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We take the plane, that last more or less 11 hours. At least we are in Spain. When we land we take the lugagge and the car from the parking and we come back to our home, León.

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5. We have a stopover on Dubai, Arab Emirates, but we have to stay there 8h! Thank good we are sleeping all this time, but we have to sleep in the airport, and this isn't so comfortable!

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4. We take the plane at 16:45 pm, the first part of the travel, last 9 hours more or less. This is a very loooooong trip in plane, don't you think so?

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3. We take a taxi from the Tanzanite Dream to the Dar es-Salaam airport. It costs 2'8€. While the taxi driver is taking us to the airport, we're a little bit melancholic.

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2.1. We buy two identique precious gems. Each one costs 15€ or 41.580 shillings. But... the friendship is very expensive.

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2. As we have much time before the plane's departure, we spend our time buying some souvenirs in the Tanzanite Dream. It has also a museum, so we can visit it for pass the time.

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We are one of the top Gemstone Dealers and Jewelers in Tanzania. In our showroom visitors will find Top Quality Tanzanites and Tanzanite set jewelry at most competitive prices. Other attractions for visitors who come are the gem museum, gem lapidary and jewelry manufacturing facility.

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We get out of Dodoma at 12:00 am aproximately. We arrive in Dar es-Salaam at 7:15 am. Then, we have breakfast in the restaurant below. We eat another plain breakfast. It costs 3€ per one. We take coffe, toasts and ham each one. Simple but delicious!

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6. After having dinner, we take a taxi for going to Dar es-Salaam. We can go sleeping because we don't have to drive. The trip lasts 7h and 15min and it costs 30€ or 83.160 shillings. What a long trip! Thank good we'll be sleeping...

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5. We are going to have dinner in this italian  restaurant because the most part of the restaurants in this zone are italian and indian. We eat a pizza that cost 9€ with water include.

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4. We go after eating, walking from the restaurant to the mosque and the walk lasts aproximately 40 minutes. We have to buy each one a hijab for enter to the mosque. We buy them in a street in the middle of the way.

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3. We have lunch here. We have choosen specifically this restaurant because it has African food. It's a little bit more elegant than we are used to, therefore, it costs 10€ or 27.720 shillings per menu.

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2. We take a taxi to the capital, Dodoma. The trip is little bit long but after many busy days we are so tired and we want to rest. The travel lasts 5h and 15 min. It costs 22€ aprox. and we arrive there at 14:15, perfect for eating some typical food of there.

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1. We have breakfast another time in the hotel's restaurant. We choose toasts, coffe and fruit for 6€ per person. Let's begin the day!

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5. The safari lasts until 19:00 pm. We come back to our hotel. We enjoyed a lot this activity, but, in the other hand, we´re tired. We don´t want to think a dinner, so we eat the same as yesterday, ugali, and 2€ per person. Today we're eating it with fish. Then we go directly to our tents for sleeping like a log!

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4. Lunch is included in the price of the safari.
In the case of camping safaris, the "kitchen" is carried on the back of the truck or in the vehicle. Each group has a chef and an assistant (depending on the size of the group), who are responsible for preparing meals. If the group is large, they will appreciate the help of volunteers and scour plates. The menus in these cases are usually not very varied: Coffee or tea, toast, omelettes or fried eggs at breakfast; salads and sandwiches to eat and soup and pasta or a stew of meat and vegetables for dinner. In these safaris I recommend that you take a backpack with "extra" food from Spain. All sausage reinforcement, cans or others will appreciate it.

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Lake Manyara National Park - SAFARI TANZANIA 2016

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3. The prices oscillate between 135€ and 185€, but, we think we're so glib, so we finally pay for it 125€ per per person. You don´t have to call it a gift but... it´s very usefull!

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2. And finally... a safari! You may think it’s very easy find information about safaris and economic prices in Africa, or more exactly in Tanzania. But let me tell you that you’re wrong! First, I have to tell you that it isn’t recommended book a safari beforehand, as the websites only show the highest prices (in case you find a website), and here it’s “compulsory” bargaining. For this reasons, we decided to put an itinerary of a safari along the lake Manyara and some tips.

