Tanzania is a huge country with three major international airports that are the main entry points into the country.

Tanzania can also be entered by land from neighbouring countries, but public transport across the border is virtually non-existent and is more accessible to those travelling by car or taxi.

By air

Tanzania has good international connections, particularly with the Middle East, Europe and surrounding countries in Africa.

Direct flights go to 3 major airports. We describe our own experiences with transport or services in the links below.

• Zanzibar ZNZ - busy airport with frequent connections to Europe (including many charter flights), Dubai and Oman
• Dar es Salaam DAR - Tanzania's largest airport with direct flights to Europe, neighbouring countries, the Middle East or India
• Kilimanjaro JRO - a small international airport with direct flights to Europe, the Middle East and Kenya

When are the lowest airfares?

Generally, you have the best chance of bargains at the turn of the peak season.

Usually, the highest airfares are during Tanzania's peak season (July to September), but also during the northern hemisphere's winter season (December and February).

Most of the promotional offers occur in March, April, May, October and November, when the rainy season in Tanzania prevails.

Find out the prices of flights to Tanzania in high season

What airlines fly to Tanzania?

Many airlines operate international flights to Tanzania. Local airline Air Tanzania flies mainly to African destinations, the Middle East, India and China, but is known for frequent delays.

Most airlines fly to Tanzania from Europe, for example:

• Condor, Air France, KLM, Turkish Airlines
• ✨ Check out our review of Condor Business Class Prime Seat from Africa to Frankfurt

There are also numerous airlines from the Middle East, which also offer great connecting options to Europe, Asia and Australia:

• Flydubai, Qatar Airways, Emirates, Oman Air, Etihad Airways

Tanzania is also served by major African airlines, which also offer great connecting flights further afield to Europe, Asia or even North America:

• Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways, Egyptair

Take advantage of multi-city flights

Several airlines serve all 3 of Tanzania's international airports and some of the airlines offer convenient multi-city flights.

This means that you buy one ticket with, for example, you arriving in Zanzibar and departing from Kilimanjaro.

This is just the most popular combination for beach holidays and visiting safaris, which are mostly located just around Kilimanjaro JRO airport.

The best value open-jaw flights to Tanzania can usually be purchased on the websites of these airlines:

• qatarairways.com - serving Zanzibar, Kilimanjaro and Dar es Salaam airports
• emirates.com - serving Dar es Salaam and, in partnership with Flydubai, Zanzibar and Kilimanjaro airports
• ethiopian.com - serves Zanzibar, Kilimanjaro and Dar es Salaam airports

How to get around Tanzania between the regions is described in the Transport chapter.

Intercountry buses

Regular bus services, for which you can also buy tickets online, run mainly from Kenya.

The routes are operated by several carriers, all of which can be compared and then bought via the well-known website 12go.asia. In the case of bus connections, we have personally found this website to be a good fit and the purchase has always gone smoothly.

These are the busiest routes:

• Nairobi - Moshi
  • Price for a one-way ticket from 30 usd
  • Travel time 6-9 hours depending on the queue at the border
  • up to 12 different connections per day
• Nairobi - Arusha
  • price for a one-way ticket from 25 usd
  • Travel time 5-8 hours depending on border queues
  • up to 8 different connections per day
• Mombasa - Tanga
  • pricefor a one-way ticket from 15 usd
  • Travel time 4-6 hours depending on border queues
  • up to 4 different connections per day
• Mombasa - Dar es Salaam
  • pricefor a one-way ticket from 45 usd
  • journey time 9-11 hours depending on the queue at the border
  • up to 3 different connections per day

Find bus prices on 12go.asia

Intercountry trains

Direct international trains are operated by Tazara Railway. The name suggests that it is a link between Tanzania and Zambia.

Regular trains run twice a week on the Dar es Salaam - Mbeya - Kasama - Kapiri Mposhi route.

The whole journey takes 46 hours and tickets can only be bought on the spot at the ticket office - we recommend at least a week in advance.

Official information can be found at tazarasite.com/tickets-and-reservations.