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Elephants bathing in a river on the savannah, with a herd grazing on the bank behind them

The journal

The questions we answer weekly on the phone, written down properly: the migration, the mountain, the coast and the practical detail.

Guides 31Last updated October 2026Written in Arusha

Thirty-two Tanzania travel guides on the things travellers actually ask us in Arusha — the migration, the mountain, the coast, and the practical detail nobody puts on a brochure. No listicles, no borrowed copy.

Each one is a question we answer several times a week on the phone, written down properly once. Fees, entry rules and medical guidance are dated and sourced at the foot of each piece; check them against the official source, such as Tanzania National Parks, before you travel.

Tanzania travel guides by subject

Guests and guides with two Active Kili Top vehicles at the Serengeti National Park signPlanning · Start here

How to choose a Tanzania safari itinerary

How many days, which months, which parks, and whether to fly — the decisions that shape a trip, in the order that matters.

Read the guide →
Wildebeest crowded together at a river in the SerengetiMigration

Where the herds are, month by month

A working calendar for the Serengeti circuit, and how far to trust it.

Read the guide →6 minA line of zebra wading across the Mara RiverMigration

Why a river crossing cannot be booked

What actually happens at the bank, and what any honest operator will tell you.

Read the guide →7 minA wildebeest mother grazing beside her young calf on short green grassMigration

Calving season in Ndutu

Eight thousand births a day, and everything that follows them.

Read the guide →7 minTwo wildebeest facing the camera with the herd behind them on dry grassMigration

The Grumeti, and why it is quieter

June in the Western Corridor, with a fraction of the vehicles.

Read the guide →7 minTwo lions resting along the branch of a tree in Lake Manyara National ParkWildlife

The tree-climbing lions of Lake Manyara

Why they do it, and why you may still not see one.

Read the guide →7 minA baobab tree above dry-season grass and acacia woodland in Tarangire National ParkWildlife

Tarangire in elephant season

The months when the river concentrates everything.

Read the guide →7 minThe view from an open safari vehicle along a bush track at duskWildlife

What changes after dark

Night drives, where they are permitted, and what they turn up.

Read the guide →7 minThe Ngorongoro Crater seen from the rim, with the soda lake on the crater floorWildlife

The rhino of the Ngorongoro Crater

A small, watched population, and how to see them without crowding them.

Read the guide →7 minThe snow-covered summit of Kilimanjaro above the heath and moorlandKilimanjaro

Choosing a route

Lemosho, Machame and Marangu compared on approach, length and success rate.

Read the guide →7 minThe summit of Mount Kilimanjaro rising above a layer of cloudKilimanjaro

Altitude is not a fitness test

Why the strongest walker in the group is often the first to turn back.

Read the guide →7 minA footpath through the rainforest on the lower slopes of Mount KilimanjaroKilimanjaro

What a porter carries

Weight limits, wages, and how to tell a good operator from a cheap one.

Read the guide →7 minTents at a high camp on Kilimanjaro under a clear night skyKilimanjaro

Summit night, hour by hour

Midnight to sunrise on the crater rim, honestly described.

Read the guide →7 minMount Kilimanjaro with snow on the summit, seen across open savannahKilimanjaro

When to climb, and when not to

The two rainy seasons, and the full-moon question.

Read the guide →7 minThe snow-capped summit of Mount Kilimanjaro above a band of cloudKilimanjaro

Diamox: what the guidance says

A practical view on acetazolamide, from the published medical guidance.

Read the guide →7 minTwo dhows moored on a white-sand beach under a palm treeCoast

How many nights on Zanzibar?

Matching the beach to the safari that came before it.

Read the guide →6 minA man sailing a small traditional boat over clear turquoise waterCoast

Pemba or Zanzibar

Two islands, two entirely different holidays.

Read the guide →6 minA whale shark swimming through deep blue waterCoast

Mafia and the whale sharks

The season, the rules, and why it is not a guarantee.

Read the guide →6 minThe Stone Town waterfront in Zanzibar seen from the seaCoast

Stone Town in half a day

What is worth your time between flights.

Read the guide →7 minElephants bathing in a river while wildebeest graze on the bank behind themPractical

When to go, month by month

Dry season, green season and the two rains, region by region.

Read the guide →8 min Two Active Kili Top safari vehicles parked under trees with their guidesPractical

What to pack for a safari

A short list that survives contact with a 15kg bush-flight limit.

Read the guide →8 minOpen passport pages covered in immigration stamps, from our Tanzania travel guides on visasPractical

Visas, vaccinations and yellow fever

What is actually required, and what merely gets repeated online.

Read the guide →8 minA safari guide holding binoculars and smiling in the bushPractical

Tipping in Tanzania

Who, when and how much — without the guesswork.

Read the guide →8 minGuests and guides with two Active Kili Top vehicles at the Serengeti National Park gatePractical

Where park fees go

What you are paying for when a day in the Serengeti costs what it does.

Read the guide →8 minMount Kilimanjaro's snow-capped summit above acacia treesPractical

Insurance that covers 5,895 metres

The altitude exclusion most policies hide, and how to check yours.

Read the guide →8 minTanzanian shilling banknotes of 1,000, 2,000, 5,000 and 10,000 shillingsPractical

Money, cards and cash

What works in Arusha, and what to carry into the parks.

Read the guide →7 minA guide and two guests photographing wildlife in open grasslandPractical

Photographing from a vehicle

Beanbags, angles and the light that makes the difference.

Read the guide →7 minA light aircraft on a dirt airstrip with two men in traditional dress in the foregroundPractical

Internal flights and the 15kg bag

Small aircraft, strict limits, and how to pack around them.

Read the guide →8 minMaasai men and women in red and blue shukas, one man jumping in the adumu danceCulture

Meeting the Maasai without the theatre

How to tell an arranged performance from a real visit.

Read the guide →8 minGuests and guides with two Active Kili Top vehicles at the Serengeti National Park signChoosing

Joining a group, or travelling privately

What the cost difference actually buys you.

Read the guide →7 minThe shaded veranda of a canvas safari tent, with chairs looking out over the grassChoosing

Lodge or mobile camp?

Comfort, position and what you hear at night.

Read the guide →8 minGabriel Nkini with three young children beneath the Stella Point sign, 5,756 m, on Mount KilimanjaroChoosing

Tanzania with children

Minimum ages, drive times, and the camps that mean it.

Read the guide →8 min

Ask us directly

Most of what these pieces cover, a planner will tell you directly and for free. info@activekilitopandsafaris.com, +255 762 914 714, or send us the outline of your trip and we will answer the specific version of the question rather than the general one.

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