

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT TANZANIA:
FULL NAME
United Republic of Tanzania
(formerly United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar)
CAPITAL
Dodoma
INDEPENDENCE
9 December 1961
TIME
GMT +3 hours
POPULATION
49.25 million as of 2013
AREA
945,090 (886,040 square km land including
Zanzibar, Mafia and Pemba Islands; 59,050 square km water)
CURRENCY
Tanzania shilling (TSh or TZS)
PRESIDENT
Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete ( Since December 2006)
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
New Year's Day 1 January
Zanzibar Revolution Day 12 January
Eid al Fitr (end of Ramadan) (varies)
Eid al Kebir (also called Eid al Haji) (varies)
Good Friday (varies)
Easter Monday (varies)
Union Day 26 April
Labour Day 1 May
Maulidi (Mohammed's Birthday) (varies)
Saba Saba (Peasant's Day) 7 July
Nane Nane (Farmer's Day) 8 August
Independence Day 9 December
Christmas 25 December
Boxing Day 26 December
ACCOMMODATION
Most safari lodges vary in size and style, and are built to blend in with the environment. Accommodation tends to be of rondavel or banda type, with a lounge, central dining and bar in single unit hotels. All major towns in Tanzania have excellent luxury hotels. All towns will at least have a good guesthouse.
National parks offer "ordinary" campsites, which provide toilets, fireplaces and usually water taps. "Special" campsites usually only have a pit toilet. It is necessary to pre-book special campsites, and advisable to book ordinary ones. Camping is limited outside the national parks. We offer accommodation in different categories of safari lodges and hotels. Please click on the link to see these safari lodges. Accommodation
BORDER POSTS
Roads, Trains & Airplanes
Just south of the equator, Tanzania borders Kenya and Uganda in the north; Congo DRC -formerly known as Zaire, Rwanda and Burundi in the west; and Zambia, Malawi and Moçambique in the south. Namanga Gate (between Tanzania and Kenya) is open 24 hrs per day. If you carry firearms you will require a special permit.
The duty free allowance is limited to one litre of liquor; 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars or 250g of tobacco; and 250ml of perfume. Any other items are subject to customs duty
Railways and Bus travel
Tanzania has two rail lines. The Tazara line links Dar es Salaam with New Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia via Mbeya and Tunduma. The central line links Dar es Salaam with Kigoma and Mwanza via Morogoro, Dodoma and Tabora. Rail is a safer, though a slower option of travel.
Express and ordinary buses operate along major long distance routes. Express buses are slightly more expensive but are more comfortable. Ordinary buses tend to make more stops. Reservations are not always possible, so get to the bus with plenty of time before the scheduled departure. Buses are not permitted to operate at night.
AIRPORTS
Domestic air services operate between the major airports:
Dar es Salaam (DAR)
Kilimanjaro (JRO)
Kishni, Zanzibar (ZNZ)
There are a total of 129 in Tanzania, of which only ten are paved. Air services have become the most significant form of internal transport for official and business travel. Small planes, from charter companies, fly to towns and to bush airstrips.
ROADS
There are 88,200 km of highways in Tanzania, but only 3,704 km of these are tarred. The key roads are in good condition, though the majority are bad and hazardous. Road conditions in the reserves and national parks of Tanzania are rough. During the rainy season, many roads are passable only with four-wheel drive vehicles. Driving is on the left side of the road.


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