Tansania 2025

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Trip start
November 20, 2025
Tansania 2025 Traveler
Getting there
November 21, 2025 in Tanzania ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
The entire trip came together on very short notice. On Monday I contacted a travel agency about Tanzania, and on Thursday I was already leaving.

They organized three days of safari, followed by a week of beach time on Zanzibar.

First, I had to get there. The original plan was Munich → Brussels → Addis Ababa → Kilimanjaro International Airport. I briefly considered adding a day in Addis Ababa, but that would have meant dealing with visa logistics, and potentially extra health paperwork depending on flight routing and layover length.

On the way to the airport, I got a message that my flight to Brussels was delayed by 30 minutes—followed shortly by an SMS that rebooked my entire journey via Frankfurt. Oh well. Either way, I was heading somewhere warm.

Three flights (and roughly 13 hours) later, I arrived at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO)—the main gateway for the northern safari circuit, located between the Kilimanjaro and Arusha regions.

Stepping outside into 30°C air felt like walking into summer. I was picked up by Abdul, who will be my driver and guide for the next four days. The first evening ended in a relaxing lodge—cold drink, warm breeze, and the nice feeling that the adventure had officially started.Read more
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Tansania 2025 Traveler
First day on safari: Tarangire
November 22, 2025 in Tanzania ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
The next morning, at 7:00 AM, we hit the road. About two to three hours later we reached Tarangire National Park, the first park of the trip—and my home for the first two days. Tarangire National Park

Most safaris here are done in Toyota Land Cruisers that have been converted for game drives: raised suspension, extra seats for seven passengers, and a pop-up roof so you can stand and get a better view (and better photos).
Despite the size of the car, it was just Abdul and me, which made it feel like a fully personalized safari—no schedule debates, no seat-swapping politics, just “stop whenever something moves.”

On the way, we passed small villages and saw Maasai herding goats and cattle along the roadside. The Maasai are a pastoralist people who primarily live in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania, with their own language, Maa (many also speak Swahili).  Population estimates vary, but it’s roughly hundreds of thousands in Tanzania and over a million in Kenya.
Their social structure and traditions are distinct, and historically polygyny has been common, especially among older men.Read more
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Tansania 2025 Traveler
Tarangire: first impressions
November 22, 2025 in Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
Just a few minutes after entering Tarangire National Park, there was wildlife everywhere: a herd of elephants heading to a waterhole, giraffes in the distance, and plenty of zebras moving through the landscape.

The rhythm of the day was simple. We drove the park tracks and stayed in the car, only getting out at designated rest areas. You stop whenever something looks interesting, either because you spot animals yourself, or because you see other safari cars gathered in one place, which usually means there is something worth seeing.

Soon we were lucky enough to see a leopard. It is one of the harder animals to spot on a game drive, and this one was close, walking right around our car for a short moment before disappearing back into the bush. Later we found lions resting in the shade under a tree, and more zebras roaming through the open areas.

Lunch was a lunch box we brought along, eaten at a rest area with baboons nearby, very alert and clearly hoping for an opportunity. After lunch, we continued driving through different parts of the park, with the landscape constantly changing as we moved along the tracks.

That night we stayed in a tented lodge. “Tent” is slightly misleading. It was more like a small hut, but with fabric walls. From the front we had a wide view out into the wilderness. Surprisingly and pleasantly, there were only a few mosquitoes.

Because the camp is inside the national park and animals can pass through at any time, staff escorted us when walking between the main area and the tent after dark. On the way back after dinner, we even met a large wildebeest on the path, completely unimpressed by us, before it finally moved off into the night.

A few Tarangire facts:
Established: 1970.
Size: about 2,850 km².
Known for: large elephant populations, baobab trees, and the Tarangire River as a key water source, especially in the dry season.Read more
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Trip end
December 3, 2025

Getting there

First day on safari: Tarangire

Tarangire: first impressions