Sample itinerary - Vintage Southern Tanzania & Stone Town

Discover urban living at its finest at Dar es Salaam Serena Hotel, ideally located in the heart of the city's business district. This cosmopolitan gem offers a unique blend of pan-African style and professionalism, creating an oasis for both business and leisure travelers. It's just moments away from sandy Indian Ocean beaches, vibrant fish markets, craft bazaars, and delectable restaurants.

Amidst tropical gardens, this distinctive five-star hotel promises a warm welcome, vibrant experiences, and indelible memories. With a generous offering of 230 rooms, the hotel provides an abundance of options for your stay.

Dar es Salaam Serena Hotel is celebrated as one of Tanzania's most prestigious establishments, embodying the city's essence: diverse, stylish, yet remarkably relaxed and down-to-earth. It's a place where you can immerse yourself in the cosmopolitan charm of the city while enjoying the comforts and conveniences of a retreat, all set against the backdrop of the Indian Ocean and the lively cityscape.

One of the first camps to be established in Nyerere National Park (formerly the Selous Game Reserve), Rufiji River Camp has a fine location, on a bank several metres above the Rufiji River at the eastern end of the reserve’s photographic area. The camp spreads along a considerable length of the river and the tents are reasonably well-spaced. The public areas are also large, with room for some privacy.

At the heart of Rufiji River Camp is a large central area with wonderful views over the Rufiji River. The lounge and small library, bar and dining area are all under one high thatched roof with lovely stone floors and comfortable soft furnishings. A few old board games are dotted around for playing before or after dinner. There’s a second floor to this area too, providing more seclusion and good spots for taking in the scene. The whole area has a rustic African feel to it, with thatched roofs, stone floors and the occasional piece of carved furniture.

Outside, some simple wooden seating is set around a campfire, and set a little further back from the river is Rufiji’s shaded swimming pool, which stays very cool in the heat of the day. There are loungers around the pool for those wishing to relax and sunbathe in between safari activities.

Well laid-out pathways lead to 14 en-suite tents, spaced along the river in a lush stretch of woodland populated by vervet monkeys and numerous birds – and occasionally visited by more exciting large mammals. There are three pairs of family tents, sleeping up to four people and connected by wooden platforms. These family units also all have their own, private plunge pools.

Each tent has a stone or wooden deck, with a table and two chairs: a pleasant place to relax between safari activities. Inside, the tents are simple in style and boast little in the way of luxury, but they are clean and have comfortable, are pleasantly decorated with colourful African prints, are are furnished with a hanging space for your clothes and a writing desk. Floor-standing fans and mesh-covered windows keep conditions reasonably cool. Torches, a whistle and insect repellent are provided.

The bathrooms are situated through a door at the back of the tents. These too, are simple yet large and clean, with a shower, a bidet, a single washbasin and a flush toilet. Soap and shampoo are also supplied. The tents also have electric plug sockets.

Rufiji River Camp offers a range of activities, all accompanied by camp guides who are very friendly and have a reasonable knowledge of the wildlife. As well as boat safaris on the Rufiji River and walking safaris from the camp, there are game drives encompassing three nearby lakes, including a full-day safari with a packed lunch. For the adventurous who wish to experience more of the bush, there is also the option of fly-camping for a few nights. The vehicle fleet at the camp consists of 3 Maruti jeeps with bench seats, taking four passengers, 3 old Land Rover Defenders and 3 new Land Rover Defenders.

There is a fairly formulaic approach to activities here, common to many camps in Nyerere National Park. Guided walks run from 6.30am to 9am; boat trips or game drives from 06.30 to 11.30 (with a bush breakfast) or after breakfast from 8.30 to 1pm; then in the afternoon from 4-6pm. Full-day game drives can also be arranged, with a picnic lunch.

For a relaxed, down-to-earth stay in Nyerere National Park, Rufiji River Camp is a good choice. The camp is clean and comfortable with a pleasant, unpretentious air and reasonable prices. From the front of the camp, the views across the Rufiji are impressive, and the scene is frequently dominated by hippos wallowing and honking nearby.

Rates include all meals, two game drives per day and a boat trip and a walking safari, airstrip transfers, tea, coffee, filtered water and laundry.

Situated in a fantastic location right on the river, Ruaha River Lodge is the oldest lodge in Ruaha National Park. Unpretentious and relaxed, it is owned and run by the Fox family, and is well suited for those on a tighter budget. Although the lodge is relatively large, the atmosphere is more personal than you might expect, with very engaged management and friendly service.

Sandy, stone-lined pathways lead to Ruaha River Lodge's bedrooms – 29 detached bandas (thatched cottages), built of solid stone and spread along the river bank. Each banda is very spacious (totalling around 70 square metres, or 750 sq ft), with a large veranda equipped with a couple of directors' chairs – a peaceful place to watch animals coming down to the river to drink.

Large double doors lead from the veranda into the bedroom and lounge area, subdivided by a low wooden counter which also acts as an area to store clothes. In front of this a plastic, faux-wicker sofa and armchair set are ranged around a glass-topped coffee table of similar design. Foam filled cushions soften the edges, but the zebra-striped and animal-print décor is utilitarian and has an unintentionally retro look.

