Ava Garden Backpackers — Hotel in Arusha

Words cannot describe how grateful I am for finding this location along my journey. I BOOKED FOR 2 NIGHTS BUT ENDED UP STAYING ALMOST A MONTH. The hostel is located on the edge of Manyara national park, basically the entry to the wilderness (how lucky can one be?!)🫶🏻🍀💚. When I got out of hectic Arusha, I was desperately seeking for a green and chill stay, far from bustling or too touristy places. I was welcomed by the lovely staff, Diana, Neema and Dattomax J. The moment I met them I realized the experience will be personal. I told them I wish for a local experience and visit particular tribes in the surrounding. Not only that I was given a great price (compared to the unreasonable prices some hostels give in Arusha), Dattomax has arranged my tours the nights before. Absolutely last minute requests from my side but all was realized absolutely professional. Through the staff I had the opportunity to learn a huge scope of information about the culture, more specifically: family manners & values, politics, farming, cooking and music. Throughout my stay I had over plenty different activities covered: PRIVATE TRIBE VISITS (hadzabe, datoga, masaii), GREEN PROJECTS (visit to different contemporary and traditional painters, school visits), SAFARIS (arranged for next day incl. Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro), FOOD AND FABRIC MARKETS (later visited a local tailor which was also a beautiful experience), WATERFALLS & SECRET VIEWPOINTS. And let's just include activites as Coca moto (setting fire in the garden of Ava), night outs and all the deep talks. The food catered was breakfast included: always fresh fruits, vegetables, local bites and Diana's infamous sweet pancakes. 🥞 ❤️ (lunch and dinner was also possible).The beds were super comfy, all equipped bathrooms with HOT SHOWERS ALL TIMES!! Which is super rare for hostels in Africa. My eternal gratitude...

Had a lovely stay at Ava Garden Backpackers, can only recommend to come here. It’s a great place to stay for some time, the people, our room, the delicious food and the fast laundry really made us chill out and enjoy. Rounded up by a smooth check-in and check-out. We saw some monkeys already from the hostel. And you can easily walk to the city, where you should check out chips mayai. The Owner Datto is a cool dude and takes care of everything, he makes you feel welcomed and you can ask him to help you with what you need. Him and Mezza even offer a lot of different tours and experiences, they know the area. We needed to get to Dodoma after Mto Wa Mbo. Datto helped us with the bus timetables and to get our tickets. He even drove us with his car to Makuyuni. We had a nice ride and could arrive to our destination even earlier. Farewell was like saying...

I made this the base for safaris. the host Datto is very responsive and super helpful. I stayed in the room with the double bed and attached bathroom and it was very comfortable. Breakfast was plentiful with eggs, pancake, toast and coffee. They served me breakfast at 5:30am when I had to leave for safari at 5:45am. The ladies working there are also very helpful. Datto also helped me book safaris and get a bus to Arusha. He also lent me binoculars for the safari. It is also on the main road. So you won’t have to deal with the rough roads to other places. There are mosquitoes in the area but the room was mosquito free and the bed has a mosquito net. I would highly recommend this place if you are looking for a simple budget...