Lyn and Tara, two of GRA’s Board of Directors, usually travel to Musoma, Tanzania and surrounding areas twice a year- February/March and August/September/October. Please contact us directly to find out specific dates. If your travel dates coincide, volunteers are invited to travel, lodge, and volunteer alongside Lyn and Tara.

GRA is happy to help you coordinate travel arrangements; however, it is ultimately the responsibility of the volunteer to make and finalize his or her own travel, lodging and volunteer arrangements, as well as pay for all costs incurred and accept all risks associated with traveling in Tanzania.

Please Note: All individuals volunteering with GRA or any of our partners are required to carry Travel Insurance and sign our Release Agreement.

Introduction

Musoma is a quiet, friendly town on the eastern shore of Lake Victoria with a population of about 100,000. It is the capital of the Mara Region and located on Mara Bay.  Musoma residents are relaxed, friendly and very curious, but respectful, about Westerners. You can expect to get a lot of attention and greetings in the streets.  Children get very excited to see white people, and you’ll hear them say “mzungu” to you, the word for white people.  There is a market for foods and small stores where you can find all kinds of basic necessities.

GRA’s Tanzanian offices are located on the edge of town on a beautiful compound that was formally the headquarters of the Swedish International Development Agency. The compound was generously donated by the regional government, and has become a center for diverse GRA activities.  Here we have a large Permaculture demonstration plot, hold workshops on solar cooking and have activities for families enrolled in our AIDS Orphan Support program. It is also the headquarters of GRA’s water development project, Maji Mengi.

Health

Malaria and food poisoning are the two most common health risks. Click here for detailed advice on preventing and treating malaria and food poisoning naturally.

There’s also the risk of parasitic infection, which, if not too serious, can be treated with a parasite cleanse when you return home. Typhoid fever, cholera, yellow fever, dysentery, tuberculosis and hepatitis are also serious risks, although unlikely as long as you take precautions like only drinking bottled water, wearing clothing and shoes that protect your body and only eating cooked or peeled food in safe restaurants or prepared by you.

There are several health dispensaries in town as well as a bigger regional hospital. Testing for malaria or any other health concerns is very inexpensive. A visit to the doctor is free or a couple of dollars, and medicines are also very cheap. The hospital is not as clean as we are used in the West but provides good care based on our experience.

The best advice we can give is to come healthy, take lots of good quality vitamins and supplements and eat healthy, drink lots of bottled water, stay away from mosquitoes and get plenty of sleep.

Climate

The climate in Tanzania is tropical. It’s hot all year round but still pleasant.  At an elevation of about 3,000 feet, the temperature in Musoma stays around 90 degrees (30 Fahrenheit) year round, and is a little humid, but not as much as Dar Es Salaam or other places by the ocean.

There are two rainy seasons, around October/November and March/April each year. The rainy season in the Fall is considered short and the one in the Spring long. When it rains, it is intense but doesn’t last long. The rain refreshes the atmosphere and usually the sun is back out quickly.

Travel To and From Musoma

The easiest way to get to Musoma is by airplane. We normally travel to Dar Es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania via London or Amsterdam - the two most common European routes, although there are others.  British Air and KLM generally offer the best priced fares.  From the US, fares are generally under $1,800 round trip and from Europe, about half of that.

From Dar Es Salaam, we fly to Musoma for about $250/$300 round trip with PrecisionAir.  There are normally flights on Monday, Wednesday and Friday (it is good to double check because this is subject to change). If you are interested in this option, we can put you in contact with our Tanzanian travel agent that makes reservations for local flights.

It is also common to fly to Nairobi, capital of Kenya, and take a bus to Musoma for about $25. It is an overnight bus ride. If you choose this option, better not to travel alone, especially if you are a woman.

Directions to the GRA Office in Musoma

The first time you go, it might be easiest to take a taxi or a bike taxi. Take the taxi to Kotra Market - a gas station / minimart about 20 minutes by foot or 5 minutes by bicycle from downtown Musoma on the main road - Nyerere Rd. going towards Mwanza.
 
Across the street from Kotra is Musoma Dairy. Continue in the same direction (away from town) on the same side of the street as Musoma Dairy for about 75 meters until you reach a small dirt road. Turn right (away from Kotra Market) and go up the dirt road about 100 meters. The first gate you come to (on your left) is the GRA office.  There will be a guard on duty who will let you in. PLEASE CONTACT US BEFORE YOUR ARRIVAL.

