Tanzania Safari Tours from Dubai

Yes, to the coast: Emirates and flydubai both serve Zanzibar direct, about five and a half hours, and Emirates also flies direct to Dar es Salaam daily. Air Tanzania serves both routes too. There is no non-stop to Kilimanjaro, the gateway for the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater; the best routing is a single easy connection through Nairobi, around nine to eleven hours door to door. Tanzania is one hour behind Dubai, so jet lag is not a factor either way.

Honestly, it depends which part of Tanzania. Zanzibar, yes: flydubai’s overnight departures make it a genuine long-weekend beach trip, out Thursday night and home Sunday. A Serengeti or Ngorongoro safari, no: by the time you add the Nairobi connection and the onward light aircraft flight, five days is the realistic minimum for the Northern Circuit.

Your UAE residence visa makes no difference. Tanzania decides on the passport you hold, not where you live. The standard tourist visa is US$50 for single entry or US$100 for double entry, five working days minimum, applied for through the Tanzania Embassy or the official eVisa portal; there is no visa on arrival. UAE nationals are required to take the multiple-entry visa at US$100 rather than the single-entry rate, and Pakistani nationals pay a distinct US$200 fee. Lebanese passport holders are referred to the Commissioner General for approval, which takes around six weeks, so apply well ahead.

June to October is the classic dry season, with dramatic river crossings in the northern Serengeti, and it lines up closely with the UAE summer break. Eid al-Fitr currently falls in early spring and moves earlier each year, which increasingly places it in the southern Serengeti’s calving season, a genuinely strong alternative with excellent predator action and fewer crowds. November and April to May are the quieter, better-value green season.

From around US$850 per person per night at well-appointed Northern Circuit camps, rising to US$1,000–1,500 at classic tented camps, and US$1,500–2,000 at glamping luxury camps, covering accommodation, all meals, drinks, game drives and park fees. Zanzibar resorts run separately and considerably lower. International flights, light-aircraft transfers and park entry fees on day trips are extra. Because the dirham is pegged to the dollar, a US dollar quote converts to the same dirham figure whenever you look at it.

Halal catering is available at select camps and resorts rather than universally, so it is something we plan the itinerary around rather than request on arrival. Tell us at the outset and we will place you at properties that genuinely cater, including several of Zanzibar’s beach resorts. Vegetarian food is available at every camp and lodge in Tanzania and is handled as routine. Stricter diets such as Jain need agreeing before booking.

Not to enter Tanzania if you fly direct from Dubai to Zanzibar or Dar es Salaam. Tanzania is not itself classified as a yellow fever risk country. But if your route to the Serengeti connects through Nairobi, you have transited Kenya, which is a risk country, and Tanzania can ask for a certificate on arrival. If you are visiting more than one African country, our standing advice is simply to get it: one injection, valid for life.

Because a safari is a chain of camps in desolate locations, light aircraft, dirt airstrips and transfers: all very complicated! Why waste your time when someone can help you out? We work with hundreds of camps and lodges across Tanzania’s four safari circuits and Zanzibar’s coast. We know Africa and can help you plan around the UAE calendar rather than the northern-hemisphere one. We also apply whatever free-night offers you qualify for as a matter of course, and tell you when we think your plan is wrong.