Kilimanjaro Machame Route & Zanzibar Shores — Self-Launched

Land at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) and take a pre-arranged airport pickup or a local taxi to Moshi town (about 45–60 min, £20–£25 for the taxi shared between travellers; many guesthouses arrange pickups for £15–£20). Check in, rent or buy any last gear at the local gear shops on Market Street (sleeping bags rent for around £30, walking poles £10), change money and buy bottled water. Meet your trek operator in the evening to check your kit, confirm park fees are paid and get a briefing.

🚌Taxi or guesthouse-arranged pickup from JRO, ~£20 shared

🛏Budget guesthouse in Moshi town, twin/dorm (£12–£18 pp per night)

• →Airport transfer to Moshi
• →Gear rental and shopping in Moshi
• →Trek briefing with local operator

Early transfer from Moshi to the Machame Gate (about 45 min). Registration with KINAPA can take an hour; then hike through dense rainforest on a steady climb of roughly 5–6 hours to Machame Camp. Your crew — guide, assistant guide, cook and porters — carries the tents and food and sets up camp. You'll sleep in a two-person tent and eat freshly cooked meals at a mess tent.

🚌Shared 4x4 transfer Moshi–Machame Gate, included in trek package

🛏Full-service alpine camping (tented camp with cook and crew)

• →Machame Gate registration
• →Rainforest trek to Machame Camp (~11km, 5–6hrs)

A shorter but steeper day, leaving the forest behind and crossing open moorland dotted with giant heather and lobelias. Around 4–5 hours of walking brings you to Shira 2 Camp on the Shira Plateau, with superb views of Kibo Peak. Go pole pole — slowly — and hydrate steadily. Your guide will check oxygen saturation and symptoms each evening.

🚌Trekking on foot, guided by licensed KINAPA guide

🛏Full-service alpine camping

• →Moorland trek to Shira 2 Camp (~5km, 4–5hrs)
• →Sunset views of Kibo Peak

The big acclimatisation day: climb to Lava Tower at 4,600m for lunch, then descend to Barranco Camp at 3,950m — climb high, sleep low. Around 6–7 hours walking with spectacular views of the Western Breach and Breach Wall. This is the day many hikers first feel the altitude, so keep the pace slow and tell your guide if a headache is building.

🚌Trekking on foot

🛏Full-service alpine camping

• →Trek Shira 2 – Lava Tower (4,600m)
• →Descent to Barranco Camp (~10km, 6–7hrs)

Start with the famous scramble up the Great Barranco Wall — hands-on but not technical, about 1.5 hours — then traverse the ridges below the Helm Glacier and descend into Karanga Valley before the final climb to Barafu Camp. Roughly 6–7 hours. Eat an early dinner and try to sleep by 7pm; you'll be woken around midnight for the summit push. Water at Barafu is carried up by your porters.

🚌Trekking on foot

🛏Full-service alpine camping at high altitude

• →Great Barranco Wall scramble
• →Karanga Valley traverse
• →Early night before summit attempt

The hardest and best day. Leave around midnight and climb the frozen scree in the dark for 6–7 hours, passing between the Rebmann and Ratzel glaciers to Stella Point (5,756m), then on along the crater rim to Uhuru Peak at sunrise — the highest point in Africa. Descend the same way to Barafu for a hot lunch, then continue down to Mweka Camp (about 3–4 hours more). Long day: 12–14 hours on your feet.

🚌Trekking on foot

🛏Full-service alpine camping at Mweka Camp

• →Night ascent via Stella Point
• →Sunrise at Uhuru Peak (5,895m)
• →Long descent to Mweka Camp

A 3–4 hour descent through forest to Mweka Gate, where you sign out and collect your summit certificate. Tip your crew here — budget around £150–£200 per climber as a group envelope handed to the lead guide (this is expected and is the main income for porters and cooks). Transfer back to Moshi, shower and celebrate. In the afternoon, visit the Moshi Women's Cooperative independently (a Planeterra-supported project) to meet the mamas, learn about their work and pick up a souvenir.

🚌Shared transfer Mweka Gate–Moshi, included in trek package

🛏Budget guesthouse in Moshi, twin/dorm (£12–£18 pp)

• →Descent to Mweka Gate
• →Crew tipping ceremony
• →Independent visit to Moshi Women's Cooperative

Take a local shuttle bus or dalla-dalla from Moshi to Arusha (about 1.5–2 hours, £2–£5). Check into a budget guesthouse, do laundry, and resupply for Zanzibar. Spend the afternoon wandering the Maasai Market and the Central Market, or rest up — you've earned it. Book your Arusha–Zanzibar flight for tomorrow morning if you haven't already (Precision Air, Air Tanzania and Coastal Aviation all fly the route).

🚌Local shuttle bus Moshi–Arusha, ~£3–£5

🛏Budget guesthouse or hostel in Arusha, twin/dorm (£15–£22 pp)

• →Local bus Moshi–Arusha
• →Maasai Market and Central Market browsing
• →Laundry and resupply

Early flight from Arusha (ARK) to Zanzibar (ZNZ): about 1hr 15m, £60–£110 depending on how far ahead you book. On arrival, take a taxi into Stone Town for a self-guided orientation walk through the alleys, the Old Fort, Forodhani Gardens and the waterfront — or join a cheap walking tour (around £15). Then take a shared minibus or taxi south to Jambiani on the east coast (about 1 hour, £20–£25), check into a beach guesthouse and settle into island pace with dinner at a local beach restaurant.

🚌Internal flight ~£60–£110; airport taxi and shared minibus to Jambiani ~£25

🛏Beach guesthouse or bungalow in Jambiani, twin/dorm (£18–£30 pp)

• →Flight Arusha–Zanzibar
• →Self-guided Stone Town orientation walk
• →Transfer to Jambiani beach

Morning spice tour — bookable direct through your guesthouse or via GetYourGuide/Klook for around £25–£35 — visiting a working spice farm to see, smell and taste cloves, cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg, with lunch often included. In the afternoon, join a dhow snorkelling trip out to the reef (around £25–£35), visit Jozani Forest to see red colobus monkeys (£15–£25 with a local guide), or simply swim and read on the white sand. Dinner at a local restaurant — grilled fish and coconut rice for a few pounds.

🚌Local dhow and taxi transfers, ~£10–£15

🛏Beach guesthouse or bungalow in Jambiani, twin/dorm (£18–£30 pp)

• →Spice farm tour
• →Dhow snorkelling trip
• →Optional Jozani Forest visit
• →Beach swimming

Breakfast at the guesthouse, then a shared minibus or taxi back to Stone Town and on to Zanzibar Airport (about 1 hour). Allow time for the airport transfer and check-in. If your flight is later in the day, squeeze in a last wander through Stone Town's market or a coffee at the Old Fort before you go.

🚌Shared minibus/taxi Jambiani–Zanzibar Airport, ~£25

🛏None (departure day)

• →Transfer to Zanzibar Airport
• →Optional final Stone Town wander