A Travel and vacations forum. TravelBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » TravelBanter forum » Travel Regions » Africa
Site Map Home Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Tanzania info please?



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old March 14th, 2005, 09:22 PM
elliot
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Tanzania info please?

We are planning on going to Tanzania for a couple of weeks and maybe 4
or 5 days in Zanzibar, and wouldlke to stay at a on the beach resort
close enough or in a town where we can visit shop, etc.

Any experiences or thoughts you might offer are more than welcome at
this stage of planning as we are totally ignorant regarding Tanzania or
Zanzibar.
Reni and Elliot



  #2  
Old March 14th, 2005, 10:57 PM
Liz
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

In message
(elliot) wrote:

We are planning on going to Tanzania for a couple of weeks and maybe 4
or 5 days in Zanzibar, and wouldlke to stay at a on the beach resort
close enough or in a town where we can visit shop, etc.


I hope you don't mind me saying this, but Tanzania isn't the most obvious
place to go to "stay at a beach resort and go shopping".

You might be better off if you looked at the Kenya coast which is more
geared up to this sort of tourism, but someone else will have to give you
details. It's easy to fly or sail from Mombasa to Stone Town on Zanzibar.

There's an expensive resort called Ras Kutani Beach Resort "a few miles
from the south of Dar es Salaam on a magnificent stretch of tanzania's
unspoilt and deserted coastline".

There are also expensive resorts e.g. Mbemba Island Lodge, Fundu Lagoon
Resort on Pemba Island, Kinasi on Mafia Island, these count as Tanzania. I
don't know what 'shopping' you'd get outside the resorts, though. I've only
been to Chumbe Island: there aren't any shops there.
Mind you, there are some endemic birds on Pemba, so the trip might not be
totally fruitless... g


Any experiences or thoughts you might offer are more than welcome at
this stage of planning as we are totally ignorant regarding Tanzania or
Zanzibar.

It might help us if you'd share why you decided on Tanzania as a destination?
In any case, I found the Bradt Guides to Tz and Zanzibar very useful.


Liz



--
Virtual Liz now at
http://www.v-liz.com
Kenya; Tanzania; Namibia; India; Seychelles; Galapagos
"I speak of Africa and golden joys"
  #3  
Old March 15th, 2005, 03:40 PM
elliot
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Liz and all.
Thank you...I appreciate your advice.
Living in New Jersey, we do enjoy seeing other interesting places.

We wanted Zanzibar for a few days as it has always sounded interesting
and we believed would be interesting to see. the beaches of the Indian
Ocean and Stone Town

So we felt Tanzania would be a good place to stay on our journey there.
Our intent is to enjoy getting there as well as being there, to make the
most out of the trip. Reni does want to see Mt Kilimanjaro (sorry for
spelling).

I am an older man and enjoy sitting at outside bars and cafes on warm
afternoons and seeing interesting people, as we perhaps spend a bit of
money we sometimes find local people will be more friendly and talk to
us, and I do enjoy rubbing shoulders with people from different
lifestyles, sort of something like eastern Europe was 30 years ago.
We, especially I, do love Bangkok, and Rio, any place warm and
different and not mainstream USA..

By shopping I mean local markets, walk throughs, local people. (On the
Amazon in the small primitive town of Letiticia we enjoyed seeing the
"natives" selling their unusual food etc, somethings you don't see
often.)

"Expensive" resorts are sometimes quite western in character...so we do
like something that retains a bit of the taste of the land we are in yet
provides a safe and healthy place to stay

Anyone wishing to write me privately is fine with me.


I will look into Kenya, maybe train travel to Tanzania, but I do want to
be careful and not spend all of my time getting to different places and
not be there long enough to enjoy them....we have quite a bit of
homerwork to do. .



  #4  
Old March 15th, 2005, 05:07 PM
Rita Daggett
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"elliot" wrote in message
Thank you...I appreciate your advice.
Living in New Jersey, we do enjoy seeing other interesting places.

