ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY
Passport, Visa, insurance and personal documents
Passport
To enter Tanzania, you will need a passport. Note that it must be valid for at least six months after your return from Tanzania; otherwise, the airline may not allow you to board your flight to Africa.
Visa
Visas for Tanzania are required for visitors from most countries, including the US, UK, most of Europe, Australia, and South Africa. We recommend obtaining a visa upon your arrival in Tanzania.
Visas are available at Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam, and Zanzibar airports, as well as at the Namanga border crossing between Tanzania and Kenya. Note that at Kilimanjaro International Airport, the visa fee is currently US $50 for most nationalities, except for Americans, who are required to pay double. You will need to bring cash to pay for your visa.
If you plan to obtain your visa in advance from a Tanzanian consulate, you will need to provide a contact address in Tanzania when completing the form. Simply ask us for the appropriate contact details, and we will be happy to provide them.
Remember that if you’re flying in and out of Kenya rather than Tanzania, you will also need a Kenyan visa. If you plan to fly to Kenya and cross into Tanzania from there, you can return to Kenya using the same single-entry visa, provided your visit to Tanzania lasts less than two weeks and your Kenyan visa remains valid.
Other documents
Bring a couple of passport photographs and a photocopy of your passport.
Flights
Flights are not included in the package price, so you will need to arrange them yourself. We provide an outline of services to Kilimanjaro Airport in the guidebook. If you are arriving at Nairobi Airport, we can arrange a shuttle from Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta Airport or the city center to Arusha. The current cost is approximately US $35 one way. Please let us know in advance, and we will arrange this for you.
Once you have booked your flights, please inform us as soon as possible of your arrival and departure details (flight number, arrival time, and departure time) so that we can arrange your airport transfers. If you are arriving by bus from within Tanzania or Kenya, please let us know the journey details so that we can send a representative to meet you at the terminal or your hotel, if you are being dropped off there.
Medical matters
What to bring
How much are you allowed to bring?
The Kilimanjaro National Park enforces a maximum carrying weight of 25kg per porter. This includes 5kg for the porter’s personal gear and 5kg for company gear (such as tents, food, and cooking equipment). As a result, the load allocated for the trekker should not exceed 15kg. This weight includes any equipment or clothing rented from us, as well as any special requests for additional or specific food or clothing. If the weight exceeds 15kg, additional porters can be arranged at USD 10 per porter per day for the duration of the trek.
Please note that we provide sleeping mats to all our climbers, so there is no need to bring one yourself.
Please also note that plastic bags are no longer allowed in Tanzania. Attempting to bring them into the country could result in a heavy fine. While this may be inconvenient, as plastic bags are useful for organizing and waterproofing items in your rucksack, alternatives are available. Reusable bags, particularly zip-lock bags, are permitted and a great substitute. Consider packing these instead.