Travelling in Tanzania with kids

Near Arusha, the Meserani Snake Park educates both children and their parents about some extraordinarily venomous snakes, as well as other reptiles such as monitor lizards and crocodiles. There is also a Maasai Cultural Museum on site. Tours are led by Maasai guides, who will entertain youngsters with tales of building bomas and their cultural traditions.

Amanda Marks, from our supplier Tribes Travel, shares her advice for those travelling in Tanzania with kids: “I first took my children to Tanzania when my youngest was five. In the north it’s quite easy to have your own driver guide and your own vehicle; if you have that then you can do what you like. I travelled with children aged five, eight, eleven and thirteen plus their parents – a group of ten. We had two vehicles and did what we wanted. You can do that in Kenya as well, but I think that Tanzania’s northern circuit has more places to stop, so it’s easier to break up the journey without travelling for miles and miles.

If you have the right guide you’ll have a brilliant time. Ours had my youngest sat on his knee and he was driving the vehicle through the national park! It’s all about picking the right way to do a safari and choosing accommodation that has a pool. But if you choose the wrong places to stay and a guide not prepared for children, you won’t have a brilliant time, you won’t be able to let off steam at the end of the day and it can be quite boring if the children choose to tune out of the wildlife and are just sat in a car all day.”