About Explore Tanzania

I am Marjolijn Pronk, the founder of Explore Tanzania.
We organize individual tailor-made trips to the ultimate safari country:
the pure and authentic Tanzania.

Tanzania will change you, for good

When the love for a country is so intertwined with your own being, your great wish is that it goes well with that country and that you can contribute to it. Tanzania is anchored in our hearts. We feel one with the warmth of the Tanzanians, with the silence and beauty of the overwhelming nature, with the diversity of the landscape, with the culture and history. Sometimes you want to keep something very beautiful to yourself, we like to share Tanzania with our travelers in our own way: personally, involved and consciously, because for us that very experience does justice to the beautiful country and its people.

Tanzania is one of the places in the world where the unspoiledness brings you back to your own base, pure and balanced, as nature intended. Almost silently you are absorbed into the environment and experience the vastness and wisdom of everything around you. Nature giving and receiving, in Tanzania you are part of it if you take the time to experience the country without haste and with an open mind. And capture it forever in your feelings and memories. In small-scale lodges and the Green Camps in special locations, while on safari with local guides, musing with a drink under the stars, while walking through a village, while waking up to animal sounds in the distance. A trip to Tanzania fuses worlds. It is a trip that broadens your horizons. It shows you that kindness makes your day, that you don’t need western luxury for a rich experience, and that silence brings you back to the now.

Conversations with Tanzanians will stay with you forever. They welcome your arrival and proudly show you their country. They are open to contact and take good care of you. Many of their sayings derive from their life with nature, they are wisdoms that you take back home with you and that you often remember with a smile and perhaps even live by. Tourism is an important source of income for Tanzanians. Sustainable tourism contributes more than just income. With sustainable tourism, you show your respect for nature, customs, traditions and heritage, and support the development of the country. It means responsibility for what you bring, what you leave behind and take with you by making conscious choices in how we may make your trip for you.

How it all started…

Tanzania is my second home. I have lived there for the first 13 years of my life. Our family lived in Arusha, a city at the foot of Mount Meru and close to Kilimanjaro. My father worked for a Dutch company that trades in vegetable seeds. I had a fantastic childhood there, they were very special years. At the kitchen table I spoke Dutch with my parents, on the street I spoke Swahili and English.

Our story


Your tailor made trip

Back in the Netherlands and after several years of work experience in the hotel industry, I was still full of the country, and the ambition to do something with Tanzania grew. I wanted to share that beautiful country with others and help them discover Tanzania. To that end, I founded Explore Tanzania in 2002.

When I started, the tour companies that were there mainly organized group trips. I wanted to change that. With each client I wondered, what kind of people are they? What do they like? As a result, not one trip is the same with us. We offer a wide range of active safaris, where you’re not only in the car but also walk, cycle, canoe, ride or play golf. You stay in unique and small-scale lodges. Our Green Camps are extraordinary, authentic eco-friendly camps. Our trips are always adventurous, and if the traveller wishes, we make the holidays a luxury trip not lacking a thing.


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Travelling in Tanzania at a glance

Explore Tanzania stands for:


Home in Tanzania

We are at home in Tanzania. We know the beautiful places and work together with the people there and therefore know exactly what to expect. And because we have over 20 years of experience in organizing safaris, we know what a good safari entails and which combination of areas and accommodations ensure a perfect safari, tailored to the season in which you travel. As a Tanzania specialist we are represented on safaribookings.

Thuis in Tanzania - Explore Tanzania
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Personal

We know the people, the country and the culture. We love the country and travel to Tanzania ourselves several times a year, thus safeguarding the quality of our journeys ourselves. We’ve visited all destinations ourselves and we have experienced all activities ourselves. That makes it very personal. For example, you won’t stay in hotels of international chains, but in unique and small-scale lodges where the local population works.

You don’t only notice that personal character on our travels. We aren’t corporate. If you call us, you’ll immediately get Marjolijn or one of the colleagues on the line and the travel advice will come directly from us.

Sustainable

We believe sustainable travel is very important. We know exactly what may be the effect of traveling on the people and the nature of our destination. It’s therefore our ambition to organize great journeys, whereby we try to increase the positive impact of tourism and minimize the negative impact, so that future generations can enjoy authentic, adventurous journeys in Tanzania. By travelling with Explore Tanzania, you show your respect for nature, people and their traditions and support the development of the country. You can stay in Green Camps, authentic and environmentally friendly camps that, in addition to a beautiful view of the most beautiful locations, have minimal impact on the environment because they work on solar energy and have their own mineral water system. Here, you can read what we all do to make our trips more sustainable.

Explore Tanzania Duurzaam
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The team

Ellen Buysrogge – experienced senior travel advisor. In love with Africa because of the smells, colors and wildlife. Ellen has made many trips, both privately and as a tour guide. Tanzania is her favorite country because of its extensive parks, white beaches and friendly people.

Paul Mulder – sales and business operations. As a former hotelier and frequent traveler, you know what makes a trip and accommodation unforgettable. Loves Tanzania for its purity, rich cultural history and variety of possibilities.

Marjolijn Pronk – owner and the Tanzania expert in the Netherlands for over 19 years. Raised in Tanzania and pioneer of tailor-made safaris to Tanzania. Travels regularly to her beloved Tanzania in search of the best and most special places.

Laura Hurenkamp – allround marketeer. She is a social media expert and has been completely addicted to Tanzania since her ‘awareness’ study project at the foot of Kilimanjaro. Laura’s expertise is storytelling and would prefer to let the whole world know how beautiful Tanzania is.

Marloes Schep Pronk – experienced senior travel advisor. Raised in Tanzania and the sister of …. With her heart still partly in Tanzania – because of the beautiful weather so you can be outside all year round, the super sweet people, beautiful nature and the relaxed atmosphere – this job is for her a perfect combination with her life here.

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Jennifer van Vliet – sales support. Has a background in hospitality and as the owner of a sustainable gift store. She also has a great fondness for Africa, where her father was born. The savannahs full of beautiful wild animals and especially the friendliness of the local people give her a lot of energy.

Jodi Buiting – sales support. During her bachelor Tourism Managment she got a taste of the beauty Africa has to offer for six months. An experience that she will always remember. She would like to share her positive experience with others, and help you book an unforgettable, life-changing trip!

The Office

Our office is located in the center of Apeldoorn in the Newday Offices. In our office we have created an environment where it feels like you are already a little bit in Tanzania. We work next to the beach of Zanzibar and on the edge of the Ngorongoro Crater.

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