What we are going to experience, see and taste

• we will see Arusha, from where we can see the 4566 m high Mt. Meru as if in the palm of our hand. And it wouldn't be a visit to the city without the hustle and bustle of the marketplace, where we'll test our bargaining skills while shopping.

• Taranghire NP - from the SUV we will see the wildlife that concentrates at the water sources during the dry season. With an experienced local guide we will track lions, giraffes, zebras, buffalo and encounter large herds of elephants. The park is also typical for huge baobab trees, up to 300 years old.

• Then, at the Olpopongi Maasai Boma, we'll get a glimpse into the lives of the local Maasai, with whom we'll spend a day tracking animals on foot and learning about traditional medicine and the history of the tribe. If the weather is good we will see two local mountain giants from the village - Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Meru. In the village we can stay overnight in an earthen hut and in the evening we can chat or be silent by the fire in tzhe middle of the village

• We swim in the "hot" Chemka springs, which are therefore rather lukewarm. It is an unexpected and remote oasis with crystal clear water full of mangroves and the ubiquitous small fish.  

• we will embark on a one-day climb to the "base camp" of Kilimanjaro - Mandara Hut, which is the first stop on the ascent of Africa's highest mountain. We will cover 8km in a full day with an elevation gain of about 900 metres. It will take us 3-4h to go up, 2-3h to go back down.

• We will roast coffee on a fire, which we will then drink at the Materuni coffee farm, where we will participate in a demonstration of traditional coffee growing and processing as is customary among the Chagga tribe, whose home is the area around Kilimanjaro. Materuni is also the name of a nearby waterfall nearly 150 metres high, in which there is an opportunity to dip

• We move east up the coast to Dar es Salaam, from where we take the ferry to Zanzibar's Stone Town. Stone Town is such a maze of winding streets that you'll want to get lost in. Hidden courtyards, buildings made of coral stone and elaborate carvings on doors that are often older than the buildings themselves. There's the option to visit the Slavery Museum, snorkel the adjacent islands of Nakupenda and Prison Island to see the giant tortoises, or just wander the city as you please. There's also the option of taking a cooking class in local food, including swimming in the Kuza Cave.  The Forodhani street food market is then a great end to the day at sunset.

• At the Shabuta spice farm we will have the opportunity to see how cloves, vanilla and many other spices and fruits grow.

• We spend our last days we will relax by the sea in the Nungwi area at the northern tip of Zanzibar.

• During the trip we will not miss the opportunity to taste chapati, nyama choma, ugali, mishikaki, kachumbari, mandazi, matoke and chipsi mayai

• We can have Kilimanjaro, Safari or Serengheti beers by the fire or in the pub.

Cost estimate

Airfare

Depends on the area where you would fly from. For example from Vienna, the price of the ticket to Kilimanjaro airport varies between 850-1200 EUR. 

Accommodation

We will sleep in tourist hostels, hotels, one night can be spent in a bus at the crossing, we can also spend the night in the Maasai village of Olpopongi in a mud hut. The price for accommodation is between 15-30 USD. per night per person depending on the form of accommodation (shared rooms/double rooms). The cost of accommodation should not exceed 200 USD and if we choose the shared rooms option, the price will move to around 130 USD.

Visa

The visa to Tanzania us 50 USD. You can get it at the arrival or you can apply online before you travel.

Transportation in Tanzania

We will be using a combination of public transport  - minibuses daladala,  bajaji (you may know it as a "tuktuk"),  jeep for safari, we will use a comfortable large bus for overnight transfer, we will have a rental car one day, we will take a motorbike (pikipiki) and a ferry will take us across the water. The cost of transportation would not exceed 150 USD.

Entrances to the NP

In Tanzania, generally, the biggest item in the costs are the entrances to the national parks. In our case it is Tarangire NP and Kilimanjaro NP where we would be heading. However, entrances to the NP are already part of the trips (safaris) mentioned above. The cost of the safari is based on the number of taken seats in the car. In the case of Tarangire NP the cost will be between 120-200 USD per person (including transport and lunch), in the case of the trip to the foot of Kilimanjaro the cost will be about 150 USD (including transport and lunch). If we add a visit to a Maasai village (including overnight stay and food), Shabuta and Materuni farms and Chemka springs, we get to a price of about 500 USD.

Food

The local food is great. We will definitely encounter chapati pancakes, pilau - fragrant rice with beef, chipsi mayai - egg omelette with chips, traditional side dish with vegetables - ugali (a mass of water and corn flour, a kind of white polenta), interesting are also matoke bananas. A sweet treat is a kashata made of coconut, peanuts and sugar. The traditional collective dish is nyama choma - fire-roasted goat meat. There are also some strange gastro fusions in the city - like the Indo-Italian restaurant :)

In hostels and hotels, breakfast is usually included. Day organized tours usually include lunch or a packed lunch, in our case of the above indicative itinerary it is a minimum of 4 times. 

Indicative prices:

• 1.5 l of water - 50 cents
• beer - 1,5 USD
• street food - 1-3 USD
• dinner at the hostel - 2-6 USD
• dinner in town .- 10-20 USD 
• fruits and vegetables at the market are very cheap (e.g. mangoes, avocados - 80 cents/pc; bananas, orange mandarins,...)