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Tanzania: Serengeti to Zanzibar

SueMS

Hey Tauck Community friends.
JohnS and I haven’t been on for some time due to the sad passing of my hubby, JohnS, in April. He was diagnosed with Metastatic Melanoma last July and unfortunately the ‘C’ won the battle.
But I’m back! And planning my next trip!
I am taking my son, Steven, to Africa on safari over Christmas. I have booked us on the ‘Tanzania: Serengeti to Zanzibar’ for Dec. 22, 2025. I have some questions I’m hoping you can give me guidance on.

1- Steven doesn’t do a lot of air travel and I want to get him either TSA pre or Global Entry. I’m leaning towards TSA pre as it will be easier to get, cheaper, and his last overseas trip was in 2008.
2- Dressier clothing: does Steven need a sport coat? I’m thinking NOT. And for me only 1 pair of nicer slacks.
3- How far ahead of the trip should we apply for the Tanzania visa?
4- Also for Tanzania, I know there is a rule of no plastic. The Tauck page does indicate ziplock bags are OK though. Any insight?
5- What Vaccines do you recommend (I admit I haven’t looked at the CDC site yet or talked with my doctor).
Thanks
Sue

Comments

British

Sue, I am so very sorry to hear about John’s passing. All here who read his posts will miss his contributions. I’m so glad you are planning a trip and Tanzania Zanzibar is a great one! We went to Kenya and Tanzania over Christmas 2019.
Maybe you haven’t been reading about the difficulties people have been having of late to get visas for Tanzania to come through in a timely manner. But good news, you can apply early as the visa is good for a year from the date you enter the country. Last year, ours came through in a matter of days but lately people have waited 4 weeks. The website can quite frequently go offline too. So my advice is to apply early in case of such difficulties.
You do not need any dressy clothing, certainly not for the Tanzania part. , I’m pretty sure you mainly stay at the same hotels we did last year. The Zanzibar hotel is different than when we went in 2014, so you may need one outfit for the farewell dinner. Your son does not need a sport coat. Layers for the cool evening and early morning starts especially when you are at the Ngorongoro crater.
I recall you went on the Elegant South Africa tour, so you may have all the vaccines required or recommended. Check the CDC and compare what you have had.
As far as I can recall, not even ziplock bags are allowed, but again good news, as there are many silicone bag choices in all sizes these days and they are reasonable priced. Not worth risking taking any plastic bags now these are easily available. Look at Amazon.
Do post a review, your travel insights have always been appreciated!

MS78

1.TSA pre and global entry do two different things. TSA pre allows you to get through security without having to remove your shoes and is usually just quicker than normal boarding security. Global entry is for when you return to the US and have to clear customs. You take a photo and basically wave at a customs agent as you leave the airport. It can save you a lot of time if the line for customs is long. However if you apply and pay for Global entry, you get tsa pre along with it. But Global entry is only useful if you fly internationally or if you by chance drive back from Canada.
2 Tauck should tell you when to apply for the visa.
3 I always look to CDC for vaccine recommendations.

Happy travels!

SueMS

Thank you British and MS78.
I'll get the Visas going soon.
Yea, I know TSA pre is included in Global as that is what I have. I don't expect Steven to be doing much International travel, so perhaps 1 day of inconvenience might be acceptable. I'm obviously on the fence on which way he should go in applying.

kfnknfzk

SueMS,

My sincere condolences. I remember complimenting John several times for his insightful, professional reviews and for his uncanny ability to choose a few photos that brought his narrative to life. May you be blessed with many memories of your time together.

SueMS

Thanks kfnknfzk, I do plan to carry on with travel reviews. (Some of the pictures were mine 🙂)

So looking forward to traveling again.

kfnknfzk

All the best to you. 🌸🌼🌸

OurTravels34

Oh my goodness, I am so sorry to hear this sad news. I remember reading your husband’s posts on this forum and he seemed to be a brilliant man with a wealth of travel information. More specifically, I remember his posts explaining how to make the final documents into a booklet. I also remember sending him a slideshow of our Utah trip when Alan had so many inquisitive question while preparing for that triip that I would never have thought about. It is wonderful that you will be going back to Africa with your son.
Our sincere condolences.

NancyCohen

I too enjoyed and learned so much from John’s (and your) comments . My sincere condolences …may his memory be for a blessing.

gladysorlando984

SueMS my condolences on John passing. I'm so glad you will be traveling again.

British

I just opened the VisaCentral App I have. A note flashed up saying not to apply for a visa earlier than 90 days for Tanzania, then it disappeared. I went into the Tanzania information and read this

IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Processing times
Please note that due to high demand during the peak travel season to Tanzania, processing times may take up to 25 business days in certain cases. Please take this into account when planning your travels.

However, it still says visas are good for a year.
All I can tell you is that last year, we applied earlier than 90 days because we were traveling a lot during the 90 day timing and we were applied for nine people. We received our visas promptly. One visa was for a member of our family who has British citizenship so it cost half the price of an American one. Oh, we did not use VisaCentral, though we have used them in the past before there were such things as E visas, including one time to Tanzania.

SueMS

Thanks British. I’ll add this info to my notes. 😁