Jul
8th

Conference tourism in Tanzania

Conference tourism is becoming a thriving industry in Tanzania with visitors keen to take advantage of their stay in the country to tour spectacular sites once the meetings come to end. This range from venturing into safaris to the vast Serengeti National Park to spending days on the tropical beaches in Zanzibar. In short, conference incentives have taken on a whole new meaning in Tanzania.

Centrally located luxury hotels in Dar es Salaam and Arusha offer high-tech facilities at all major hotels and with special bookings, tour packages are available all the year round. Non-Governmental Organizations and special interest groups from Tanzania, East Africa and the world host conferences in Tanzania and offer the delegates a special experience in quite unique surroundings and take advantage of the tour packages.

Tanga is now one of those places on track to enter the fray in conference tourism with the opening of its Meeting point Center at Mwambani on the shores of the Indian Ocean and is owned by Tanga International Conference Centre Ltd. It started in November 2006 and now takes great advantage of the tourism industry’s opportunities being offered.

The center has promised to conduct conference tourism with a difference; the center would combine several themes such as a learning center for sustainable development and growth in Africa. Tanga cultural heritage is a mixture of African and Arabic cultures with working ambience and therefore a perfect spot for meeting point. The center has begun organizing special youth programs aimed at giving them working experience that is crucial in their lives in future. Tanga has an increasing economic optimism, however, the local community lacks skills on entrepreneurship.

For any one planning a conference of any kind, this is absolutely the place to be.

Jun
9th

Travel insurance for you

If unanticipated circumstances force you to call off or postpone your trip, redirect your travel plans, go back home prematurely or even seek crisis health management, travel insurance can surely cover all these costs of the unpredictable events.

 

Who needs Travel Insurance? This is a question that most of us always ask. Just to let you know that anyone planning to travel needs the protection of Travel Insurance.  Travel Insurance covers comprehensive travel protection for today’s Holiday, Business, Winter sports, Backpackers and all frequent travelers.

 Travelling to Tanzania and the whole of East Africa in general, has been made easier and very safe for all tourists worldwide. This is because of the fact that Travel Insurance services are there for any one who needs short-term travel insurance coverage. This region contains many large and ecologically significant wildlife parks, considerable land area of wildlife habitat, including much of the Serengeti plain, where Blue Wildebeest and other animals participate in a large scale annual migration.

 

We are very confident that when it comes to top quality insurance cover, value for money, and excellent customer service you won’t fail to find a better travel insurance specialist in Tanzania. If you have any queries regarding travel insurance packages, please do not hesitate to contact any company to help you. Choose any insurance company for your trip insurance, remember when you are on your holiday in East Africa, you will have complete peace of mind for an unexpected emergency.  Let’s travel together with a safe mind and a health stay in this wonderful East African country. Get your insurance cover now!

 

It is strongly recommended that you always purchase comprehensive travel insurance for the duration of your journey. Quite a number of unpredictable things can go wrong while you are on your vacation. Please note that insurance can only be acquired prior to departure and should always be acquired within atleast14 days of affirmation of your travel reservation. We further urge you to entirely appraise your needs and get yourself satisfactory and rather necessary travel insurance coverage. There are a number of independent agents that specialize in travel protection programs and offer policies with finest travel insurance companies. You may get in touch with them by clicking on there advert on this page. Traveltotanzania.com, advises you to get in touch with companies that provide insurance policies for travelers regardless of where you are based and where you are going.

Be assured of risk coverage for you and your spouse be it a multiple or single entry trip or even a long-stay on holiday. You will get travel insurance policies well suited to you. A number of companies have got a very good comprehensive range of travel insurance cover options, with superior benefits and at competitive premiums. A number of travel insurance companies work with leading international insurance and finance organizations like AIG and many others.

 

May
15th

Chimp Tales in Mahale Mountains National park

Chimp Tales in Mahale Mountains National park

Chimpanzee trackers at Mahale Mountains National Park have to leave at dawn to in order find the chimpanzees. After locating the troop they call in the finding in order for the guides at the lodge to know in which direction they should be walking.

