21 Days Voluntourism in Tanzania with Trip to Zanzibar

You spend a week in your volunteer project in Moshi/Kilimanjaro, then go on safari in the Northern National Parks (Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire) for 5 days and join an excursion to the slopes of Kilimanjaro, a visit to a Maasai village with an overnight stay, and other activities and excursions before you spend the final week on the exotic spice island of Zanzibar where more excursions and activities are waiting for you, both in Zanzibar Town and on the beach.

The following facilities are available in volunteering:

  • Kindergarten
  • Informal Schools
  • Facility for children with special needs
  • Veterinary practice
  • Tree nursery, planting trees, and making paper

PRICES:

Combination of 1 week in the city and 1 week in the village:

In the city, inclusive of Shared Accommodation (no meals), in Kitogani with Host Family or at the Mother Nature Forest Camp (meals included):

For 1 Person: $2600 (single room)

For 2 Persons: $2300 (per person in double occupancy)

For 3 or more Persons: $2200 (per Person in double/ triple occupancy)

Single Room Supplement: + $65 per person

 

Cost for Nungwi (instead of Muungoni): + $145 per person

(Accommodation with meals at the Sea Turtle Conservation Center)

 

Combination of 2 weeks in the city:

For 1 Person: $2450 (Single Occupancy)

For 2 Persons: $2260 (per person in double occupancy)

For 3 or more Persons: 2180 (per person in double/triple occupancy)

Single Room Supplement: + $65 per person per week

Home Stay with family with middle standards full boarding instead of Shared Accommodation in the city: Base price + $300 per person

Simple Lodge on safari (2 nights) instead of Camping: + $125 per person

Comfort plus

Including:

Homestay in the city with full boarding of high standards instead of a shared flat : Base price + $450 per person

Hotel Al Minar (with breakfast): Base price + $560 (Single Occupancy) or + $350 per person on Double Occupancy

Simple Lodge on safari (2 nights) instead of Camping: + $125 per person

 

Details about the accommodation options here.

The prices above include:

* Accommodation as booked (with or without food). For full-day excursions, lunch is included.

* Activities and excursions as described

* Local contact

* Donation for your placements, each $50

* Transfers in Zanzibar for arrival and departure and relocation (city/village)

* Transfers from/to JRO-Airport for arrival and departure from Moshi

* Access to our online log-in area with extensive preparatory documents tailored to your travel destination

* In Moshi accommodation with full boarding in Twiga Home

* For Safari: Driver-Guide, entrance fees to all National Parks, all meals on safari, Accommodation as booked (Simple lodge or camping), in the case of camping, equipment is provided, VAT (18%) on the safari

* We plant 10 trees for you on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro!

Prices DO NOT include:

* International flights to Tanzania

* Flights from Zanzibar to Kilimanjaro (we can book for you at a cost; the prices vary according to season and short-term booking between about $120 and $350).

* Food, excursions and services that are not described in the package

* Personal Purchases, Souvenirs, etc.

* Travel Health Insurance

* Gratuities, other donations, etc.

* Visa Costs ($250)

You can start at any time during the year.

However, please note that the itinerary might change if your start date would cause the volunteering assignment to fall on weekends or holidays. 

If you book for your own and wish to do the excursions with more participants, we can usually find further participants.

Note: The start of this program is in Zanzibar (ZNZ) and the program ends in Kilimanjaro (JRO). It is ideal if you book your international flight, so that you arrive in Zanzibar and depart for Kilimanjaro. Some airlines have this on offer. Alternatively, you can book international flights also to Dar-es-Salaam (DAR), but then you need to book domestic flights to get to and depart from your project sites.

Day 1 – Arrival

Arrive at Kilimanjaro-Airport (JRO) and transfer to Moshi to your accommodation (Hostel or Host Family). There is an option for hotel booking.

 

Day 2 – Moshi Town Orientation

A day spent at your volunteer organization. You will be picked up in the morning from your accommodation and get introduced to the organization. At around 3 pm you will be picked up again and you will be given a 2-hours orientation walk through the town center of Moshi.

