What to pack for a Tanzanian safari
Less than you think, in fewer colours than you own. Most travellers bring twice the clothing and half the useful equipment.
The actual list
Built for a week on the northern circuit. Camps do laundry most days, so three or four of everything is genuinely enough. Packing for seven days is how people end up over the flight weight limit.
Clothing
Core- Three or four neutral t-shirts or short-sleeved shirts in khaki, olive, grey or brown
- Two pairs of lightweight long trousers, one of which can be zip-off
- One pair of shorts, useful at camp rather than on drives
- A long-sleeved shirt for sun and for evening insects
- A warm fleece or light down layer, because dawn game drives are genuinely cold, especially on the Ngorongoro rim
- A light waterproof or windproof shell
- A wide-brimmed hat, not a cap, because your ears and neck are what burn
- Closed walking shoes or light boots, plus sandals for camp
- Swimwear if your camps have pools
Equipment
Bring it- Binoculars: 8×42 or 10×42, one pair per person, not one to share. The single most underrated item on this list
- A camera with a zoom reaching at least 200mm; 400mm if wildlife is the point of the trip
- Spare batteries and double the memory cards you think you need
- A head torch, as camps run on generators or solar and paths are unlit
- A power bank, and a universal adapter with UK three-pin, which Tanzania uses
- A soft-sided bag, not a hard suitcase, if any part of your trip is on a light aircraft
- A dry bag or sealed pouch for camera gear, because dust is relentless in the dry season
Health and toiletries
Essential- Insect repellent containing DEET, and permethrin spray for clothing if you are cautious
- High-factor sunscreen and a lip balm with SPF (altitude and open vehicles are a bad combination)
- Antimalarials, prescribed at home before you travel
- Any prescription medication in its original labelled packaging, in your hand luggage
- Rehydration sachets, antihistamine, painkillers and plasters
- Wet wipes and hand sanitiser, which you will use constantly
- Reef-safe sunscreen if Zanzibar is on the end of your trip
Documents and money
Do not forget- Passport valid at least six months beyond your travel dates, with two blank pages
- Your Tanzanian visa or e-visa confirmation, printed
- Travel insurance certificate including medical evacuation cover, printed
- Yellow fever certificate if you are arriving from or transiting a country where it is required
- US dollars in cash for tips and incidentals, in notes dated 2009 or later, as older ones are often refused
- A credit card, useful in Arusha and at larger lodges but not in the bush
- A digital and a paper copy of everything above, stored separately
Why neutral colours actually matter
This is not a dress code. Bright white and pale blue stand out sharply against dry bush and make you more visible to animals on a walking safari. Dark navy and black attract tsetse flies, which bite hard and are drawn to those colours specifically.
Camouflage print is a separate issue. It is associated with military use in parts of East Africa and is best avoided entirely.
The luggage limit is real
If any leg of your journey is on a light aircraft (flying into the Serengeti, or down to Ruaha), the limit is typically fifteen kilograms per person including hand luggage, in a soft bag that can be squeezed into an odd-shaped hold.
This is not a guideline that gets waived at the airstrip. Excess goes on a later flight or stays behind in Arusha. We will tell you your exact allowance when we confirm your flights, and we can store luggage in Arusha at no cost.
What to leave at home
- A hard-shell suitcase, unless your whole trip is by road
- More than four days of clothing, since laundry is included at most camps
- A drone. Illegal in Tanzanian national parks without a permit that takes months to obtain
- Plastic carrier bags, which are banned in Tanzania and confiscated at the airport
- Expensive jewellery, which has no use on safari
- A tripod, unless you are shooting seriously. A beanbag on the vehicle sill works better
If you are climbing Kilimanjaro too
That needs a genuinely different kit list: insulated layers, a four-season sleeping bag, broken-in boots and trekking poles. Most of it can be hired in Arusha or Moshi rather than flown in. The mountain list is on our Kilimanjaro page.
Packing questions
Yes, and this is the item travellers most regret skipping. Your guide will find a leopard eight hundred metres away and describe where it is; without binoculars you will take his word for it. One pair per person, not one to share.
Most of it, yes. Arusha has proper outdoor shops, pharmacies and supermarkets. Specialist camera gear and specific prescription medication are the exceptions, so bring those.
Included at most camps and lodges, usually turned around same day. Some camps will not wash underwear for cultural reasons and provide soap flakes instead. Plan on four days of clothing, not seven.
UK-style three-pin, 230 volts. Camps typically have charging points in the main area rather than in tents, and power may run only at certain hours. A power bank solves most of it.
Plastic carrier bags are illegal in Tanzania and taken at the airport. Drones require a permit that is difficult and slow to obtain. Camouflage clothing is best avoided.
What to read once the bag is packed.
