We just went on a 10-day safari through Tanzania that started in Arusha’s nearby Tarangire National Park, went through Ngorongoro Crater and Central Serengeti, before finishing in Northern Serengeti, with the Great Wildebeest Migration.

We prepped and packed a lot in preparation for this trip, so wanted to compile this list to help fellow safari-travelers. If you are going on Safari in another part of the world (eg. Kenya’s Maasai Mara or South Africa’s Sabi Sands), most of this list will also work for you.

Here is everything you should bring for a Tanzanian Safari.

Paperwork

This should be the most obvious section, but you want to be prepared.

Passports

To enter Tanzania, your passport must expire at least 6 months after the date you arrive and have at least one blank page. Double check!

Visas

Visiting Tanzania requires a one-year multiple entry tourist visa for $100. This can be done in advance online, or entirely on arrival — everyone we saw did it on arrival.

Cash

In Tanzania, you can pay for your $100 visa in cash or card. The cash line is faster, and paying by card charges an additional $1.50 fee. So if you have cash, it’s easier to just bring some.
You will also need cash for tipping your driver(s), concierge, guides, etc. For drivers, the recommended amount is $10-20 per person/day, and I’d recommend another $10-20 for the various staff you meet throughout the day.
If you don’t have any cash to bring, or want to pay in a local currency, you can ask your driver to take you to an ATM. The Tanzanian daily withdrawal limit is between Tsh 400,000 and 600,000 (currently ~$140 and $220 USD).

Yellow Fever Certificate

According to the US embassy website, this certificate was only required for travelers arriving from countries where the disease is endemic, but we were asked for it upon arriving in Kilimanjaro.

Clothes

Here’s how to think about what clothing to bring:

Whatever you bring, know that it will get covered in dust and probably sweat and dirt — the roads in safari parks are not paved and the dust is no joke. So don’t bring your favorite items that stain easily and irreversibly. This applies to your backpacks, clothes, and luggage.
You’ll also want to bring layers. As you might suspect, the sun beats down at midday, and there is very little shade, especially if you’re in an open-air vehicle. But it also gets quite chilly at night and in the early mornings.
During game drives, you’ll mostly be sitting in a bumpy car as you go from spot to spot to see animals. At each of these spots (depending on your vehicle), you’ll be able to stand to get a better view. So you want clothes that are comfortable and easy to move in.
Finally, you want to wear neutral colors — specifically, greens, khakis, and grays. Animals are affected by bright colors, so you don’t want to wear them. Plus, wearing these colors will make you stick out like a sore thumb. I read a lot about not wearing black or blue for the tsetse fly, but I wore a bit of black and didn’t find it to be an issue. I also did see a lot of tsetse fly traps along the roads, so they are a real thing to be aware of.

Tsetse Fly Trap (from Wikimedia)

Here’s what I suggest you pack:

Breathable Fabrics for Game Drives

Linen: You could probably get away wearing only linen the entire safari, as long as you have layers to help keep warm. I would really recommend linen long pants/trousers (love these from United Colors of Benetton) — these will keep you cool while preventing sunburn. I also brought linen jumpsuits.
Cotton
UV Protection Clothing (eg. UPF50 Patagonia)
Specifically, I would pack mostly long-sleeved, breathable shirts, a few short-sleeved shirts, cargo or linen pants, and some jumpsuits. Some shops to look at for safari clothing include Patagonia, United Colors of Benetton, Club Monaco, H&M, Uniqlo, and Zara.

Jacket

You’ll want a jacket for the cooler/cold mornings and evenings. The sun sets very quickly in August, and once it’s gone, it gets chilly. You’ll also want this if you do a hot air balloon ride at sunrise. We were never freezing, but we were definitely grateful for our jackets.
If you need one (like we did), Barbour has amazing quilted jacket options for both men and women. I got the Calvary Polarquilt, and M got a sold-out Steve McQueen Collection jacket.

Heattech

An alternative to wearing something over is to wear something under. Uniqlo’s Heattech works great when a sweater isn’t quite enough, but a jacket doesn’t make sense either.

Scarf

A scarf is both a great layering piece, and a great way to keep dust from your hair. It can also be used for keeping dust from your lungs on particularly bad parts of the trip/day. Something linen like this is great for keeping warm but not too warm, and something square like this is great for wearing as a bandana.

Shoes

Sneakers for most days (I love my On Runnings, and have the Cloud 5s).
Sandals. I mostly wore sandals at the lodges, but I also occasionally wore them on the game drives, which worked well because I had to take my shoes off and on as I got on and off the seats for photos/videos.

