Tanzania: Some Interesting Facts

Public Holidays

Date 2005 Occasion
January 1 New Year's Day
January 12 Zanzibar Revolution Day (1964)
January 21 Eid Al Adha
February 5 Chama Cha Mapinduzi Day
February 22 Islamic New Year
March 25 28 Good Friday to Easter Monday
April 26 Union Day
May 1 International Labour Day
May 2 Prophet's Birthday
July 7 Saba Saba or Peasants' Day
August 8 Nane Nane or Farmers' Day 
August 26 Sultan's Birthday (Zanzibar only)
October 29 Naming Day
November 3 -5 Eid ul Fitr
December 9 Independence and Republic Day
December 25 Christmas Day  

Weekend - Sunday

Customs & Duties

The following items may be imported into Tanzania without incurring customs duty:
200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250g of tobacco; 1 litre of alcoholic beverages and 250ml of perfume. Special electronic equipment for filming etc need special permits or may necessitate the filling up of a Customs Bond at the time of arrival. Personal effects like cameras, binoculars or climbing gear can be brought in for the duration of the stay.

Electricity

Electricity is supplied at 240Volts, 50Hz, so electrical appliances not on compatible settings will need adaptors or converters. Power surges are frequent and can damage delicate equipment like computers and laptops. They are better off battery operated. Plugs may be round or square 3-pin, fused or unfused.

Weights & Measures

The Standard Metric system is prevalent which basically means the use of litres instead of pints and gallons for liquids; grams and kilograms instead of ounces and pounds for solids and kilometers in place of miles to measure distance.

Post & Communications

The Tanzanian postal system is efficient and reliable with mail reaching European destinations in under four to five days. Letterforms and stamps are sold at post offices and in hotels and stationery shops. Courier services are available but cost a fair bit more than the postal charges. The telecommunication network is well developed with IDD facilities though rural centres are connected via operators and trunk bookings. The urban areas have conveniently located public call booths. Country code: 255. Outgoing international code: 00. E-mail can be accessed in cyber cafés in the main urban areas.

Tipping

While tipping is officially not encouraged, cabbies, waiters and porters expect to be tipped. Most restaurants levy a service charge of 10-15% but in places that don’t, pay around 10% of the bill or according to personal preference.

English Language Media

The English language newspapers published from Dar es Salaam are the Daily News, Sunday News, Business Times, The Express, Family Mirror and Guardian.