WWY have done differently/wish you would have packed for a safari?

[Anonymous]

Wait - we first need to know

- hunting safari or tourist safari ?

[Anonymous]

Wear whatever you want. You don’t need to look like you’re stepping out of a 1980s Banana Republic catalog. Wear pink , wear neon. The animals don’t care; you’re not getting out of the car.

Just no camo.

[Anonymous]

It probably already explains this in the info packet from your group but luggage needs to be soft sided - the 70L duffels from Patagonia or equivalent for if transferring by prop planes. They can't fit hard sided on the planes. Even soft sided with wheels are not great.

You will want both a sun hat - and a warmer fleece hat for early morning and evening.

[Anonymous]

For all those saying don't worry what you are wearing/ don't need khaki - true but bugs like tse tse flies are attracted to blues and bright colors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For all those saying don't worry what you are wearing/ don't need khaki - true but bugs like tse tse flies are attracted to blues and bright colors.

Eh I know people say that, but it’s not been my experience, and I lived in East Africa/played tour guide for many people coming to visit me. I ended up dressing like a local a lot of the time (so, jeans). I would just have a good pair of socks while out on the savannah.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wait - we first need to know

- hunting safari or tourist safari ?

Oh god, I hope the latter. Hated seeing those fake hunters all over Southern Africa.

[Anonymous]

I would take atleast 2 fleece jackets for the mornings.

Combone with Victoria Falls if possible.

We did Masai Mara in Kenya and Zambia/Zimbabwe.

[Anonymous]

I would have packed hiking boots with very thick soles, not sneakers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can wear normal sneakers. Or any basic boot from REI or LL Bean. In the evenings, flip flops or nicer sandals work.

no to normal sneakers if you're doing any walks or hikes. You want very thick soles. I realized this when our guide stepped on an acacia thorn and was able to just pull it out of his very thick soles. I was wearing sneaks and if I'd stepped on it, it would have gone right into my foot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can wear normal sneakers. Or any basic boot from REI or LL Bean. In the evenings, flip flops or nicer sandals work.

no to normal sneakers if you're doing any walks or hikes. You want very thick soles. I realized this when our guide stepped on an acacia thorn and was able to just pull it out of his very thick soles. I was wearing sneaks and if I'd stepped on it, it would have gone right into my foot.

Where was this hike?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wait - we first need to know

- hunting safari or tourist safari ?

Are there folks posting on DCUM going on hunting safaris?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can wear normal sneakers. Or any basic boot from REI or LL Bean. In the evenings, flip flops or nicer sandals work.

no to normal sneakers if you're doing any walks or hikes. You want very thick soles. I realized this when our guide stepped on an acacia thorn and was able to just pull it out of his very thick soles. I was wearing sneaks and if I'd stepped on it, it would have gone right into my foot.

Ok YMMV. I’ve had no problem with my old ASICS in multiple countries, though they do get dirty. My point is that you don’t need to run out and buy special gear like you’re going to Everest, even if you do some hiking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our outfits were primarily sourced from REI. We were the only ones in the group. In retrospect, I wish we packed more "normal" clothes for pictures.

Thanks for the suggestion on "normal" clothes - will do.

Do you mind sharing what you packed in terms of tech gear? And were you in East Africa? If so, what time of year?

Thanks again!

DP but I was in East Africa this past September.

I would concur about the clothing, however I also found that the khaki color hid the dust. There is a lot of it and you will be covered in it everyday. It was chilly in the morning and at night.

It was an A&K tour so it was "luxury" and I don't recall anyone getting very dressed up. Polo shirts for men. Women had blouses and nicer pants. Luggage was limited.

As for electronics, I brought 2 mirrorless cameras and several lenses. Canon if that makes a difference. I rented a Canon RF 100-500mm lense from Aperturerent (they have a location in downtown DC but will ship). That lens was crucial. The other camera (as a backup) and lenses were unnecessary. Anything closeup I used an iPhone 13 Promax. Of the 17 people in my safari group, 14 or 15 used only their phones and got some beautiful pictures. Given that I had the cameras I did I also brought a laptop so I could download and do a little editing everyday.

I brought Deet but really didn't use it much. Maybe 2 or 3 times when I knew I would be near wetland at dusk or in the evening.

The balloon rides (I did one over the Serengeti and one over the Maasai Mara) were spectacular! As far as I am concerned, one of the highlights.

Tipping is disclosed. Usually 10 dollars a day for your driver/guide and 15 per day for the safari director. Generally small denomination used USD is appreciated most (no tears or defacement). You can get USD from ATMs in both Kenya and Tanzania but typically only larger denoominations (100s and 50s).

