Tanzania
Tanzania5 guides across 1 destination — where to go, when, what it costs and what to eat.
Destinations in Tanzania
Practical essentials for Tanzania
Tanzanian shilling (TZS)
Swahili is the national language and English is used in government, higher education and throughout tourism.
Type D/G, 230V 50Hz
Daladala minibuses are the local network and take cash from a conductor, but visitors on Zanzibar almost always use taxis, private transfers or a hired car and driver.
Around 5-10% in tourist restaurants unless a service charge is already on the bill, with separate daily tips for safari guides and camp staff.
Tap water is not safe to drink on Zanzibar or the mainland; stick to bottled, boiled or filtered water, including for brushing teeth.
Left-hand side; an International Driving Permit covers the mainland, but Zanzibar requires its own locally issued temporary driving permit before you may drive on the island.
112 (ambulance 114, fire 115)
Country-level guidance, checked against official sources. Currency, fares and entry rules change — confirm anything time-critical before you travel.
Recent stories from Tanzania
Eight Days in Zanzibar: Three Bases, One Tide Table, No Backtracking
Zanzibar rewards just over a week if you split it into three bases and let the tide table, rather than the map, decide what you do each morning.
The Best Day Trips from Stone Town, Zanzibar, Ranked
Stone Town is where you sleep, but the island's best days happen on reefs, in forests and on sand that only exists at low tide — ranked, costed, and put in the right order.
Zanzibar, Ranked: The 7 Experiences You Cannot Miss
From the labyrinth of Stone Town to giant tortoises and dhow sails at sunset — the definitive ranking of what actually matters on the spice islands.
Green Zanzibar: Forests, Gardens and Easy Escapes from the Sand
Beyond the sand lies Unguja's last coastal forest, a coral island run as a reserve, freshwater caves and mangrove channels you can paddle into - here is how to plan the green version of Zanzibar.
Eight Days in Zanzibar, Timed to the Tide
Zanzibar is worth eight days, and the tide table decides their order: three nights in Stone Town, two on the calm northern tip, three on the east coast where the sea walks away every afternoon.