The guides have to wait for the call because they may end up taking the guests in the direction that is completely opposite to that taken by the chimps and this may result in a rather tiring march for.

It is quite interesting to discover that the chimpanzees are so closely related to humans in their biological makeup, and are also vulnerable to human ailments such as the common cold. For this reason, all trackers are given surgical masks before setting off for the tracking exercise. For the same reason, guests with a cold and those carrying any communicable disease are not allowed to get any close to the chimpanzees.

 Climbing in the Mahale Mountains and a seemingly impenetrable forest is such a good exercise; routes were made easier by the paths that were carved out for easier access into the forest. You pass by mango and guava trees that had been growing for over 30 years; planted by Japanese scientists who wanted to study the chimps’ behavior closely and so had to feed the chimps on these fruits as a means of habituating them to the presence of humans.

 The excitement will take you over when you hear their intense whooping calls and sounds. Those with cameras will then start getting them out and preparing to take photos of the exciting primates. It is such an exciting moment to see the chimps interacting, climbing up and down the trees, their intermingling and their general human like behavior. This shows how we are descendants     of these fascinating creatures.

The enormity of the whole experience in Mahale Mountains National park will begin to sink when you lie in your bed listening to the sounds of the forest at night. It is such a precious moment being in this environment and having some experience with the chimps.  There are quite a number of  locations in East and Central Africa where you can encounter chimpanzees; but Mahale National Park is perhaps the remotest and the most striking of all the areas.

May
12th

Insure your trip, enjoy your vacation

Traveling on a vacation together with your family may mean additional expenses on your part but you can always find a cheap and nice hotel that can cover most of your needs while you are there, and then you can use the extra money to get good travel insurance. Spending on travel insurance will benefit you a lot rather than traveling without one. Choosing a hotel and good travel insurance may take some time but you may always start your search early so that you can get yourself enough time to choose the best service providers.

Forget those days when the necessities of life were just food, clothes, water and shelter. In today’s times, things have much changed to the extent that things that used to be called luxuries are some of the most essential ones in our lives and are considered necessities.  In the earlier days, insurance was considered more of a luxury because it was probably only the rich that could manage to pay for it because it was quite expensive. Nowadays however prices have gone down and now insurance policies are much more affordable, even air travel insurance.

It is of great importance to get travel insurance whenever you are traveling abroad for a holiday. This guarantees your safety and you will enjoy your trip without any worry. Whether you’re traveling by air, road or train, you will be protected if you have travel insurance. You will never know what’s going to happen in your vacation or travel so it would be best to have yourself insured. By securing travel insurance, you can pass over some of the usual problems of traveling. For instance, trip delay, flight cancellation, lost luggage, car rental cancellation, hotel cancellation, emergency needs, medical needs, and death are usually covered by travel insurance. Other types of insurance policies have an age requirement but with this type of policy, there is none.

So how can you secure one?
You can either contact an agent or you can log on to the online sites of the different insurance providers, especially those in the country of your destination and apply online.  Always contact the tour and travel agents in the country of your destination for help in securing good travel insurance. You need to provide some pertinent personal information and you can already get instant quotes online. Between the two options of applying for travel insurance, the online application is easier and a lot faster. You can choose whichever is more suitable for you because in either way, you can still purchase the travel insurance that will cater for all travel risks that you may encounter.  You have to understand carefully the coverage of the travel insurance you have chosen.The travel insurance policy is terminated once you get back from the trip. When purchasing a travel insurance policy, you must not forget to read the fine print. You must understand it fully so that in the event of an accident, there will be no untoward incidents once you claim for the coverage. Traveling for a holiday / vacation will be safer and relaxing with your insurance policy, so get one now.
   

