1

Yes there are "real buses" (coaches) but they will end up costing you at least double what you will pay on the local mini-buses (shuttles). The cheaper shuttles take around 90 mins and charge around 2500-3000 Tsh. The more upmarket ones - a bit more comfort, more room will charge 5000 Tsh and take 75 minutes depending upon stops and traffic. Riverside/Impala (hotel) shuttle will set you back 10,000 Tsh - but again much more room (usually as they only carry as many people as there are seats - around 25-28) and will take around an hour. The usually have two services - morning and mid-afternoon which connects with the service from Nairobi.

So there are your options - if using the cheaper ones try to get on board early to find a place to stow your luggage - the only drawback with this is that the mini-buses only go when they are at least half full (12-14 seats out of 25+).

Oh I see you mention that you have a large suitcase - in that case the Riverside/Impala shuttles more be best. Dar Express coaches do run (around 5 services per day) - the Arusha to Dar es Salaam services which usually start leaving at around 6-15/6.45 and take an hour - not sure of the fee but probably cheaper than the shuttles (based on the 30,000 Tsh they charge for Arusha to Dar es Salaam). Hope this helps..

2

It may be a bit late for you but I am writing on behalf of others in the future. If you tell the safari company upon booking that you need to be dropped in Moshi, they would most likely offer that for free rather than risk losing you to a Moshi based company for your safari. Similarly, you can get a climb operator to pick you from Arusha for the same reason. If you book both a climb and a safari with the same company, often you can get a good package deal. It seems to me that neither company did a good job of trying to sell you a package and take care of you during extra days in the country. Since you have already booked, you can still see if the climb company will collect you from Arusha for a good rate. They may have other clients there to collect anyway, otherwise go with the previous answers regarding buses. In addition to Dar Express, Kilimanjaro Express is a comfortable and safe big bus. Have a great trip.

3

Hey there,

I was in Tanzania last month and also went between Arusha and Moshi. I used the bus company - Dar Express which are large buses. They have enough storage space in their luggage compartments for your bags. The trip is about an hour and I paid 28,000 TSH for a one-way trip. Hope you have a great journey!

Em

4

Thanks for the tips! I'll look into the cheaper options first, hopefully my bag won't be an issue. If it is I think I can just buy a seat for it.