Tanzania Visas

atlbowler

My wife and I will be on the Serengeti to Zanzibar trip that starts mid-February.

Our travel agent recommended we purchase Tanzanian visas at the airport when we arrive (about midnight) rather than use a visa service.

We would appreciate knowing what you did (airport or Visa service) and if you would recommend your choice.

Thanks very much and hope your trip was/will be very enjoyable.

Leo M

We arrived at Kilimanjaro Airport from Amsterdam and one third of the passengers descended on two overwhelmed Tanzanian visa officials. I obtained our visas in advance. My wife and I were through Customs and talking to our Tauck Tour guide within six or seven minutes. It was a piece of cake. An hour and a half later, we were still waiting for several of our group to buy their visas and clear Customs. I was so glad to be back in Africa the wait didn't bother me particularly. Others were not quite so pleased.

Tauck has a company they recommend to help you get your visas. Some of our group did obtain their Tanzania and Kenya visas through this company. I did not hear of any problems.

I chose to get my visas directly from the Embassies. I Googled the Embassies in Washington, D.C. They provide a form which can be printed, completed and send to them with your payment. It is really quite easy. I saved a little money handling the visas myself but, frankly, money was not my motive. I just wanted to try it myself.

We are returning to Tanzania again this week and I got the visas myself again. It took about 2 weeks to get our passports to the Embassy and returned with the visas.

Hope you enjoy your trip...Leo M

atlbowler

Leo, thank you very, very much for your reply and advice!

Francesca King

Hello, my usband and I are looking at the Tanzania and Kenya trip. Does anyone have a suggestion as to the best time to travel to Africa? Thank you
Francesca

btoohill

We went on the September 8 trip this year. It's the dry season then so it was dusty, cool at night, warm but not hot during the day. But there were almost no mosquitos. I think we saw 2 the entire trip. Fabulous trip!!!

cmnelson

How far in advance can you get the visas. We are traveling in May 2013 and want to get them ourselves as well.

labellemeduse

Dear Leo M / anyone-

When you got your visa directly through the Tanzania Embassy in DC, did you send a check? cc? money order? Did you also include a pre-paid Fedex return envelope or something of the like?

Many thanks!

Leo M

Hello Labellemeduse...My apologies for not responding sooner. We were in Africa when you posted your question and I must have missed it when we returned. I'm guessing three months late will not be helpful but I'll try.

Yes, we sent our visa paperwork directly to the Tanzanian and Kenyan Embassies in Washington, D.C. First, I went on their websites and printed out their visa applications and instructions. Filling out the information was simple and straight forward. But, be careful, each country can require slightly different procedures, especially as it applies to overnight carriers. I enclosed a money order with my applications. And, yes, I enclosed a pre-addressed / fee paid overnight envelope with each application. One Embassy specified Fed Ex and one UPS. I can't remember which was which but it was clearly stated in the instructions.

You can save some money doing the visas yourself but be sure to leave yourself ample time. It took about two weeks for each country to respond. Hope this helps and sorry for the delay....Leo M

AlanS

I'm a little late to this discussion, but was wondering, has anyone applied for a VISA in person at the Tanzanian or Kenyan Embassies? Is same-day VISA service available at either or both? Any gotcha's?

We visit our daughter in DC quite regularly. I guess I should ask her husband who is a Foreign Service Officer for the US State Dept, but that doesn't necessarily help dealing with foreign embassies.

Another question- Is a (transit?) VISA recommended or needed if my flight has a scheduled stop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, but a long delay forces me to leave the international terminal to spend a night there?

British

Hi Alan, I've used the Tauck recommended visa service several times now and it has worked very well. Though I am someone who does like to save money, I always balance it against the time and aggravation it might cause me to save the pennies. If there is anyone out there who could tell us how much it costs to" Do it Yourself' instead of going through the visa services? That might let you decide if it worth the extra effort. I did the Tanzania and Kenya tour a few years ago and will be taking the Tanzania tour in July. We will be using the Tauck visa service again. We hate to have our passports unavailable for any amount of time, so that's another reason. It seems to be two weeks most visa processing times for the countries we have visited.
I guess to be honest if we find ourselves waiting around at the airport while others get their visas there on arrival and we are stuck waiting to get to our hotel on a communal drive from the airport as I see others have mentioned, it will not be a good start to our trip.
This will be our third trip to Africa, South Africa and Zimbabwe last time. It's a fascinating country.

AlanS

British wrote:

Hi Alan, I've used the Tauck recommended visa service several times now and it has worked very well. Though I am someone who does like to save money, I always balance it against the time and aggravation it might cause me to save the pennies. If there is anyone out there who could tell us how much it costs to" Do it Yourself' instead of going through the visa services? That might let you decide if it worth the extra effort. I did the Tanzania and Kenya tour a few years ago and will be taking the Tanzania tour in July. We will be using the Tauck visa service again. We hate to have our passports unavailable for any amount of time, so that's another reason. It seems to be two weeks most visa processing times for the countries we have visited.
I guess to be honest if we find ourselves waiting around at the airport while others get their visas there on arrival and we are stuck waiting to get to our hotel on a communal drive from the airport as I see others have mentioned, it will not be a good start to our trip.
This will be our third trip to Africa, South Africa and Zimbabwe last time. It's a fascinating country.

I just checked the Kenya, Tanzania, (and Ethiopia) Embassy websites. - here are the current fees (I can't guarantee the mail/in-person info is correct since it was a bit confusing- Kenya had mail-in info but made no mention, one way or another, if submitting in person was possible.

Kenya- $50, mail application
Tanzania- $100, by mail or in person
Ethiopia- $70 by mail or in person

According to their website, the fee charged by Pinnacle, Tauck's recommended company, for Kenya and Tanzania visas isn't cheap- $349 ($669 for two people) vs $150/$300 plus the cost of mailers for do-it-yourself visas. I'll need to think about it. Taken in context of the cost of the entire trip, including business class airfare, the fee is not unreasonable. On the other hand, selective and thoughtful frugality allows me to do things like flying business class.