Arusha is a great little town. Dramatically set below Mount Meru, it has a real frontier atmosphere, with safari Landrovers, big trucks and cranky old taxis fighting for space on the dusty roads.
Arusha is the safari hub of northern Tanzania, the base for treks on
Kilimanjaro and safaris into
Tarangire,
Manyara,
Ngorongoro,
Serengeti and
Natron.
Most people will stay overnight on their way through, but actually Arusha can be treated as rather more than a transit stop. Around the town are shamba farms and lovely shady coffee plantations where places such as
Moivaro Lodge or
Arusha Safari Lodge are very pleasant to hole up and acclimatise for a few days, especially after a long journey.