We wanted Zanzibar for a few days as it has always sounded interesting
and we believed would be interesting to see. the beaches of the Indian
Ocean and Stone Town

So we felt Tanzania would be a good place to stay on our journey there.
Our intent is to enjoy getting there as well as being there, to make the
most out of the trip. Reni does want to see Mt Kilimanjaro (sorry for
spelling).


I think what is puzzling Liz (and its certainly puzzling me) is that the
reason people go to East Africa is usually to see the wildlife and go on
safari, and you havent mentioned this.
You can get a good view (weather permitting) of Mt Kilimanjaro from Amboseli
(Kenya); we also got a very good view of it when we flew from Arusha to
Nairobi; if you want to see it from Tanzania you'll have to go to the
appropriate place(s).
Tanzania is HUGE so your comment 'tanzania would be a good place to stay on
our way [to Zanzibar]' also sounds odd.

--
Rita Daggett


  #5  
Old March 15th, 2005, 08:06 PM
elliot
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

As we want Zanzibar, Tanzania seemed an excellent place to start, we
will probably stay for starters in Dar es Salaam...maybe we are wrong
but its the present plan. If someone said we are going to the USA and to
visit Niagra falls...I doubt I would respond that America is a huge
country...and you can see it just as well from Canada...I might just
assume they would be going to Buffalo and really not feel it was
important to go beyond that. Im not sure its odd to discuss the country
your going to...without providing your entire itinerary.

I always appreciate the input of info, but to ask why seems a bit odd
dont you think. .

Assuming I have an excellent reason for going to Tanzania, despite that
it seems like a really odd and stupid choice to anyone else, is it all
that unreasonable to still ask for information regarding my choice?

Many subjects of interest as well as lack of interest I didnt choose to
mention, including animals, safaris, wildlife...ad infinitum. Again I
surely didnt expect this to puzzle anyone. I was actually in my own
stupid way thinking someone might respond with info about the things I
did mention.

Now without more info perhaps many of you cant or wont possibly assist
me in any way, my loss of course...so be it, and for your info, we
probably will also go to Kenya...we may even fly on to India...see I
left quite a bit of information out...but I didnt expect this to puzzle
anyone..



  #6  
Old March 15th, 2005, 09:55 PM
Liz
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

In message
(elliot) wrote:


Assuming I have an excellent reason for going to Tanzania, despite that
it seems like a really odd and stupid choice to anyone else, is it all
that unreasonable to still ask for information regarding my choice?

I gave you as much info as I could (based on your parameters) re Zanzibar.
I've been twice, I really enjoyed it.
Some pix on my website starting at
http://www.v-liz.com/safari/tanzania...bar/zanhom.htm
The first time, we went after a safari in Tanzania and flew from Selous via
Dar.
The second time we went before a safari in Kenya, and flew up to Mombasa
drectly from Zanzibar.

But it doesn't have bars where you can sit out on the pavement/sidewalk.
(Unless there's one attached to the Serena Hotel?)
Stone Town's USP is its winding, very narrow streets.
The few local bar-type establishments which we saw were tiny (small
living-room sized), dark and virtually empty.

As far as I could make out, all of the 'resort-type' hotels are geared towards
tourists and expats, not locals.

There is a market, probably fairly interesting, but the day we went, it was
hammering down with rain (July)

Dar isn't on most tourist's itineraries, and doesn't cater much for tourists.

If anyone has info which can show otherwise, I'm sure they'll be along.
I have a friend who was born and brought up in Dar, and goes back to Tz
fairly often: he doesn't visit Dar, which I suppose gives a clue...

You'll have no problem finding locals to talk to in Zanzibar: lots of young
men surround you trying to sell you something or tout some service. They're
not unpleasant, but very persistent.

It didn't seem to me that many locals who weren't involved in tourism spoke
much English.
However, if you want to learn Kiswahili, you're going to the right place.

It's not what you wanted to hear, but that's how it is.

There's (or was) a nice cafe-bar on the beach called Blues or something
similar, but again it's geared towards tourists/expats. Lots of expats
working in East Africa have R&R on Zanzibar.