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Viaja por libre - Blog de viajes y senderismo

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Con una extensión de 330 Km² donde el lago ocupa las tres cuartas partes cuando está a su nivel más alto, el parque nacional del Lago Manyara es uno de los parques menos visitados y más infravalorados de Tanzania. Fue nuestra primera experiencia con una Safari, algo que no sucede todos los días y que te aseguramos que marca una época en tu vida.

El Lago Manyara

El Lago Manyara se encuentra a 126km desde Arusha en la carretera que se dirige al imponente Serengeti. Cierto es que muchos turistas prescinden de visitar este parque para dar prioridad a otros como el Ngorongoro o el Serengeti, pero si tienes uno o dos días no dudes en visitarlo, ya que podrás encontrar un parque singularmente verde incluso en temporada seca y además de con una extraordinaria avifauna, donde puedes divisar cormoranes, flamencos, cigüeñas o pelícanos.

En la zona de las llanuras del parque, cubierto por bosques de acacias, habitan animales como leones, elefantes, cebras y toda clase de mamíferos pequeños, todos ellos muy fáciles de ver, aunque el león el rey del parque muchas veces se hace complicado de ver.

Nosotros llegamos en 4×4 desde Arusha y decidimos visitar este parque antes de llegar al crater de Ngorongoro. La carretera hasta el parque es una carretera asfaltada y en buenas condiciones, además si vas por libre y buscas alojamiento sin previa reserva, poco antes de la entrada del parque hay varios campings económicos además de los clásicos y excesivamente caros lodges. Como en todo nuestro viaje, tiramos de tienda y pudimos dormir por un precio razonable.

La visita al parque se puede hacer en una mañana, salvo que decidas hacer alguna ruta a pié, en canoa o en mountain bike. Si no tienes mucho tiempo, con ir en coche es suficiente, opción que elegimos ya que después de la subida al Kilimanjaro y de otras etapas a pié, que te lleven a ver animalitos sin excesivo esfuerzo no tiene precio.

Nos levantamos muy pronto de cara a ver el amanecer y ver a todos los animales en su esplendor, ya que a partir de las 12 de la mañana y en agosto como estábamos, el calor es tan sofocante que los animales se esconden entre las acacias y los matorrales del parque buscando alguna sombra que les cobije.

Una vez dentro del parque encuentras multitud de familias de babuinos, que por cierto, es un animal muy agresivo, y a medida que vas entrando al parque siempre ves a lo lejos el inmenso lago y toda clase de aves alrededor de él.

Como anécdota, de camino a la zona húmeda nos tomamos con un elefante que nos planto cara, momento tenso y del que tuvimos que salir pisando a fondo. Una vez pasado el susto, pudimos ver gran cantidad de cebras y toda clase de pequeños mamíferos, pero el león, el rey del parque, lo pudimos ver, pero siempre entre los matorrales y con gran dificultad para tomarle una foto.

Después de una mañana intensa en el parque, por la tarde decidimos ir de compras a un pequeño pueblo llamado Mto Wa Mbu, donde es posible comprar todo tipo de cosas para el turista ansioso de esculturas o piezas de madera.

De vuelta al camping para cenar, cenamos una estupenda sopa traída desde España e hicimos networking con unas gallegas que se dirigían a la isla de Zanzibar, esto es lo bueno de viajar, siempre conoces gente incluso hasta en los lugares más insólitos. Hasta las 3 de la mañana estuvimos hablando y bebiendo la estupenda cerveza de Tanzania, Kilimanjaro como nó.

Ya al día siguiente salimos de camino a Ngorongoro, uno de los parques que más me han llamado la atención y posiblemente uno de los rincones más espectaculares del planeta, pero esto es otro viaje y es otra historia.

Antes de partir a Tanzania

¿Cuando ir?

De cara a observar las aves, ir en canoa o ver las cascadas la mejor estación es la lluviosa, y para observar a los grandes mamíferos la mejor estación es la seca.

¿Cómo llegar?

O bien tomando un autobús desde Arusha o llevando un 4×4 de alquiler. Llegar es fácil, simplemente hay que coger la carretera desde Arusha hacia el Serengeti y desviarse en el kilometro 126.

¿Que llevar?

En verano hace mucho calor, por lo que no olvides un buen protector solar, un sombrero para tapar el sol y mucha agua. A parte una cámara con teleobjetivo, no una cámara compacta, si quieres hacer buenas fotos.

