How To Get To Gombe Stream National Park : Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania is a beautiful National Park situated on the white sandy shores of Lake Tanganyika, normally this park is combined with a safari visit to Katavi and Mahale Mountains.
Visitors planning to visit Gombe Stream National Park, here is how to get there
Step 1. Getting to Kigoma Town
To get to Kigoma Town, there are three 3 options that is train, plane or bus. Also you could rent a car and drive, though you have to be sure of your driving skills.
Train
Trains are available to Kigoma from Dar es Salaam, Tabora and Mwanza, the journey is quite lovely although its time intensive. There are 2 main train lines but you will need to use the Central line which links Dar Es Salaam to Kigoma via Tabora. You can also reach Kigoma by train from Mwanza via Tabora.
Note: Due to the transfer that is required on these journeys, there can be extremely long delays of more than 24 hours.
Plane
It is possible to fly, but there are limited commercial airlines going in and out of Kigoma which means the prices are high. Flights in and out of Kigoma Airport are provided by Precision Air, 3-4 times a week, but they are costly and somewhat unreliable. Also, there are private planes that you hire that service Zanzibar, Serengeti and Kigoma. But remember, they are costly.
Bus
Using bus is the most economical way to there, there are very bush companies from Mwanza such as the Pride of Kigoma bus from Mwanza. The bus departs at 5.30 am from the Mwanza main bus station and arrive at approximately 9:00 pm at the Bera Petrol Station in Kigoma.
Note: the ticket offices for this bus are in separate location (which your taxi or dala dala driver will be able to take you to). The cost of a one-way ticket is 31,000 Tsh (15 USD).
Along the bus journey, expect a few bathroom breakfast along the bus journey, a lunch stop (where you can purchase rice and beans or fish, drinks and snacks) and a few stops to service the bus such as getting gas or add oil to the engine on the side of the road.
These buses are non-air conditioned but ventilated with windows which makes for a hot, dusty trip. Don’t be surprised if the temperatures rise to 35 degrees Celcius. So bring lots of water (although you can buy drinks along the way at the various stops) and wear layers so you can take them off as need to feel comfortable when the temperatures rises mid-day. Also, bring hand hygiene gel, baby wipes or toilet paper as bathroom stops do not have any.
Step 2: Getting to Gombe Stream National Park
There is a Gombe Stream Natonal Park Tourist Office in Kigoma Town which you may want to visit to get more information before heading to Gombe, this is a good place to organize a private boat or tour guide, though there are private chimpanzee tracking tour options for you to book.
If you choose to go on an independent tour, there are two options to get to Gombe Stream National Park from Kigoma that is by the public boat or hring a private boat
1) Public Lake Taxi (public boat)
The public option is essentially a motorized, wooden boat costing around 4000 Tsh per person, one way.
Note: this boat does not run on Sunday, it departs from Kigoma at 12:00 pm and though the journey is only 16 kilometers north, it takes around 3 hours because it makes a few stops along the coastline to inland villages. My arrival time at Gombe was around 3:00 pm – 3:30 pm. The boat leaves Gombe Stream National Park for Kigoma at 7:00 am, though it passes closer at 8:00 am.
Also, note that the water taxi does not depart from the Kigoma Marina. In order to get to there, tell your taxi or boda boda driver to take you to Kibirizi Beach. You will arrive at a large sandy beach with multiple wooden boats, cargo and a few shops. You can buy water, juice, biscuits or bread before your journey. There is a washroom on the north side of the beach past the shops, when you get to the boats, tell them you need the boat to Ujiji (you will get off at the Kasekala stop which is Gombe). However if you say you are going to Gombe Park, they will also know which boat to put you on (Kasekala and Gombe are interchangeable).
The boat is extremely basic with a small platform circumventing its edges that acts as seating, after about half hour of loading people, luggage, tire, mattresses and other items. The boat will take off heading north along the coastline. Though the journey is only 16 kilometers, this trip takes 3.4 hours due to the slow pace and frequent stops at inland villages to let passengers off. With about 10 minute, the boat will pack
2) Private boat
Hiring a private boat is the most convenient way to get to Gombe Stream National Park , the advantage of hiring a private is that you can return at any time.
Note: the park fees ($ 100 per 24 hours) begins the moment you step foot onto the beach, this is problematic if you wish to take the public boat because it arrives at 3:00 – 3:30 pm and departs at 7:00 am. This means you have to pay for two 24 hours park passes and 2 nights’ accommodation of you plan to take the public boat back to town. With a private boat, you can arrive in the morning and leave the following morning, paying for one night in the lodge and one park pass.