Maybe Lamu would suit you better?
Someone else will have to advise, since I haven't been to Lamu (yet).
I know Hans Georg has been and likes it, but you'd maybe have to start a
Lamu thread: he doesn't usually post to Tanzania subject lines.

Slainte

Liz

PS:
Rita's right,
The *best* and classic view of Kilimanjaro is from Amboseli in Kenya.
Allow youself a few days: it's often covered by clouds.

--
Virtual Liz now at http://www.v-liz.com
Kenya; Tanzania; Namibia; India; Seychelles; Galapagos
"I speak of Africa and golden joys"
  #7  
Old March 15th, 2005, 11:10 PM
Whitedog
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Tue, 15 Mar 2005 20:55:39 GMT, Liz wrote:

Hey Liz, just adding to your comments

I gave you as much info as I could (based on your parameters) re Zanzibar.
I've been twice, I really enjoyed it.
Some pix on my website starting at
http://www.v-liz.com/safari/tanzania...bar/zanhom.htm
The first time, we went after a safari in Tanzania and flew from Selous via
Dar.


Le Selous is a must in our book, if anyone has the opportunity to go
there, It's so much more exclusive than almost anywhere else in East
Africa, for now....

The second time we went before a safari in Kenya, and flew up to Mombasa
drectly from Zanzibar.

But it doesn't have bars where you can sit out on the pavement/sidewalk.
(Unless there's one attached to the Serena Hotel?)
Stone Town's USP is its winding, very narrow streets.
The few local bar-type establishments which we saw were tiny (small
living-room sized), dark and virtually empty.

As far as I could make out, all of the 'resort-type' hotels are geared towards
tourists and expats, not locals.


You have it there. If you want to "meet and greet" locals then just
walking about will do that,learn a few words of Swahili and people
will respond kindly to you.

There is a market, probably fairly interesting, but the day we went, it was
hammering down with rain (July)


More than one market but really well worth the walk wherever you go.

You'll have no problem finding locals to talk to in Zanzibar: lots of young
men surround you trying to sell you something or tout some service. They're
not unpleasant, but very persistent.

Wherever you go in Africa there'll be people who try to sell you
something or offer a service...then again, some of them will be
genuinely interested people who just want to say hello or practice a
bit of English. Stone Town is full of the latter, smile, enjoy, and
walk and talk. Zanzibar will give you more than you can ever return.

It didn't seem to me that many locals who weren't involved in tourism spoke
much English.
However, if you want to learn Kiswahili, you're going to the right place.

It's not what you wanted to hear, but that's how it is.

There's (or was) a nice cafe-bar on the beach called Blues or something
similar, but again it's geared towards tourists/expats. Lots of expats
working in East Africa have R&R on Zanzibar.


Blues is closed at the moment (will report back if things change
there- have direct contact with site owners)
Forodhani gardens food market is THE place to eat at night though and
please don't leave Zanzibar without trying Mishkaki (grilled ,
marinated meat kebabs) or an octopus curry.

If you do get to go to Zanzibar, be prepared to be surprised and the
magic will find you too, it really is a special, unique place.

safari njema
--
.--~~,__
:-....,-------`~~'._.' Th*s s*g *s s*ff*r*ng fr*m *rr*t*bl* v*w*l syndr*m*
`-,,, ,_ ;'~U'
_,-' ,'`-__; '--.
(_/'~~ ''''(;

  #8  
Old March 15th, 2005, 11:28 PM
Pat Anderson
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

In message , Rita Daggett
writes
"elliot" wrote in message
Thank you...I appreciate your advice.
Living in New Jersey, we do enjoy seeing other interesting places.

We wanted Zanzibar for a few days as it has always sounded interesting
and we believed would be interesting to see. the beaches of the Indian
Ocean and Stone Town

So we felt Tanzania would be a good place to stay on our journey there.
Our intent is to enjoy getting there as well as being there, to make the
most out of the trip. Reni does want to see Mt Kilimanjaro (sorry for
spelling).


