What Is the Food Like on a Tanzania Safari?

Food on safari is fresh, varied and often excellent — even in remote camps miles from the nearest road. On a typical Tanzania safari you can expect three cooked meals a day plus tea and snacks: an early wake-up with coffee and biscuits, a hearty breakfast, a relaxed lunch, afternoon tea, sundowner drinks at sunset, and a multi-course dinner. Most menus blend familiar international dishes — soups, salads, grilled meats, pasta and fresh fruit — with local Tanzanian flavours, so the food is rarely far from what you enjoy at home.

Exactly what you eat depends on the length of your trip and where you stay. Luxury lodges have full kitchens and refrigeration, so they offer more choice, while mobile and tented camps work in remote locations and lean on clever, freshly prepared cooking. Either way, the meals are made from scratch and genuinely good, and you’ll have plenty of chances to try local dishes and eat your way a little deeper into the culture.

Almost every camp and lodge can also cater for vegetarians, vegans, food allergies and other dietary needs — the key is to let us know when you book so the kitchens can prepare for you in advance.

A Day of Eating on Safari at a Glance

Safari meals are built around the rhythm of your game drives, so the day is punctuated by food from before sunrise until after dark. Here is what a typical day looks like:

Wake-Up Call and Breakfast

On game-drive mornings the day often starts before sunrise with a gentle wake-up call and a tray of fresh coffee, tea and biscuits or rusks delivered to your tent — just enough to get you moving before the animals are active.

Breakfast itself gives you a wide choice of carbohydrates and proteins. Expect eggs, sausages, bacon, toast, sweet pastries, cereals, fruit, cheese and several kinds of bread, with coffee and tea. At the lodge or campsite this is often served buffet-style, sometimes with a cook-to-order egg or omelette station.

One of the great safari treats is the bush breakfast: rather than eating indoors, your crew sets up a table out in the park mid-drive, and you tuck into eggs cooked to order, bacon, pastries and fresh fruit in the middle of the savannah as the wildlife wakes around you.

Lunch

If you are having lunch picnic-style in the park between activities, you’ll usually be handed a box with a sandwich and fruit. These boxes tend to be carb-heavy — bread, fruit and juice — but there are always higher-protein options too, such as hard-boiled eggs and chicken, so it is easy to pick what fits your diet. On some days staff meet you in the park with a more substantial spread of rice, potatoes, soups and grilled meat.

If you head back to the lodge for lunch, you’ll typically find a buffet with plenty of fresh salads, vegetables, pasta and grilled meats to choose from.

Afternoon Tea

Between lunch and dinner — usually just before you head out for the evening game drive — lodges serve afternoon tea. You can choose tea or coffee alongside a spread of light snacks, both sweet and savoury.

Expect peanuts, cashews, small sandwiches, cakes, biscuits, tarts and perhaps some quiche, often with East African staples like chapati and samosas.

Sundowners

The sundowner is one of the best-loved safari traditions. As the light softens towards sunset, your guide pulls the vehicle over in a scenic spot, sets up a small mobile bar, and pours drinks while you watch the sky change colour over the plains.

Classic choices are a gin and tonic, a glass of wine, a cold beer or a soft drink, usually served with savoury nibbles such as samosas, spiced nuts and biltong. It is an unhurried, only-on-safari moment — a chance to toast the day’s sightings before heading back for dinner.

Dinner

Dinner is the most special meal of the day and is almost always served at the lodge or campsite — sometimes indoors, sometimes under the stars in a boma, a traditional outdoor enclosure. You’ll usually have three courses: a starter, a main and dessert.

Starters tend to be soups or salads, sometimes both. The main course changes daily and might be fish, pasta, a curry or a grilled or roasted meat, served with a range of vegetable side dishes and sauces. This is often where local flavours appear, from Tanzanian-style stews to grilled nyama choma (barbecued meat) and ugali, the maize staple eaten across the country.

Dessert might be a single plated pudding or cake, or, at larger lodges, a dessert buffet of cakes, pastries, puddings and fresh tropical fruit.

Local Tanzanian Dishes to Try

Part of the fun of eating on safari is sampling the local menu. Keep an eye out for nyama choma (grilled meat), ugali (a maize-flour staple served with stews and vegetables), chapati, samosas, spiced pilau rice, and the abundant fresh tropical fruit — mango, pineapple, passion fruit and banana. For a deeper look at the country’s cuisine, see our guide to traditional Tanzanian foods.

Drinks

What is included depends on the safari package you book and where you stay. Basic packages usually include water, soft drinks, tea and coffee, while luxury lodges and camps often add beer, wine and spirits.

Where drinks aren’t included, most camps sell bottled beer and wine, and some have a bar or lounge; at others you simply order from the dining area. If you’re unsure whether alcohol is part of your package, ask before you order so there are no surprises on the bill.

Water and Staying Hydrated

Long days in the sun make hydration important, and staying well-watered is one of the easiest ways to avoid travel fatigue. Stick to bottled or filtered water throughout your safari — avoid tap water, and use bottled water even for brushing your teeth.

You won’t go short: there is bottled water stocked in your safari vehicle, usually a few complimentary bottles in your room at each lodge and camp, and more available to buy. At our recommended lodges and camps, ice, salads, fruit and vegetables are prepared with purified water, so they are safe to enjoy.

Dietary Requirements and Allergies

Tanzania’s lodges and camps are used to catering for a wide range of diets, including vegetarian, pescatarian, lacto-ovo vegetarian and vegan. The single most important thing you can do is tell us your requirements at the time of booking so every property on your itinerary is prepared — and it’s worth double-checking with the kitchen when you check in.

• Many Tanzanian dishes are naturally vegetarian, so there are almost always meat-free choices. Still confirm vegetarian or vegan needs when you book.
• Vegans should note that generous plant protein can be harder to guarantee in remote camps, so it’s wise to pack a few protein bars as a back-up.
• Most properties do their best with gluten-free diets, but shared kitchen surfaces mean cross-contamination can’t be fully ruled out — something to weigh if you have coeliac disease or a severe intolerance.
• Note any food allergies on your booking. Common allergens are easily avoided by the chefs once they know in advance.

Tips for Dining on Safari

• Flag dietary restrictions and allergies at the time of booking, not on arrival — remote camps need notice to cater well.
• Buffet-style properties give you more choice and are easier if you have specific preferences.
• Bring your own snacks if you like something particular to nibble on during game drives.
• Ask about surcharges — if you’re not sure whether alcohol or premium drinks are included, check before you order.
• Come hungry. Safari chefs are hugely experienced and turn out a surprising variety of excellent dishes, even in the bush.

While safaris are famous for their wildlife, the food is often one of the highlights of a trip to Tanzania. Pack your appetite, tell us what you love (and what you can’t eat), and get ready to eat very well — and once you’ve sorted the menu, take a look at our guides to what to pack for a Tanzania safari, the best time to go on safari and whether a Tanzania safari is safe.