Tanzania entry border points and the required documents

Entering Tanzania by air

Tanzania can be accessed either by air with three international airport namely:

Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO): situated between Arusha and Moshi, this is the most common entry point into the country for those exploring the Northern Safari Circuit that includes the Serengeti national park, the Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire National Park and Lake Manyara national park.

Julius Nyerere International Airport (DAR): a good option for those visiting Dar es Salaam or the Southern Safari Circuit that includes Selous Game Reserve, and Ruaha National Park.

Abeid Amani Karume International Airport: This is the best option for those visiting Zanzibar for the beach holiday and honey moon

Entering Tanzania by water

The country can also be accessed by water through the ports like Dar es Salaam, Tanga, and Mtwara. Dar es salaam port is the busiest among the three. however the country can also be accessed locally through landing sites on lake Victoria shared by Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania and lake Tanganyika shared by Tanzania, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.

Entering Tanzania by land

the country can also be accessed by land through various land borders distributed all over the country. let us have a look at some of the most dominant road border entry points to Tanzania.

The border points from Kenya

1. Isebania border
2. Namanga border
3. Lunga lunga border
4. Loitokitok border
5. Teveta border

Tanzania-Uganda border entry points

1. Mutukula border
2. Nkurungu border

Zambia-Tanzania border entry points

1. Tuduma border
2. Kaseya border

Rwanda-Tanzania border entry points

1. Rusumu border
2. Kyerwa border post

Burundi-Tanzania border entry points

1. Nanyovu border
2. Kobero bridge

Tanzania-malawi entry points

1. Songwe river bridge

Mozambique-Tanzania entry point

1. Unity bridge
2. Namoto-Kirambo ferry border
3. Matchedge border post

DR Congo-Tanzania entry point

1. Kigoma border point

Tanzania land border entry point explained

The border points of Tanzania from Kenya

Isebania border

If you are planning to visit either Tanzania’s Serengeti or Kenya’s Masai Mara, then this is the border to use. It is located in the northern Tanzania. The border is in Migori county, west of Masai Mara national reserve. It takes 6 hours to drive to this border. Through this border you will be able to witness the wildlife migration either in Tanzania or in Kenya

Namanga border

Namanga border situated in the district of Longindo on Tanzania and Kajiado county from Kenya side is the busiest Kenya-Tanzania border. Its closeness to the top tourist destination like AmboseLi national park of Kenya and Kilimanjaro national park that houses the highest peak on African continent has seen the surrounding area grow tremendously. The swift system of crossing the boarder attract many travelers to use this border.

Lunga lunga border

If you are planning to go to the costal region in cities like Mombasa, Tanga or der es salaam, or southeastern Kenya, then you will need to use this boarder. The formalities to use this border are a little more stressful including presenting a yellow fever card and standing in the long queue

Loitokitok border

Another popular border that will take you to Tanzania through Moshi is Loitokitok border located near Kilimanjaro Mountain of Tanzania and Amboseli national park of Kenya. The border is on the base of Mount Kilimanjaro and using this border will give you a stanning view of Kilimanjaro.

Teveta border

This is another border that will take you to Tanzania through Moshi. It is a one stop border for clearing the vehicles and he humans.

Tanzania-Uganda border entry points

Mutukula border

Mutukula One stop Border Post (OSBP)  is a Tanzania-Uganda border located in Missenyi District. On the Ugandan side, it is also known as Mutukula OSBP situated in Kyotera District. This is a 24/7 border operation with several Government agencies all available at once with the aim of expediting and facilitating clearance of goods across border

Nkurungu border

This is another remote border that connect Tanzania to Uganda located 80 kilometers away from Mbarara city of Uganda

Zambia-Tanzania border entry points

Tunduma-Nakonde Border Post

The border handles the traffic from der es salaam to Zambia and from democratic republic of Congo and vice versa. The border serves to improve the trade between these three neighboring countries of east and central Africa

Kaseya border

An alternative to Tunduma border is Kaseya border that can help you to cross from Tanzania to Zambia and vice versa.

Rwanda-Tanzania border entry points

Rusumu border

Rusumo serves as a border crossing point between Tanzania and Rwanda. It is located in Tanzania’s Ngara District and Rwanda’s Gatsibo District. This crossing plays a crucial role in facilitating trade and travel between Tanzania and Rwanda.