Sun Protection

Safari Hat: I recommend a brimmed hat with a tie under your chin. As the safari vehicles chase animals, it can be very windy, and if you have a hat that doesn’t secure, you might lose it.
Sunblock: Face and body (I love my Anessa and Bioré UV sunscreens).
Sunglasses (ideally polarized)
Mask: If you’re sensitive to dust, I’d really recommend you bring a mask of some sort. I just used my scarf or held my breath, but the dust is no joke.

For the lodges

Swimsuit if your resort has a pool
Nicer dresses and jumpsuits for dinner or resting during the day
Athletic wear if you want to work out in a resort gym

Gear

We knew we wanted to capture a ton of content, so our camera gear list is very extensive, and you can find it here.
If you’re not like us, though, I’d recommend you bring a camera that has legit zoom capability. I’d say you want a 200mm minimum, and that is frequently not enough. For reference, the iPhone’s 5x zoom is 120mm.
Binoculars are great to have, especially in parks where off-roading is banned. Our driver had one we used, but it’s nice to have your own.

Medicine

A healthy man has a thousand wishes, but a sick man has only one. You do not want to get sick on Safari. I’ve had it happen to me and had to miss a safari game drive and get airlifted out, spend an afternoon in a hospital in Nairobi, and then stay mostly in bed for 3 days, talking probiotics and hydrating.

Given this history, we now try to really prepare for anything to happen while we’re traveling. The first thing we do is check what the country requires. In Tanzania and Uganda’s case, it’s a Yellow Fever vaccination. When you go to the travel nurse, you might also be recommended Hep A, Typhoid, and Tdap vaccines. We got up to date on all the shots, just in case.

Then there’s our medical kit. Here’s what we bring:

Anything prescribed
Malaria Pills: Malaria is a risk in Tanzania, so we took them while we were there
Stomach Meds:

Imodium
Activated charcoal. We used to take the pills with us, but realized they’re too small to do anything in real cases of food poisoning, so we decided to bring a bag this time. Doctors prescribe 50-100g for food poisoning for adults, which is half of that bag in the photo.
Probiotics

Rehydration Salts: We have long used and loved LMNT.
General meds:

Zyrtec / Anti-histamine: the equivalent we buy
Multivitamins / Vitamin C + Zinc
Ibuprofen
Motion-sickness tablets

Deet repellent: We actually didn’t need this (every one of our lodges/camps provided this), so you can check with your camps to see if you need to bring this.

Toiletries

Lotion

Being exposed to so much open air is very dehydrating and drying. So I recommend bringing a good face and hand lotion.

Vaseline or Chapstick

I prefer Vaseline to chapstick and use it as such, but your lips will dry a lot on safari, between the sun and the wind.

Some other items I like to carry with me wherever I travel (optional):

Little toiletries scissors: These are my favorite travel accessory. You just need scissors at random times (eg. To cut clothing tags or exposed threads), and these work super well in a pinch. Just make sure they don’t have sharp ends (get the rounded ones) or they’ll get taken by airport security.
Nail clippers
Conditioner: If you’re staying at nice lodges, this is probably not something you’ll need to bring. But if you’re not, I strongly prefer showering with conditioner and carry some just in case
Q-tips: When you want them, you want them, and not all hotels provide these. Or they provide really crappy ones
Sewing kit & Safety pin: I bring a super small kit just in case, and the safety pin doubles as a pin to poke your SIM card tray out with, if you have an iPhone
Bandaids: Women who know, know. I carry bandaids for blisters from shoes, especially if bringing newer shoes that aren’t fully broken in. Or random cuts/scrapes. Again, if you’re staying at a nice lodge, they will probably have some for you, but I like to have some just in case

Tips

If you are flying from one small airport to another within East Africa, you may have a 15kg or 20kg baggage limit. Our bags were never weighed (we took 4 small flights), but this limit is technically for all your bags, so try to travel light.
If you are staying primarily in tented camps, I would recommend a backpack instead of a suitcase, as those can be difficult to wheel. We used suitcases and were fine, but had porters carry our bags for us. These are also lighter for any weight limits.
Bring some analog entertainment. If you are watching the Great Migration, there will be a LOT of downtime when you are just waiting for the wildebeest to cross. And the cell service in Tanzania isn’t great, so you may want something else to do. I suggest a crossword or a book/kindle.
If you are traveling long distances between locations by car (eg. Ngorongoro Crater to Central Serengeti), I would recommend you bring something to listen to, like a podcast or audiobook. Falling asleep on these stretches can be hard because of the bumps/potholes, but a book with good over-ear headphones is perfect.

What to Pack for Safari // Tanzania