Tanzania Safari Guide

with Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar and the coast

by Philip Briggs and  Chris McIntyre

Publication Date:  21st Jul 2017


£17.99

Tanzania Safari Guide – Advice and expert holiday tips, from Dar es Salaam highlights and accommodation to safari itineraries and wildlife tracking. Also covering suggested routes, safari camps, Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Mount Kilimanjaro, Lake Manyara, Selous and Zanzibar, walking tours and guides, natural history and culture.

About this book

This new, thoroughly updated eighth edition remains the only practical guidebook to Tanzania to reflect the overall shift of tourism away from backpackers and budget camping safaris to upper-end and mid-range safaris and beach holidays. Unlike other guidebooks, the main focus is background and practical information on Tanzania’s peerless collection of national parks, game reserves and other safari destinations, including the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire, Selous, Ruaha, Katavi, Gombe Stream and Mahale Mountains. Every major reserve is given a dedicated chapter detailing its ecology, wildlife, accommodation options, game drives and other activities.
Written by acknowledged experts Philip Briggs and Chris McIntyre, Bradt’s Tanzania also focuses on other popular and off-the-beaten track tourist attractions, ranging from Mount Kilimanjaro and the ‘Spice Island’ of Zanzibar to the mysterious Kilwa Ruins and Kondoa Rock Art (a pair of UNESCO World Heritage Sites often relegated to the small print of other travel guides).
The accommodation listings for the national parks and other safari destinations are the most detailed and authoritative available. Briggs and McIntyre have weeded through the ever-growing number of lodges and camps to create a critically selective list of the best properties in every price bracket – upmarket, midrange and budget. The guide also includes a 48-page wildlife colour field guide, detailing all species a visitor can expect to find on a safari, making this guide the most authoritative source available.
Since its mid-1980s economic nadir, when it lacked adequate facilities for anything but basic camping safaris, 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 the national parks and bordering community concessions.
Tanzania is arguably Africa’s greatest safari destination and is geographically one of Africa’s most varied countries, its long palm-fringed coastline complemented by the scenic wonders of the Great Rift Valley, portions of Africa’s three largest lakes, and several impressive mountains. With this guide you will discover everything the country has to offer, from spectacular year-round game-viewing to post-safari relaxation on the idyllic beaches of Zanzibar.

About the Author

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, among other things to research and author the first Bradt Guide to Tanzania in 1992/3, as well as all seven subsequent editions. Tanzania aside, he has visited more than two dozen African countries in total and written about most of them for specialist travel and wildlife magazines, including BBC Wildlife, Travel Africa and Wanderlust. 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 his 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 in 1990. He has since written all Bradt’s guides on Namibia, Botswana and Zambia – and co-authored (with his wife, Susan) the last four editions of Bradt’s Zanzibar guide – the latest of which was thoroughly revised at the same time as this book.
Chris now runs the specialist tour operator ExpertAfrica, where he leads a team of dedicated Africa addicts who provide impartial advice and organise great safaris to Africa, including Tanzania.

Additional Information

Table of Contents

Introduction
PART ONE 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 two 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
Appendix 1 Language
Appendix 2 Glossary
Appendix 3 Endemic and Near-Endemic Birds of Tanzania
Appendix 4 Further Information
Acknowledgements
Index