Should you self-drive in Tanzania?

renting our 4X4 vehicle in Arusha

If you are asking the question, the answer is "Probably not ...," but you can decide for yourself.

getting instructions on how to properly use a jack

My husband Vince and I and his best friend Ric from the USA all just returned from our Tanzanian self-drive safari adventure. This was Ric's third visit with us in Africa. It was the second time we spent it almost completely on the road.

Last year we embarked on an EPIC ROAD TRIP starting in Cape Town driving up the entire west coast of South Africa into Namibia and then across Botswana back to Johannesburg. This year we drove through Northern Tanzania. We began and ended in Arusha. Over our two weeks together,  we visited Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Tarangire, and Serengeti National Parks as well as the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the Ngorongoro Crater.

Over the course of the trip we talked a lot about the differences between the two road trips. (We had a lot of time to chat in the truck!) We concluded that if we had done the self-drive trips in reverse order - Tanzania first, South Africa, Namibia and Botswana second - there never would have been a second trip. We really needed the confidence-building experience last year in order to take on Tanzania this year. And we would have been so sorry if we had missed the opportunity to tour Northern Tanzania this way. We had a blast!

pop-up for safari viewing

Still, Tanzania was a much tougher self-drive experience than South Africa. The roads are much worse, the signage is poor, the roads are under-charted on GPS navigation systems and printed maps, travel information is harder to access on the internet ... and you cannot get ice anywhere!

Maybe its the Voortrekker mentality in South Africa. South African travelers are fiercely independent and I think it is reflected in the country's tourism infrastructure. Self-catering accommodations are plentiful. The roads and signage are pretty good. The 4X4 rentals are better equipped for emergencies. The National Parks are well managed. It was just easier to travel independently in Southern Africa than it was in East Africa.

We came away with the distinct impression that Tanzania is really just not set-up for self-drive. During the entire two week period, we only ran into one other couple who were self-driving around Tanzania. Everyone else was on a guided tour.

we took a helicopter from Juneau to Mendenhall Glacier

It reminded me a lot of our experience traveling through Alaska when Vince and I took our sons there on an independent three-week trip in 1998. Initially, I found it very hard to plan an independent trip to Alaska. The state was just not set up for it. We were told that most people who visit Alaska did so as part of an organized tour and/or cruise and in many ways the infrastructure reflected that. Most of the hotels and transport were outright owned and managed by the major cruise lines - Princess, Holland America, etc. (It may have changed since then, I do not know. I have no one to ask. I have never met anyone else before or since our trip who has traveled to Alaska independently like we did.)

we stayed for a few memorable days in Denali NP
when we took the scenic train from Anchorage to Fairbanks

But packaged tours are not how we roll. I bought a travel book called Milepost Alaska, plotted our desired itinerary and for the most part communicated directly with the hotels, B&B's and National Parks for accommodation and lodging. I booked all of our transport myself - seaplanes, air shuttles, rental car, ferries, small expedition cruise ships and scenic trains.

It definitely ended up costing us quite a lot more to travel this way, but I am convinced that we had a much better experience seeing Alaska independently than we ever would have had on a packaged tour.

we took a boat to Kenai Fjords NP

took another boat up the Inside Passage and into Glacier Bay NP where we also kayaked!

we drove the Dalton Highway up to Prudhoe Bay
but we flew in an air shuttle back to Fairbanks

Alex and our seaplane after we flew from Anchorage to Katmai NP

a well-equipped safari vehicle should include perforated steel plates

Here are some of our tips and observations from our Tanzanian self-drive safari adventure to help you decide for yourself whether self-drive is right for you.

Make sure your vehicle is well-equipped. Ours was woefully not. We discussed this with our rental company Fortes when we dropped off the truck. They are the best in the business and our agent Sarfarez was very open to suggestions on how to improve the vehicles they rent for self-drive safaris. So this is for him as well as for you.

 First, this is what we were given by Fortes:

• a short wave radio (Not a huge help as it turned out.),
• two spare tires and a jack (Thankfully we didn't need them!),
• a spare gas tank (You will need the extra gas storage. Gas stations are few and far between. As an example, there is only one gas station in the entire Serengeti National Park!) 
• a plastic cooler (Not really helpful. We couldn't get or buy ice anywhere outside of Arusha.)
• a tow cable (We needed it!)
• a first aid kit.

This is what else we should also have been given:

• a small generator,
• an air compressor to inflate and deflate the tires,
• at least one shovel, 
• a tool kit which includes a vice grip and a crescent wrench,
• perforated steel plates (We could have used them when we got stuck in the mud.),
• an inverter (We brought our own and used it.),
• a mini-refrigerator (Our South African rental last year came with one and it was nice!),
• a high-powered hand beam for driving at night (The truck headlamps are inadequate.),
• rope, duct tape and cable ties (We brought some and used them.),
• jerry cans, a siphon and a funnel,
• tire chains or crampons for ascending muddy roads,
• a hand ax,
• a welder - only partially kidding. The other self-driving couple we met broke their truck's gear shift while driving in the Northern Serengeti and needed emergency welding to continue.

our elaborate charging station

You should also bring your own work gloves, lots of insect repellent, lots of water, a pocket knife and a lighter, a clothesline and clothespins, your GPS loaded with Tracks4Africa, paper maps, and power converters and power strips to charge all your cell phones and camera batteries, iPads and laptops concurrently. In fact, it would be a good idea to bring spare camera batteries too so you can use your camera while your spare battery is charging. Most of the lodges and tented camps use generators and you are severely limited on available time and electricity for charging.

on the road again

I hope I haven't dissuaded you from taking on a Tanzanian self-drive safari adventure. We are so very glad we did it!

Next year, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan, Ric?