Premium: Safari to Shore Journey in Hidden Tanzania

At Much Better Adventures, we work hard to accommodate dietary requirements and allergies so your trip is safe, inclusive, and enjoyable. That said, options can vary by country, location, and accommodation, and in some places, options may be limited or unavailable. The information below has been provided by your host so you’re fully informed about what will be possible on your trip depending on your individual requirements. This information should be read carefully prior to your trip to ensure that you are adequately prepared for the situation ‘on the ground’.

Once you have booked your trip, please fill out your passenger information form asap with any dietary requirements. Once you complete your passenger information, your dietary needs and any allergies are automatically shared with your host and, in turn, your guide. Please submit this as early as possible so they can plan accordingly and deliver the best experience. Please also remind your guide about your dietary requirements upon arrival, as mentioning these in person allows your guide to comprehend individual preferences and limitations as soon as you arrive.

BACKGROUND

Throughout your journey, you’ll be well-fed with fresh, hearty meals that reflect the landscapes you’re exploring. Days typically begin with a generous breakfast of tropical fruit, eggs cooked to order, baked goods, and rich Tanzanian coffee, ready before early morning game drives or foot safaris. Lunches vary from relaxed spreads at camp to picnic-style meals served in wild settings, with fresh salads, grilled meats, or local staples to keep you fueled for the afternoon. Come evening, you’ll sit down to three-course dinners often prepared with Swahili, Indian, and British influences, featuring catch of the day, seasonal veg, and homemade desserts.

On safari, meals are timed around your activities and served while out and about exploring the national parks. There’s always something cold to drink at sundown on this trip, and plenty of fruit and snacks between activities. At the coast, expect refined but relaxed dining with an emphasis on seafood, spices, and slow meals enjoyed with your toes in the sand.

SPECIAL DIETS

Vegetarian
Vegetarian diets can be catered for on this trip, provided that your host is made aware in advance.

Vegan
Vegan diets can be catered for on this trip, provided that your host is made aware in advance.

Kosher
Fully certified Kosher kitchens and supervision are rare and usually cannot be guaranteed unless expressly confirmed in advance by your host. Vegetarian or vegan options can often be the most reliable alternative if this is acceptable to you. Please read the related sections above.

Halal
Certified Halal supply varies by location and may not always be possible. Vegetarian or vegan options can often be the most reliable alternative if this is acceptable to you. Please read the related sections above.

INTOLERANCES

Gluten Free (for Celiac, please see Allergies section below)
Gluten-free diets can be catered for on this trip, provided that your host is made aware in advance.

Lactose Free
Lactose-free diets can be catered for on this trip, provided that your host is made aware in advance.

ALLERGIES

Our host has confirmed that they are able to accommodate mild allergies to the 14 allergens identified by the UK Food Standards Agency, where these are disclosed in advance. However, if you have a severe or life-threatening food allergy, please get in touch with our CX team prior to booking to discuss whether your requirements can be accommodated safely on this trip. This will allow us to carefully consider the sensitivity and severity of your allergy, the available provision on the trip, and the accessibility of medical care should a reaction occur. Your safety is always our top priority. Please note that when traveling overseas, local ingredients, food preparation methods, and labeling standards may vary, particularly in remote areas. It is also worth noting that any allergies may result in more limited options and repetitive provision in some areas. Whilst your guide will help communicate dietary requirements where possible, customers remain responsible for managing their own allergies during the trip.

Nyerere National Park (formerly called Selous) is the largest national park in Africa, with a rich variety of habitats and an impressive range of wildlife. Game viewing is best in the dry season (June to October), when animals concentrate around rivers and waterholes and the vegetation thins out. You’ve got a good chance of seeing four of the Big Five here: elephants, lions, buffalo and leopards, along with giraffes, zebras, hippos, crocodiles, wild dogs and plenty of plains game. Rhino are rarely seen in Nyerere, so a full Big Five is unlikely, but the diversity more than makes up for it. Walking safaris and boat safaris add a different perspective to the traditional game drive.

Saadani National Park offers a wilder, more off-the-beaten-path experience. It’s the only park in East Africa with a beach, where you can spot giraffes and elephants with the Indian Ocean as your backdrop. Game is less concentrated than in Nyerere, but sightings can still be special, with baboons playing on the beach, lions hidden in palm thickets, and crocodiles sunning themselves on riverbanks. Birdlife is excellent year-round, and the park is home to ongoing lion and turtle conservation work. It’s a great contrast to Nyerere, more about raw wilderness and variety than ticking off sightings.

