Crossing Tanzania by train: From Dar es Salaam to Mbeya

First of all, I want to tell you that sadly  I don’t have any pictures of this tour. I had everything in the GoPro and I lost it in Mbeya so I could not download the images but I leave all the information to travel by train in Tanzania so you can reach Zambia.

I had never thought about moving by train through Africa, but it ended up being an incredible and unforgettable experience. It is an easy and cheap way to get around if you have plenty of time. I did very well in terms of time, but I have heard many stories of Muzungus like me about the delays and the unpunctuality of the trains. So, if you go with a fair time, this is not a good option.

In my case, I needed to go from Dar es Salaam to Mbeya, near the border with Malawi. For this same reason, I needed to take the TAZARA (Tanzania Zambia Railway). This is a train that works between the two countries and allows you to move easily. I know there is another train line in Tanzania, but it goes to Kigoma towards Lake Tangayika in the north-west of the country and it was not my intention to go there.

The line has a total of 1,860 km and its intention is to link Lusaka with Dar es Salaam (it doesn’t reach Lusaka, but transportation is easily achieved). Additionally, there are 2 trains that make this route so you have to plan ahead. The express line is a slightly more modern and more comfortable train, so I preferred to schedule my route to get to Dar es Salaam on Thursday and leave on the express train on Friday. Below, you can see the departure times for both trains departing from Dar es Salaam. Along the way, the train also makes small stops in villages if you are interested. I met some French girls who were going to volunteer in Mlimba.

Tickets cannot be purchased online so it would be nice if you know someone who can buy it for you or try to arrive a few days before and buy the ticket directly at the station. There are some tourist agencies that could help you, but they will charge you a commission that I didn’t wanted to pay and I don’t even know how  much it is. Right here you can see the rates in both directions:

My experience

I was coming from Diani Beach in Kenya so I had to arrive a day or two before so I wouldn’t be rushing. I had the advantage that I already knew people and Dar es Salaam, so the guys at The Slow Leopard helped me buying the ticket. I had already stayed a few nights here when I returned from Zanzibar, a great hostel to stay in this city (Click here) and Henry the owner was the one who helped me buy the tickets. I managed to transfer the money from Kenya to his cell phone and he went and bought me the tickets without any inconvenience.

After my long bus trip from Diani, I arrived destroyed to Slow Leopard to eat a hamburger and Sleep, no matter how much I wanted to have a beer, I couldn’t. If you are going to take a bus, I recommend you arrive on a Wednesday to enjoy Thursday in the city. The Slow Leopard has a few nights of live music on Thursdays that looked amazing and it is a great way to meet people. I slept all night and almost until noon the next day so I was ready to go to the train.

Although the train is at 15:50, I recommend arriving before time because the doors of the station close about 2 hours before so they can check tickets and suitcases. I decided to leave early the hostel and to have lunch at the station. On the way to the train, I stopped at a supermarket to buy 2 large bottles of water and some snacks just in case there were non on the train and I knew it was going to be a long journey.

In the station, there is not much to eat, only 2 little shops, but they were preparing a chicken that looked delicious so with out thinking that was my lunch. There were a lot of people in the station so there were no chairs and between having lunch and taking care of your bags it is very easy for people to steal so be aware. At about 3 o’clock, they start calling the different classes to start boarding, they make you put the bags in a row so that the dogs smell them and then they make you board.

I bought second class with a bed because I knew it was going to be a long night, the train was supposed to last 24 hours, but there have been cases in which it lasts 35 hours due to failures or blockages. So I didn’t know if it was going to be 1 or 2 nights. When you arrive, everyone has an assigned cabin so look for your car and you will find your bed. The difference between first and second class is the number of people with whom you share the cabin. In first it is shared with 4 and in second with 6. When I arrived at my cabin, I met my roommates and only 2 spoke English so I could not speak much.

The scenery is very beautiful, you start to enjoy mountains, rivers and incredible views. The train stops at some stations along the route and some people get off your cabin and new people come up. Always be very careful with your bags if you travel alone. I did not carry anything of value in the big backpack so sometimes I would walk and leave it there in the cabin and I went with my carry on bag everywhere.

TIP: If you travel as a couple (male and female), you cannot stay in the same cabin unless they buy the entire cabin. Normally the cabins are divided by men and women.

On the train you will find a restaurant with good food and a bar where people start to “party” at night. I took my time to read, write and listen to some music before bedtime. Although the bed is a little hard, I was able to sleep very well. My pillow was my carry on bag because I did not want to release it, but everything else was perfect. You can go to the restaurant at any time and it is perfect to meet people.

During the day I was able to talk to my new roommates and they asked me several things about Colombia and South America. I met Issaha, who lives in Mbeya and helped me find accommodation. My intention had always been to reach Mbeya and leave straight away for the border with Malawi. I did not know what to do nearby that caught my attention until looking at Instagram I saw the image of some waterfalls nearby. I tried to contact the person and the agency because I had to go. Upon arriving in Mbeya I decided to stay one night and wait to see if I could get the ride to Malamba Falls. A place that I will talk about in the following blog.