COVID-19 in Tanzania – good to know!

How to Get a PCR Test for COVID-19 in Tanzania

COVID-19 in Tanzania has its hygiene and preventive measures are regulated and prescribed in a strict catalogue of guidelines by the Tanzanian government, which we appreciate and welcome very much. The catalogue applies to all companies and organizations active in tourism and, from our experience, is also largely adhered to.

Entry into Tanzania

Most tourists will enter Tanzania via the international airports in Kilimanjaro/Arusha, Dar es Salaam or Zanzibar. All entry points are prepared for COVID-19 prevention and infection cases and the staff is trained accordingly. General guidelines, hygiene rules, body temperature checks, mandatory masks for airport staff, as well as disinfection and distance regulations apply. Entry is therefore hygienically impeccable.

Tanzania only insists on the presentation of a negative COVID-19 test if the transporting airline requires one or if the respective country of origin makes a test compulsory.

Should one show COVID-19 symptoms, he/she must seek medical treatment at his/her own expense and, if necessary, be isolated in a 14-day quarantine.

Safety on the plane

All aircrafts are equipped with the HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) filter. This ensures that 99.97% of all viral and bacterial contaminants are filtered out of the air. The cabin air is constantly filtered, completely exchanged every 3 minutes and enriched with fresh outside air, which is transported into the cabin from above through air nozzles. Used air is sucked down through floor nozzles and sent through the HEPA filters again. It is also important that the air in the cabin does not move horizontally between the seats, but is extracted downwards as mentioned.

Current airlines flying to Tanzania – Arrival Kilimanjaro (JRO) & COVID test

Ethiopian Airlines (no negative COVID-19 test required)

Emirate (negative COVID-19 test required)  

Qatar Airlines (no negative COVID-19 test necessary)

KLM (negative COVID-19 test required before departure)

Turkish Airlines (negative COVID-19 test required)

* Regulations may be changed/adjusted by the airline at any time. Please check prior to your departure!

Mouth-nose protection

The Tanzanian government, through its COVID-19 catalogue of measures, mandates that all persons working in tourism in the service sector (airlines, hotels, guides, transfer drivers, etc.) must wear mouth-nose protection. Tourists, on the other hand, are not obliged to wear mouth-nose protection, but are welcome to do so in special situations or out of respect.

Please note that Tanzania is quite a warm destination where most activities take place outdoors or in well-ventilated rooms. We always use spacious safari vehicles with plenty of room and large windows. A COVID-19 infection risk is thus lower than in most European countries.  

Safari and mountain guides, drivers and hotel staff are testing for COVID-19 every 14 days in accordance with the Tanzanian COVID-19 measures catalogue and wear a mouth-nose protection. All places or objects that come into contact with tourists (e.g. cars, hotel rooms, restaurants, etc.) are regularly disinfected.

COVID-19 Hygiene in Tanzania

Tanzania has adapted to standard global preventive measures since the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020 and can be considered hygienically advanced. In addition, compliance is supported by training in the tourism sector and a COVID-19 catalogue from the government.

What to do in case of illness or suspected COVID-19?

In the event of a suspected COVID-19 or illness during your Tanzania trip, your accommodation, we will have immediate assistance options available.

Travel insurance

There are a number of insurances that cover your trip abroad, including illness from COVID-19. Please check with the insurer you trust.

Departure from Tanzania / journey home

The departure is completely a relaxing one and also under COVID-19 hygienic conditions.

COVID-19 in Tanzania tests service is available out at the IST Clinic, Aga Khan Hospital, Muhimbili Hospital or directly at the National Lab. On the initiative of the Tanzanian Ministry of Health, you have the possibility to book an appointment for a COVID test online in advance.

 and thus receive the test result online. We assist you in any step, with booking the test before and accompanying you to the test.

Safari during COVID-19 in Tanzania

The absence of tourists is currently affecting wildlife in different ways. On the one hand, the national parks are of course having few visitors at the moment, which allows nature and wildlife to recover completely. On the other hand, the lack of tourists and the lack of income for the park authorities lead to a higher number of poachers, who can carry out their criminal activities (almost) undisturbed.

So it is important that tourism starts again as soon as possible, but at the same time it is equally important that tourists & safari companies are all the more aware of wildlife and nature.   

Important: Please note that the statements made here are partly subjective and have been compiled to the best of our knowledge and belief. They do not claim to be complete and may not always be up-to-date due to daily changes in the law. We do not accept any liability for any incorrect or misleading statements made here.

Status: 30.03.2021

For our German guests:

It is still possible to travel to Tanzania! It takes some effort to familiarize yourself with the regulations, but it’s worth it. When travelling to Tanzania, you only have to do a test in case your airline requires you to present one. When your journey is unfortunately over and you have to depart to Germany you have to follow some rules and to do two things.

1. You need to do a test in Tanzania – up to 48 hours before entry.

2. You also have to register BEFORE your entry into Germany via a digital entry registration 

After you have provided all the necessary information, you will receive a PDF file as confirmation. Your carrier will check whether you can present a confirmation before carriage. Otherwise, carriage cannot take place. If, in exceptional cases, it is not possible to make a digital entry declaration, you will have to fill in a substitute paper declaration instead.

After arriving in Germany you must go into quarantine (at home – or other accommodation at your destination) for the next 10 days immediately after arrival. However, you have the option of taking a second test and ending the quarantine after a negative test result. But all of this also depends on the rules of your federal province, please check those before departing.

The latest quarantine and entry conditions is available at www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/quarantaene-einreise/2371468.

At most airports you can to a COVID-19 rapid test directly after your arrival. Until the test result is available, please make sure you go into quarantine.

For our Swiss guests

Since this Wednesday (27.01.2021), a negative test result must be present on boarding a plane back to Switzerland.

You can read our other Traveling tips for you familiarization