Outside of the dry season, from November to March, the parks are greener and quieter, with fantastic birdwatching and atmospheric skies for photography. Wildlife is still active, but a bit more spread out, and short rains are possible – often in the late afternoon. It’s a lovely time to experience the landscape at its lushest, with fewer vehicles on the tracks and a more relaxed pace.

Nyerere and Saadani offer a very different safari experience compared to Tanzania’s more famous parks. While the Serengeti and Ngorongoro are iconic (for good reason), they’re also among the busiest wildlife destinations in Africa. Nyerere and Saadani are far less visited, allowing for a more peaceful, immersive, and crowd-free experience. Nyerere National Park (part of the wider Selous Game Reserve) is Africa’s largest national park, with vast, untouched landscapes and exceptional wildlife. Here, safaris feel more exploratory, with long stretches where you may not see another vehicle all day. It’s also one of two parks in Tanzania – the other being Saadani – offering boat safaris, providing a completely different perspective on the wildlife.

Saadani National Park is uniquely positioned where the African bush meets the Indian Ocean. It’s the only national park in East Africa with a coastline, offering the rare chance to combine traditional game drives with beachside wilderness, something you simply won’t find in the Serengeti or Ngorongoro.

This combination is ideal for travelers who want a quieter, more exclusive safari experience; value space, solitude, and a sense of discovery; and are looking for a fresh alternative to the classic safari circuit.

The tap water in Tanzania is not safe for international travelers to drink. Your host will provide drinking water throughout, while each of the accommodations on the trip also have safe drinking water for guests. You'll need to bring along a water bottle to fill up with to have with you on the activities, journeys, and game drives on this trip.

You'll have one main guide throughout the trip, a driver for the overland vehicle, and a boat captain and crew for the Zanzibar archipelago section of the trip. You'll also have dedicated safari guides for each of the safaris in Nyerere and Saadani National Parks.

Due to the geography of this trip, starting in Dar es Salaam and ending in Stone Town on Zanzibar, it is not possible to leave excess luggage at the start of the trip to be collected later. However, your luggage is transferred for you throughout the trip.

The boat used on the Zanzibar archipelago is a small motorboat, capable of carrying up to 20 people including crew. It has a small deck for relaxing on and an enclosed seating area for whenever the crossings are slightly choppier. The motorboat is able to reach the islands and sandbars on this section of the trip easier than a traditional sailboat without relying on wind speeds and direction.

Your host is an expert in adventure travel in Tanzania, with three decades of experience running trips all over the country. If adverse conditions affect any of the regions or activities on this itinerary, alternatives will be arranged. You have an experienced crew and skipper for the boat section of the trip, and this part has been planned with marine conditions in mind in terms of times of day for certain crossings. If the sea conditions are not fit for certain plans during this section of the trip, your skipper will have sole control of changing the route or timings as necessary to maintain the level of experience and keep everyone safe.

Sure can! Over 70% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.

Our team of Adventure Hunters co-create exclusive adventures which are run by highly vetted, specialist hosts. The trip is run by our trusted host partner in the destination. We only work with independent, local, in-destination experts who know the very best places to explore and how to stay safe. Read more information about the local teams we partner with. You’ll be introduced to the host straight after making a booking via the Much Better Adventures platform.

Much Better Adventures refer to the UK Government’s official travel advice when designing trips and monitoring trip operations. We recommend that all customers review the practical information available on the UK Government’s FCDO website, where you can find up-to-date advice by searching for your destination(s).

If you are based in the United States, you can also check the latest travel advisories from the U.S. Department of State.

For customers joining from other international locations, we recommend checking the official travel advice issued by your country of residence, as guidance may vary.

We recommend checking out the country-specific information and also talking to a travel nurse.

We automatically convert prices from the local currency that a host receives to your chosen currency. We update our exchange rates daily, so prices displayed on the site are subject to currency fluctuations, which is why you may see them change over time.

If you wish to change the currency you pay in, head to the bottom of the page.

All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. You must be over 18 to join one of our trips.

You're always in good company on one of our adventures.

Our trips typically consist of a mix of solo travelers and small groups of 2 or 3 friends, with most in their 30s-50s.

Our sociable adventures are solo-friendly by design and naturally attract outdoorsy people with a shared mindset; a love for adventure, a desire to push themselves, and meet awesome, like-minded people along the way.

It’s this camaraderie that has so often turned a great adventure into a life-changing one.

Don't just take our word for it:

• 95% of people rate the group dynamics on our trips 5/5
• 90% of people recommend joining a trip to make new friends
• 75% of people have met people on our trips that they would now consider friends

See here for more info about the Much Better Adventures tribe.