Most of the lodges and camps we typically incorporate into our itineraries have now reopened under the government’s new and strict operating procedures. These include screening and temperature checks for all staff and guests, frequent disinfecting of high touch surfaces, limiting the number of guests for dinning services and wearing recommended protective gear.

ADS Guests checking in at Arusha Coffee Lodge – Temperature Checks and Hand Sanitizer Stations now in place at all Lodges and Camps

As a tour operator, we have implemented our own set of procedures and policies regarding the operation of safari activities which include thoroughly sanitizing vehicles after each safari, providing hand sanitizer, liquid soap and purified water in each vehicle for additional hand washing, teaching enhanced hygiene techniques to our staff and, most importantly, keeping ALL safaris on a private vehicle basis with one guide and one private vehicle for the duration of your trip.

ADS Guests arriving Kilimanjaro International Airport on August 28, 2020

Hand Sanitizers and Disposable Gloves in Vehicles

In the Northern Tanzania areas where we operate safaris, we are still seeing very few cases of COVID-19 per the medical clinics and doctors in those areas. Our local staff and their families are reporting the same. Since the government stopped sharing COVID-19 data, it makes it impossible for us to speak with any authority about the situation in the rest of the country. However, this information coming out of Northern Tanzania is encouraging, and likely more relevant to our safari guests anyway, since this is the area where we conduct our safaris. Most of our guests spend very little time, if any, in the other parts of Tanzania including Dar es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania.

Pre-Safari Briefing in Arusha

A Final Thought (and strictly an opinion)

It’s worth noting that East Africa maybe better prepared than many other areas having learned much about virus prevention from the 2014 – 2016 Ebola outbreak. That outbreak certainly created a culture of ‘germaphobia’ in Tanzania that has only been magnified by the current crisis. You’ll find most people around town in Arusha and elsewhere in Northern Tanzania are very socially conscious and responsible.

Now more than ever when travelling to Tanzania, you’ll certainly be given a warm and joyous welcome by the local people whose livelihood so greatly depends on a flourishing tourism industry. There is an old adage in Tanzania that says one goes to Africa to see the animals but falls in love with the people!

Please refer to the latest travel advisory issued by Tanzania on August 05, 2020 for more information: TRAVEL-ADVISORY-NO.5-OF-05.08.2020

Safari Njema!

For the latest information on travel restrictions to Tanzania – please see our most recent post: Tanzania Travel Restrictions and International Flights

For the latest information on the current wildlife viewing conditions in Tanzania – please see our most recent post: What’s it like these days to travel and safari in Tanzania