Tanzania does require yellow fever and a yellow card. But if travelling from Kenya and your have a connected tour director, 50 bucks and the nice Kenyan officials will happily provide you with an international yellow fever cert. No injection required.

Have fun!

Weird that your “travel tip” involves bribing officials to get around a public health requirement.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9577449/

Your entitlement, ignorance and irresponsibility are on full display.

+1
Astounding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We went on Safari in Tanzania a couple of years ago. It was amazing.

I'm sure you know what colors to take to wear. As far as clothing goes, I'll just say to make sure to take a fleece and warm long pants; mornings and evenings can be quite cold. And I'll add that we didn't wear the hats we took. I wouldn't bother to buy expensive "safari hats" lol. Everyone does; you don't need them. Do take sunglasses, though.

Do take binoculars, and take a pair for each person if possible.

As far as tipping goes, you have probably been given a guide by your TA? For how much to tip guides/lodge staff/etc? I would recommend that you add up the money you think you need based on that ... and then double it. We found we needed tip money a lot more often than we thought we would. For example, on flights from one lodge to another someone would handle our bags -- they needed a tip. We booked a tour in Zanzibar and there was a driver and a guide -- and both needed a tip. And on and on. We used American dollars, which seemed to be preferred, and using them as opposed to local currency helped me keep track of things a little more easily. We organized tips in advance before we left -- I had an envelope for the guide at lodge one, for staff at lodge one, for guide at lodge 2, etc. Oh, one other piece of advice about tipping at lodges: I had budgeted tips per day, and I kind of screwed it up because I'd thought of "per day" as the number of nights we were staying there, when really the staff was helping us a huge amount for each day we were there, if that makes sense, including the day we left. For example our guide took us out the moment we arrived and took us out early morning the day we left. So I had wrongly counted out tip money for Guide at Lodge 1 for 3 days in advance and put it in the envelope, when I should have counted it out for 4 days. I adjusted while there, but then started running out of tip cash. So consider that. If this doesn't make sense let me know.

And I will disagree with PP who suggests staying in one location. It was very much worth it for us to fly from the Serengeti on the Mara to Ngorongoro.

What was the all-in per person cost of your trip, by the time you factored in all the tips, buying clothes, hotels, food, flights, everything? Ballpark is fine, thank you!

About 18-19k, including flights there and back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We went on Safari in Tanzania a couple of years ago. It was amazing.

I'm sure you know what colors to take to wear. As far as clothing goes, I'll just say to make sure to take a fleece and warm long pants; mornings and evenings can be quite cold. And I'll add that we didn't wear the hats we took. I wouldn't bother to buy expensive "safari hats" lol. Everyone does; you don't need them. Do take sunglasses, though.

Do take binoculars, and take a pair for each person if possible.

As far as tipping goes, you have probably been given a guide by your TA? For how much to tip guides/lodge staff/etc? I would recommend that you add up the money you think you need based on that ... and then double it. We found we needed tip money a lot more often than we thought we would. For example, on flights from one lodge to another someone would handle our bags -- they needed a tip. We booked a tour in Zanzibar and there was a driver and a guide -- and both needed a tip. And on and on. We used American dollars, which seemed to be preferred, and using them as opposed to local currency helped me keep track of things a little more easily. We organized tips in advance before we left -- I had an envelope for the guide at lodge one, for staff at lodge one, for guide at lodge 2, etc. Oh, one other piece of advice about tipping at lodges: I had budgeted tips per day, and I kind of screwed it up because I'd thought of "per day" as the number of nights we were staying there, when really the staff was helping us a huge amount for each day we were there, if that makes sense, including the day we left. For example our guide took us out the moment we arrived and took us out early morning the day we left. So I had wrongly counted out tip money for Guide at Lodge 1 for 3 days in advance and put it in the envelope, when I should have counted it out for 4 days. I adjusted while there, but then started running out of tip cash. So consider that. If this doesn't make sense let me know.

And I will disagree with PP who suggests staying in one location. It was very much worth it for us to fly from the Serengeti on the Mara to Ngorongoro.

Thanks for your insights/suggestions. TA has made recs on tips but I also want to hear from travelers who have done this (TAs are great, but they don’t always have the 360 POV).

What time of year was your trip? Trying to figure out if the weather recs still apply for when we are there.

Also, did you wear khaki/green at all times? And what did you wear for dinner? Did you ever have “dress up” nights?

Thanks again - really appreciate.

Mid November. We wore safari-friendly clothes at all times. Khaki, green, brown. We tended to wear safari clothes to dinner. The in-Tanzania flights had very strict weight limits on baggage, so we didn’t really have extra dress up clothes.