Tanzania Attraction Tours: Crater and Spices

Travel advisory: Washington currently asks travellers to reconsider travel to Tanzania, while London advises against all but essential travel in the 20 km strip along the Cabo Delgado border with Mozambique. The attractions below are in the north and on Zanzibar, outside that strip. Confirm the latest wording on travel.state.gov and the UK FCDO Tanzania page before booking.

A crater, a gorge, a gemstone museum and a spice farm: Tanzania’s best-known attractions are spread across two regions and several price tiers. This is how they work in practice.

Ngorongoro Crater floor

The caldera floor covers about 260 km², reached by a 600 m descent on a steep forested road in a pop-top 4x4. Inside, the Lerai fever tree forest, Lake Magadi and the hippo pool are the usual stops, and black rhinos are the headline sighting. Nothing is guaranteed, but the density of animals makes this one of the more reliable game drives in East Africa.

Costs come in three layers. The conservation area entry is about USD 70.80 per adult (USD 23.60 for children 5 to 15, free under 5), the crater service fee is USD 295 per vehicle per descent, and a vehicle permit scales with weight. Full details are on the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority tariff page. Share the vehicle and the per-person cost drops quickly. Payment at the gate is by card or e-payment only.

Olduvai Gorge

Olduvai sits inside the conservation area, so the entry permit above applies on the way in, and the small museum on the rim charges its own fee. It is where Mary Leakey found a 1.75 million year old skull in 1959. Exhibits include casts of hominid fossils and Oldowan stone tools, with a viewpoint over the gorge. Expect interpretation and fossils, not a dig site. Do not plan around seeing the Laetoli footprints, which are protected.

Tanzanite in Arusha

The Tanzanite Experience museum on India Street in Arusha (also a branch at Manyara Kibaoni) runs a tour of about an hour covering the geology, underground mining and cutting of the violet-blue gem, which comes from one small area near Mererani. It is a retail venue, so entry is reported to be free and the tour ends in the showroom. See tanzaniteexperience.com for details. Compare prices at more than one shop before you buy.

Zanzibar spice farms

Spice tours near Stone Town walk through clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper and vanilla, with a taste test and a coconut-climbing demonstration. Group tours cost roughly USD 10 to 15 per person. Everyone should cover shoulders and knees in villages along the way. Stone Town is UNESCO-listed, with details at UNESCO World Heritage .

Booking tips

  • Ask any operator whether park fees are included, and in which currency the final bill is.
  • Open vehicles must stay on the tracks, and leaving the car is allowed only at marked stops.
  • Carry no plastic carrier bags: they are banned across Tanzania.
  • Entry needs an e-visa plus the new mandatory insurance (USD 44, up to 92 days, covering the mainland and Zanzibar).

You can compare current crater tours on Viator .

For more on how to link these with other stops, see the sightseeing guide .

Verdict: the crater floor is worth its steep fee if you can share a vehicle, and Olduvai is worth the extra hour only for people who like museums.