Tanzania Itinerary

I've spent one week with my family in Tanzania. We flew directly to Stone Town, the capital of Zanzibar, which is an island in front of the Tanzanian mainland. The town is full of tiny streets and overfilled shops. They sell souvenirs, clothes, fabrics, and most of all, paintings about Africa, with giraffes or women holding pots on their heads. This fills the streets with colours. It has a moroccan feeling to it. The first three nights we slept in Nungwi, 60km north on the island, in a small and cozy hotel called Nungwi Guest House, with great staff and delicious breakfast. In this area, the temperature is always hot, so the ventilator and the mosquito net could not be missing. The next day we approached the pristine beach with flour-like sand, and hired a whole day snorkeling tour. After a two hour boat drive, where some of the passengers became a little dizzy, we arrived at a big coral reef. We swam with fishes of every color and size. All of the 'Finding Nemo' characters were there. The tour included lunch, which was on a desert beach, beneath the palm trees. The staff brought a picnic: fried fish, potato and tropical fruits. The next day after check out, we went back to Stone Town to have lunch and to take the ferry back to Dar-es-Salam. The journey took 3 hours, in a comfortable big boat for 300 pax. It was interesting to see the members of the Masai Tribe living between city dwellers, but maintaining their customs and clothing. For example, the Masai have permission to board the ferry with their spears and machetes. We only slept one night in Dar-es-Salaam, because the next morning, our tour guide Abi booked onsite picked us up in his jeep to take us to the Selous National Park. After a 5 hour drive on a terribly bumpy road, only stopping for lunch, we arrived at the African savannas. That afternoon they took us on a boat ride on the Rufiji River, where we saw hippos, crocodiles, a lot of birds, and some fishermen from the nearest towns. The tents were already standing when we arrived at the camp. During the night, the sounds of nature were the perfect lullaby. The second day was on the jeeps, touring the countryside. This time we saw the elephants, the giraffes, some apes, lions, and colorful birds. We had sandwiches for lunch, looking at the majestic Mount kilimanjaro in the background. The last morning we had a short walk in the park, where we saw lizards, apes and birds. It's amazing to see the wildlife in its natural habitat, without cages or dangers. Abi told us that sometimes they catch some illegal hunters., In Selous Park it is forbidden to hunt. We've spent the last two days in Tanzania touring in the capital city Dar-es-Salaam. We stayed at the hotel Swiss Garden, with a generous breakfast buffet. The city is pretty chaotic, not all of the streets are asphalted, and the predominant sounds are the hanks and the bus drivers assistant jelling the destination of the bus. One thing that amazed me, were its people. They are kind and helpful, always smiling and full of life. It's common to see, for example, in a parking lot, a speaker playing music, and a group of people dancing to it. Some of them speak English, but the most spoken language is swahili. Tanzania is also a muslim country, so you should use cloths, which cover your shoulders and your knees. This was hard for me, because of the heat, but out of respect for their customs, I did it. We visited the fishers market, where you can find fresh fish of every color and size, just taken out of the indian ocean. If you don't like seafood, you are going to starve in Tanzania. For me, it is the perfect combination: Seafood, fish and tropical fruits. We ate in an Ethiopian Restaurant, called Addis in Dar, which I highly recomend. The last day we spent it relaxed in the Withe Sands Hotel, on its private beach and pool.