Our 5 Best Packing Tips and Tricks for Your Safari in Africa

Colleen and I are comfy in our safari uniforms while hiking to see the gorillas in Uganda. (Photo by John Roberts)

We’re just back from our first safari in Africa, and we’ve learned so much from our time there and from prepping for the trip that we wanted to share some of our insights. 

Hopefully, you find something here that can help you plan for your big adventure. 

Let’s talk about packing for a safari and some of our best tips and tricks for your trip to Africa. 

Our trip was a two-week adventure to Uganda and Kenya. We traveled in mid-September and went on treks to see golden monkeys and mountain gorillas in Uganda. In Kenya, we stayed at a bush camp and went out on two daily “game drives” -- one in the morning and one in late afternoon – to see all kinds of animals. 

1. Clothing Needs to Be Lightweight, Versatile and Bland Colors 

Colleen spots a giraffe as we go for a ride during the morning in Kenya at Kicheche Bush Camp. (Photo by John Roberts)

When you get into your country of choice for your safari trip, you probably will have to take subsequent small plane trips to reach your safari lodges or camps. For our trip, we had a maximum weight allowance of 33 pounds for our luggage.  

This means you have to be efficient in what you pack, especially when it comes to clothing.  

Another note: you probably will not be allowed to bring any hard luggage or suitcases to place onto these planes. We had to use soft pieces only like duffel bags or backpacks that could fit onto the small planes. 

So, you’ll want to pack lightweight durable safari shirts and hiking pants with zippered pockets made with cotton or moisture-wicking synthetic fabrics. These are fast drying and versatile. Long sleeves protect your arms from jungle brush, insect bites and sun.  

The weather will be cool when you start your activities in the early mornings, but temps will warm up considerably throughout the day. We also wore safari-style travel vests that are lightweight and with multiple zippered and velcro-shut pockets that allow us to carry all kinds of essential items to easily carry while traveling or during our hiking outings.

Additionally, look for brimmed hats and shirts with meshing (to help keep you cool) and UV protection. You also will want a pair of pocketed shorts to help beat the heat and for wearing when you won’t be at risk of scrapes from jungle brush. 

We found that it gets really cool at night in September, and it was especially chilly after sunset and before sunrise in Kenya and the mountains in Uganda. So, bring a wool cap or beanie, as well as wool socks, which also are great for hiking in and help keep your lower legs protected from the bugs that can bite you if they sneak under your pants from the tall grasses that you’ll wander through.  

One nice comfortable lightweight sweater also can be useful for slipping on at night for dinners and to sit around campfires in comfort. 

Colors for clothing must be neutral, such as browns, creams, olive, tan, khaki or earthy greens. Wear no bright colors. You want to blend into the natural surroundings so that animals feel unthreatened and comfortable in your presence. 

My most versatile piece of clothing is a neck gaiter (also called a buff) which can be used to protect your head, neck, face. It’s also great to use as a head band to keep long hair in place. 

Also, we packed a pair of light pajamas, swimsuits and flip flops for use at the hotels and resort facilities while we were in Entebbe, Uganda, and at the safari reserve in Kenya. 

You can strategize your light packing knowing that you can use the laundry facilities available at the lodges. We packed planning to be able to do our laundry every couple of days. 

Also note that plastic bags are banned in most African countries, with many not allowing Ziploc-style bags, so avoid bringing these plastic bags.  

Instead, you can use clear mesh toiletry bags or clear “hard” plastic toiletry bags to pack your liquids. 

Items such as shampoo bars and toothpaste tablets also might be a good option for you. 

The camps and lodge ground are very dark at night. You will be escorted to and from your accommodations by rangers or other staffers to keep you safe. You could also bring a small travel flashlight or headlamp-style flashlight to aid in walking on these dark pathways. 

2. Don’t Forget Your Meds and Travel Documents 

We needed to get a yellow fever vaccination in order to secure a visa for our trip. Different countries in Africa will have different requirements and visa processes.  

I recommend going to a travel clinic that specializes in advice and vaccinations for destinations all over the world. 

We went to Passport Health, which offers a few office locations in the Denver area close to our home.  

For our trip, Kenya required a yellow fever vaccination to enter. Your clinic probably will suggest some other types of meds to consider based on your destination. 

In addition to our yellow fever vaccines, we decided to carry in our bag a prescription antibiotic, an anti-diarrheal, as well as prescriptions for an anti-malarial and a typhoid prevention drug.  

