There are several reasons one might find themselves in either Arusha or Moshi: you decided to help yourself acclimatize ahead of your climb of Mt Kilimanjaro, just passing through while you wait for your multi-day safari to begin, you want to see Mt Kilimanjaro even if you have no intention of attempting the six or seven day journey to the top. Whatever your reason, here are the top activities that caught my eye when I visited in June 2024:
Visit the Kikuletwa hot springs
I woke up before the sunrise for a classic 45 minute “African massage” (i.e. traveled down a VERY bumpy road) in order to get to these hot springs. It was worth it: this was by far the most beautiful hot spring I have ever visited. I’m not sure how busy things get during the day, but when I visited around 9AM, I was the only one there for a good 45 minutes and was able to bask in the serenity of the burbling water and the sounds of early morning nature.
Caution: the current was surprisingly strong; it caught me by surprise when I first hopped in and swept me towards the end of the spring that I wasn’t really interested in swimming towards until I got my bearings. Also note that there are little fish that are fascinated by you and they do nibble – I found it a bit off-putting, but also discovered that when I swam towards the big open clearing with the source of the warmer water, the fish lost interest in me.
Side Note: My Kilimanjaro guide claimed that a video had made the rounds on social media depicting a crocodile swimming around in these springs. I was unable to substantiate the claim or find this video. Either the alleged crocodile left the area or it was never there to begin with and the whole video was a hoax. Still – proceed with caution and never swim alone!
Coffee Plantation Tour
Some of the best coffee in the world is grown in the shadow of Mt Kilimanjaro. There are multiple tour operators and just as many coffee plantation tours – be sure to do your homework and find someone highly rated. (See Trip Advisor, Google reviews, Yelp, etc.). I went on a smaller coffee farm tour that was part of a 3-part tour. All proceeds of the visit and coffee sales go directly to the families that operate the farm.
- Learn the process of harvesting, roasting, prepping coffee beans by hand
- Sample a cup of some of the best coffee in the world
- Option to purchase a bag of local, roasted coffee beans-all proceeds go directly to the families
Hiking a local waterfall and local lunch
There are several famous waterfalls in this mountainous area. I would highly recommend Materuni waterfall. Not only was it a nice, gentle way of keeping my legs warmed up the day before my trek on Kilimanjaro, it was a short 45 minute hike and the payoff at the end was so worth it.
Note that this is a VERY muddy trek: if your guide offers you spare rain boots, take them! It’s not worth muddying your hiking boots, trust me.
Safari day trip to Tarangire National Park with personal chauffeur
If you signed up for a multi-day safari tour, Tarangire may be on the list already. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to go on a full week long safari to check out Serengeti and Ngorongoro on this trip, but I was able to scratch the safari tour itch by signing up for a day trip to Tarangire National Park.
I was picked up first thing in the morning by a chauffeur in a giant off-road touring vehicle that you see all over East African roads. When I signed up for the tour I assumed I would be joining a group, but to my surprise, I was the only one on this tour. Apparently, this is a pretty common occurrence and most touring companies book things this way. Most of the vehicles I saw in the park only had couples, solo travelers, or families in their respective vehicles. Rarely was a vehicle filled to capacity. Great for those who want to experience the park privately!
Traveling from Arusha, the journey took us a couple of hours on mostly paved roads. My guide checked into the park, then drove us inside. From there, he decided where to take us. He was incredibly knowledgeable about the animals, their behavior, and had great instincts about where we would find the wildlife. We always maintained a respectful distance from the animals, but still close enough to see them in their habitat. A herd of elephants even came and surrounded the car on their trek to the next feeding location. I saw baboons, ostriches, exotic birds, a lioness, several herds of elephants, giraffes, African buffalo, so many zebras, and so many more types of animals! It was incredible to see these majestic animals in the wild.
At lunch we pulled into a picnic area where I enjoyed a hot lunch and a Kilimanjaro beer. Once we finished lunch, we drove around for a few more hours, and then my driver dropped me off back at my hotel.
Additional activities that looked interesting, but I ran out of time to explore:
- Cooking class or local tour
- Masaai Village visit
- Lake Duluti Day Trip
- Climb Mt Meru (takes several days!)
- Visit to Zanzibar – would require a few days and would be a great way to relax right after climbing Kilimanjaro!
Tour Operators I booked with:
I booked my Arusha excursions through Trip Advisor. My Tarangire safari day trip and the three part coffee plantation/hot springs/waterfall hike were offered by an operator called “Safari Soles Tours.” They picked me up from my hotel and were exceptionally flexible with the special requests that I had. I even had an emergency situation where I left my passport in one hotel and the driver was kind enough to bring me back to get it. Exceptional, above and beyond service. Ask for Andrew!
What activities would you recommend in Arusha/Moshi? Share in the comments below!