¿Donde dormir?

Existen multitud de sitios donde dormir, pero nosotros os recomendamos los campings que se encuentran en la entrada principal, alguno de ellos incluso con piscina. De todas formas aquí podéis encontrar más hoteles.

Seguro de viaje

Para un viaje como este lo mejor es contratar un seguro. Iati nos ofrece una oferta para seguidores de Viaja por libre. Viajar no te exime de tener un accidente, necesitar a un médico, un traslado o medicamentos. No te la juegues. Contrata el seguro de viajes haciendo click en el banner y tendrás un 5% en tu seguro por ser lector de Viaja por libre. Si deseas ampliar más información pulsa aquí.

Sobre el autor

Viajero, fotógrafo y aventurero incansable pero no de profesión. Hace años que perdí la cuenta de los países que he visitado, pero aún me queda muchas experiencias por sentir y cumbres donde poner mis botas. Sígueme en Twitter y Google+.

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Con una extensión de 330 Km² donde el lago ocupa las tres cuartas partes cuando está a su nivel más alto, el parque nacional del Lago Manyara es uno de los parques menos visitados y más infravalorados de Tanzania .

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1. For breakfast, we go to the buffet service of the hotel, and no, in this hotel it’s not included the breakfast... However, it isn’t too expensive, only a little bit more than the typical tanzanese food because these is imported from abroad and it’s a buffet, so we pay each one about 6€ or 16.632 shillings. We choose a fruit salad and coffee for giving us extra energy!

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5. We sleep in tents as a traditional tribe, we’re so excited, but also so tired! Are you prepared for tomorrow?

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4. We go to the hotel’s restaurant and today we’re gonna eat the typical tanzanian dish pat excellence: ugali. It’s mixed with beans or vegetables and lean meat. Each dish cost around 2€ or  5.544 shillings.

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3. We finally arrive at the hotel, in which we’re gonna stay 2 nights. And, after an arduous search (because the safaris are supposed to be only for wealth people), we found this hotel for only 62€ the two nights! The two nights! Unbelievable, and for all the pocket sizes!

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2. Now, we are going to make a very long trip for making a... safari! We are driving from Arusha to to the Lake Manyara or more exactly to the Africa Safari Glamping Manyara. Each one drive for 1h and a half while the other sleeps. We have to rest, even if it’s just a little while... We arrive in our hotel around 19:30 pm, 2 hours and a half before the delivery time of the car. Okay, okay, but... prevention is better than cure!

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1. We decide to have lunch in a typical restaurant, and find one in the center of Arusha, it’s a piece of cake! Today we opted coconut soup with peas. Only 2€ or 5.544 shillings per bowl. Enjoy your lunch or kuchukua faida!

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9. We are going to stay at the summit more or less one hour. Then, we begin the descent. It’s a very beautiful, but dificult one. You can observe and enjoy the landscape. We arrive at the hillside 2 hours after, at 10:00 am more or less. Then we take the same road to come back to Arusha. So, we’re going to arrive in Arusha at 12:40.

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8. The 2 first hours the ascent is easy, but when you start again to climb, the land changes and becomes more and more difficult. You arrive to the summit at the same time that it sunrise up.

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7. We get the car doing this route, is the fastest mode to arrive the volcano. The trip between Arusha and Mto Wa Mbu there are 1 hour and 40 mins. And then take a deviation to the Ol Doinyo Lengai, it last 1 hours more.

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7. All the information about the car is in the photo below.

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6. Now we take a taxi to this adress for rent a jeep to go Ol Doinyo Lengai, the volcano, which costs 2€.

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5. As we can see in the photo describing the activity, we have to come back to Arusha (more exactly, to the Impala hotel) in public bus. The distance is only 20min so we only spend 460 shilling or 0’20€!

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4. Fortunately, the lunch is included in the visit. For this reason, we don’t have to care about it. Thinking that we arrive the town at 9:20 am and the activity lasts 6 hours we will have finished at 15:30 pm.

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3.1. You may think that this is a little bit expensive, but, we have been days without spending almost any money, so, everyone deserves to indulge ocasionally. Furthermore, it lasts the perfect time for our next activity.

