Travelling through Tanzania - roads, airports, railway, bus transportation

Tanzania is promoted as a tourist state. However, the infrastructure in the country is poorly developed. The total length of roads is about 79 thousand kilometers. Just slightly more than 7 000 km of roads are paved with asphalt. In the long rainy season, most dirt roads simply blur, which makes certain regions of the country absolutely cut off from civilization. The traffic in Tanzania is left-handed. Local drivers, pedestrians and animals provoke hundreds of road accidents daily. Public transport is available in the cities. For the most part, these are buses and minibuses. However, it is worth considering that the entire car fleet in the country is quite worn out. Therefore, tourists often move by taxi.

In small towns, the so-called public pick-ups and rickshaws cruise. Do not rely too much on the punctuality of local drivers, as schedules exist only in the capital and in several large tourist cities. Local people most often move on donkeys or on foot. All cities are connected by a special transport, Dala-dala. These are a kind of trucks that transport people. The speed of such transport is very low. You have to forget about comfort too. However, the cost of a ticket for such transportation is minimal, and is accessible to everyone. Pick-ups and minibuses will move between regions way faster. Despite the rather worn out road transport, the air network in Tanzania is well developed. The plane can fly from the capital to anywhere in the country. To the date, there are more than fifty small airfields. In the savannah, a popular transport is an air balloon.

All major cities of the country are connected by railways. Their total length is about 4 000 kilometers. Trains vary in class. They have a first class, a sitting second class, a sleeping second class and a sitting third class. The first two classes of trains are characterized by minimal comfort options. Cars of the third class are not equipped with air conditioning and are always crowded. The price of the ticket is from 1 dollar to 5 dollars. The ticket allows you to cover a distance of up to 100 kilometers. Ferries regularly ply between the islands and the mainland of Tanzania. The vehicle can be either an old and rusty water transport or a relatively modern and comfortable ship. Therefore, the cost of tickets varies significantly.

There are about fifty airports in Tanzania, but only few of them serve for international communication. The largest air harbor in Tanzania is Julius Nyerere airport. It is located on the outskirts of the city of Dar es Salaam. You can get to the city by pre-ordered transfer, by taxi or by local public transport. It is worth noting that Julius Nyerere is considered to be the largest in East Africa. The airport of Kilimanjaro is next in the rating for servicing international flights. It is located in the north-east of Tanzania. The peculiarity of this air harbor is a rather large runway, the length of which is about 3.6 km. At the moment, the terminal of this airport is rebuilt to increase the capacity. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

Zanzibar international airport is on the eponymous island. Its annual capacity is more than 1.5 million people. It welcomes both scheduled flights and seasonal charter flights. To get from the airport to the city, you can use either transfer, or public transport. You can grab a taxi too. The distance to the city is about 5 km. The next international airport is Mwanza. Flights from almost all countries come here. This airport also serves flights from Tanzania to Asia. It is worth noting that the capital of the country, Dodoma, also has a fairly large airport. However, it serves only domestic flights. Authorities just plan to increase its capacity, reconstruct terminals and assign the international harbor status.

Despite the fact that Tanzania has been considered a tourist country for the last 15 years, the infrastructure is still developing now. In total, there are about 80 thousands of roads, but only 8% have an asphalted pavement. This is the main problem for traveling during the rainy season. After all, the ground is washed away by the water, and many regions remain isolated from the whole world for weeks. It is worth noting that a car is quite a popular mean of transport  in the country. However, imperfection of traffic rules can often frighten a guest from Asia, Europe or America. The traffic in Tanzania is left-handed, but drivers can easily perform any maneuvers they need without paying any attention to other traffic participants. Equally, pedestrians and animals, going out on the road, don’t bother about the roadway. That's why, driving in Tanzania is undesirable. If you still want to travel by car, it's better to hire an experienced driver who can successfully maneuver on the road and avoid collisions and road accidents.

The public transport in this African country is even worse. In large cities, you can travel by bus and minibus. However, it is worth considering that the state of most public transport scares many tourists away from a trip. In small villages and suburbs, public transport is represented by pick-up trucks, rickshaws, and route taxis. At the same time, you will not find any timetable, since transport moves chaotically. Due to hazards on the road, routes can be declined. Tourists are recommended to travel by Scandinavian buses. Of course, they’re not that comfortable as European ones, but there are air-conditioners in the cabin. An amount of passengers is just equal to an amount of seats, while the local public transport is overloaded. In the most remote regions, cities can be reached by Dala-dala. This is a special kind of public transport. In other words, this is a fixed-route taxi made of a truck. The cost of a trip is simply miserable. However, be prepared for the fact that this transport is very slow and absolutely devoid of comfort. At the same time, this is almost the only way to get from remote villages to big towns. Private pickups can be an alternative.

Tanzania consists of a number of islands and archipelagoes, so the sea service is very popular here. The main tourist destinations for water are from Dar es Salaam to the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba. Depending on the class of the vessel, the journey time can be from three to five hours. The cost of a one way ferry ticket to Zanzibar ranges from $30 to $47. Everything depends on the ferry itself. Pemba can be reached for about 50-78 dollars. Ships of the first class have air conditioning; passengers are offered tea and snacks. This mean of transport has a schedule, and, as a rule, ferries comply with it. Air transport is also in great demand among the local population and tourists. In total, there are about fifty small airfields in the country. However, only a few of them have a high capacity and are equated to international airports. In the savanna, you can fly on a real air balloon.

The rail transport in Tanzania is not perfect, but it has excellent prospects for development if we compare it to other countries in Africa. Trains are divided into 4 classes, depending on the degree of comfort. The first class and the second sitting class have more or less tolerable conditions for travel. The last two classes can’t boast with any comfort. Much more passengers comparing to the number of seats, go with a third sitting class. Therefore, the trains are very crowded. The lack of air conditioners also affects a trip. It should be noted that an approximate schedule of the trains rarely coincides with reality. In Tanzania, trains are often late for 7-10 hours. For the most part, this is due to the fact that railroad track is in catastrophic state, and the behavior of local citizens during departure often provokes various troubles. The fare for 100 km is from 1 to 5 dollars. In recent years, the state has invested in ​​transport, so tourists can travel around the country with great comfort and admire the spectacular nature.