Behind the counter there's one queen-size and one single bed, under simple frame-style mosquito nets, with bedside tables and a double power point for charging batteries (however the power is only on from 9am-1pm and from 6.30pm-10.30pm and goes off without warning). Cool cement floors and walls help to keep the room at a moderate temperature, further helped by insect screen rather than glass in the windows to allow a breeze. The roof is very high – a good thing too from the temperature point of view, as there is only one thin layer of makuti thatch. The flapping curtains are being steadily replaced by blinds.

Like the rooms, the en-suite bathrooms are very large, with a flush toilet, twin ceramic washbasins and shower. There are no dividing walls, even for the shower, so it's all rather functional and unimaginative, and very dark. However, with basic complimentary toiletries, and solar-heated water (hot in the evening, tepid in the morning), the necessities are all provided.

One of the two main lounge and dining areas at Ruaha River Lodge is set on the river bank under a large thatched roof, with open sides, reed walls at the back and views north and south along the river. In the dry season this is a great place to watch out for animals coming down to drink. Polished red cement floors, dark leather sofas and chairs grouped around coffee tables, and the occasional set of antelope horns on the walls give a rustic, colonial feel. The design is simple, open and airy, with tables and directors' chairs set up in the adjacent area for dining.

A second lounge/dining area, similar in style, is an impressive structure built on top of a high kopje, with spectacular views across the river and the park. Although the walk up is quite demanding, it's well worth the effort, as this is a lovely place to have a spot of lunch or relax with a book. This dining area is generally used for lunch.

Ruaha River Lodge also has a small book exchange, and a shop where you can buy postcards, T-shirts and the odd gift, though don't expect a high-quality curios. The shop is located up behind the kopje dining area.

Activities at Ruaha River Lodge focus on morning and afternoon safari drives in 4x4 vehicles. They have a large fleet of vehicles here: 7 Maruti jeeps with room for 4 passengers, and 4 Land Rover TDi 6-passenger seaters.

You can also head out for the whole day with a packed lunch to explore deeper into the park. The guides at Ruaha River Lodge are friendly and seem to have a good level of knowledge.

Ruaha River Lodge is an attractive lodge that feels very natural, and given its size it manages to remain quite personal and in touch with its surroundings. Elephants are often in the valley, very close to the lodge, and smaller animals are seen around the lodge grounds all the time. Were it not for the location and very good staff-management ambiance, this lodge would have much less appeal. But if you're looking for a permanent lodge with a decent level of comfort, great views and a moderate price tag, this is a good choice.

Rates include all meals, two game drives per day, tea, coffee and filtered water, laundry.

The small Zanzibar Coffee House Hotel sits above a coffee shop down one of Stone Town's narrow streets. All their coffee comes from the owner's plantation in southern Tanzania. The beans are roasted on site at the hotel, and as a result the entire hotel has a lovely aroma.

Zanzibar Coffee House has few of the usual facilities you might expect from a hotel; there are no phones; there's no television or radio (although there is Wi-fi); and there's no swimming pool. However, all of these are within easy reach if you need them – and we found that the lack of these commercial touches resulted in the hotel having a really calm and relaxed atmosphere.

The Zanzibar Coffee House Hotel has a wonderful little coffee shop on the ground floor as you first enter. The coffee shop attracts a mix of locals, tourists and expats, so the atmosphere is usually friendly and buzzing, if a little hectic at times. Delicious home-made fresh croissants, cakes, muffins, and cookies sit behind glass display cases whilst fresh coffee, smoothies and milkshakes are also on offer.

The café is decorated in a traditional Swahili style, with arched doorways, heavy wooden furniture and polished stone floors. Whilst a little table with hand-painted tiles displays ground coffee for sale. The coffee shop is a lovely quaint place, which is perfect for a drink and a snack. It is only open from 09:00 – 18:00, so there will never be any disturbance caused to the guests.

Behind the coffee shop, set to one side of a small courtyard is the roasting room. This cooled air-conditioned room is where all of the coffee is stored, roasted and then ground – coffee lovers will be in heaven!

From the coffee shop, a set of stairs leads up to the 8 guest rooms, and then up onto the roof-top restaurant. The restaurant is reached through an outdoor terrace and there are large French windows on all sides, which means that you can enjoy the view in all directions. This is a real feature: the views from here are fantastic – you can see for miles across the roofs of Stone Town.

The roof-top restaurant is furnished with very low (almost floor-level) chairs, all covered in comfortable cushions. Between pairs of these are little tables for two which face in to the centre of the room, in traditional Swahili style.

The rooms at the Zanzibar Coffee House are all of a reasonable size, though they do vary depending on the cost, and not all of the rooms have an en-suite bathroom. Though they are all beautifully furnished and spotlessly clean.

This small hotel is not flashy and stylish, but is instead wonderfully low-key and atmospheric: quiet, charming and quaint. It is one of the friendliest places that we have visited in Stone Town and is excellent value. Given the quality of its rooms and service, we regard it as being a great alternative to Stone Town's better-known mid-range hotels.

Rates are on a bed and breakfast basis.