AFCON 2027 in Tanzania is not just a football tournament. It is a doorway into one of the most extraordinary countries on earth — a nation of Indian Ocean islands, snow-capped mountains, ancient spice trade cities and the greatest wildlife spectacle on the planet. Most fans will come for the football and leave having experienced something that changes how they see Africa entirely. Here are 20 things to do while you are here that have nothing to do with the final score.
In Dar es Salaam
1. Watch Sunset at Coco Beach
Dar es Salaam’s most beloved public beach on the Msasani Peninsula. No entry fee, cold local beer from the vendors along the shore, and an Indian Ocean sunset that turns the sky every shade of orange and gold.
On Tanzania match nights this beach becomes a fan zone. On any other evening it is simply one of the most beautiful places in East Africa to sit and do nothing. Go at around 17:30 and stay until dark.
2. Eat at the Slipway Food Park
A waterfront complex of restaurants, bars and food stalls on the Msasani Peninsula. Not the cheapest option in DSM but reliably excellent — fresh seafood, grilled meats, cold drinks and a harbour view. On match nights it transforms into one of the city’s biggest fan zones. Worth visiting on a non-match night too for a relaxed dinner with the Indian Ocean in front of you.
3. Walk Around Kariakoo Market
The real Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s largest and most chaotic urban market — a maze of stalls selling everything from fresh fish and tropical fruit to phone accessories, fabrics and spices. Go on a weekday morning when it is at its most alive. Eat maandazi and drink fresh juice from the market vendors for under a dollar. Keep your phone in your front pocket and embrace the organised chaos.
4. Try Nyama Choma at a Local Joint
Not at a tourist restaurant. Find a local nyama choma spot recommended by your hotel or a Tanzanian you meet — a roadside place with plastic chairs, charcoal grills and goat meat that has been cooking since morning. Order it with ugali and kachumbari, eat with your hands if the custom suggests it, and understand why Tanzanians consider this the greatest food on earth. Budget 15,000 to 25,000 TZS.
5. Visit the National Museum
Tanzania’s National Museum in the city centre houses some of the most significant archaeological finds in human history — including fossil remains from Olduvai Gorge in the Rift Valley that pushed back the known timeline of human evolution. It is not a flashy museum but the content is genuinely remarkable. Budget two hours and go in the morning before the heat peaks. Entry is a few thousand shillings.
6. Take a Boat to Bongoyo Island
A small uninhabited marine reserve island 8km off the DSM coast. Hire a boat from Slipway — takes about 20 minutes. White sand, clear water, snorkelling, picnic area and a beach bar. No cars, no noise, no crowds on weekdays. Exactly what you need between two intense match days. Boats run from around 09:00. Go early and come back in the afternoon.
In Zanzibar
7. Get Lost in Stone Town
Do not plan this one. Put your phone away, pick a direction and walk. Stone Town’s narrow alleys, carved wooden doors, ancient mosques, Portuguese fort and crumbling Omani mansions are best discovered by getting genuinely lost. Every corner holds something — a spice seller, a child’s football game against an ancient wall, a rooftop view over terracotta rooftops to the ocean. Budget a full day and no agenda.
8. Eat Everything at Forodhani Night Market
Stone Town’s waterfront food market opens every evening at sunset and is one of the great street food experiences anywhere in the world. Grilled octopus cooked to order, Zanzibar pizza in every flavour, fresh sugarcane juice, coconut water and mishkaki skewers for a few hundred shillings each. Eat everything. Talk to the vendors. Watch the dhows in the harbour. Stay until the market closes. This costs about $3 USD for a full meal and is worth more than most $50 restaurant dinners.
9. Go on a Spice Farm Tour
Zanzibar was the spice capital of the world for centuries — cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, vanilla, black pepper and nutmeg all grew here and changed global cuisine forever. A half-day spice farm tour costs $15 to $25 USD including transport and takes you to working farms where guides explain how each spice grows, what it looks, smells and tastes like fresh from the plant, and how the trade routes shaped the island’s history. One of the best half-days you can spend anywhere in East Africa.
10. Watch the Sunset from Kendwa Beach
Zanzibar’s north coast is famous for sunsets but Kendwa specifically — just south of the more crowded Nungwi — has the calmest water, the least crowded beach and a genuinely stunning view as the sun drops into the Indian Ocean. The full moon parties at Kendwa Rocks are legendary. If your AFCON schedule aligns with a full moon, this is unmissable.