I think what is puzzling Liz (and its certainly puzzling me) is that the
reason people go to East Africa is usually to see the wildlife and go on
safari, and you havent mentioned this.
You can get a good view (weather permitting) of Mt Kilimanjaro from Amboseli
(Kenya); we also got a very good view of it when we flew from Arusha to
Nairobi; if you want to see it from Tanzania you'll have to go to the
appropriate place(s).
Tanzania is HUGE so your comment 'tanzania would be a good place to stay on
our way [to Zanzibar]' also sounds odd.

I`ve read what Liz and Rita have said Elliot, both of whom are well
travelled in Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar. Their advice is good.
Perhaps I can give you another idea. I was lucky enough to live in Kenya
for a number of years and we used to go to Malindi, on the Kenya coast,
every few weeks for a few days. We got to know a lot of people. My
husband used to go onto a sort of "village green" in the afternoon
and meet up with local people, have a Coca Cola and a chat. There are a
few places in Malindi where you could do that and just watch the world
go by.
We have only been to Zanzibar once, we stayed in the Serena hotel in
Stonetown, which was lovely but no sidewalk bars. It`s true that most
places are geared up to tourists. It`s really down to how you want to
spend your time there. I hope you can come up with a solution that is
going to suit you. I`m sure we can all help when you come up with an
itinerary, meanwhile if we can help we will of course.
Pat
--
Pat Anderson
  #9  
Old March 16th, 2005, 07:37 PM
Hans-Georg Michna
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Tue, 15 Mar 2005 20:55:39 GMT, Liz
wrote:

Maybe Lamu would suit you better?
Someone else will have to advise, since I haven't been to Lamu (yet).
I know Hans Georg has been and likes it, but you'd maybe have to start a
Lamu thread: he doesn't usually post to Tanzania subject lines.


Liz, Elliott,

yes, reading this thread I already thought of Lamu where you can
actually sit in small street restaurants.

Elliot, I think you could like Lamu. It is a town on an island
off the shore of Kenya.

Usually people visiting Kenya go on safari, i.e. move through a
few quite luxurious lodges in nature reserves and drive out in
the mornings and afternoons to see lions and some other animals.
In between some drop into Lamu to spend a few days there. I've
done that too, repeatedly. It's nice.

This makes for a somewhat expensive, but certainly thrilling and
also relaxing vacation.

Hans-Georg

--
No mail, please.
  #10  
Old March 19th, 2005, 07:19 PM
Giovanni
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Hi
I am just returned from a trip in Tanzania (lake Manyara, Serengeti,
Ngorongoro, Lake Natron)
This is my second trip in those places ...and all was very ok.
I was very luky because I found an excellent agency with a very good driver
(I saw many animals in different place and make very good photos!) and an
excellent cook (I made a mixed safary - lodge and camp) : he isn't a normal
cook but a very chef!!!. I eat very good plates and also too much!!!.
In accordance with my experience (I went by myself in South Africa,
Zimbabwe, Uganda, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Malawi) to make a very good trip in
Tanzania and Kenia is very important to book with a good agency. It not must
be a big agency; could better a little local agency. It is very important
that they love their job , nature, game and people !!!. So I advice you (to
avoid problem) to ask (before booking) notice about the trip also to other
people that used the agency !!.
I staied very well and if someone would like notice about no problem to
write me an email (also private) : I will try give you my advice about. I
have no profit ...but I am a traveller and I would like that also other
people will be happy about their trip!!!
By
Giovanni





 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
INFO ABOUT MONGOLIE bertotj Asia 0 December 29th, 2004 07:56 PM
Info for HK Travelers Chopstks Asia 0 June 16th, 2004 06:59 PM
Southern Tanzania Safari Stops--Saadani, Mikumi, Selous?? MK Carson Africa 1 April 23rd, 2004 09:06 PM
Need info on hotel in Japan (Ebisu). Matt Costanza Asia 2 February 3rd, 2004 01:15 PM
Need info on shore excursions for Carnival Legend ChiliJim Cruises 4 October 31st, 2003 02:31 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 11:10 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 TravelBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.