Tanzania Backpack: a camping safari trip to the heart of the savannah

This journey begins at Arusha. On the first day, we meet at 18:00.

We recommend flying to Kilimanjaro, or to Zanzibar and then taking a domestic flight to Arusha.

This journey ends at Arusha. On the last day, you are free to leave at any time, so whether you need to book a flight, a train, or wish to continue the journey on your own, you can organize your return as you prefer.

For this itinerary, traveling with a backpack is mandatory for logistical reasons and the convenience of the entire group - including yourself! Trolleys, bulky suitcases, or hard luggage are not allowed. The Travel Group Leader will provide guidance on the ideal baggage before departure via the WhatsApp group.

Return international flights are not included on our trips because we want to give you full autonomy and flexibility. You can choose your preferred airline, fly from the airport that works best for you, and decide how many stopovers you want to make along the way.

As flights are not included, you also have more flexibility with your travel dates: you could arrive at your destination a few days early or return home a bit later – or even continue independently to a nearby destination!

Yes, you can change your trip directly from your MyWeRoad personal area, up to 31 days before departure. If you purchased Flexible Cancellation, to give you maximum flexibility, you may cancel your trip up to 8 days before departure and receive a refund, whatever the reason.

How to change your trip from MyWeRoad

• Enter your booking
• Scroll to the “Change your trip” section at the bottom right
• Select a different date for the same trip or a completely different trip

Things to know

You can change your trip up to 3 times from your MyWeRoad personal area. Further changes must be requested by contacting our team at hello@weroad.com.
The new trip must depart within 12 months from the original departure date.
If your original booking included a private room, Flexible Cancellation, discount codes, gift cards, or vouchers, we will notify you before confirmation if they cannot be applied to the new trip.

You cannot switch to sold-out trips. For “On request” departures, we will check availability. For “Last spots” departures, availability in rooms of your same gender may not be guaranteed.
If there is a price adjustment: if the new trip costs less, we will refund the difference; if it costs more, you will need to pay the difference.

PLEASE NOTE: before cancelling, keep in mind that you can move your booking to another trip or a different date. Find out how!

In some cases – for example when a departure is not yet confirmed and it is your first unconfirmed booking – you can book without paying the €/£/$100 deposit upfront.

This means that you can secure your spot at zero cost: nothing will be charged until the departure is confirmed. Once the departure is confirmed, the €/£/$100 deposit will be automatically charged within 48 hours according to the terms agreed at the time of booking.

Yes, but first consider changing your trip: from MyWeRoad you can move your booking to another date or another trip up to 31 days before departure, without losing what you've paid. Find out how!

If you still want to cancel

• Confirmed trip: you cancel directly from MyWeRoad, in the trip management section. Amounts paid are non-refundable, unless you bought Flexible Cancellation.
• Trip not confirmed yet: cancellation goes through our team. Write to hello@weroad.com with your booking code.

Please note: if it's your first unconfirmed booking, you will only be asked to provide a credit card, PayPal, or Revolut as a guarantee, but nothing will be charged. From the second unconfirmed booking onwards, a mandatory £/$100 deposit will be required.

You'll find all the details in Can I cancel my booking directly from MyWeRoad? and Can I get a refund if I cancel?

We offer several payment methods to fit every need:

1. Credit or debit card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express);
2. Instalment payment with Klarna (you’ll pay for the trip in three equal amounts);
3. PayPal (for selected destinations);
4. Revolut Pay to pay even faster straight from your Revolut account.

Yes, in two ways:

1. From your personal area
Once you've booked, every WeRoader can add their flight details in their personal area, and the rest of the group can see them anonymously. Just log in, open your booking, and you'll find the section there. The more people fill it in, the easier it is for everyone to match up.

2. From the trip messages
Every departure has its own message space on the WeRoad website: the best place to ask your future travel mates directly, or to read what they've already written.

You don't need to have booked to join in. If you're still deciding, you can already ask who's going, when, and on which flight. You can get there from the departures list, from the trip page, or from your personal area once you're logged in.

Your Travel Coordinator is in the conversation too, so if you have a question about that specific departure, that's where you'll get an answer.

And if you can't find what you're looking for, just write to us and we'll share whatever information we have.

If a departure is “Open to book”, it means that the trip is not yet confirmed and we are waiting for a few more bookings… maybe yours!

The good news? If it’s your first booking on an unconfirmed departure, you can book without paying anything! Just. leave your credit card details as a guarantee: no immediate charge, €/£/$0 deposit.
In the meantime, wait for the departure to be confirmed before purchasing your round-trip flights!

It depends on when you cancel, the status of your departure, and how much you have already paid. Here are all the cases.

If the trip is not confirmed
Cancellation goes through our team: write to hello@weroad.com with your booking code.
If WeRoad does not confirm the trip, we'll let you know by email and you can choose between a full refund and using the amount for another trip.

Tour confirmed – you paid only the €/£/$100 deposit
In case of cancellation, the deposit paid is not refunded. However, you can change your trip from your MyWeRoad Account and use the amount for another departure.

