Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Buy your tickets at the office and not from the touts, and don't believe anyone who tries to
tell you there's a luggage fee, unless you are carrying an excessively large pack.
»For short stretches along main routes, express buses will drop you on request, though
you'll often need to pay the full fare to the next major destination.
»On long routes, expect to sleep either on the bus, pulled off to the side of the road, or at a
grubby guesthouse.
PERILS OF THE ROAD
Road accidents are probably your biggest safety risk while travelling in Tan-
zania, with speeding buses being among the worst offenders. Road conditions
are poor and driving standards leave much to be desired. Overtaking blind is a
problem, as are high speeds. Your bus driver may, in fact, be at the wheel of an
ageing, rickety vehicle with a cracked windshield and marginal brakes on a
winding, potholed road. However, he'll invariably be driving as if he were pilot-
ing a sleek racing machine coming down the straight - nerve-wracking to say
the least. Impassioned pleas from passengers to slow down usually have little
effect, and pretending you're sick is often counterproductive. Many vehicles
have painted slogans such as
Mungu Atubariki
(God Bless Us) or 'In God we
Trust' in the hope that a bit of extra help from above will see them safely
through the day's runs.
To maximise your chances of a safe arrival, avoid night travel, and ask locals
for recommendations of reputable companies. If you have a choice, it's usually
better to go with a full-sized bus than a minibus or 30-seater bus.
MINIBUS & SHARED TAXI
For shorter trips away from the main routes, the choice is often between 30-seater buses
('Coastals' or
thelathini
) and dalla-dallas. Both options come complete with chickens on
the roof, bags of produce under the seats, no leg room and schedules only in the most gen-
eral sense of the word. Dalla-dallas, especially, are invariably filled to overflowing. Shared
taxis are rare, except in northern Tanzania near Arusha and several other locations. Like or-
dinary buses, dalla-dallas and shared taxis leave when full, and are the least safe transport
option.
TRUCK
In remote areas, including much of western Tanzania, trucks operate as buses (for a roughly
similar fare) with passengers sitting or standing in the back. Even on routes that have daily
bus service, many people still use trucks.
