Tanzania: best time to visit, entry, travel facts

Tanzania has two rainy seasons and one long dry season, and for game viewing it is water that counts. From June to October the Serengeti gets rain on 2 to 6 days a month, the grass is short and yellow, and the animals gather at rivers, waterholes and swamps. You see more animals per game drive then than in any other month, because visibility is long and elephants, buffalo and antelope have to come to the water every day.

The Great Migration is the event the calendar is built around. Around 1.5 million wildebeest and about 250,000 zebra move clockwise through the Serengeti ecosystem over the year. From December to March the herds stand on the short-grass plains in the south around Ndutu and in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area; from late January into February around 400,000 calves are born there within about 3 weeks, and lions, hyenas and cheetahs follow them. In April and May the herds move north-west into the Western Corridor under heavy rain, in June and July they cross the Grumeti. From July to October they stand in the north at the Mara River, and the river crossings with crocodiles are most frequent in August and September. In November they return south with the short rains.

The Ngorongoro Crater works all year round, because the animals hardly ever leave the 260 km² crater floor: about 25,000 large mammals, among them around 30 black rhino, are there on every day of the year. In the rains from March to May the crater floor turns muddy and the drive is slower, but the view of the animals stays. Tarangire, by contrast, is a dry-season park: from July to October up to 3,000 elephants stand along the Tarangire River, while in the rains the herds spread out into the Maasai steppe outside the park and you see far fewer.

In the south, in Nyerere and Ruaha, the dry season from June to October is the only reliable time; in April and May many camps close because the tracks are under water. If you want birds, come between November and April: the European migrants are in, and more than 500 species are about in the Serengeti.

The figures are for the central Serengeti around Seronera at about 1,500 m, the core of the northern circuit. The altitude keeps temperatures in a narrow band all year: 26 to 29 °C by day, 12 to 15 °C at night, with no real summer or winter. What separates the months is the rain. The long rains from March to May bring 11 to 17 rain days a month, mostly as afternoon thunderstorms, rarely as all-day rain; the short rains in November and December about 12 days. January and February are a dry spell in between, but still with 9 rain days. From June to October it rains on 2 to 6 days, humidity drops below 60 %, and the sun shines 9 hours a day.

Two departures from the table you need to plan for: on the Ngorongoro crater rim at 2,300 m the thermometer drops to 5 to 8 °C in the early morning from June to August, and fog often sits until 9 am. On the coast and on Zanzibar the daytime high from December to March is 32 to 33 °C with 80 % humidity, and the coolness of the plateau is missing entirely.

Tanzania has two rainy seasons in the north: the long rains from March to May and the short rains from November to December. For the track, the long rains matter most - the red laterite tracks in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro turn into mud within hours, at times impassable even for 4x4s, and the steep crater rim road to Ngorongoro becomes so slippery when wet that it is temporarily closed. Many camps in the parks close in April as a result. The short rains in November/December are milder: short, heavy afternoon showers, after which the tracks usually dry out again overnight - rideable, but with a buffer built into the day's plan. The best time for firm daily stages is the long dry season from June to October, when the tracks are hard and grippy, plus the short dry spell in January/February between the two rainy seasons. The paved part of the route - Namanga, Arusha, the road to Moshi and on to the coast - is rideable year-round regardless of rain.

German, Austrian and Swiss nationals need a visa for Tanzania, however short the stay. The simplest route is the e-visa through the official portal visa.immigration.go.tz: single-entry tourist visa, 50 USD, valid for up to 90 days, processing usually takes 2 to 10 working days. A multiple-entry visa costs 100 USD and is worthwhile for anyone leaving and re-entering via Kenya or Uganda during the trip. Alternatively, the visa is available on arrival at the major airports and the main land borders under the same conditions, but with a wait and cash payment only. Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months at entry and have a blank page for the stamp. The online application requires a passport photo with a white background, proof of onward travel (a return or connecting flight ticket) and often a hotel booking or invitation letter. A yellow fever vaccination is not mandatory for direct entry from Europe, but is required on entry from a yellow fever endemic country or after more than a 12-hour stopover there - check carefully which country currently counts as endemic if arriving via an East African hub.

A Carnet de Passages is not mandatory for Tanzania: at the main borders - above all Namanga from Kenya and Tunduma from Zambia - a temporary import permit bought on the spot for around 17 USD per month, extendable, is enough in practice. A Carnet is still worthwhile for anyone continuing through several countries with stricter procedures, because it guarantees the same process at every border. Third-party vehicle insurance is mandatory in any case: the COMESA Yellow Card is valid in Tanzania and most neighbouring countries and costs around 22 USD for three months at the border; without it, nobody gets through customs clearance. Carry the vehicle registration document (or a certified copy), passport and international driving permit. If someone rides a motorcycle not registered to them - borrowed, rented in a neighbouring country, or belonging to a travel companion - a written, ideally notarised power of attorney from the owner is needed; without it, some border posts refuse onward travel. The common crossings work reliably: Namanga (Kenya), Holili and Horohoro (Kenya, coast), Tunduma (Zambia), Kasumulu (Malawi) and the ferry to Zanzibar are regularly used by overlanders and have fixed, well-known fees. Smaller border posts in the west (Congo, Rwanda, Burundi) are less predictable in opening hours and formalities - plan a day of slack there. Anyone only riding the classic northern route Arusha-Serengeti-Ngorongoro-Zanzibar should note: the national parks on this route are visited exclusively by 4x4 with a ranger, and your own motorcycle stays parked in Arusha or Karatu.

