Quick answer: You will eat well on a Tanzania safari. Lodges and tented camps serve hearty breakfasts, lunches and three-course dinners, often mixing international dishes with Tanzanian favourites. Most dietary needs (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, halal) can be catered for with advance notice.
What do you eat on a typical safari day?
- Early coffee or tea before the morning game drive, often with a biscuit or muffin
- Breakfast: eggs, toast, fresh tropical fruit, porridge and juices, either at the lodge or as a bush breakfast
- Lunch: a buffet at the lodge or a packed picnic lunch out in the park
- Sundowner: a drink as the sun sets
- Dinner: soup, a main course and dessert at the lodge
Which Tanzanian dishes should I try?
- Ugali: a firm maize porridge eaten with your hands alongside stews and greens
- Nyama choma: grilled meat, usually goat or beef, a social favourite
- Pilau: spiced rice with meat, popular at celebrations and on the coast
- Chapati: soft flatbread, perfect with beans or stew
- Mishkaki: marinated meat skewers
- Chipsi mayai: a chips-and-egg omelette, Tanzania’s favourite street snack
- Zanzibar seafood and spices: fish curry, octopus and the famous Forodhani night-market food in Stone Town (see our Zanzibar guide)
Ask your guide to take you to a local spot in Arusha. It is one of the best ways to experience the country.
What do people drink?
- Tanzanian coffee and tea, grown on the slopes of Kilimanjaro and in the southern highlands
- Local beers such as Kilimanjaro, Safari and Serengeti lager
- Fresh juices such as passion fruit, mango and pineapple
- Bottled or filtered water only. Don’t drink tap water.
Can safaris cater for special diets?
Yes. Tell us when you book about any allergies, intolerances or preferences, and we will pass them on to every lodge and camp on your itinerary. Vegetarian food is easy to find in Tanzania. Strict vegan, gluten-free or allergy diets need advance notice, especially at remote camps.
Is the food safe?
Lodge and camp kitchens serving international visitors are used to high hygiene standards. Sensible habits help: eat cooked food that is hot, peel fruit, use hand sanitiser and stick to bottled water. Our Tanzania safety guide has more tips.
What about food on Kilimanjaro?
On the mountain, a dedicated cook prepares three meals a day: porridge and eggs, soups, pasta, rice, vegetables and plenty of tea. Eating well helps with acclimatisation. Read our altitude sickness guide.
Hungry for more? See our Tanzania safari itineraries or plan your trip with us.
