What to bring on safari and up Kilimanjaro, and what you can leave behind.
Your clothing should be lightweight, breathable, hand-washable, and quick-drying.
On your safari, take along any items you need for the day in a separate day pack: sunglasses, camera and video (lenses, batteries, disks, tapes), binoculars, water, snacks, bandana, hat, wet-wipes, hand sanitizer, etc.
You really only need one first aid kit in your travel group, so coordinate with your travel companions.
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Neutral colours: khaki, olive, grey, brown, stone. Not for camouflage, which is irrelevant from a vehicle, but because pale colours show dust less and because tsetse flies are strongly attracted to dark blue and black. Avoid both specifically.
Layers, not bulk. Mornings in an open vehicle at 1,500 metres are genuinely cold from June to August, and by mid-morning it's hot. A long-sleeved shirt, a fleece and a windproof cover almost everything, and long sleeves in the evening also reduce mosquito bites.
A proper sun hat with a brim, not a cap. The sun is equatorial and you're at altitude.
Closed shoes for the vehicle and any walking. Sandals for camp.
Most camps do laundry, so pack for three or four days, not the whole trip. The exception is underwear, which many camps won't wash.
Do not bring camouflage clothing. It is restricted in Tanzania and can cause genuine problems at checkpoints and borders.
Passport valid for at least six months beyond your date of entry, with blank pages.
Visa, obtained online in advance or on arrival depending on your nationality. The online route is generally smoother. Check the current requirement for your passport instead of relying on a forum.
Yellow fever certificate if you're arriving from, or transiting, a country with a risk of transmission. Transit routes catch people out. Check yours specifically.
Travel insurance covering medical evacuation. If you're climbing Kilimanjaro, it must explicitly cover trekking to your route's maximum altitude. Standard policies often stop at 4,000 or 5,000 metres.
Zanzibar separately requires medical cover bought through a designated provider on arrival, on top of any policy you hold.
Malaria prophylaxis, discussed with your own doctor well before you travel.
Copies of everything, stored separately from the originals.
And leave plastic carrier bags at home. They're banned in Tanzania and can be taken off you on arrival.
None of this is medical advice, and all of it is a conversation for your own doctor or a travel clinic well before you fly.
Yellow fever vaccination is required if you're arriving from, or have transited, a country with a risk of transmission. It isn't generally required for direct arrivals from Europe or North America, but transit routes catch people out, so check yours specifically. Do not assume.
Routine vaccinations, tetanus, hepatitis A and typhoid, are commonly recommended for Tanzania. Discuss rabies if you'll be in remote areas.
Malaria is present across the mainland and on Zanzibar. Prophylaxis is generally advised, and the choice of medication depends on your circumstances. Repellent at dusk, long sleeves in the evening and a net where provided all reduce exposure.
Travel insurance should cover medical evacuation. On safari you're hours from a hospital. If you're climbing Kilimanjaro, the policy must explicitly cover trekking to your route's maximum altitude. Standard policies often stop at 4,000 or 5,000 metres.
Zanzibar separately requires medical cover bought on arrival through a designated provider.
A long zoom covers most of a safari. Something in the 100-400 or 200-500 range on a full-frame body, or the crop-sensor equivalent. A second body with something wider saves you changing lenses in a dusty vehicle, which is the main risk to your equipment out here.
A beanbag beats a tripod in a vehicle. Bring the empty cover and fill it locally with rice or beans instead of flying with the weight.
More batteries than you think, and a power bank that charges from the vehicle's 12v socket. Camps run on solar with limited charging hours and a shared socket in the mess tent.
Cards, and a way to back them up that isn't the same bag as the camera.
A blower, a lens cloth and a sealed bag for the body between sightings. Dust is the real enemy on the northern circuit.
And bring binoculars as well as a camera. Watching through a viewfinder for a week is a poor way to see a place.
Passport valid six months beyond entry, with blank pages, and a copy stored separately.
Visa arranged, or the online application confirmed.
Yellow fever certificate if your route of arrival requires one. Check the transit, not just the origin.
Insurance covering medical evacuation, and covering trekking to your maximum altitude if you're climbing.
Malaria prophylaxis started on the schedule your doctor gave you, which for some medications begins before departure.
Cash in small, recent, undamaged US dollar notes.
Medication in original packaging, in hand luggage, with enough for the whole trip plus a few days.
Camera batteries and chargers in hand luggage.
Your operator's emergency number and your insurer's 24-hour line written down somewhere that doesn't need a charged phone.
Someone at home with your itinerary, including which camps on which nights, and a warning that coverage in the parks is patchy.
Binoculars for each person, not one pair between two. It is the most under-packed item on safari and the one that most changes what you see.
A fleece and a windproof. Mornings in an open vehicle at 1,500 metres are cold from June to August, and almost nobody packs for it.
A soft bag if any leg of the trip is flown. The 15-kilogram limit is enforced at the airstrip, and many aircraft holds won't take a hard case.
Cash in small, recent, undamaged notes. Cards don't work in the parks and torn or old-series dollars are frequently refused.
Insurance that covers medical evacuation and, if you're climbing, covers your route's maximum altitude instead of stopping at 4,000 metres.
The single most useful thing you can do with this list is work through it in the fortnight before departure, not the night before. Insurance limits, vaccination requirements and prophylaxis schedules all need lead time, and each of them is a problem that can't be solved at the airport.
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