• Wildlife Viewing:

Serengeti National Park, made famous by numerous Discovery channel specials, hosts a wide range of wildlife including lions, cheetahs, leopards, hippopotamuses, elephants, zebra, buffalo, water buck, gazelle, warthogs, and wildebeest. One major attraction is the wildebeest migration, which occurs continuously between Serengeti and Masai Mara. Park fees are $50/person/day as of July 2007, and a guide with 4 wheel drive vehicle is required.

Ngorongoro Conservation Area also hosts an abundance of wildlife, particularly in the Ngorongoro crater. Formed by the same volcanic activity that formed Kilimanjaro and the Great Rift valley, Ngorongoro consists of the highlands around the crater (rich in elephants) and the crater itself (similar animals to Serengeti, but at higher densities and with a small population of black rhino). Park fees are $50/day/person as of July 2007, plus $200 per vehicle for a six hour game drive in the crater.

Ruaha National Park and Selous Game Reserve are far less popular but very enjoyable. You won't find quite the volume of wildlife you would in the Serengeti, but if you're looking for a destination with fewer tourist, greater range of wildlife and animals that are not so tame, these parks are for you. Additionally, Selous is the only other place besides Ngorongoro where you may see a Rhino. You can also visit the Uduzungwa mountains park for a truely wilderness hike through untouched spectacular scenery. There are few places left in the world like this.

*When visiting wildlife parks be sure to stay as close to the viewing areas (center of the parks) as possible and leave as soon as you can in the morning as animals are typically most active soon after sunrise.

• Islands:

Zanzibar is an island off the coast of Tanzania which includes both Zanzibar and Pemba. Zanzibar has beautiful beaches and historical Stone Town. Zanzibar is great for scuba diving, snorkeling, and swimming with dolphins. Other attractions include spice tours and Jozani forest, which has a small population of red Colobus monkeys.

Mafia Island Marine Park is south of Zanzibar and boast some fantastic scuba diving and snorkeling, and if you're lucky you may get to swim with whale sharks. This is one of the few areas in the world where they congregate annually.

• Mountains:

Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest peak in Africa and one of the highest freestanding mountains in the world. Many people travel to Tanzania just to climb this mountain. You can either organize your trek up the mountain from your home country through a travel agency, but you'll pay a lot more for this convenience, or if you've got a bit of time, hop on plane and save some money by organizing it in Arusha or in Dar. Be advised that there are as many incompetent and dishonest trek organizers as there are good ones. Ask around to make sure your guide will deliver on his promises.

Scuba diving in and around Pemba and Zanzibar is also a good experience.

You can also visit numerous historical Slave Trade sites which make for an interesting, if a little depressing, excursion.

Beaches - Did you know that Tanzania has some of the best, most unspoiled beaches in the world? They are stunning with their white sand, palm trees and the cool Indian Ocean water.

Tanzania has two of the best stone age sites in the world, Isimilia gorge near Iringa and the earliest known examples of human art among the rock paintings near Kolo north of Dodoma (some reckoned to be around 30,000 years old!!

• Produce is often of very high quality. Meat and milk can be difficult for Western systems, so be sure that all meat is cooked through. At hotels, you will not have any trouble, but if you venture into small villages, make sure that all water is filtered or boiled before drinking, and all fruits and vegetables are peeled before eating.
• Local dishes include Mtori, cooked beef and bananas, and Mchicha, a vegetable stew which can also contain meat or fish.
• If anything can be called Tanzania's national dish Ugali would most likely win out. A polenta-style dish made with corn flour, it accompanies a variety of stews, cooked meat and is eaten with your hands. Recipes vary from village to village and everyone has their own way of making it. Many foreigners find it bland and unappealing but it's worth a try, and some upscale establishments serve it.
• Chai Maziwa (chai with milk) is a local favorite and well worth trying if you can handle the large amounts of sugar they add to this drink.
• Street food is also cheap and plentiful: barbecued maize on the cob is very nice, as are the chipped potatoes (fries) that that are cooked over a roaring fire.
• Mandazi is a sweet doughnut styled food that is mostly made fresh each morning. Great with coffee in the morning and makes an ideal snack.
• Tanzania's large South Asian community ensures a great variety of restaurants offering cuisine from all parts of that region. All the eateries near Hindu temples (particularly in Dar) are a good bet. Just watch where the local Indians go to eat, and you won't be disappointed. Most of the food is cooked in large amounts of Ghee, clarified butter, and can be hard for some people to digest.
• Chips Mayai (chips cooked in an omelet) are served at nearly every African food stand in Tanzania and are considered a Tanzanian specialty. They're quite good with pili pili (hot sauce).
• Northern Tanzania boast a number of great coffee plantations. Although coffee does not have the popularity in Tanzania as it has in Ethiopia, with a bit of searching you can find a decent cup of java, not just the instant "Africa" coffee served in most restaurants. Large hotels in Dar all make good coffee. If you want to brew your own cup, Msumbi Coffee Shop, +255 22 260 0380, Sea Cliff Village, sells Tanzanian coffee beans ground or whole, which they roast on the premises.