Field notes
Stories from the long grass — written and photographed by our directors on the ground in Tanzania, so you know exactly what awaits you.
How long the drive from Kilimanjaro Airport to Arusha really takes, what taxis…
Read the story →Kilimanjaro Airport to Moshi is 41 km and about an hour by road.
Read the story →The honest 5-7 hour Arusha to Nairobi drive: the Namanga border step by step, shuttle…
Read the story →The drive from Arusha to Ngorongoro Crater takes 3-4 hours on sealed tarmac.
Read the story →Real drive times from Arusha: Tarangire in 2-2.5 hours, Lake Manyara in 2.5-3 on tarmac.
Read the story →How early to leave Arusha for a flight from JRO: the three-hour rule, evening traffic,…
Read the story →What a Ngorongoro Crater day really involves: the caldera explained, honest black…
Read the story →Elephant herds, ancient baobabs and a river that never stops: our honest guide to…
Read the story →An honest look at Lake Manyara National Park: what the $59 entry buys, why the…
Read the story →A plain-English Serengeti National Park guide for first-timers: the four regions, how…
Read the story →Tanzania's eVisa vs visa on arrival for safari travellers: verified 2026 fees,…
Read the story →Who to tip on a Tanzania safari and how much: guide rates, camp tip boxes, USD note…
Read the story →Tanzania or Kenya for your safari?
Read the story →How to combine a Tanzania safari with Zanzibar: why the bush comes first, flight…
Read the story →Honest safari photography tips from directors who shoot professionally: the lens that…
Read the story →What a luxury safari in Tanzania really buys: honest per-day tiers, where the extra…
Read the story →How a solo safari in Tanzania really works: the single supplement explained, honest…
Read the story →The clinic visit six weeks out, the usual jabs, malaria tablets, bite rules at dusk…
Read the story →What a Serengeti balloon safari really costs, how the 03:30 morning unfolds, and when…
Read the story →Honest odds for each of the Big Five in Tanzania — which park delivers lion, elephant,…
Read the story →Dry season, green season, calving, crossings.
Read the story →From camping trips to the Four Seasons.
Read the story →Endless plains or the crater's Eden? How the Serengeti and Ngorongoro actually differ, and why the honest answer for most safaris is both..
Read the story →Wake-up calls, game drives, bush lunches, sundowners.
Read the story →The complete safari packing list from working safari directors.
Read the story →Two million animals on an endless loop.
Read the story →Ages, parks, lodges, pacing.
Read the story →Why Tanzania is the ultimate honeymoon.
Read the story →Three days? A week? Two? What each safari length actually delivers in Tanzania, and the honest minimum for the classic parks..
Read the story →Safety, health, driving, wildlife and solo travel.
Read the story →A crossing cannot be booked, only earned — with patience, position and a guide who reads the herds. Here is how the wildest hour in Africa actually unfolds.
Read the story →Every calving season the short-grass plains fill with newborn wildebeest — and the cheetah mothers and lion prides that depend on them. A month among the cubs.
Read the story →Six hundred elephants can drink from the Tarangire River on a dry-season day. What it feels like to sit quietly in the middle of the procession.
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