Where the wild meets the sea.
Expert guides to safari and Zanzibar — from the Serengeti to the Indian Ocean.
The journey, by someone who lives where it ends
Most Tanzania & Zanzibar advice is written from a desk in Europe. WildToSea isn’t. It’s written from Michamvi Pingwe, on Zanzibar’s east coast — measured tide times, real transfer durations, and the seasons as they actually arrive.
- 460+ expert guides
- 32,000+ sourced facts
- East-coast resident year-round
- Dry/peak season ~June–October (best general game viewing)
- Best: June–October; heaviest rains: April–May
- Short rains: November–December; Dry safari season: late June–October
- Effective 1 Oct 2024; USD 44/adult; 92 days; QR code at immigration
- Some airlines have the ZIC insurance system integrated and check proof at the departure check-in counter — before you reach Zanzibar.
- USD 50 single-entry for most nationalities; USD 100 for US citizens (multiple-entry, 12-month).
- Chumbe Island Coral Park overnight stay: $520
- mentioned in multiple accounts
- Kostenpflichtig (mandatory) and must be applied for online
- Visum must be applied for online and can also be obtained upon arrival
Begin in the bush
The Serengeti is not one safari but a year-round loop. We tell you where the herds actually are each month, which park suits a first trip, and how to read a quote so you pay for the right thing — not the marketing.
Plan a Tanzania safari →End on the Indian Ocean
Then the slow exhale of the east coast. The tides here pull back a kilometre by midday — a feature, not a flaw, once you know the rhythm. We live on this coast, so the advice is the kind you’d get from a friend who’s already here.
Discover the east coast →Four ways in
Tanzania is the safari, Zanzibar is the island, the planning section joins the two into one route, and the stay guide is a short, honest list of boutique places on the east coast. Pick the door that matches the question you have today.
What you will find here
WildToSea is a Tanzania safari and Zanzibar travel guide, written from Zanzibar's east coast by Tim Hennig, who first came to the island in 2009 and has lived here since 2011. It holds 460+ guides in English and German, and they draw on a database of 32,000+ sourced facts.
Prices and entry rules move, so each guide shows when its facts were last checked. That date is worth reading before you rely on a figure.
Most trips come down to five decisions, and each has a guide that answers it with numbers:
- When to go. June to October is the dry season on both the coast and the safari circuit, and it is also the most expensive. The month-by-month Zanzibar guide shows where the shoulder months fall.
- Which parks. Park fees per adult per day are currently USD 82.60 in the Serengeti, USD 70.80 in Ngorongoro and USD 59 in Tarangire. The Tanzania section ranks the parks and explains how to read a quote.
- How to combine safari and beach. The classic shape is 7 to 10 days: 3 to 4 nights on safari, then 4 to 5 nights on the east coast. The planning section has the itineraries and the transfer times between the pieces.
- Which side of the island. The north coast swims at every tide, and the east coast has the kitesurfing, the tides and the sandbank. The north-versus-east comparison takes a position.
- Getting in. A visa is USD 50 on arrival for most nationalities, and the road from the airport to the east coast takes about 1h15. The entry requirements guide walks through the airport step by step.
How to use this site
- Planning a first trip of 7 to 14 days: start with the planning section and pick the itinerary that matches your days.
- Down to two options and need a verdict: the comparisons settle island, country, park and coast choices with real fees.
- Want what is newest: the journal lists every guide, most recently updated first.
- Want to know who is behind this: the author page explains how facts are checked and corrected here, and where the limits of my knowledge are.
- Not sure yet: read the Zanzibar and Tanzania sections in that order, because the island is where a safari trip ends.
I live and work on Zanzibar's east coast year-round, managing Boutique Hotel Matlai in Michamvi Pingwe. These guides come from that, not from a research trip. The hotel belongs to the Becker-Boost family and I run it, so where Matlai comes up, I say so openly.
“On Michamvi’s east coast the tide pulls back almost a kilometre by midday — walk out, and the ocean floor becomes a mirror. It’s the part of Zanzibar the brochures never get right.”
— Tim Hennig, Michamvi Pingwe
Ready to plan the trip?
Bush, beach, or both — start with the guides, then ask the questions that matter.
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