Tour confirmed – you paid the full amount
In case of cancellation, the amount paid is not refunded. However, you can change your trip from your MyWeRoad Area and use the amount for another departure.

If you cancel within 31 days of departure – Tour confirmed
You can cancel your booking at any time. However, in case of cancellation within 31 days of departure, no refund of the amount paid is provided, nor is it possible to change your trip, unless you have purchased Flexible Cancellation.
The private room fee, included in the price of your trip, is not refunded under any circumstances within this time frame, unless you have purchased Flexible Cancellation.

If you have Flexible Cancellation
With Flexible Cancellation, you may cancel your trip up to 8 days before departure and receive a refund, whatever the reason. The only amount not refunded is the cost of the Flexible Cancellation option itself.

PLEASE NOTE: before cancelling, keep in mind that you can move your booking to another trip or a different date. Find out how!

For any doubts about your specific situation, write to our team at hello@weroad.com: we'll help you!

Generally, our groups have an average of 11 people. Everyone on our trips speaks English, and travellers join us from across the US, UK, Europe and beyond. 

Our trips are open to travelers aged 18–53. If you prefer to travel with people closer to your age, some trips have indicated ranges, such as 18–25 or 25–35. We allow a little flexibility on these, as long as you’re up for the pace and energy of the group.

Each group will be joined and led by one of our experienced Group Leaders, who’s there to ensure everything runs smoothly and the group feels well-supported. 

If you’d like to know more about our typical WeRoad groups do reach out to us on WhatsApp on +44 7716573700 or +12147948826. 

Yes! If you're curious, you can take a sneak peek at the group before booking. 
You’ll find the info in the ‘Group’ section for each trip on the departures page, showing how many WeRoaders have already booked. 

Click the little arrow and you’ll even see their gender and ages – but hey, that’s exclusive info, so we’ll ask you to log in or sign up to see that!

For our trips we usually use locally owned accommodation instead of big hotel chains. It’s our favourite way to really experience the local culture and, whenever we can, support the local economy. Typically, you’ll stay in hotels, apartments, guesthouses and hostels with the same standard maintained across all trips in the same destination.

The list of accommodation for your trip will be shared with you by your Group Leader 2-5 days before departure, along with other useful details for your adventure!

For some trips, in the itinerary section, you’ll find the number of nights and the location (not the hotel) where you’ll be spending the night(s). The location shown is the one we usually go for on most trips, but in some cases, you might stay in a nearby town. This will depend on logistics or availability of accommodation. 

The list of accommodation for your trip (and therefore also the exact locations) will be shared by your Travel Group Leader 2-5 days before departure, along with other useful information for your adventure!

The WeRoad Travel Group Leader is an experienced and skilled traveler who will be the perfect companion for your trip. They will manage all the logistical aspects of the itinerary like transport, timings, accommodation, restaurant bookings and meeting points, so that you can enjoy the trip without this hassle. They’re there to support the group, ensure everything runs smoothly and will no doubt make the trip a lot of fun along the way too! 

The Group Leader will set up a WhatsApp group approximately 2 weeks before departure. This will be the moment to ask any pre-departure questions and get to know the rest of the group! If the trip you are interested in already has a Travel Group Leader assigned, you can contact them before booking. Their details will be on the trip page, or you can search for their name here. After booking, you will find their contact details in your My WeRoad account, under ‘Bookings and Trips’ > ‘Your Upcoming Trips’ > ‘Trip Details’.

When you set off on a WeRoad trip, you’re officially a WeRoader – and as we often say, 'once a WeRoader, always a WeRoader'. This means that once you’re part of the community, a little piece of WeRoad will always stay with you.

But you’re not just a WeRoader during your trips, far from it! The community is alive and active all year round: you can stay in touch by following and interacting on our social media channels, like the Facebook group or the Instagram profile. You can also come along to one of our many events that we run in different cities worldwide. Check out and sign up to our events by downloading the WeMeet app here. 

Yes, on all our trips you will share a room with other WeRoaders in your group. The bathroom will either be private or shared only with other travelers on the trip. The rooms might be twins, triples, quadruples or multi-share (up to 8 people in exceptional cases), depending on the destination and availability.

You will never share with people from outside of the WeRoad group, except in certain cases for local experiences, which are specifically mentioned in the itinerary or communicated before booking. These typically involve specific nights in unique accommodation like tents, homestays, or camping, offering a more adventurous travel experience in exchange for some comfort.

During the booking process, you can also choose to stay in a mixed-gender room. If needed, only travelers who have opted in to this option may share a room with travel companions of a different gender.

On some of our trips we can offer a private room for an additional cost. Just tick the ‘Private Room’ option at checkout to get this added. For some of our trips if you book as two travelers together you can add this private room free of charge. Look out for this option at checkout. 

Please note that if you do book a private room with a friend/partner this could be either a double or a twin room so please email hello@weroad.com if you have a preference on this. 