May
5th

Protected: Health and Travel Insurance in Tanzania

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Apr
30th

Health Insurance Rules for Your Health Plan


If you have insurance through your travel insurance provider, you probably are in a managed care plan. If you are in Medicare, you might be in a managed care plan too. You can’t always tell from the name of the plan. It’s the rules that count. When you signed up for your insurance plan, you agreed to its rules. You were probably given a packet that describes the kind of coverage you have. To avoid misunderstandings about your coverage, you need to read the rules of your insurance plan.

Doctors and hospitals

Managed care plans sign contracts with certain doctors and hospitals to care for their plan members. Your plan may refer to them as providers. This group of providers is often called the plan’s network. Like you, they have agreed to follow the plan’s rules. Your insurance company might not pay for you to go to a provider who is not in its network. If it does pay for you to use a provider outside your network, it may pay less than it would for a network provider. In either case, you are responsible for the part of the bill that the plan doesn’t pay. Even if your doctor is part of the plan’s network, he or she may prefer to send patients to a hospital that isn’t in the network. If so, ask if your doctor can send you to a hospital in the network. If that isn’t possible, you can ask the insurance company if it will approve the use of the out-of-network hospital. If no other arrangements can be made, you might have to see another doctor.

Rules for seeing specialists

Many managed care plans won’t pay for you to see a specialist unless your primary care physician (usually your family doctor) thinks it is necessary. If you see a specialist without a referral, you might have to pay more for the care you receive. If your doctor decides that you need to go to the hospital, have surgery or have certain tests, your insurance company may refuse to pay for it unless it can preauthorize the treatment (approve it beforehand).

Medicines

Almost every managed care plan has a drug formulary. A formulary is a list of prescription medicines that your health plan has approved. If a drug isn’t on the formulary, you’ll probably have to pay more for it. Your insurance company can give you a list of drugs that are on the formulary. If necessary, show the list to your doctor when the doctor writes you a prescription.

 

Apr
30th

Travel Insurance for Tanzania Trips

You should consider the benefits of travel insurance as part of your Tanzania travel planning. Most travelers look for travel tips that discuss the importance of travel insurance. Insurance company’s travel guard policies can provide important coverage for your trip. The insurance companies are there to ensure that you enjoy your trip safely and comfortably.

Whether you’re taking a family vacation or business trip, a number of insurance companies have got a plan for your Tanzania travel. These plans may include valuable medical expense coverage, trip interruption, medical emergency assistance and treatment services and more. Expect a 24-hour assistance line and your coverage can act as a travel guide should your plans change.

  A number of insurers are ready to provide you with a travel medical insurance. This is only a temporary insurance policy. It covers your holiday travel or business trip. This can be used independently or it can also be used together with your existing insurance policy.By and large, travel bureaus offer this kind of insurance policies.  The policy however can cost you some enormous money but if you can go directly to the insurance provider, you can save a lot of money which can be used for other necessities in your travels. The best way is to use the internet for the different popular and reputable insurance companies. This will enable you to get online quotes which you can compare with each other. Insurance policies are known to be expensive but travel medical insurance is generally cheap. Going for a vacation is all about having fun and you can enjoy your vacation travel more if you’re insured. You never know what kind of accidents that may strike or if you’re going to get sick. If you do have a travel medical insurance however, you can save a lot of money from paying for the hefty medical bills. An insurance policy is worth it and it is a really good investment.  Travel medical insurance can be obtained without necessarily securing medical examinations, so the policies are available for almost every traveller. However, pre-existing conditions are not covered but if ever you get sick or meet an accident while travelling, you can deal with the situation with ease.

Now, trips have been made far more enjoyable with the help of travel medical insurance. If you definitely need travel insurance, it’s high time you get one. But if you don’t need one because your medical plan covers your entire trip, you don’t have to incur additional expenses. However, do not assume that your existing policy covers your travel. It costs nothing if you consult your provider first just to make sure. You are highly advised to always secure travel insurance whenever you are going for your holiday.

