Getting from the airport to the city in Tanzania

This is the airport most safari visitors land at, and it is not near anything.

• Arusha is about 50 km west, roughly an hour. Moshi is about 40 km east, a little less.
• Arrange the transfer with your lodge or safari operator before you fly. Almost every operator includes it, and a driver holding a sign at 03:00 is worth a great deal.
• A taxi is roughly USD 50 to Arusha and is negotiated rather than metered.
• There is a shuttle bus to both towns, cheap and slow, and hard work with luggage after a night flight.
• Get shillings before you leave the airport or make sure your driver takes mobile money. The ATMs in arrivals are the last easy ones.

• Julius Nyerere International is about 12 km from the centre, which is 20 minutes at night and well over an hour in the day.
• Bolt and Uber both work and are far cheaper than the taxi rank. The pickup point is signposted away from the terminal door.
• Airport taxis are fixed price and negotiable, usually in the region of TZS 40,000 to TZS 60,000 to the city.
• Traffic in Dar is genuinely severe. Allow two hours to get back for a flight.
• Terminal 3 is international. Domestic flights sometimes leave from Terminal 2, which is a separate building and a drive away, not a walk.

• Abeid Amani Karume International is about 6 km from Stone Town, 15 minutes.
• Hotel transfers are the norm and most places include or arrange one.
• A taxi to Stone Town is around USD 15, to Nungwi or Paje on the east coast USD 50 to USD 70, and is agreed before you get in.
• Your Zanzibar insurance QR code is checked here, before immigration. Have it on your phone and printed.
• The airport is small and the arrivals hall is chaotic. Ignore anyone who takes your bag without being asked.

• Agree every fare before the car moves, in a stated currency and a stated number.
• Do not use an unmarked car that approaches you inside the terminal.
• Keep small notes. Nobody has change for a USD 100 bill at 04:00.
• Night arrivals are normal here because of the European flight schedules, and the roads are dark and unlit. This is the strongest argument for a pre-booked transfer.