To travel to Tanzania for a safari, you need four things:

• A passport valid for at least 6 months from your date of entry, with blank pages
• A Tanzania visa, best arranged online in advance (the e-visa covers mainland and Zanzibar)
• A return or onward ticket
• A yellow fever vaccination certificate, if you're arriving from a country where yellow fever is a risk

The tourist visa is US$50 for most nationalities; US passport holders pay US$100 for a multiple-entry visa. Always confirm the current fee and requirements for your nationality on the official portal before you apply. Everything below is the detail, and the mistakes that cause delays.

Have these ready before you fly:

• Passport valid 6+ months beyond entry, with at least a couple of blank pages
• Your approved Tanzania visa (e-visa grant notice, printed and saved on your phone)
• A return or onward flight ticket
• Yellow fever certificate, if you're coming from or have recently visited a yellow fever risk country
• Accommodation details and your itinerary (the application asks for these)
• A payment card for the visa fee, and travel insurance documents

If you've booked with us, we'll send a pre-departure checklist so nothing gets missed.

For tourism, the visa you need is straightforward:

• Ordinary (single entry): US$50, valid up to 90 days. This covers most nationalities for a safari and beach trip.
• Multiple entry: US$100, valid 12 months (max 90 days per visit). Required for US passport holders, and useful if you're hopping to a neighbouring country and returning.

One important point that saves confusion: the visa covers both mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar. There is no separate Zanzibar visa. Fees are set by the Tanzanian government and paid on the official portal; confirm the current amount for your nationality before applying, as fees can change

Apply online, in advance, through the official Tanzania Immigration portal at visa.immigration.go.tz. The recommended route is the e-visa, applied for before you travel — it avoids any uncertainty at the airport. You'll create an application, upload your documents, pay the fee, and receive a grant notice by email to present on arrival.

On timing: standard applications are processed within about 10 business days, while some nationalities fall into a referral category that can take up to 6 weeks. Apply at least 2 to 4 weeks ahead, and earlier in peak safari season (July–October) when the portal is busiest.

A note on visa on arrival: the rules here have been changing, and sources differ on whether arrival visas are still issued. Don't gamble on it. Apply online in advance and confirm the current position for your nationality on the official portal before you travel, so you're never at risk of being denied boarding.

The main entry-related health document is the yellow fever vaccination certificate, required if you're arriving from, or have recently transited, a country where yellow fever is a risk. If you're flying directly from the UK, US, Europe or similar, it's often not required for entry, but routing matters, so check your specific itinerary.

For everything else — recommended vaccinations, malaria prevention — that's a conversation for a doctor or travel clinic 4 to 6 weeks before you travel, not a border requirement. We don't give medical advice; your clinic will tailor it to you and your route.

Most visa problems are self-inflicted and easy to avoid:

• Wrong visa type — choosing business or transit instead of tourist, or (for US citizens) single entry instead of the required multiple entry.
• Upload errors — many rejections come from photos or document files that don't meet the size or format specs. Read the requirements before uploading.
• Leaving it late — applying days before departure, then hitting a referral delay or a portal slowdown in peak season.
• Passport validity — under 6 months from entry, or no blank pages.
• Unofficial sites — only apply through the official portal, or a clearly identified, reputable service. Avoid lookalike sites charging inflated fees.

If you hold a US passport, you must apply for the multiple-entry visa at US$100 (valid one year, up to 90 days per visit), even for a single safari. The single-entry US$50 option doesn't apply to you. It's a common and costly mix-up at the application stage.

One further note: same-sex relationships are criminalised under Tanzanian law, and some advisories flag entry and safety considerations for LGBTQ+ travellers. If this applies to you, review your government's current travel advice before booking.

Visa and entry rules feel fiddly from the outside, but they're routine once you know the steps. When you book with us, you get a clear pre-departure checklist covering your documents, the visa process, and what to confirm for your nationality and routing, so you arrive with everything in order.

• Request your free tailor-made safari quote
• Chat with a safari expert on WhatsApp: +255 740 666 662 · info@safari-tz.com