Tanzania family holiday for all ages

Planet

You’ll mainly be eating locally sourced food while you are in Tanzania, as several of the lodges and camps we use implement a ‘farm to table’ model, and on Zanzibar the seafood is abundant. For vegetarians and vegans there are colourful local salads and an array of tropical fruits.

We exercise responsible practice in our own office, being almost completely paper-free and minimising our electricity consumption by switching off lights, computers, fans etc in rooms that are not in use and at night. We monitor thermostats and keep doors and windows closed when heating is on. We also do not produce a brochure, and we email all documents to our travellers.

We try to keep motorised travel to a minimum where possible.

Most of the accommodations we use offer water refill points to minimise the use of plastic water bottles. Our safari vehicles also all carry large freshwater containers so travellers can refill 'on the go' safe in the knowledge that the water is clean and they are not getting through multiple plastic bottles. In our pre-trip information, we recommend people bring along their own individual filter water bottles, which can be refilled from any tap and which safely filter the water as you drink it, to avoid buying single-use plastic.

The camps and lodges we work with have typically been designed to blend in with surroundings and have as little impact as possible on their environment. Mainly locally owned and operated, the lodges frequently use local materials and craftsmen.

Our safari guides come from the local area with many years of safari guiding experience. Hand-picked for being great with families, our guides are experts at finding game while causing a minimum of disruption to the wildlife. We always follow best practice when it comes to not approaching too closely and not crowding animals.

Many of our trips are to conservancies, where there are fewer vehicles which in turn benefits both the animals, as you as a visitor.

We would urge our customers to heed advice about not feeding local wildlife, sticking to allocated trails only, taking out everything you take in (leaving nothing behind), always following their guide's instructions to keep themselves and the animals safe as they explore.

Many of the lodges and camps we use have preserved their patches of forest or desert habitats and maintain walking trails, as well as offering employment to the local community. Many of them also grow some of their own fruit and veg, for zero ‘food miles.’

The people who work in the lodges and are involved in guiding are all trained to uphold conservational principles and encourage our guests to visit responsibly. National Park and conservancy rangers are highly trained and respected, and the entrance fees earned from our visits goes directly towards conservation and anti-poaching efforts.

Planning safaris for families means that we cherry-pick the most appropriate family-friendly activities and routes. We have a deep understanding of what works best, to keep not only our travellers safe but also to ensure that no guide is ever put in a position where they must endanger an animal because a traveller is behaving irresponsibly.

People

All our tours in Tanzania are run in conjunction with local partners that have been chosen partly because they provide a fantastic service but also because they share our environmental and social goals. We work with a small, locally owned ground agent. Not only does this ensure that it is the host community who are managing and benefiting from tourism, but we also believe that our clients will have a better trip as local agents have a much more intimate knowledge of the region.

Where guests enjoy the services of local guides and drivers throughout their visit, we ensure that these guides/drivers are from the same regional area and will be pleased to answer questions and give an excellent insight into the way of life in the region and animals they may be seeing.

As much as possible, we work with locally owned hotels and lodges, promoting relationships with hoteliers who offer refillable toiletries rather than single-use sachets or minis. We particularly favour working with smaller independent guesthouses and camps where possible, as this has a much bigger positive impact than a larger 'chain.'

We sometimes include a tribal village visit on our tours, if appropriate. This is a very small scale and carefully structured visit to mutually benefit the tribespeople and the travellers - not a 'mass market' generic village visit. We encourage families to be friendly and respectful, and remind you to always ask permission before taking photos. We remind our guests that some local customs can be hard to witness for foreigners (e.g. hunting small animals) and to consider if their family would be comfortable with it.

Many of the staff at the lodges and camps, such as reception staff, catering and serving staff, cleaners and security are people from nearby communities, providing economic benefits and employment.

Investment in tourism means that jobs such as guiding, driving and being a ranger are very highly respected within the local community, further encouraging locals to preserve the wildlife.

Our tours are run together with partners that are owned and run by local people and who share our belief in the importance of operating in a socially responsible way, paying staff fairly and offering appropriate working hours and conditions.

We also understand that tipping is culturally appropriate and makes up a portion of income in certain job types, therefore we also provide detailed guidelines for our travellers as to suitable amounts.

By booking with us, you will be supporting various local guides, drivers, and service providers (e.g., hotel staff, market stallholders, ticket sellers, boat drivers etc), promoting employment from local communities, and good job opportunities for people coming up through training.

This trip is LGBTQ+ friendly and we welcome families of all types on our trips.