Serengeti & Ngorongoro

Currency

Park fees are quoted and often payable in dollars by card, and cards are now mandatory at the main gates. Exchange shillings in Arusha for tips and village purchases. Bring dollar notes issued after 2013 — older ones are refused outright.

ATMs & cards

Withdraw in Arusha before you go — CRDB, NMB and Exim are reliable there. There are no machines inside the parks, and none between them. Take more cash than the trip appears to need, for tips and for anything that goes wrong.

Draw all your cash in Arusha before leaving. Park fees are card-only at the gates, but tips, village purchases and anything unexpected are cash.

Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.

Safety

The wildlife is genuinely wild and the rules exist because people have died ignoring them: stay in the vehicle unless your guide says otherwise, never walk between tents after dark without an escort, and zip the tent. Malaria is the real medical risk and prophylaxis is strongly advised. Crime is not a meaningful concern inside the parks.

Our own assessment, not a sourced index.

Entry & visa

Health & emergencies

Required to enter

• Yellow fever certificate if arriving from a country where yellow fever is present — including via a layover of more than 12 hours in one

Worth having

• Hepatitis A
• Typhoid
• Tetanus up to date
• Malaria prophylaxis — Zanzibar is a genuine malaria area
• Rabies for longer stays
• Cholera for extended rural stays

Getting treated

The weakest on this list. Zanzibar has clinics that handle minor problems and a private hospital in Stone Town, but anything serious means an evacuation flight to Dar es Salaam or Nairobi. Travel insurance with air-evacuation cover is genuinely essential here, not a formality.

Malaria is the real risk and prophylaxis is strongly advised — take it as prescribed and use repellent and nets. Do not drink the tap water. Watch the yellow-fever transit rule closely, because it catches people connecting through Nairobi or Addis.

Orientation, not medical advice. Entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history and where you have been — check with a travel clinic or your national health service four to six weeks before you go.

Food tip

Almost all eating is at your camp and included. In Arusha, nyama choma with ugali is the meal to have, and Kilimanjaro beer with it.

Getting around

• Safari vehicle with a driver-guide — how essentially everyone does it, and the guide is most of what you are paying for
• Light aircraft — Arusha to the Seronera or Kogatende airstrips, an hour instead of eight
• Self-drive — permitted but genuinely hard: no signage, deep sand, and no recovery if you break down
• Ngorongoro Crater descent — 4x4 only, and a separate permit on top of the park fee
• Airport: Kilimanjaro (JRO) for the northern circuit, then 3-4h by road to the gates

Must-see

Things to do

• Follow the migration between the Seronera and the Mara river
• Descend into the Ngorongoro Crater at dawn
• Take a balloon flight over the plains
• Visit Olduvai Gorge and the hominid site
• Spend an evening with a Maasai community, arranged properly and paid fairly

Nearby day trips

Say a few words

Swahili

• HelloHabariha-BA-ree
• PleaseTafadhalita-fa-DHA-lee
• Thank youAsantea-SAN-teh
• Yes / NoNdiyo / Hapanan-DEE-yo / ha-PA-na
• Excuse meSamahanisa-ma-HA-nee
• How much is it?Bei gani?bay GA-nee
• The bill, pleaseBili tafadhaliBEE-lee
• No problemHakuna matataha-KOO-na ma-TA-ta

Jambo is the tourist greeting; habari is what locals actually say to each other. Using it changes how you are received.

Religion

Muslim on Zanzibar, split on the mainland

The mainland is roughly half Christian and half Muslim; Zanzibar is around 99% Muslim and noticeably more conservative. Cover shoulders and knees in Stone Town, and swimwear stays on the resort beach.

Do's and don'ts

Do

• Cover shoulders and knees away from beach resorts — Zanzibar is conservative and predominantly Muslim
• Greet with habari and take the time for it; greetings are extended here
• Use the right hand to eat, give and receive
• Ask before photographing anyone

Don't

• Do not wear swimwear off the beach, including walking through Stone Town
• Do not show public affection, including between couples
• Do not eat or drink publicly during daylight in Ramadan
• Do not use the left hand for anything social; it is the toilet hand