Private jet to Tanzania

Three airports receive private jets from abroad: Kilimanjaro International in the north, between Arusha and Moshi, for the Serengeti, the Ngorongoro and the mountain; Julius Nyerere International in Dar es Salaam, the largest city and port; and Abeid Amani Karume on Zanzibar for the beaches. All three have runways of 3,000 m or more, so the choice depends on the plan, not on the aircraft. A typical trip lands in one of them and leaves from another.

Most private clients come for safari on the northern circuit, often with a week on Zanzibar afterwards, or to climb Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa at 5,895 m. Business travellers fly to Dar es Salaam, and some continue to Dodoma, the seat of government, or to the mining region around Mwanza on Lake Victoria. From most European hubs a heavy jet stops once for fuel, while a long-range jet flies non-stop in about seven and a half to nine hours.

Tell us where the trip starts and ends: the parks, the mountain, the city or the island. You get aircraft options, the routing and fares from a consultant.

Why fly privately to the parks and the coast

How long the flight takes

Times to Kilimanjaro from the price tables below, including taxi, climb and descent:

The Challenger 650 flies non-stop from Larnaca, Athens, Rome, Milan, Munich, Vienna and Nice. From London, Paris, Geneva, Zurich, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Madrid and Hamburg it stops once, for example in Cairo, and the trip takes 9:25-10:18 h. Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar lie roughly 400 km further south than Kilimanjaro, which adds about half an hour. The operator chooses the route around closed airspace, so the real track can be longer than the straight line.

Tanzania private jet prices

Fares buy the entire jet for one direction and exclude the TCAA clearance, handling, airport charges and taxes; they assume an aircraft can be found close to your departure airport. The time shown is for the aircraft in the first price column, including the fuel stop where the row has one.

From European cities to Kilimanjaro

The non-stop Challenger 650 costs EUR 69,000-71,000 from Milan, Munich, Vienna and Nice. From the northern hubs the same aircraft with one stop is EUR 85,000-93,000, and the non-stop Falcon 7X EUR 96,000-105,000, so the stop saves about EUR 11,000-15,000 for roughly an hour and forty minutes more.

To Dar es Salaam

From Istanbul the heavy jet reaches Dar es Salaam non-stop in 6:52 h for EUR 64,000; from western Europe it needs a stop.

To Zanzibar

The island has its own page with transfers and local rules: private jet to Zanzibar. Three sample routes:

From Africa, the Gulf and the Indian Ocean

Regional sectors suit light and midsize jets. Nairobi is 49 minutes from Kilimanjaro, and the Seychelles and Mauritius are common second stops:

From Doha and Dubai the Phenom 300 would need a stop and is quoted on request; the Praetor 500 costs EUR 30,000-32,000 non-stop.

The price of a long-haul sector is mostly flight time and positioning. Few long-range jets are based in East Africa, so an aircraft already in Nairobi, Dar es Salaam or the Gulf can lower the bill, and so can an Empty Leg. The quote itemises crew rest, the fuel stop and the overflight and landing permits. On the European side, France's departure tax for business-jet passengers is graded by distance and on a sector to East Africa is well above the European rate; Italy takes EUR 200 per passenger on flights to and from the country beyond 1,500 km. Germany, the Netherlands (aircraft of 5.7 t or more) and the UK charge departure taxes; UK Air Passenger Duty is at the higher private-jet rate for aircraft of 20 t or more with fewer than 19 seats, which covers every jet in the European tables. Tanzanian departure charges, and the Zanzibar departure tax when leaving the island, are listed in the quote.

Business jet price per flight hour

Heavy Jets from EUR 8,300 / hour

Light Jets from EUR 3,200 / hour

Ultra Long Range Jets from EUR 12,000 / hour

Super Midsize Jets from EUR 6,300 / hour

Very Light Jets from EUR 2,500 / hour

Long Range Jets from EUR 9,800 / hour

Midsize Jets from EUR 4,500 / hour

Turboprops from EUR 2,000 / hour

Sample trips

Cost per passenger

Divide the price of the whole aircraft by the number of seats taken. Visas, the state insurance and passenger taxes are added per person:

Price calculator

For a first estimate with your dates, use the calculator and name the airport in Tanzania. Safari flights and permits are added in the detailed offer.

Airports: ports of entry, domestic fields and park strips

An aircraft arriving from abroad makes its first landing at an airport designated for border clearance, in practice Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam or Zanzibar. Smaller airports and the strips in the parks come later in the trip.

Kilimanjaro sits at 894 m, and the safari airfields are higher: Arusha at 1,387 m and Seronera at 1,548 m. Thin, warm air lengthens take-off and reduces the load, mainly for a turboprop leaving a gravel strip with full bags. The operator calculates the weights for the date and confirms them in the quote.

Clearance, permits and domestic flights

Every foreign aircraft flying to or over Tanzania needs a flight clearance from the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority, filed through its online system by the operator or its agent, with the aircraft certificates, insurance and the passengers' passport details. Agents quote 24 to 48 working hours for a complete file and recommend allowing 48 to 72 hours. A landing on Zanzibar needs a separate permission from the Zanzibar government, and both documents must describe the same flight.

Flights inside the country, to Arusha, the park strips, Mwanza or between the mainland and Zanzibar, are flown by Tanzanian operators with turboprops such as the Pilatus PC-12 and the Cessna Grand Caravan, or with light jets. We book them with the safari and quote them on request; the international jet flies to and from the ports of entry.

