Today we continue our series of informational messages to help you prepare as you draw closer to your date of departure.

Other topics include:

• Shots & Vaccinations
• Personal Hygiene
• Currency & Tipping
• Gear Lists, Packing and Baggage Weight Restrictions

Getting into and out of Tanzania is pretty easy, but it may take some advance preparation.

All a US citizen needs to enter Tanzania is 100 bucks, an extra passport photo, and a valid US passport, with an expiration date at least 6 months after your intended departure from Tanzania. Therefore, if you are close to renewal time on your current passport you may need to renew it before you leave on this trip.

Do that by visiting the US State Department website and following the instructions you find there. If you are simply renewing a standard passport book, you will need to print and fill out Form DS-82, attach two standard passport photos, and pay a fee of $110. Send the form, the fee, and your old passport to the address indicated on the site, and in 4-6 weeks you should receive by mail a new passport, and the old one with holes punched in it.

You can, if necessary, get this process expedited by paying an additional fee of $60, but if you start early enough, you should have plenty of time to get it done in the usual way. If this will be your first passport, however, or if you have changed your name since the previous passport was issued, you may not qualify to use form DS-82, and may need to apply in person at a designated consular office.

Standard passport photos can be easily obtained at most Walgreens (or similar) stores. For about $10 or so you get two. Get four (4), as you will need another for your Kilimanjaro National Park entry permit.

Visas

Visitor entry visas can be easily obtained at the airport upon our arrival in Tanzania, or in advance by mail. In either case, visit any of several websites to download the required application form. Here is one. Complete it prior to arrival to save time. Forms are also available in the Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) terminal.

The Visa fee is $100 USD or Euros (no credit cards or local currency is accepted, so have cash).

You can expect that most of the passengers on your plane will be visitors, and they will all need visas. A line will form at the Visa kiosk, but it moves quickly. After your passport is examined and the fee is paid, you will move to a second window where your photograph will be taken. A visa stamp with your photo will then be printed and placed in your passport. You will then officially enter the country and join the queue to collect your baggage. You and your baggage will be met by your transfer driver just outside the terminal entrance, who will drive you the 39 km or so to your hotel in Moshi Town. The drive will take about 45 minutes.

Currency

A final note related to currency: There are ATM’s readily available in Moshi, Dar Es Salaam and Zanzibar, and you will receive the best exchange rate through a bank machine. It will, however, be dispensed in Tanzanian Shillings. Fees will be incurred for the use of the ATM, and fees are charged for the exchange of shillings to dollars or vice-versa.

Another option for acquiring cash or making exchanges without incurring fees may be to use a credit card that charges no foreign currency fees, such as Capital One Visa or some of the American Express cards, but these transactions must necessarily be done at a traditional bank, many of which are to be found in Moshi. Street exchanges deal only in cash.

(TZS) currently (October 2016) valued at about TZS .00046 /USD1.00, so:

• $1.00 = TZS 2182
• $10.00 = TZS 21,821
• $100.00 = TZS 218,211

This website will give you the up-to-date conversion rate.

Carrying huge wads of TZS notes can be burdensome, but fortunately, US currency is readily accepted in most places. Change, however, will be given in TZS, and the exchange rate may not be as favorable as in ATM’s or at banks. It is therefore a good idea to carry both currencies, using USD for larger purchases, and TZS for smaller items or tips. ATM’s are not readily found in rural areas, or anywhere on Kilimanjaro itself, nor are credit cards readily accepted outside of the larger towns.