11. Snorkel at Mnemba Atoll
The best snorkelling in Tanzania and among the best in the entire Indian Ocean. Mnemba Atoll off the northeast coast of Zanzibar has dolphins, sea turtles, reef fish in extraordinary variety, and seasonal whale sharks. Half-day snorkel trips depart from Matemwe and Nungwi. Book through your hotel — reputable operators cost $40 to $60 USD and include equipment, guide and boat. If you have never snorkelled before, this is the place to start.
12. Swim in the Indian Ocean at Nungwi
This sounds simple but it is not. The Indian Ocean at Nungwi on a clear June morning — warm, turquoise, calm enough to float — is one of those experiences that stops you mid-thought and makes you entirely present. No Instagram caption does it justice. Swim out past the dhows, float on your back and look at the sky. That is it. That is the whole activity.
In Arusha and Northern Tanzania
13. Go on Safari in the Serengeti
The Serengeti in June and July hosts the Great Migration — one to two million wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of zebra moving north through the plains in one of the greatest wildlife spectacles on earth. This is not a zoo. This is 15,000 square kilometres of open savannah with lions, elephants, leopards, cheetahs and a horizon that goes on forever. A two-day safari from Arusha costs from $400 to $800 USD per person depending on operator and accommodation. Book months in advance — operators fill up during AFCON period.
14. Visit Ngorongoro Crater
The world’s largest intact volcanic caldera — a 260 square kilometre bowl that functions as a natural enclosure for one of the densest concentrations of wildlife in Africa. You will see lions, elephants, hippos, flamingos and possibly black rhino in a single half-day game drive without leaving the crater floor. Closer to Arusha than the Serengeti and easier to combine with a single match day schedule. Entrance fees apply — go with a licensed operator.
15. See Mount Kilimanjaro
You almost certainly will not climb it — the summit takes 6 to 8 days. But seeing it is free and extraordinary. On a clear morning from Arusha — which is most mornings in June and July — Kilimanjaro appears above the clouds as a snow-covered volcanic cone hanging impossibly high above the horizon. Drive toward Moshi for the clearest views. The sight of Africa’s highest mountain from the road at sunrise on the way to an AFCON match is something you will describe for the rest of your life.
16. Do a Walking Safari in Arusha National Park
Fifteen kilometres from Arusha town centre. The only place near any of the AFCON host cities where you can walk alongside wildlife on foot — giraffe, zebra, buffalo, colobus monkeys and flamingo lakes. A half-day walking safari costs $60 to $100 USD and needs no overnight stay. Perfect for the day before or after an Arusha match when you do not want a long drive but want something genuinely memorable. Book through a licensed operator in Arusha town.
17. Drink Ethiopian Coffee in Arusha
Arusha has a substantial East African diaspora community and several excellent Ethiopian restaurants serving the traditional coffee ceremony — three rounds of strong, spiced coffee served with popcorn in a ritual that takes about an hour. It is a cultural experience as much as a drink. Find one on Haile Selassie Road, arrive with time to spare and let the ceremony happen at its own pace. Cost around 5,000 to 10,000 TZS.
Across Tanzania
18. Learn Three Words of Swahili and Use Them
Not from a phrasebook. From a Tanzanian. Ask your hotel receptionist, your bajaji driver or the person selling you nyama choma to teach you something. “Twende Taifa Stars” — let’s go Tanzania. “Asante sana” — thank you very much. “Pole pole” — slowly slowly, the national philosophy of life. Use each one genuinely once and watch the reaction. No amount of money buys what those three phrases will give you in terms of human connection.
19. Watch a Local Football Match
Simba SC versus Young Africans — the Dar es Salaam derby — is one of the most intense football atmospheres in Africa. If a local league match falls during your AFCON trip, go. The drums, the colour, the absolute commitment of the local fans and the football itself will give you a completely different perspective on the sport than any international tournament. Ask at your hotel or check Tanzania Premier League fixtures for what is scheduled during your stay.
20. Stay One Day Longer Than You Planned
Every AFCON 2027 visitor who has ever been to Tanzania before will tell you the same thing — you always wish you had stayed longer. Book your return flight with at least one buffer day after your last planned activity. Use it for whatever the trip has shown you that you did not expect to love. It might be a beach. It might be a market. It might be sitting in a fan zone with people you met three days ago watching a match you had no stake in. Tanzania has a way of producing those moments. Leave room for them.
For everything you need to plan your AFCON 2027 Tanzania trip — visas, money, health, transport and stadium guides — visit our complete practical guide. For detailed guides to each host city visit our Dar es Salaam, Arusha and Zanzibar city guides. And for finding a venue to watch every match visit our where to watch guide.