What is the currency in Tanzania/Zanzibar?
Tanzania Shillings (TSH), which can not be obtained until arrival in Tanzania/Zanzibar. There are plenty of Forex and banks to change money in the main towns and at airports. Transactions at shops, restaurants, etc in TSH. However, arrangements vary for paying for extras at hotels. Some hotels express extras such as drinks, meals, etc in TSH and it is best to pay in TSH otherwise, if they convert to US Dollars, conversion is at a relatively poor rate. Other hotels express extras in US Dollars and payment is best in US Dollars. We advise against credit card payment as most hotels charge quite high commission, up to 10 percent. GBP Sterling is accepted at banks & Forex to change in to TSH but not widely accepted for payment at hotels. There are some ATM machines in main towns, but the machines are unreliable. There are no money change facilities at beach locations on Zanzibar apart from at hotels, where you get a relatively poor exchange rate. Before you travel we can advise which hotels