Find out the entry requirements for Tanzania, and, if needed, apply for your visa through our partner Sherpa.

Before traveling, always remember to check the government website of your country of origin for updates on the entry requirements for Tanzania – you wouldn’t want to stay home due to a bureaucratic detail!

• UK residents: review the FCDO Travel Advice.
• US residents: consult the US Department of State Travel Advice.
• Other residents: refer to your government or local consulate's travel advice.

Tanzania is in the East Africa Time zone, which is UTC+3. This means that if it is 12pm in the UK, it will be 3pm in Tanzania. If you are in the USA, the time difference will vary depending on your location. For example, if it is 12pm Eastern Time, it will be 7pm in Tanzania. Tanzania does not observe daylight saving time, so these differences remain constant throughout the year.

The currency used in Tanzania is the Tanzanian Shilling (TZS). The exchange rate can vary, but as of the latest update:

• 1 GBP is approximately 3,100 TZS
• 1 USD is around 2,300 TZS
• 1 EUR is about 2,600 TZS

You can exchange currency at banks, exchange bureaus, or major hotels in cities like Dar es Salaam and Arusha. It's a good idea to carry some cash, especially in rural areas where card payments might not be accepted.

In Tanzania, you can pay using cash, credit cards, and mobile payment platforms.

• Cash is king, and the local currency is the Tanzanian Shilling.
• Credit cards are widely accepted in major cities and tourist areas, but not everywhere, so it's a good idea to have some cash on hand.
• Mobile payment services like M-Pesa are also popular and convenient for smaller transactions.

Make sure to check with your bank about any international transaction fees before traveling.

In Tanzania, tipping is not mandatory, but it's appreciated for good service. In restaurants, consider leaving about 5 to 10 percent of the bill as a tip. For guides or safari drivers, a tip of around 10 to 20 USD per day is common. Hotel staff, like porters or housekeeping, will appreciate a small tip, such as 1 to 2 USD. Always tip in Tanzanian Shillings or USD, and give tips directly to the person who helped you.

In Tanzania, Wi-Fi is generally available in hotels, cafes, and some public places in major cities like Dar es Salaam and Arusha. However, the connection can be slow or unreliable, especially in rural areas. For better connectivity, we suggest you buy a local SIM card or an e-SIM data plan. Popular providers include:

• Vodacom
• Airtel
• Tigo

You can purchase these at the airport or in the city, and they offer good coverage and data packages at reasonable prices.

In Tanzania, the official languages are Swahili and English. You'll hear Swahili spoken widely, and it's handy to know a few basic phrases. Here are some useful expressions you might hear or use:

• Hello: Jambo
• Thank you: Asante
• How much is this?: Hii ni kiasi gani?
• Goodbye: Kwaheri

Don't worry if you're not fluent, as many people also speak English, especially in tourist areas.

In Tanzania, the power plugs and sockets are of type D and G. The standard voltage is 230 volts, and the frequency is 50 hertz. If you're coming from a country with different plug types, like those used in the UK or the USA, it's a good idea to bring a universal adapter to ensure your devices can be charged without any issues.

In Tanzania, the main religion is Christianity, followed by Islam. It's important to note that Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous region of Tanzania, has a predominantly Muslim population. If visiting Zanzibar, especially during the holy month of Ramadan, it's respectful to dress modestly. For women, this means covering shoulders and knees. Important religious holidays include Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha for Muslims, and Christmas and Easter for Christians.

For a trip to Tanzania, pack light and suitable items for the tropical climate and diverse landscapes. Here's a list to help you prepare your backpack:

• Clothing:
  • Lightweight shirts and t-shirts
  • Long-sleeve shirts for sun and mosquito protection
  • Shorts and lightweight pants
  • A light jacket for cooler evenings
  • Swimwear
• Shoes:
  • Comfortable walking shoes
  • Sandals
  • Flip-flops for the beach
• Accessories and Technology:
  • Sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat
  • Camera and charger
  • Power bank
  • Plug adapter (Tanzania uses types D and G plugs)
• Toiletries and Medication:
  • Sunscreen and insect repellent
  • Basic toiletries
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Common travel medication like motion sickness tablets, pain relievers, and anti-diarrheal pills

Remember that Tanzania is a predominantly Muslim country, so dress modestly in public areas, especially women, to respect local customs.

The weather in Tanzania varies by region, so here's a quick breakdown:

• Coastal areas (like Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar): Warm and humid year-round with temperatures ranging from 25°C to 32°C (77°F to 90°F). The best time to visit is during the dry season, from June to October.
• Northern and central regions (like Serengeti and Arusha): Cooler and drier, especially from June to October, with temperatures around 15°C to 25°C (59°F to 77°F). The short rainy season is from November to December, and the long rainy season is from March to May.
• Western areas (like Kigoma): Warm and can be quite humid. The best time to visit is the dry season, from May to October.

For the best experience, plan your visit during the dry season when the weather is most pleasant and wildlife viewing is optimal.