Day 3 – Rice fields tour

In the morning, volunteer on site. In the afternoon, there is a guided tour through the rice fields outside Moshi and in a rainforest inhabited by several monkey species.

Day 4 – Volunteer in Materuni communities

Day trip to Materuni Waterfall and Materuni Village. The Materuni waterfall, with a height of almost 150 m (500 ft) is the highest and most impressive waterfall at the slopes of Kilimanjaro of the Moshi area. From Materuni Village, we will walk some 30 minutes to the waterfall. The walk itself is interesting, as you will see some smaller waterfalls and lots of waterways that are part of the irrigation system of the local farmers who grow coffee, bananas, and many other fruits and vegetables.

At the waterfall, you can even refresh in the cool and crystal-clear water – don’t forget to bring your swimwear! When we return, we will have a late lunch at Materuni village and then we will do a small walk around the village to see the typical life of the Chagga tribe. The village, located at a height of around 1300 m (4300 ft) above sea level is set within a dramatic landscape of high rises and deep valleys, all covered by tropical rainforest. Accommodation is at Moshi.

Days 5-6 – Volunteering at your work site

You will return to your work site for two days and get ready for a marathon safari.

Day 7 Lake Manyara

In the morning, start a five-day safari from Moshi. On the first day of the safari, we will drive from Moshi to the Lake Manyara National Park (takes about 4 hours). The lake is impressively framed by the hills of the East African Rift Valley. In the tall trees, the humid forest monkeys swing from branch to branch, and elephants stand in the shade of acacia trees. You can also see many zebras, impalas, giraffes, hippos, and waterfowl. Lunch Box is provided on the go. Dinner is in Karatu (camping or Simple Lodge).

Day 8 – Serengeti

On the second day, we will drive to the Serengeti National Park through Olduvai Gorge. The Olduvai Gorge is a bizarre landscape, which was created millions of years ago due to tectonic shifts. Here, they found significant remnants of early human beings which were fundamental in understanding the evolution of mankind. On the way to the Serengeti, we see many wild animals like wildebeest, zebras, gazelles, giraffes, elephants, antelopes, and various types of monkeys and birds. Lunch boxes are provided on the way. In the late afternoon, we arrive at our accommodation in the area Ikoma, where we have dinner and camp overnight.

 

Day 9 – Serengeti

On the third day of the safari, we have a daylong safari in the world-famous Serengeti National Park, which has the highest density of wild animals on earth. Lunchbox lunch is provided, and evening meals are in our campsite in the Ikoma Area.

Day 10 – Ngorongoro

After breakfast, we go on a 30-minute drive from the lodge to Ngorongoro Crater. Ngorongoro Crater is the largest non-flooded volcanic crater of the earth, one of the most important natural wonders of our planet. It is not only the home of the endangered black rhino, but also hosts lions, leopards, hyenas, antelopes, and flamingos. We will have a picnic lunch near the “Hippo Pool”. Then we go back for dinner and stay at our accommodation in Karatu (camping or Simple Lodge).

 

Day 11 – Tarangire

On the fifth day of the safari, we will visit the Tarangire National Park. The landscape of Tarangire is different from the other National Parks in northern Tanzania, with lots of baobab trees and thick bushes. There are many elephants and tree-climbing lions that live here. Lunch boxes are provided on the way. In the afternoon, we drive back to Moshi, where you have your accommodation.

 

Day 12 – Moshi

Chill the whole morning in Moshi. In the afternoon, we will visit the Shah Industries, a Workshop and Shop for souvenirs made of leather and horn, where many people with impairment work. Accommodation is in Moshi.

 

 

Day 13-14 – Maasai Dorf

Two-day tour with an overnight stay in Maasai village in Arusha. There, you can drag the steppe with the Maasai, with a herd of cattle or goats, and learn about the Maasai culture. The Maasai will show you their traditional dance, their houses, their handicrafts, and their school. In the evening, you play Maasai campfire games with them. You sleep in a real Maasai house or alternatively, in your own tent. The next morning, you can milk the cows with the Maasai, and then accompany the Maasai children to the river with a herd. Full catering is included. On the afternoon of the second day, we will drive back to Moshi. Accommodation is at Moshi.