Apr
29th

Short term travel insurance in Africa

Who needs Travel Insurance? This is a question that most of us always ask. Just to let you know that anyone planning to travel needs the protection of Travel Insurance.  Travel Insurance covers comprehensive travel protection for today’s Holiday, Business, Winter sports, Backpackers and Frequent Travellers.

 Travelling to Tanzania, the largest country in East Africa, bordering Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique to the south, has been made more easy and very safe for all tourists worldwide. This is because of the fact that Travel Insurance services are there for any one who needs short-term travel insurance coverage.

Tanzania contains many large and ecologically significant wildlife parks, considerable land area of wildlife habitat, including much of the Serengeti plain, where Blue Wildebeest and other animals participate in a large scale annual migration.

 

We are very confident that when it comes to top quality insurance cover, value for money, and excellent customer service you won’t fail to find a better travel insurance specialist in Tanzania. If you have any queries regarding travel insurance packages, please do not hesitate to contact any company to help you.

 

Choose any insurance company for your trip insurance, remember when you are on your holiday in East Africa, you will have complete peace of mind for an unexpected emergency.  Let’s travel together with a safe mind and a health stay in this wonderful East African country. Get your insurance cover now!

   

Who needs Travel Insurance? This is a question that most of us always ask. Just to let you know that anyone planning to travel needs the protection of Travel Insurance.  Travel Insurance covers comprehensive travel protection for today’s Holiday, Business, Winter sports, Backpackers and Frequent Travellers.

 Travelling to Tanzania, the largest country in East Africa, bordering Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique to the south, has been made more easy and very safe for all tourists worldwide. This is because of the fact that Travel Insurance services are there for any one who needs short-term travel insurance coverage.

Tanzania contains many large and ecologically significant wildlife parks, considerable land area of wildlife habitat, including much of the Serengeti plain, where Blue Wildebeest and other animals participate in a large scale annual migration.

 

We are very confident that when it comes to top quality insurance cover, value for money, and excellent customer service you won’t fail to find a better travel insurance specialist in Tanzania. If you have any queries regarding travel insurance packages, please do not hesitate to contact any company to help you.

 

Choose any insurance company for your trip insurance, remember when you are on your holiday in East Africa, you will have complete peace of mind for an unexpected emergency.  Let’s travel together with a safe mind and a health stay in this wonderful East African country. Get your insurance cover now!

   

Apr
22nd

Safari Tanzania

For many of our guests, the backcountry is best encountered on foot where the sounds of a rippling stream in an otherwise silent valley, the rustle of lately fallen autumn leaves with the approach of a deer, or the sweet taste of just ripened wild huckleberries draw all your attention. In addition to small groups and 2 guides on most travels, our climbing plans provide for a friendly and easy way to feel nature’s admirations. We grant an assortment of mountaineering choices nearly day-after-day — from unstraining lakeshore walks to heart-pumping mount treks — all personalized to accommodate your humor. Let us display you the sites we’ve discovered that you can only arrive to on foot — a rustic mountain hostel inside the center of East Africa.

Apr
14th

Tour Tanzania

British Airways fly three times a week direct from London to Dar es Salaam with a total flying time of 9 hours 40 minutes.
Other carriers operate to Tanzania via Europe KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (from Amsterdam) to Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro; Swiss (from Zurich) to Dar es Salaam. Gulf Air serves Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar via Muscat or Abu Dhabi.
Tanzania can also be reached via African gateways served by Air Zimbabwe, Egypt Air, Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways and South African Airways.

INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS

International flights serve Dar es Salaam, eight miles from the city centre and Kilimanjaro, 31 miles from Arusha. Zanzibar airport is 5 miles from Stone Town.

PASSPORTS/VISAS

Most visitors require visas with the exception of citizens of certain countries of the Commonwealth. It is advisable to obtain them in advance from Embassies and High Commissions as several airlines insist of them prior to departure. They can also be obtained on arrival at international airports and at the Namanga Gate on the Tanzania / Kenya border.
Requirements may change, so you are advised to contact the appropriate diplomatic or consular authority before finalising travel arrangements.