The international driving permit under the 1949 Geneva Convention is recognised in Tanzania and covers the first 90 days in the country - after that, a Tanzanian licence would officially be needed, which in practice never comes up on a motorcycle trip. Without an IDP, a foreign driving licence does not automatically apply, even in EU card format. On the road, traffic police check driving licences and vehicle papers by spot check, and at larger checkpoints also electronically through the Tanzania Revenue Authority's system. The passport alone is not enough as proof - you will be asked for the licence and import papers. Helmets are a legal requirement only for the rider, not the passenger; on a guided tour, everyone wears a helmet regardless of the legal position.

The tourist route essentially follows the north-east axis: a paved highway from the Kenyan border at Namanga via Arusha and on to the coast, with unpaved access roads to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro in between. On the highway (T2/T5, part of the Cairo-Cape Town route), long daily stages of 250 to 300 km are realistic, the surface is mostly good, with speed bumps before every village and dense truck traffic around the Chalinze junction. The laterite tracks from Makuyuni towards the Serengeti are rideable in the dry season but dusty and corrugated - time matters more than distance here. Inside the Serengeti and Ngorongoro, game drives are only permitted with licensed safari vehicles and a guide, and your own motorcycle stays safely parked at camp or in Arusha in the meantime. Anyone continuing from the northern route to the coast rides through to Dar es Salaam and takes the car ferry to Zanzibar from there; it occasionally cancels in rough seas during the long rains (March to May), so a buffer day before the flight home is worthwhile.

On the paved main route - Namanga, Arusha, Moshi, the road to Dar es Salaam - fuel station density is good, usually every 20 to 30 km, with unleaded 95 and diesel available everywhere. On the way to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro, the dense network ends in Mto wa Mbu: this is the last reliable fuel station before the park gate, and there is none inside the protected areas after that. A reserve canister of 5 to 10 litres covers the distance to the next camp. Larger stations take card payment, rural areas are cash-only in Tanzanian shillings - bring small notes, since small stations rarely give change. Fuel quality on the main routes matches European standards; at very remote outlets, be prepared for contamination in the tank.

The nationwide emergency numbers are police 112, ambulance 114 and fire brigade 118 - they work reliably in Dar es Salaam and larger towns, while in rural areas and especially around the Serengeti/Ngorongoro network coverage is patchy and the numbers do not connect everywhere. A state ambulance service exists in effect only in the big cities; away from them, the lodge or safari company usually organises transport in an emergency, often by private vehicle. That is why overseas health insurance with a repatriation clause (evacuation flight) belongs in the basic kit, not just standard travel insurance. Traffic police check driving licence, vehicle papers and speed at fixed and mobile posts; radar checks are common on the highways, with fines between 20,000 and 100,000 TZS demanded on the spot.

All of Tanzania below 1,800 m - including the entire route, Zanzibar included - counts as a high-risk malaria area, with transmission highest between November and May. Malaria prophylaxis after medical advice (atovaquone/proguanil, doxycycline or mefloquine) belongs on every Tanzania trip. A yellow fever vaccination is not mandatory for direct entry from Europe, but becomes mandatory on entry from a yellow fever endemic country or after more than a 12-hour stopover there. Tap water is not recommended anywhere in the country; bottled water is available everywhere.

The national currency is the Tanzanian Shilling (TZS), trading around 1 USD = 2,500 TZS. ATMs are reliably available in Arusha, Dar es Salaam, Moshi and Stone Town, but not in the national parks or at the lodges - withdraw cash for the safari days beforehand in town. Cards are accepted in lodges and larger hotels, often with a 3 to 5% surcharge; on the road in the countryside, only cash counts. Park and border fees are demanded exclusively in clean, newer US dollar notes - nothing printed before 2009, and no creased or torn notes.

Vodacom has the best network around Arusha and Kilimanjaro; inside the Serengeti itself, other providers reportedly perform somewhat better according to traveller reports. Coverage inside the protected areas and on the tracks between them is patchy to non-existent, while the coast and Zanzibar have good coverage. A local SIM card is cheap and available at airports and in any larger town; an eSIM can be activated online in advance. Card payment in lodges depends on the same network coverage - when there is no signal, the card terminal does not work either, another reason to carry enough cash.

Tanzania is majority Muslim on the coast and Zanzibar, mixed Christian and traditional inland. During Ramadan, visitors on Zanzibar and the coastal towns are expected not to eat, drink or smoke in public during the day - many restaurants outside hotels close until sunset. Only photograph people, especially in Maasai villages, with explicit permission; a small fee is often expected on the spot for this, which is normal and part of the visit. Traffic drives on the left; hand signals and horn signals are used generously - a short horn before bends and villages is customary, not a sign of impatience. Helmets are a legal requirement only for the rider, but on guided tours everyone wears one for safety.