Office Phone Number 028 262 2787

Office Manager, Esther Raphael Phone Number 075 443 7649

Entering Tanzania - Visas and Vaccinations

You will need a visa to enter Tanzania. Our experience is that the fastest way to get one is at the airport after your arrival in Dar es Salaam. You will most likely purchase a Visitor/Tourist Visa for up to three months. If you have an American passport, the price will probably be $100, and if you have a European or other Western passports it will cost around $50.

It is possible to extend the visa for another 3 months without problems.  Some people like to get their visa ahead of time. In that case, you will need to communicate with the Tanzanian embassy.

It is required to have a Yellow Fever vaccine. This vaccine is good for 10 years.  Even though it is required, we have never been asked for any certifying paper over the course of a dozen trips. No other vaccines are required.

Lodging

Lodging in Musoma is simple but not bad. You can find very basic hotels for just a couple of dollars a night with shared shower and bathrooms.  For $5-$6 a night, you can get a room with private shower and toilet. We like to stay at the Afrilux Hotel, one of the best hotels in town, but still simple by western standards.  Rooms are clean, have mosquito nets, and many have TV and air conditioning and cost about $15 (single occupancy) or $20 (double occupancy) per night.

For people that are planning to stay several months, it is also possible to rent a room, or even a house if there are several people traveling together.

List of Lodging

Afrilux Hotel
$15-$20 per night, including a big breakfast
Private bath with hot water (most of the time)
Some rooms have TV and air conditioning
Good restaurant at hotel with meals for $2-$5

Anglican or Catholic Compounds
$5-$6  per night, includes breakfast
Toilets and showers (Probably cold, although, they will bring a bucket of hot water if asked for.)
Safe restaurant onsite with simple meals for about $2
The Anglican compound is about 10 minutes by foot from GRA office and about 10 minutes from downtown.
The Catholic compound is downtown, but about a 20 minute walk from the GRA offices.

Food and Water

You can find different vegetables, fruits, grains and beans in the market as well as in the restaurants.  Chicken, fish from Lake Victoria, beef and eggs can be found everywhere. The variety is not as much as we are used in the West, but there are still good options for vegetarians and non-vegetarians. You can find mangoes, papayas, coconuts, cashews, avocados and tomatoes among other fruits and vegetables in the market.

In our experience, it is quite easy to get food poisoning in Musoma. After several rounds of getting sick ourselves, we have limited the places where we eat to a couple of restaurants that seem to be safe:

Afrilux Hotel $2-$5 per meal
Anglican Church Restaurant $2 per meal
Catholic Dioceses Church Restaurant $2 per meal
Mara Dishes $3 per meal
GRA Office where our cook prepares meals at lunch time. Free for any of our volunteers

We recommend buying bottled water. We prefer Kilimanjaro brand, but there are others.

Facilities:  Internet, Phones and Bathrooms

There are several internet cafes in town, and we have internet access at our office.  There are also places in town to make international phone calls. We haven’t been successful using Skype in Musoma, so far, but maybe one day.

Our experience is that the cheapest way to talk to the US and Europe is by purchasing a four band cell phone in the West that is unblocked and has a removable SIM card, which can be purchased in Tanzania for a couple of dollars in Tanzania. Local phone calls are relatively inexpensive, and international phone calls cost about fifty cents a minute.

The best place to use bathrooms is in your hotel room, or at the GRA office.  If in need to find other toilets in town, they can be found in restaurants or at the internet café. Expect latrines in most places.

What to Pack

• Comfortable clothes, short sleeves or no sleeves for the day, but long sleeves for the night to prevent malaria mosquito bites. Bring layers.
• We recommend wearing long pants or long skirts. Tanzanians do not typically show their legs in public, so it is better not to wear shorts out of respect.
• Hat for protection from the tropical sun.
• Shoes that cover your feet but have good ventilation.
• Health supplements (see our article on How to Prevent and Treat tropical diseases) like artemisia, neem, multi vitamin…
• Enough toiletries to last your entire trip.
• Flash light or headlamp.
• Passport and other travel documents.
• Protein bars and other easy to carry, nonperishable snacks to eat when food conditions are uncertain.  Bring enough for 1 per day if you have room in your luggage .
• The usual things you will be carrying for a long distance trip.
• No need to bring a water filter as long as you only drink bottle water.