Tanzania for Digital Nomads

• Zanzibar’s beaches. Paje and Jambiani have a settled community of kitesurfers and remote workers, with beach cafes and monthly rentals.
• Safaris on the doorstep. Arusha and Moshi sit at the gateway to the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and Mount Kilimanjaro.
• Simple entry. Most nationalities get an e-visa online for $50, or $100 for US citizens, and can stay up to 90 days.
• Time zone. On UTC+3 all year, two or three hours ahead of the UK and a full overlap with European working days.
• Swahili culture. Stone Town’s lanes, coastal food and one of the friendliest welcomes in Africa.

Tanzania suits remote workers on European or Middle Eastern hours who want a beach season of one to three months, kitesurfers, divers, and people who want to combine work with safaris and climbing Kilimanjaro. Arusha and Moshi suit people who prefer cool mountain air and a small-town pace.

It suits you less if you want to stay for a year without a permit, need fast, reliable internet for video calls all day, or work US hours: 9am in New York is 4pm or 5pm in Tanzania, so West Coast calls run late. Zanzibar is conservative and mostly Muslim, and same-sex relationships are illegal across the country.

• Zanzibar: the island is where most nomads go. Paje and Jambiani on the east coast are the kitesurf and remote-work centre, Stone Town has the history and the most services, and Nungwi in the north has calmer swimming and sunsets.
• Dar es Salaam: the commercial capital, with the best internet, international hospitals and flights. Foreigners mostly live on the Msasani Peninsula (Masaki and Oyster Bay) or in Mikocheni.
• Arusha: the safari capital, a green highland town with a sizeable NGO and expat community and cooler weather.
• Moshi: a small, walkable town at the foot of Kilimanjaro, cheap and relaxed.

Our where to base yourself in Tanzania page compares them in more detail.

• E-visa: most Western nationalities need a visa. The ordinary visa costs $50 and allows up to 90 days. US citizens get a multiple-entry visa for $100. Apply on the official e-visa portal before you travel.
• Visa on arrival: available at main entry points, single entry only.
• No nomad visa: Tanzania has no digital nomad or remote-work visa, and the law doesn’t clearly cover remote work for a foreign employer on a visitor visa. Any work for a Tanzanian client needs a work permit.
• Inbound insurance: visitors to both Zanzibar and the mainland must buy the government’s inbound travel insurance, about $44 for up to 92 days, at their first point of entry.
• Longer stays: residence permits (Class A for investors and the self-employed, Class B for employees, Class C for retirees, volunteers, students and others).

Our visas, taxes and money page explains the rules, insurance and long-stay routes.

A comfortable month for one person costs about $1,300 to $1,900 in Dar es Salaam, $1,200 to $1,800 on Zanzibar’s east coast, and $900 to $1,400 in Arusha or Moshi. A one-bedroom apartment in a foreigner-friendly area of Dar es Salaam rents for roughly $500 to $900 a month, a local meal costs a few dollars, and a coffee in a cafe $2 to $4. These are ballpark figures, and Zanzibar rents rise in July, August and around Christmas.

Costs that catch people out: imported groceries, generator fuel or backup power, the mandatory inbound insurance, safari park fees (which are high), and medical evacuation to Nairobi or South Africa if you need it.

Tanzania is on East Africa Time (UTC+3) all year, with no daylight saving. That’s two hours ahead of London in summer and three in winter, so the whole European working day fits into yours. 9am in New York is 4pm or 5pm in Tanzania.

Dar es Salaam has the best home and office connections, with fibre in Masaki, Oyster Bay and the city centre. Arusha and Moshi are usable, and Zanzibar is slow outside Stone Town, typically around 15 to 30 Mbps, and drops in heavy rain. For mobile, Vodacom, Airtel, Yas (formerly Tigo) and Halotel have 4G in the towns and 5G in parts of Dar es Salaam; registering a SIM needs your passport and fingerprints. Always carry a second SIM, and expect power cuts, so check for a generator or solar backup before you rent.

Tanzania’s authorities have restricted internet access during periods of unrest, including after the October 2025 election, so keep important documents and contacts offline.

Bolt operates in Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Moshi and Zanzibar for cars and three-wheeled bajajis. Dala-dalas (shared minibuses) are cheap but crowded, and motorbike taxis (boda bodas) have a poor safety record. Ferries link Dar es Salaam with Stone Town in about two hours, and domestic flights connect Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, Kilimanjaro Airport (for Arusha and Moshi) and the safari airstrips. A foreign licence is valid for short stays on the mainland, but Zanzibar requires a local driving permit, usually arranged through the rental company. Avoid driving outside towns at night.

Dar es Salaam has the country’s best private hospitals, such as the Aga Khan Hospital, and Arusha and Moshi have well-known hospitals, including the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in Moshi. Zanzibar’s care is limited. Serious cases are often evacuated to Nairobi or South Africa, so get nomad health insurance with evacuation cover on top of the mandatory inbound policy. Malaria is present in most of the country; get travel-health advice before you go. You may need a yellow fever certificate if you arrive from a country with a risk of transmission.

Tanzania is generally welcoming, but take care. Bag snatching, burglary and express kidnappings (forcing people to withdraw cash) happen in Dar es Salaam, so use Bolt rather than walking at night. Protests after the 29 October 2025 general election turned deadly, and further demonstrations are possible: stay away from crowds and don’t film them. The emergency number is 112.

• Work permits are required for any work for a Tanzanian employer or client.
• Same-sex relationships are illegal, including on Zanzibar, and public displays of affection can lead to arrest.
• Dress: on Zanzibar, cover shoulders and knees away from the beach, especially in Stone Town and during Ramadan. Fines for revealing clothing in public can be $700 or more.
• Politics and protests: filming or sharing protests or violence is illegal, and posts about politics can get you detained.
• Plastic bags are banned, and arriving air passengers must hand them over.
• Drugs carry very long prison sentences.