How to Get to Gombe Stream National Park is quite difficult and costly due to its remoteness in the far western parts of Tanzania, Gombe Stream National Park is 1108 kilometers from Dar es salaam by plane and 800 kilometers from Arusha which makes it relatively inaccessible, however, there are two ways on how to get to this park which is both Air and boat preferred as the easiest and quicker.
Getting there!
By using Air is the most preferably easiest way on getting to this park, and depending on your itinerary, you will be picked up by your tour company from either Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es salaam, or in Arusha at Kilimanjaro International Airport, who will book you into your domestic flight to Kigoma town near the park. There are regularly scheduled domestic flights connecting form Dar es Salaam or Arusha to Kigoma Airstrip in this Kigoma local town most close to the park, in most cases different charter flight companies such as safari Air links or coastal aviation operate these domestic flights. From Kigoma town it is just 2Okms to reach Gombe Stream National Park and accessibility is only by boat, you will charter a private motorboat to reach the national park which makes your whole adventure experience a magical one, this boat trip takes less than an hour.
Alternatively another way on getting to the park, you can use road transportation and drive from Dar es Salaam or Arusha to Kigoma, from Dar es Salaam to Kigoma, your driving distance are 1374 kilometers via Dodoma and Tabora taking roughly 20 hours and driving from Arusha to Kigoma is also 1020 kilometers connecting via Tabora which also takes roughly 16 hours and once you’re in Kigoma you will use a boat to get access to Gombe Stream National Park, thus ground transportation might be difficult and time-consuming thus not recommendable most times.