IMMUNISATION/HEATLH

Visitors from countries infected with cholera and yellow fever must produce international certificates of vaccination. This is particularly relevant for those travelling from other African countries.
The UK Department of Health recommends vaccinations against hepatitis A, polio and typhoid. It is essential for visitors to take a course of malaria prophylaxis.
Modern medical services are available in Dar es Salaam and other major centres. There are only a limited number of chemists in the country, so visitors are advised to bring their own medicines with them.

CLIMATE

Coastal areas are hot and humid with an average daytime temperature of 30ºC. Sea breezes make the climate very pleasant from June to September. The central plateau experiences hot days and cool nights. The hilly country between the coast and the northern highlands has a pleasant climate from January to September, with temperatures averaging around 20ºC. Temperatures vary around Kilimanjaro according to the season, registering a low 15ºC during May - August rising to 22ºC during December - March.
For the whole country, the hottest months are from October to February. The main, long rainy season is from mid-March to May.

WHAT TO TAKE

Don’t forget the camera, camcorder and binoculars, and take a torch for finding your way around the camp at night. Stock up with replacement batteries for all these goods. The main electricity supply is 220V, 50Hz. Plugs are usually the 13-amp 3-pin square (British) type.
Take sun-glasses, hat, sun lotion, lip balm and some insect repellent. It is better not to get stung, even if you are taking anti-malaria tablets.
A spare pair of glasses or contact lenses is also a good idea.
Take plenty of film, it can be difficult to obtain outside the main centres.
While traveller’s cheques can be exchanged in cities and towns, banking facilities in remote areas are restricted, so cash is useful too.

TRAVEL LIGHT

Some safaris / air charters limit baggage to a 10 - 15 kg maximum.

LANGUAGE

English is widely spoken but a few words of Kiswahili are always appreciated.

CURRENCY

The unit of currency is the Tanzanian Shilling (TShs), which is divided into 100 cents. Visitors can take any amount of foreign currency, no currency declaration is required, but import and export of Tanzanian currency is illegal.
Most major currencies, particularly US Dollars, and traveller’s cheques are accepted and are convertible at banks and bureaux de change in the main towns and tourist areas. Credit cards, mainly visa and mastercard, are generally only accepted in larger establishments.

ON SAFARI

Distances in Tanzania are vast, and travel by road can be tiring. It is wise to spend more time in fewer parks. You will see more and won’t return home exhausted. Keep your distance from animals and be quiet to avoid distressing them. Always follow the instructions of your ranger or guide. Don’t leave your vehicle in the parks except in designated places. Keep to recognised tracks to avoid damaging vegetation.

WHAT TO WEAR

It never gets really cold in Tanzania, so lightweight clothing is the norm. On safari, avoid brightly coloured clothes, they may alarm the animals. Browns, beiges and khaki are preferred. Short-sleeve shirts / blouses and shorts are ideal, but pack a sweater as it can be a bit chilly in the early morning and in the evening. Wear a hat to avoid sun-stroke and don’t forget a swimsuit. Shoes should be sensible, and for climbing Kilimanjaro or Mount Meru, take thermal underwear, a rain jacket, good socks and sturdy boots. Shorts for women are acceptable - but not too short. Women should carry a wrap to cover their legs in towns or villages as revealing clothes can cause offence, especially in Zanzibar and other Muslim areas. On the beach, and within the confines of beach hotels, normal swimwear is acceptable, but nudity certainly is not.

TIPPING

Not normally obligatory, but a tip for exceptional service - a maximum of 10% - will be appreciated. Tip US$15 per day for drivers or tour guides but remember that an excessive tip can make it difficult for the next customer.

AIRPORT TAX

An international airport tax of US$30 is levied, which may be included in the price of an air ticket. Airport tax for domestic flights is 5,000 TShs (approximately US$5).