Travel Made Joyful

The Basics

Who: we went on this trip as a family of four. Right now, our kids are 9 and 12 years old.

What: 13 nights, 5 full days on safari, 5 full days in Zanzibar (one day of travel on each end and one getting between mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar)

When: We went for our kids’ spring break, which ended up being the very end of March and the majority of the first two weeks of April. This falls into the start of the rainy season in Tanzania, and in travel-speak is the shoulder season.

Where: we flew in to Kilimanjaro airport from our home airport in Bristol. There was a direct flight from Amsterdam to Kili, which was great, and we were able to redeem Delta Skymiles for four business class seats on the way down (60k each). From there, our guide picked us up and we drove to Arusha, where we stayed for the night before heading to Lake Manyara National Park for our first safari day. We also spent a day at the Ngorongoro Crater, and three days in the Serengeti. We stayed two nights at the Acacia Farm Lodge, and three nights at the Seronera Tented Camp.

We flew out of the Seronera airstrip in a tiny plane (fun for everyone but me, who doesn’t really enjoy small planes) back to Arusha, and then from Arusha to Zanzibar (much bigger commercial plane for that leg). In Zanzibar, we stayed on Jambiani Beach at the Sharazad Boutique Hotel.

Why: this trip was something we wanted to do with our kids ever since we went on a safari as a couple in 2021 in South Africa. We thought our kids were the right age for a trip like this, and decided to do this as part of my husband’s company sabbatical program. This allowed us to put the company stipend towards some of the cost of the trip, and also allowed him to take two weeks off. When going somewhere this far away, we wanted to have as much time as we could, so we paired it with the two week spring break our kids get at their schools here in the UK. We chose Tanzania because we had to pick a country we had never been to (according to the rules of the company sabbatical), and we loved that it offered so many different national parks as well as the beach/island landscape (Zanzibar).

Finally, while any trip including a safari can be costly, we liked that Tanzania tended to be more affordable than places like Rwanda, Namibia, or Botswana (both other destinations on our list) but still very safe. However, I think any destination can fit in any budget, it’s just a numbers and flexibility game.

Learnings

What I’d Do Again

We absolutely loved this opportunity. The people in Tanzania were very kind, warm, and welcoming, and made us feel like family. We learned a ton – a safari is like the best kind of science camp you could ever dream of! We all made tons of memories, saw a huge amount of wildlife, and had a lot of downtime to connect with each other and relax as well.

Here are some of the highlights that I wouldn’t hesitate to do again:

• Length of Trip – I think this was the perfect length of trip. We had enough time in each portion of the trip to be engaged and fully embrace the “goals” for each part without things feeling rushed, or too long. Building in that we returned on a Friday afternoon also meant that we had the weekend to recover, which was a game-changer when we all went back to work and school that following Monday.
• Length at each destination – Going to three different places on safari over five days was perfect. On the final day, I could tell the kids (mainly our younger one, age 9) was starting to get tired. To his credit, we all returned each day mentally exhausted from constantly searching for animals, absorbing information, and from being out for 10 hours straight! We felt like we got to see so many things that we didn’t feel like we missed opportunities (though we still need to see a cheetah…). On Zanzibar, I was nervous that five full days on the beach in a remote location would leave us stir crazy or bored, but that never happened. In fact, it took at least two days to feel like we were actually even relaxed (it was like coming off a drug high, or so I assume). Timing this second was perfect, because we got to recover and then feel rested and recharged for coming home.
• Safari Accommodations – We stayed in some great places on our safari, and they were both very different. The Acacia Lodge had tons of things to do on site – a pool, nature walks, bikes to rent, a spa, gym – but was so quiet and peaceful, situated on an organic coffee farm. The rooms were huge and comfortable, and we loved the huge patio overlooking the coffee plants. My favorite was our tented camp in the Serengeti though, it was totally out in the open with no fences! At night, you could hear hyenas, hippos, zebras, and lions calling out, and we saw tons of animals just wandering through the camp. You could see pawprints all around the dining tent in the morning from animals like cervils and hyenas, too. There were tons of stars, and a big campfire, as well as a hammock and swings on the decks of the tents. However, it was definitely glamping – hot, running water, flush toilets, solar powered-electricity, and beautiful, comfortable beds.
• Snorkeling – we’ve been fortunate to snorkel in some amazing places, like the Great Barrier Reef and the Galapagos Islands. That said, the snorkeling on Zanzibar was on par with both of those places! We went snorkeling at two different locations – one that was a giant starfish and sea urchin lagoon, and another lagoon where there were hundreds and hundreds of fish swimming all around us! They were all colors, sizes, and surrounded by incredible corals and anemones. We all said we felt like we were dropped in to the “Under the Sea” song from The Little Mermaid!
• Safari Destinations – I loved that we got to go to several different parks. We all said that the most impressive site was the Ngorongoro Crater – it is absolutely massive! It also looks a lot like scenes from The Lion King because there’s a huge lake in the middle and a lot of wildlife all gather around it. However, the sunrises and sunsets and the overall landscape of the Serengeti is an incredible site, too. I had no idea how huge the Serengeti actually was, and even though it felt like we drove a lot, we only saw a small portion of it. Lake Manyara was also really cool, and was much more forested, with different types of animals that we didn’t see at the other two parks. I’ve heard great things about Tarangire and Arusha as well.