We also use pill organizers, with little compartments for each day of the week to travel with all our daily prescriptions and supplements. This is standard procedure for any trip, as I’m sure you know. 

You’ll need to account for your passports (as you always do) and the appropriate visas for your entry into and travel within the countries in Africa that you will be visiting.  

You also might need proper paperwork indicating that you have received the necessary vaccinations. 

Print out your itinerary and all travel documents. We noticed that showing your visas and other documents that are saved on your phone or on an app can cause a delay when processing through check points. 

3. Camera Gear, Cords and Power 

We were able to capture all of our memorable images during our safari with just our mobile phones. The animals will get pretty close at the reserves and conservancies that you’ll visit. (Photo by John Roberts)

This can be tricky. Because of the tight weight limits for the bush planes. Our limit was 33 pounds per person. At that weight, you might find it challenging to be able to bring heavy lenses and big cameras. (Some travelers are able to purchase and extra seat on the plane to account for this.) 

However, we kept it simple, bringing just our smartphones and a GoPro action camera to capture our videos and photos. This worked good enough for us, and we really savored immersing ourselves in the environment — enjoying the animal activities and natural landscapes — in real time. 

Pack adaptors that cover a variety of outlet types (U.K., Europe and South Africa). The best ones also will have ports for USB and USB-C cords.  

Drones are allowed in some parts of Africa (check local regulations) but will not be allowed in national parks.  

We have T-Mobile cell service, which offers an excellent international plan with unlimited data, and we found that it worked very well in both Uganda and Kenya. You might want to get additional data from your carrier or consider an e-sim plan that covers the countries you will be visiting to allow you to maintain the connectivity that you require. 

4. The Best Footwear 

The focus here should be on comfort and function. Our trip included a good bit of hiking into the mountains to see the golden monkeys and silverback gorillas in Uganda’s Mgahinga National Park. So, we wore good hiking shoes that had been broken in and that we were used to and comfortable wearing. We also packed a couple of flat boat-type shoes to wear around the hotels and lodges when not out on hiking or safari excursions. 

Slip-on sandals such as Havaianas don’t take up too much space and are great for wearing to the shower rooms and around your space at the lodges. 

5. Planning for the Sun, Bugs and More 

A lone acacia tree strikes a stunning figure at sunrise during our morning drive in Kenya. (Photo by John Roberts)

Mosquitos and other bugs can get you. There are a few ways to protect yourself as much as possible. Wear clothing that covers your arms and legs. You might be wearing shorts or short sleeves, of course, when the temps are really hot, so you’ll need a bottle of insect repellent. Sprays or creams with at least 25 percent to 50 percent DEET are most effective for Africa’s bush environments. 

We also sprayed our boots, shirts, pants, hats, socks and gear with permethrin before our trip to repel mosquitos. Permethrin should never be applied directly to skin. 

For proper hydration, we packed metal water bottles to use during our travels. On safari, you can fill these from the filtered or bottled water services available on your trip. (Most lodges will wash and refill your bottles each day.) It’s not recommended for travelers to drink water from the taps in Africa. 

To protect against the intense sun, wear clothes that have an UPV (ultraviolet protection factor) rating. This can include your hat, pants and shirts. Bring a scarf or neck gaiter that you can use to cover your head, face or neck as needed during long hours in the sun. Pack a broad-spectrum sunscreen with a high SPF (at least 50) that you will re-apply regularly.  

Good polarized sunglasses with 100 percent UV protection also are essential.  

While credit cards are widely accepted throughout Africa, having some cash is a good idea. The good news is that major currencies such as the U.S. dollar, pound and euro also are welcome as forms of payment for items such as food, drinks, souvenir shopping and tips.  

The general recommendation is to bring about $100 per person per day to account for possible spending cash needs.  

This was the first elephant we saw during our safari in Kenya. (Photo by John Roberts)

That’s everything we packed, as well as some of the things that we wished we had packed. We ended up having bags that weighed about 22 pounds each, so we were surprised that we had plenty of capacity to spare. If we had opted for bigger bags we could have stuffed in a few more pieces of clothing and maybe some binoculars. But all-in-all, we were quite happy with what we had, and traveling light was delightful. It would have been nice to have some space for a few more souvenirs, though, so that is another consideration. 

I hope you have an incredible safari in Africa.  

Happy travels!