Accommodation near Rwanda - TZ border?
 

Hi all

I'll be riding a bike from Rwanda into Tanzania in early October and I'm looking for reasonably priced accommodation on the TZ side - Happy for something around $100 if I have to but it needs to be reasonably close to the border.

I realise that there are a few Game Lodges near there but
a) I don't believe I can ride my bike into them in TZ
b) They can be very expensive

After the first night, I can start heading towards bigger towns for the night but close to the border, it all looks pretty quiet on my map

Cheers

Pike

There is an old german boma at Biharamulo that's a cheap and secure place to camp. They also seem to have accommodation in small purpose built concrete "huts".

Its marked on T4A. Biharamulo is on the road heading north along the shore of Lake Victoria. Its at the top of the town and distinguishable by the boma walls. If you don't have T4A and want to find it let me know and I'll dig out coordinates.

Thanks very much - That sounds ideal.

As I say, once I'm further into TZ I can find accomm in towns but I just worry about getting through the border late and needing somewhere nearby

Being an ignoramus, I'd not heard of T4A. I have now but wouldn't you know it, they've taken down the Android version. Sounds like I'll have to park up my Samsung and dig out my old iPhone4.

Thanks again

Pike

Try the Sayari motel Nyakanazi

For the life of me I can't remember how to extract coordinates from google maps on my phone. To double check my memory I've looked at the sat map and its easy to find. Up the hill in the main town and just keep going on the dirt. White walls in front of you (slightly to your right). Cheap as chips for camping anyway with a large warm shower.

As regards T4A we used it when driving along the East coast but friends we made along the way and travelled a lot with used OSM maps with no problem. T4A has a lot more 'places of interest' in it but OSM is quite good and its free for up to ten map tiles or a couple of euro for unlimited. Used OSM maps on my phone as navigation for a couple of months in asia on a motorbike with no problems.

If you're going towards Dodoma then Singida is the next place with lots of accommodation. You'll be spoilt for choice there.

Nyakasanza
 

20km from the Rwanda/Tanzania border on the road to Nyakanazi is Nyakasanza. There are guest houses there marked on Tracks4Africa. I stayed there a few years ago, just trickled along the road through town until I found a 'Guest House' that I could see from the road. There were quite a few others beside the road but you couldn't see them as they were hidden behind lots of parked trucks. Darkness was just falling.
The one I ended up in was basic but clean and very friendly, equally friendly restaurants right across the road.
The guest house owner recommended a good one. The restaurant owner said I was staying in a fine guesthouse!
Way under $100!
Parking was behind the guesthouse within the fence. Close to my room I think.

Thanks to everyone for their answers.
I'd just got my head around T4A and was weighing up the benefits of using it on an iPhone when tadhg123 mentions OSM so I'll investigate that now

Apologies for being such a noob - I need to seriously get organised in the next couple of weeks or I'm going to get eaten by something :eek3:

Thanks again

Chris "Hyena Lunch" Pike

A big hyena skulking around the fringe of your camp in the darkness and whooping from what seems like 5 feet away is an experience to be treasured. Its the two legged visitors in the night you need be worried about!

Safe riding!

Like Orwell said "4 legs good - 2 legs bad"

Cheers

Pike

GPS: S2.631627 E31.304873

Nice place - camped on lawn. Decent facilities.

Just wanted to say thank you for the advice about the place in Biharamulo. Top place and only 4GBP for a room with a decent bed, linen and a hot shower!! Can heartily recommend it if you're in NW Tanzania
Mind you, the road out to Geita is 62ks of work in progress.

Cheers,

Pike

Oh and I can also recommend the OSM Android app.

It may not be quite as comprehensive as T4A and it's a little unintuitive at times but once you've worked out how to use it, it scores because it runs on your smartphone and doesn't need a Satnav. Useful if you're on a bike and short of space

Most of the time I didn't need it but for the last few ks to a hotel, it was invaluable. I think it cost $10 or maybe a bit less.

Pike