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4. This night is so especial because we are going to the volcano Ol Doinyo Lengai, yes, in the middle of the night. It's so dangerous, but we have basic knowledges of climb and we are crazy so... Why not?

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3. Our activity for today is visiting a local village called Tengeru. We really think that this is an essential activity when you visit Tanzania, in other words, you can’t go to Tanzania without visiting a local village.

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2. The activity beggins in the Impala hotel of Arusha, which is 1h y 40min from our hotel. Have you guess what we are going to do in the taxi? If you think sleep, you were right! The taxi costs around 7€ or 19.404 shillings (as we have deducted from the page preciosmundi.com which we uploaded the first day). We have to be there at 9:00 am.

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5. In this page we find the necessary information to do this adventure. Here we learn some tips for do this ascent in the night with a full moon for do the ascent easier and more beautiful. There is some information about a interesant tribe there: the Masai.

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Ol Doinyo Lengai, la Montaña Sagrada de los Masai: relato de viaje | Viatgeaddictes

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Guía de viaje a Tanzania. Ol Doinyo Lengai, la Montaña Sagrada de los Masai

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5. We choose the same food that appears in the photo so we spend 2,50€ each one (more or less). Nevertheless, we emphasize that some dishes (and not specially small) can be obtained for only 1,50€!

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1. Today we have to wake up at 6:30 am because  the activity of today beggins at 9:00. We have another typical breakfast in the hotel, because, if it’s included in the price, we aren’t going to waste it. Today we have Uji, a typical porridge (as we can saw in detail in the photo about our breakfast yesterday). It looks like a a lentil puree!

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Arusha National Park - video by Tanzania National Park

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3.1. We bought a map of the National Park of Arusha which will help us.
This map in paper cost 3€ or 8316 shillings. It isn’t really a bargain!

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4. We take another taxi, and pay 8€ more. We know that in the description of the tour around the National Park of Arusha you can see that there is a service which take you back to your hotel, but, it costs more money than taking a taxi and we can’t push the boat out the first day. Can we?

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3. We found a tour that costs more or less 20€ per person. In the photo below we can see the itinerary of the day and a little bit of important information, like the places we are going to visit.

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2. Today we are going to the National Park of Arusha. The distance between Arusha and the park is 1 h and 50 mins. We take a taxi that cost around 8€ or 22.176 shillings.

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1. We have breakfast at the hotel because as we have said yesterday it’s included in the price.

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10. As we already predicted that we were going to arrive tired for have dinner at hotel’s restaurant ( in addition, it isn’t included in the price) we brought food from Spain in the checked bags. We know we aren’t tasting the typical food from here doing this, but we’re only grabbing a bite. Actually, we have a little “hack” for this informal dinners in the hotel: putting a towel in the bed and eating there. Doesn’t it sound well?

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9. We’re going to spend here two nights. It costs 20€ each person per night.

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8. We go by taxi from the airport to the hotel spending more or less 2 euros or 3000 shillings (as we can see in this website).

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7. Bit, before leaving the airport we’re going to change all the tanzanian shilling we’ll spend (as a friend who had already been in Tanzania advised us) because it’s very difficult find exchange houses along Tanzania. We don’t need exchange a lot of money because, as we had previously informed, in this country, it’s very common to accept euros or dollars in order to make it easier for tourists.

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6. The airport is in Arusha and we’re going to do things here the next day so we have booked our hotel here.

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5. We at last arrive in Kilimanjaro international airport at 20.00.

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4. During the route from Amsterdam to finally Tanzania, which lasts 9 hours and 25 minutes, we try to learn some basical expressions and phrases in swahili, the Tanzania’s native language (although we know that in this country there are more than 70 languages in use). For this reason, we have bought this book. As a matter of fact, the official languages in the country are swahili and english.

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3. The flight to Tanzania has a stopover in Amsterdam of 50 minutes as we can see in the last photo, or better in this. We leave from here at 9:35 am.

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2. We take the plane at 7.10 am in the morning, so we’re there 2 hours and a little bit more before for board. It costs 802€.

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1. We go from Leon to Madrid, leaving at 1:00 pm and arriving approximately at 5:00 pm in the long-stay parking Aena next to the airport Adolfo Suárez Barajas, more exactly in the 4th Terminal. We are leaving our car there for 7 nights.

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6. We think that the weather is very important, so we searched specifically it.