Chapter 4 Health
      Preparations, Common medical problems, Unusual medical problems, Other safety concerns

PART 2 THE GUIDE
Chapter 5 Arusha and Around
      History, Getting there and away, Orientation, Getting around, Where to stay, Where to eat and drink, Entertainment and nightlife, Shopping, Other practicalities, Tourist information, Safari operators, What to see and do
Chapter 6 Arusha National Park and the Moshi Highway
      The Moshi Highway, Arusha National Park, West Kilimanjaro
Chapter 7 Moshi and the Kilimanjaro Foothills
      History, Getting there and away, Where to stay, Where to eat and drink, Nightlife, Shopping, Other practicalities, Tourist information and tour Operators, Around Moshi
Chapter 8 Mount Kilimanjaro National Park
      Geology, History, Vegetation and biology, Climbing Kilimanjaro
Chapter 9 Usambara and the Northeast
      Lake Jipe, Mkomazi National Park, Lushoto and the Western Usambara, Amani Nature Reserve and the Eastern Usambara
Chapter 10 Tarangire and the Central Rift Valley
      Tarangire National Park, Babati, Mount Hanang, Kondoa Rock Art Sites, Dodoma
Chapter 11 Lake Manyara and the Northern Rift Valley
      Lake Manyara National Park, Lake Eyasi and the Yaeda Valley, North of Manyara
Chapter 12 Ngorongoro and the Crater
      Highlands Karatu and surrounds, Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Chapter 13 Serengeti National Park
      History, Flora, Fauna, Fees and further information, Ndutu and the southeastern plains, Seronera and the south-central plains, The western corridor, Lobo, Loliondo and the north-central Serengeti, The Mara River and far northwest
Chapter 14 Rubondo Island National Park
      Geography and vegetation, Wildlife, Getting there and away, Where to stay and eat, What to see and do
Chapter 15 Dar es Salaam and the North Coast
      Dar es Salaam, Beach resorts south of Dar, Bagamoyo, Saadani National Park, Pangani and Ushongo, Tanga
Chapter 16 Zanzibar
      History, Getting there and away, Getting around, Zanzibar Town, Around Zanzibar Town, Islands close to Zanzibar Town, Northern Zanzibar, The east coast, The west coast, Pemba Island
Chapter 17 Mafia Archipelago
      Natural environment, Wildlife, Climate, History, Economy, Religion and culture, Getting there and away, Getting around, Where to stay and eat, Diving, Around Mafia Island, Islands around Mafia
Chapter 18 Kilwa and the South Coast
      History, Kilwa Masoko, South of Kilwa
Chapter 19 Selous Game Reserve
      Entrance fees, When to visit, History, Getting there and away, Where to stay and eat, What to see and do
Chapter 20 Mikumi and Udzungwa National Parks
      Morogoro, Mikumi National Park, Udzungwa Mountains National Park
Chapter 21 Ruaha National Park and Iringa
      Iringa, Ruaha National Park
Chapter 22 The Western Safari Circuit
      Kigoma, Gombe Stream National Park, Mahale Mountains National Park, Katavi National Park

Appendices
Language

Customer Reviews

Biography

Philip Briggs has been exploring the highways, byways and backwaters of Africa since 1986, when he spent several months backpacking on a shoestring from Nairobi to Cape Town, and first visited Tanzania, bussing from Nairobi to Dar es Salaam then catching the Tazara Railway to Zambia. He has returned to Tanzania numerous times, including to research and author the first Bradt guide to Tanzania in 1992/3, as well as all subsequent editions. Tanzania aside, he has visited more than two dozen African countries and written about most of them for specialist travel and wildlife magazines, including BBC Wildlife, Travel Africa and Wanderlust, and in ten other Bradt guidebooks. He still spends at least four months on the road every year, usually accompanied by his wife, the travel photographer Ariadne Van Zandbergen, and spends the rest of the time battering away at a keyboard in the sleepy South African coastal village of Wilderness.

Chris McIntyre went to Africa in 1987, after reading Physics at Queen's College, Oxford. He taught with VSO in Zimbabwe for almost three years and travelled extensively, before writing his first guidebook (Bradt's guide to Namibia and Botswana) in 1990. He has since written all Bradt's guides on Namibia, Botswana and Zambia - and co-authors (with his wife, Susan) Bradt's guide to Zanzibar and (with Philip Briggs) Bradt's guides to Tanzania. When not travelling, Chris is managing director of the specialist tour operator Expert Africa, where he leads a team of dedicated Africa addicts who provide impartial advice and organise great safaris to Africa, including Tanzania and Zanzibar, and also includes the Wild about Africa trip programme, led by top professional guides. A Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, McIntyre now lives in Surrey with his wife Susan and two children.