A visa is a permission granted to a foreigner to enter and remain in the United Republic of Tanzania for a specific period of time. A visa is issued to a visitor who intends to enter into Tanzania for the purpose of visit, tourism, leisure, holiday, business, health treatment, attending conference or any other related activities recognised by the Laws of the country.

Single Entry Visa (Ordinary Visa)

This Visa is issued for a single entry to a visitor for a period not exceeding three months for the purpose of holidays, visiting, leisure, health treatment, studies or any other activity legally recognized by the Law. The Visa cost $50 for non-US citizens tourists and $100 for US citizens.

A passport is required for all foreign visitors and has to be valid for at least six months. Passports must have a clean and a full visa page for endorsement.

 Visa are best obtained in advance through an official online visa-application portal, but can also be obtained at any Diplomatic or Consulate Mission of the United Republic of Tanzania abroad, normally within one business day. Visitors are urged to obtain their visa prior arrival to avoid any possible inconvenience at point of entry in Tanzania.

 Visa can also be obtained on arrival but this is a lengthy process that can take up to one hour. Process for getting a Tanzania visa on arrival is pretty straight forward but be prepared for long queues and slow immigration staff.

Although there are several medical concerns that worry many safari goers, you have little to fear if you do your preparations in advance and follow the guidelines and play by the rules when visiting Tanzania.

You only need a Yellow Fever Vaccination card if you are getting into Tanzania from an endemic country with Yellow Fever. It is recommended that you consult with a specialized travel clinic regarding what vaccinations are suggested for travel to Tanzania over and above the mandatory Yellow Fever vaccination. We advise that you take anti malaria dose or mosquito repellants for prevention only.

Regarding COVID-19:

1. Travelers entering URT including Tanzanians, returning residents, truck drivers/crew and those in transit through land borders who are;

a. Fully vaccinated1 will be exempted from both RT PCR and Rapid Antigen Test requirements. Travelers will be required to present a valid vaccination certificate with QR code for verification upon arrival. The only accepted vaccines are those which have been approved by the URT and the World Health Organization.

b. Not fully vaccinated, unvaccinated and those not eligible for vaccination due to their country policies will be required to present a negative COVID-19 RT- PCR or NAATs certificate with QR code obtained within 72 hours before departure.

c. Not fully vaccinated, unvaccinated and those not eligible for vaccination due to their country policies and have no negative COVID-19 RT- PCR certificate will be tested for COVID 19 upon arrival using a Rapid Antigen Test at their own cost of TZS 23,000 (10 USD) for Tanzania Mainland except children aged 12 years and below and aircraft crew.

Positive cases will be further confirmed by RT- PCR at a cost of 50 USD. For ground crossings, positive cases will be handled according to Bilateral and Joint Border agreements.

2. Travelers in transit by air transport are exempted from both vaccination and COVID 19 testing requirements unless stated otherwise by the conveyance to be used or countries of their final destinations.

3. All departing travelers are advised to seek information prior to departure from their travel agents regarding COVID-19 requirements of their country of destination or conveyance to be used.

Note that, many of the health problems experienced by travellers cannot be prevented by vaccinations and other measures need to be taken. These include food and water safety, accident prevention, care with sun exposure and avoiding insect bites. That is why we advise you to have good health insurance along with a medical examination before taking a trip. Knowing that the insurance will protect you from any possibility brings a sense of safety in case of a health emergency.

It is important that you have a travel insurance policy every time you plan to travel. Though in most cases everything will run smoothly during your Tanzania safari, situations may arise on or before your trip that are outside of our control as your local tour operator and for which we cannot be held responsible. This is why, Mucho Tours & Safaris recommends that you purchase a travel protection plan to help protect you and your trip investment.

Consider travel protection for:

• Trip Cancellation
• Trip Interruption
• Emergency Medical Expenses
• Trip Delay
• Baggage & Personal Effects

Mucho Tours & Safaris enrols all of its clients in the AMREF Flying Doctors program at no extra charge! All booked clients of Lafayette Expeditions will automatically be enrolled for AMREF Flying Doctors insurance for zone one (mainland Tanzania, Zanzibar and Kenya). This enrolment does not replace traditional travel insurance but augments your coverage for emergency transport from your safari to Nairobi for onward medical evacuation.

No doubt that transferring between camps, lodges, airports and airstrips will be part of your Tanzania safari itinerary. If you are going to take light aircraft flights, check what the luggage allowance is. Airlines can be very strict on baggage limits, so it’s important to double-check your limit before you travel. 

If your itinerary states that soft bags are needed, this is because storage space on light aircraft flights is limited and therefore luggage should be soft (We recommend medium-sized LL Bean Adventure Duffel Bags or a more economical option is the Polyester Duffel Bag). Soft bags can be easily squashed and manipulated into a small hold in the plane. The total weight allowance includes the carry-on bags. You will be holding your carry-on bags in the lap for the duration of the flight as the aircraft do not have under-seat storage or overhead lockers for stowing bags.

You’ve waited for your Tanzania safari to finally come around. Don’t stress too much on what to pack. Just keep it simple and pack lightly. The luggage you can bring on safari vehicles or smaller planes is limited, so there is no need to bring unnecessary things. This is our advice to what you need for a safari in Tanzania.

Travel Essentials:

• Passport
• Visa. You can buy this at the airport when you arrive or pre-purchase online
• Travel vaccination certificates
• Travel insurance: policy number and emergency numbers.
• Flight tickets
• Trip confirmation with contact details
• Photocopies of important documents, or as images on your phone
• Spare passport photos
• International driving licence if you plan to hire a car or quad ride
• Cash USD are preferred and make sure any notes aren’t older than 2006
• Credit card
• Money belt or pouch (Always nice to have secret pockets!)

Health Essentials:

• First aid kit, including aspirin or paracetamol, antiseptic wipes and plasters
• Anti-diarrhoea pills like Imodium, and rehydration powders like Dioralyte
• Antibacterial gel (Hand sanitizer)
• Your own medication
• Birth control/ condoms (always practise safe sex!)
• Insect repellent: there are bugs galore but many of them are pretty!
• Sun care stuff: sunscreen, After sun lotion, sunglasses and sunhat
• A roll of toilet paper (just in case)

Your suitcase and clothes:

Throw out high fashion and throw in useful, casual, comfy clothes. Here’s our essential clothes list:

• Duffel Bag
• A warm jumper or sweatshirt, and warm trousers
• Light clothes: t-shirt, shorts, vests
• Swimwear
• Pyjamas
• Comfortable sneakers or walking shoes.
• Sandals / flip flops.
• Don’t forget your underwear! And some really high-quality socks.
• Rain jacket
• Sarong: very useful for woman to wrap around after a swim

Mornings and evenings can be quite cool in Tanzania while during the day it can become pretty hot. Choose neutral colours to keep the bugs away and don’t scare off the wildlife.

Gadgets/electronics:

• Binocular
• Camera with spare memory card and charger
• Mobile phone and charger: a lot of accommodations offer free WIFI
• Tanzania guidebook
• Swahili phrasebook – Jambo!
• Cards or portable games to play with your new friends
• A good book for beach time or in case of any delay
• Pen and travel journal to capture your inspirations
• Universal plug converters (The standard electricity supply is 220volt – 240volt AC. Most sockets take a 3 square pin plug similar to the UK)
• Ear plugs
• Your Playlist and headphones