Machis

Hi,

I'm just starting to plan my trip to Tanzania and have trouble deciding on which guidebook is the best and up-to-date. If it matters - I'm a student so will be looking mostly at budget travel. Could you please offer some advice? I'd like to do a safari (probably Northern Circuit), Zanzibar and if possible climb Kilimanjaro.

Thanks for your help!

Machis

PacoAhedo

You can try this...

http://www.bradt-travelguides.com/de...asp?prodid=145


is march 2006 ,so should be well up to date .
I have their guides from Botswana,Tanzania and Namibia and i like how it covers every area and shows all type of accommodation,from top luxury to budget.

Others you can check are Lonely Planet guides,they also have Tanzania but this one i don't know.

Paco.

Wistman

Tanzania is really well-served by three excellent English-language guidebooks; Rough Guide, Bradt Guide and Lonely Planet. All three have strong merits and, judging from my (admittedly limited)experience, are accurate and up-to-date. They all cover budget as well as top-price stuff. I prefer the Rough Guide myself because it is so comprehensive. Lonely Planet includes the rack-rate tariffs of the various lodges and airlines and is certainly worth a look to check that your operator is charging a fair price. Climbing Kilimanjaro probably demands a specialist book but I don't know about this.

thit_cho

There really is no comparison -- the Bradt Guides for Africa are superior in nearly every respect to LP and Rough Guides. And, I'm a huge fan of LP, but they don't compare to Bradt.

Kmania

You might check your library first to see which guidebooks it has and of those which style/type of information suits you best.

Kim

julimbo

Hello Machis,

I agree with Kmania. Check your library first or go to used book stores and/or sit in a Indigo store for a couple of hours to save on money. I also agree with Bradt guide books being superior. I have the Lonely Planet and Bradt books for Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Rough Guide for Kenya only. I find the Bradt guides give more specific information about given areas and you can go online for updates prior to the next edition.

But mainly, this forum is a wealth of information. Everyone here is helpful and enthusiastic. Read the East Africa Trip Report Index first. It's sure to give you some serious insight even though most of the trips are not budget.

Juliet