What I’d Change

• Return flight timing: most flights depart from Zanzibar late at night or very early in the morning. We had to check out of our hotel at 11am, and our flight wasn’t until 9pm. Late checkout would have had us checking out at 1pm, so we still would have had a long day ahead of us. In hindsight, I would have had us spend a day in Stone Town with a hotel for the night so we could have relaxed, showered, and been close to the airport.
• Locations of our Zanzibar Stay: The place where we stayed in Zanzibar was fine, but it was rather remote. There are more ideal places to stay that would allow you to explore more of the island and spend less time traveling to/from your hotel. I would have also tried to do a split stay, with a few nights in Stone Town to see some of that part of the island and reach some of the outer islands that are much closer, then spent the remaining time on one of the beaches on the eastern side.
• Safari Flexibility: By going to multiple places on safari, we essentially had to follow a “point to point” strategy: get up, do an all-day game drive, then get to the next place we were going stay, then repeat. We also are all very animal-focused, so we opted to go out all day, whereas many people on safari (and some lodges this is your only option) do twice-daily game drives at dawn and dusk. For people traveling with kids, I might recommend this, at least for some of your time, as that can mean really long days otherwise. If you don’t think you’ll be comfortable sitting or standing in a safari jeep all day, I think having some time to rest or relax back at a camp or lodge can be a good thing. This is something I will definitely discuss with my clients ahead of time – because every group is different.

Tips for Travelers

While you can glean some good tips from the lists above, here are some of my other hints for a successful trip to Tanzania:

• You’ll need anti-malaria medication – and while you’re at it, make sure you’re up to date on all your vaccines. It’s just a precaution, but I wouldn’t risk going without it. There are a few options when it comes to which medication you can/want to take, so be sure to schedule an appointment with your provider to talk through it well in advance. Remember, it might not be cheap to buy the medication, but compared to the risk of getting sick abroad, it’s well worth it!
• Have cash on hand for gratuities – they accept foreign currency in Tanzania (USD and GBP are accepted as well as the Tanzanian Shilling), but as we arrived later in the evening into a small airport, we didn’t have cash on hand. We also visited during Easter AND Ramadan, so many of the banks and ATMs were shut down. We also learned that at the end of the month and beginning of the month when people are paid, ATMs often run out of cash, so we had to make four different ATM visits to get the amount of cash we needed for gratuities. I have guidance on how much you’ll need, and I’d devise having this ahead of time if at all possible.
• Bring bug spray… – my Dad always used the phrase “When you assume, you make an BLEEP out of U and ME,” but even though that phrase is burned in to my memory, sometimes I still make assumptions (hey, travel advisors are humans, too). When we went to South Africa in 2021, we brought bug spray, only to discover that our lodge had it on hand and it was specifically designed for local pests. So, we assumed (I think you know where this is going) that this would be the case in Tanzania, too. We were wrong. We all ended up with a good number of mosquito bites on our legs and feet in Zanzibar (which made us thankful that we were taking our anti-malaria medication!).
• …and lots of sunscreen – we wore SPF 50 and reapplied, but had no idea that we’d get so burned even on cloudy days. It was unreal how quickly we burned – and I lived through the baby oil days of the 80s and 90s!
• Think about timing for the seasons – as I mentioned in the beginning part of this post, we were a bit limited in terms of when we could go on our safari, but we were traveling during the rainy/shoulder season. Thankfully, rolling the dice worked out well for us – low/no crowds, but still good weather – but it could have also meant a lot of rain and certain places closed. Working with a local expert will help you determine the best time (and those hidden sweet spots for sneaking in a visit when there aren’t hundreds of others trying to glimpse the same rhino). The other twist – the seasons are slightly different in Zanzibar than in mainland Tanzania!

Final Words

This trip is one I’ll remember forever, and I think the rest of my family will, too. Having this quiet time to connect together after a very big year for us (moving abroad), as well as being able to see some of the most rare and special wildlife on the planet, was priceless.

But I still have to see that cheetah.