Kyerwa border post

In a move to improve the trading between the two neighbouring countries, the plan is underway to open a new border between Rwanda and Tanzania. The border is in kyerwa in the district of Ngara district in Tanzania. The border will supplement the already existing Rusumu border

Burundi-Tanzania border entry points

Manyovu/ Mugina border

This is the main entry point of Tanzania and Burundi. It is a one stop border post joining Burundi to Tanzania and was funded by Africa development bank in 2018 to support the trade of the region

Kobero border post

Kabanga One stop Border Post (OSBP) is a Tanzania-Burundi border crossing located in Ngara District of the Kagera Region near the borders of Rwanda and Burundi, on Burundi side it is called Kobero OSBP located in the region of Muyinga. Kabanga/Kobero OSBP operates on a 12-hour shift pattern due to security concerns in the isolated mountainous terrain. There are several Government agencies all available daily with the aim of expediting and facilitating the clearance of goods across border quickly and smoothly

Tanzania-Malawi borer entry points

Songwe river bridge border/ kisumulu border

This is the only land crossing border between Malawi and Tanzania, and it has limited working hours. The border is open between 7 AM TO 7PM. Therefore, you will be required to plan accordingly. The border is about 62 kilometers south of Mbeya. Further more you need to be aware of the difference in driving rule as you are supposed to drive on left while in Tanzania and on the right when you cross to Malawi.

Mozambique-Tanzania border entry point

Matchedge border post

The border is located Ruvuma Region, Tanzania entering Mozambique, Niassa Province and it is operational seven days of the week. We highly recommend fuelling your car before reaching this border as it is highly associated with ruby smuggling.

Namoto-Kirambo ferry border

It is located near Madimba (approx. 40km South of Mtwara), Mtwara Region, Tanzania entering Mozambique (approx. 130km North of Mocimbia da Praia), Cabo Delgado Province, near Quionga. The ferry at the border can transfer 4 to 8 cars depending on the size of the car. However, due to political unrest in the area, we recommend you use Matchedge border post.

Unity bridge border post crossing

The border is located at Mtwara Region (approx. 72km South of Nangomba), Tanzania entering Mozambique, Cabo Delgado Province, Negomano (approx. 175km Northwest of Mueda)

Unity 2 bridge

DR Congo-Tanzania entry point

Kigoma border point

Tanzania and DR Congo do not share a land border as the boundary of these two countries is covered by the Lake Tanganyika waters. The border point of Tanzania and DRC is at Kigoma border point located at Lake Tanganyika. All the clearing services are offered at Kigoma port. Vehicles can be used to bring in and take out the cargos, but only marine vessels are used to cross the border.

Here are some general tips and considerations for border crossing in Tanzania

Documentation

Make sure you have all necessary travel documents, including a valid passport, visas (for foreigners), comesa insurance, car logbook and any other required documents.

Visa

Tanzania has an evisa system that you must present on your arrival. The price of the evisa is 50 dollars. For east African citizen you will get you visa on arrival for free.

Border posts.

Get to know all the official border post of Tanzania. We have to tried to identify most of these border points in this article go through them and identify the one you will have to use

Customs and immigration regulation

Declare all you are crossing border with to avoid being disrupted and ashamed as the custom officer might assume that you are smuggling items. Also check and confirm the validity of your documents.

Health requirements

Prepare and be with your yellow fever documents as you will be required to present on while entering Tanzania.

Currency

Some have Tanzania shillings with you as some place might not accept foreign currency or the payment through credit card. Also make sure that your dollars are not later than 2009 as older dollars might be rejected. Your dollars shouldn’t also be torn or with ink.

Security

Thieves on the border might want to take advantage of you. Therefore be very vigilant, not leave you belongings in the cars while doing the clearance.

Road conditions

Be cautious of the road conditions of Tanzania. Furthermore, also consider the different driving rules as some countries like Rwanda and Malawi drives on the right while in Tanzania, they drive on the left.

Local knowledge

Consult with your tour company or local authority to get the knowledge about Tanzania and any requirement that you might need for the safer stay in the country

Specific requirement for border crossing

1. Valid passport
2. Yellow fever permit
3. International driving permit in case of self drive
4. Vehicle documentation
5. Cross-border authorisation
6. Vehicle inspection
7. Visas
8. Insurance (comesa)

The most popular Tanzania vacation safari packages

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