Getting Around – East Africa

There is an old Swahili proverb regarding travel and the general philosophy in Tanzania. “Haraka, haraka haina baraka,” which literally means “haste makes waste” and usually means to take your time. Traveling in East Africa can be an art; one that can tests you patience, stress threshold and ability to let a two hour bus trip turn into an eight hour wild experience.

Therefore, picking an appropriate time of the year to travel is paramount. The important thing to determine is exactly where you want to go, and what you plan to do – because each region has different roads and weather conditions. Sometimes roads can be fairly good, like in SOME parts of Kenya – and transportation fairly efficient; other times, the roads could be washed out, like in MANY parts of Tanzania. During the rainy season no rules apply and a bus may – or may not – come by every 2 weeks.

On a Bus: A BootsnAll Story
Kelly Patterson experiences a classic East Africa bus ride.
Read Kelly’s Story

Bus
The main form of transportation are buses, called “dalla dalla” in Tanzania, “matatu” in Kenya, and “taxi” in Uganda. Unless you have a big budget and can afford to rent a private plane, then buses are your next best option. Buses tend to be small mini vans, often packed full, with loud Swahili music, and often a youth hanging out the window, asking everyone if they want a ride. Since they tend to fill the bus beyond maximum capacity, the prices tend to be very low in western standards – but this cheap fare also implies never knowing the exact time for arriving at your destination. Traveling really long distances, say, from big cities like Dar es Salaam to Nairobi, the buses are more like Greyhound, but still rely on the same principle of packing them beyond maximum capacity.

The biggest problems with buses in East Africa tend to be safety – driving at extremely high speeds around corners, passing on hills, and basically violating any common sense traffic law. Because of this, thousands of people are injured and killed every year. This is said to be the biggest problem that travelers face in East Africa, beside the occasionally “fly catcher” (safari salesman) in Arusha or Moshi.

In an effort to travel a little bit more comfortable and travel in a bus that respects speed, we recommend the following companies that tend to more reliable and have better safety record.

Scandinavia Bus Company
Royal Coach
Dar Express

Plane
Small private charter planes tend to service the major transportation hubs and can be rented to take you into most parts of East Africa where a primitive landing trip may exist. There are hundreds of these across East Africa.

Precision Air Tanzania
Air Tanzania

Boat/Ferry
Boats service major ports and between the islands, usually at Tanga, Dar es Salaam, Lamu, Zanzibar and Pemba. For tourists headed to Zanzibar, it’s $35 each way. For volunteers or those with work visas, the cost is $12.50 each way.

Dhow
For the super adventurous traveler, there are certain ports where you can ride a traditional dhow to, say, places like Zanzibar and Lamu. However, this is no ADD T recommended for the light-hearted. It usually costs around $5 and means that you will sail for around 6 hours if you’re lucky and pray to god that the boats actually doesn’t sink.

Train
There are a few train lines in East Africa that can take you as far as Zambia. However, train rides can be long, difficult, and they are often very late show up. It’s suggested that you buy a first class sleeper cabin in order to feel a little safer and have more room when sleeping.

Questions?
If you want more information about this area you can email the author or check out our Africa Insiders page.

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