Where to stay in Tanzania

Safari lodges

• This is where the money goes. A bed inside the Serengeti runs from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars a night, and the park fees sit on top.
• Book the migration months a year ahead. June to October for the river crossings, January to March for the calving in the southern Serengeti.
• Mobile tented camps follow the herds and are the good-value serious option: canvas, proper beds, no fence, and they move with the season.
• Staying just outside a park is far cheaper and costs you an hour of driving each morning plus a fresh 24-hour park fee timing problem. Ask your operator to explain the arithmetic.
• Public campsites inside the parks are bookable through TANAPA and are the budget route, with facilities to match.

Arusha and Moshi

• Arusha is where safaris start and has everything from hostels to colonial hotels.
• Moshi is quieter and closer to Kilimanjaro, and is where most climbs stage from.
• One night before and one night after is worth booking even on a tight schedule. Flights arrive late and climbs end filthy.

Zanzibar

• Stone Town for two or three nights, in a converted merchant's house with a rooftop.
• Then the coast. Nungwi and Kendwa in the north have swimmable water at all tides; the east coast at Paje and Jambiani has enormous tides that walk the sea out half a kilometre at low water, which surprises people who booked a beach.
• Prices span everything from USD 20 guesthouses to serious resorts, and Zanzibar is where a safari budget recovers.
• Ramadan changes the island noticeably - many restaurants closed in daylight, a quieter atmosphere - which is worth knowing rather than avoiding.

Practical checks

• Mosquito nets and air conditioning are the two things to confirm. A net over the bed is standard and matters.
• Power cuts are routine. Ask whether there is a generator and what hours it runs.
• Hot water in cheaper places is solar, which means it exists in the evening and not at 06:00.
• Confirm what is included on a safari booking in writing: park fees, drinks, transfers, the airport pickup, and tips.