Day 15 – Stone Town/Zanzibar

Transfer to the airport for your flight to Zanzibar. There, you have a pickup and transfer to your accommodation in Zanzibar Town (Shared accommodation or host family). There is an option for hotel booking. Stone Town, the historic old town, is a maze of 1001 nights. The influences of Black Africa, Arabia, Persia, India, and the British colonial period have united to form one unique blend. In the afternoon, you have a guided tour of Zanzibar Town.

Day 16 – Spice Tour

In the morning, there is a Spice Tour, a tour of a spice plantation. Besides exotic spices, tropical fruits are grown here that you can see, smell, and taste. The afternoon is at leisure in Zanzibar Town.

Day 17 – Dolphins in Zanzibar

Full-day trip “Safari Blue“. From Fumba in the South of Zanzibar, on a dhow, the traditional sailing ship of the Indian Ocean, you will explore the natural wonders of Menau Bay. There will be a fruit snack on a sandbank, you can snorkel at a coral reef and swim in a lagoon. On an island, there will be a beach barbecue with fish, lobster, chicken, vegetables, and a tropical fruit tasting. You can also learn how to navigate a “Ngalawa”, the outrigger canoe of the local fishermen. In Menai Bay, it is often possible to see dolphins. In the late afternoon, we will sail back to Fumba. Alcoholic beverages are inclusive. Back to Zanzibar Town.

 

Day 18 – Jozani Forest

This is a full-day tour! The day starts with a visit to the Jozani Forest National Park, which is famous for its endemic Red Colobus Monkeys. Besides some colonies of monkeys, you can see the impressive plants and trees of this tropical rainforest and you can have a stroll through the mangrove area. After this, we will drive to the Zanzibar Butterfly Centre, East Africa’s largest covered space for butterflies, which is a project of sustainable tourism. As the butterflies only live for a few weeks, the center is in constant need of new butterflies. These are bred by the villagers of the nearby village under the guidance of a biologist named Pete and sold to the butterfly center.

Afterward, we will visit the handicraft project “MOTO”, where we will first have lunch. Then, we will see how a women’s cooperative produces wickerwork and braided objects. They also weave Kikoi fabrics that they tint, making use of solar technology. You can even try out everything yourself! Another highlight is a visit to the Zanzibar Turtles and Tortoise Land. It is a small park which is run by a farmer’s cooperative who are being supported by World Unite! volunteers. The park has amongst other reptiles Aldabra Giant Tortoises, which is a protected species. In the late afternoon we will proceed to Jambiani on Zanzibar’s east coast where you will check into the hotel “Coral Rocks” (hotel with breakfast is included).

Day 19 – Chill at Jambiani Beach

Spend the day lazing at the Jambiani beach; accommodation with breakfast is included at Coral Rocks.

Day 20 – Mangrove Tour to Uzi Island

 

After breakfast, transfer to the village of Kitogani, near Jozani Forest National Park, and move into the Mother Nature Forest Camp (6-share tent with other volunteers). After a welcome drink of fresh fruit juice, you can row with a knowledgeable guide by canoe through the mangroves between Zanzibar’s main island Unguja and Uzi Island. It is the largest mangrove zone in Zanzibar, which is an important habitat for many birds and marine animals. You will then get off at Uzi Island and walk across the island to get to know the lives of the farmers and fishermen. You will also have a meal on Uzi Island. In the late afternoon, you will return to the Forest Camp, where you will be served a delicious local dinner.

 

Day 21 – Muungoni Village

On the second day in the village Kitogani, after breakfast, you will join other volunteers under Lush Africa Safaris. Lunch and dinner are served at Forest Camp where you will stay overnight.

 

Day 22 – Departure

Transfer to the airport for your departure.

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