Arusha airport closed down!
 

Hello everyone travelling to Tanzania! I have just been contacted by my travel agency. apparently Arusha airport will be closed down for repairs and during this time all flights will instead operate out of Kilimanjaro airport which is on the other side of town. you might want to check with your operator how this will affect your itinerary. transfers, driving distance and timing could change. safari njema! Mati

It is closed from March 15 to June 15

Depending on where you are staying in/around Arusha, you may actually be closer to JRO than the Arusha airport.

However, your outfitter will adjust your pick-up and transfer times to accommodate the use of JRO instead of the Arusha for your flights.

This might be a stupid question, and I'm sure the answer is somewhere, but I can't seem to find it. I'm confused about the airports in the Arusha area. I was under the impression that the Arusha airport was JRO, and that the other airport in the area is Kilimanjaro International (KIA). Do I have those airport codes correct, or am I missing something?

Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA) has an airport code of JRO. JRO is located about 1/hr from Arusha, where the small domestic airport ARU is located. Flights from abroad fly into JRO, as well as some domestic flights.

Flights from Arusha will take you to different areas on the northern circuit, and to the southern and western parks. Some flights also fly into/out of JRO as domestic flights.

JRO is a very small international airport - no jetways, restaurants with small waiting areas.

Thanks for clarifying that. No wonder I have been confused... some places refer to that airport as KIA, and others as JRO... no wonder I thought they were 2 different airports. So if I am flying in from either Kigali or Entebbe, I basically have no option but to fly to JRO.

On another note, I didn't realize how far JRO was from Arusha. Is it easy to catch a bus or taxi from the airport to Arusha? We will be traveling independently before we meet up with our safari.

What lodge to chose neaby JRO. Booked in Arusha hotel but seems to far out now. What about Kia lodge, Mt Meru lodge? Which one nearby JRO is the nicest?

We booked at the Kia lodge because we were coming in around 7:00 at night and leaving at 8:00 am from JRO. Didn't want to run all the way into Arusha.

Looks pretty good online and have heard good reviews. But it looks like there is nothing around but the hotel from what I can tell. So, if you have a full day, I am not sure I would stay there.

http://www.kialodge.com/kia_lodge_tanzania.htm
enjoy,
Duane

We are flying from Jnb to Dar, arriving at 2:35 PM. Then we were going to fly to Arusha, overnighting and flying out in the morning to Grumeti River Lodge.

So I'm thinking of switching to someplace closer to JRO than the Arusha Coffee Lodge. Any thoughts on Mt Meru Lodge? Besides Kia, what else is there?

Arriving on KLM in th evening, leaving next morning to Grumeti river camp. Booked into Arusha hotel, isnt there anything nice nearby. KIA, mount meru, or Serena mountain village or rivertree. What is the nicest?

You arrive in dark and leave next morning at first light (for 8am flight). Nice is relative. After those long flights, a comfy bed with clean linens and hot showers are all I think about.

KIA, Arumeru, Rivertrees, Serena Mountain Village, Ngurduto Lodge, Moivaro Coffee Lodge are all on the road between JRO and Arusha.

Like many, we arrived at Kili airport late in the evening, so we chose to stay at Kia Lodge. It's literally only a 5 minute drive from the airport, so very convenient (especially since we were headed east to the West Kili/Sinya area from there), and we thought it was certainly nice enough. Per Sandi's list, it was clean, with comfortable beds, and hot showers. We actually spent the entire next day there just to get over jet lag, and although there is nothing to do (unless you count sitting around the lovely pool looking at Mt. Kilimanjaro), it was still a pleasant day. The grounds are lovely, the food is fine, and awaking in the morning to see Mt. Kilimanjaro out our room window (we were in #1, not too many rooms have that view) was nice.

We also spent one night in transit at Kogongoni Lodge, just east of Arusha and just off the main highway. It is also quite nice, but it is probably about 40 minutes from the airport.

Our outfitter said they are hoping the airport will be reopened earlier than 6/15 (we will need it open 6/5). Anyone local to Tanzania here who can vouch for the liklihood of that?

Alejandra, you may find what we did, that it is too late to change our reservation with Arusha Coffee Lodge now and (while I'm sure it is lovely) we have no choice. They are particularly strict because they've lost business during the airport closure (because everyone would rather be closer to JRO).