Choosing the aircraft

Safari aircraft in Tanzania take about 15 kg of luggage per person in soft bags on shared flights. A chartered turboprop has more room, but the strip, the altitude and the temperature set the limit, so suitcases often stay at the lodge in Arusha or on the jet. For a family of eight or more on a night flight, ultra long range aircraft give everyone a bed.

To decide between a non-stop flight and a stop, leave your number and a consultant will call:

Where private flyers go in Tanzania

Seasons, migration and holidays

The best months for a safari in Tanzania are June to October, the long dry season, and January to February, when the herds calve in the southern Serengeti. The long rains from late March to May are the quietest and cheapest period, and some camps close. Empty Legs are most frequent in early January, when jets return to Europe after the holidays, and at the end of August and in September.

Tanzania is on East Africa Time (UTC+3) all year, two hours ahead of Central Europe in winter and one in summer. Daytime temperatures run from about 25 to 31 °C between November and February and are coolest from May to August; Kilimanjaro airport and Arusha are noticeably cooler in the morning than the coast.

Empty Legs on East African routes

An operator can move or cancel a leg when its main booking changes, so a window of a few days helps. Send the route you have in mind and your possible days to empty-legs@jets.flights; once a leg fits, the TCAA clearance is refiled with your passenger details.

Flying with a dog or cat

The animal flies in the cabin with you if the operator agrees, but the documents take months:

• A written application to the Director of Veterinary Services of the ministry responsible for livestock, with species, breed, age, the vaccination record and the airport of arrival; the import permit is issued before travel.
• A health certificate from a vet at home and a rabies vaccine given between one month and three years before the animal lands.
• The border vet may examine the animal on arrival; leaving Tanzania again needs an export permit.
• Back to the EU: the country is not on the EU list, so the animal needs a rabies antibody test from an EU-approved laboratory, taken 30 days or more after vaccination. A test done at home before the trip and entered in the pet passport removes the three-month wait.
• Back to the UK: the same blood test, a Great Britain pet health certificate and arrival on an approved route; dogs are treated for tapeworm 1-5 days before landing, before departure from the UK if the trip lasts five days or less.

Documents, insurance and local rules

Checklist before the flight

• Passports with six months' validity and blank pages, and visas for every passenger.
• State inbound travel insurance for the first port of entry.
• Passport details several days ahead for the TCAA clearance and, if needed, the Zanzibar permission.
• Names of lodges and their strips, and the planned time of the first safari flight.
• Soft bags within the limit of the safari aircraft; climbing gear listed if it travels in the hold.
• Yellow fever certificate if the trip comes from Kenya or another risk country.
• For a pet: the Tanzanian import permit, the antibody test result and the vet's health certificate.

Booking and contract

1. Send the dates, passengers and plan: parks, mountain, city or island, and where the trip should end.
2. We compare a heavy jet with one stop against a non-stop long-range jet, and check whether the aircraft waits or returns to base.
3. Between two and four offers arrive, each with operator, model, routing, cabin photos and the whole-aircraft fare, and the turboprop legs listed separately.
4. You sign the contract and pay; we file the TCAA clearance and Zanzibar permission and book handler, transfers and safari flights.
5. On departure day be at the terminal 20-30 minutes before take-off with passport, visa and insurance; in Tanzania the handler meets you at the aircraft.

Questions about private flights to Tanzania

• • What is the price range for Tanzania?

  • A Challenger 650 to Kilimanjaro costs from EUR 69,000 one way from Vienna or Nice and from EUR 55,000 from Larnaca, for the whole aircraft. A non-stop Falcon 7X from London is EUR 105,000.

• • Which airport should we fly to?

  • Kilimanjaro for the northern parks and the mountain, Dar es Salaam for business and the southern parks, Zanzibar for the beaches. Many trips arrive at one and leave from another.

• • Can we fly non-stop from Europe?

  • Yes, in a long-range jet such as the Falcon 7X: 7:28 h from Vienna and 8:37 h from London to Kilimanjaro. A Challenger 650 is non-stop from Italy, Munich, Vienna, Nice and the eastern Mediterranean.

• • Can a jet land in the Serengeti?

  • No. Serengeti strips are unsurfaced and limited to turboprops, so the jet stops at Kilimanjaro and a Tanzanian operator takes the group on to a strip such as Seronera.

• • Do we need a visa?

  • Yes, every European passenger needs a visa, best as an e-visa requested 10 days ahead, plus the state inbound travel insurance and a passport valid six months after the trip.

• • How long does the flight clearance take?

  • Agents quote 24 to 48 working hours for a complete file; we plan with 48 to 72 hours. Zanzibar needs a separate permission, filed at the same time.

• • When is the best time for a safari?

  • June to October for the dry season and the river crossings, January and February for the calving. April and May are the wettest months.

• • Can we combine Tanzania with Kenya or the Seychelles?

  • Yes. Nairobi is 49 minutes from Kilimanjaro in a Phenom 300, and the Seychelles about three hours from Zanzibar. Each country has its own entry rules.

• • Should the jet wait while we are in the parks?

  • It can, with parking and the crew hotel charged extra. For a stay of a week or more, two one-way flights usually cost less.

• • Can we bring our dog?

  • Yes, once Tanzania's veterinary service has issued the import permit; for the way back to the EU or UK the dog needs a rabies antibody test. Most safari flights and many camps do not accept animals.

• • Are there Empty Legs to or from Tanzania?

  • Occasionally, mostly back to Europe after New Year and at the end of the dry season, and regional legs to the Gulf. Send your dates to empty-legs@jets.flights.