What to Wear on a Safari: The essentials

Clearly you’re at the exciting stage of safari planning where you might need some guidance on what to wear. Rest assured a mosquito head net is not an essential for your trip to Africa.

In general you want to wear practical and comfortable clothes for your safari. While most colours can be worn it’s important to avoid anything bright and instead aim for neutral tones. This helps maintain the natural feel of being in such a beautiful wildlife setting and avoids disturbing the animals. A quick warning about white clothing as well. You are in the open and roads can be dusty in the dry season or muddy in wetter months so wear white at your own risk.

Why comfortable? If you’re going on safari you will likely spend long periods on game drives sitting in a vehicle. Make sure nothing fits too tightly. While we recommend loose fitting clothing layers are key. You may be woken as early as 5am for a drive when it is still chilly but by midday the sun will be fully out so you’ll want the option to remove layers and cool down.

Speaking of sun a hat sunglasses and sunscreen are essentials.

While there are rainy seasons it’s unlikely you’ll need a large amount of waterproof clothing. Unless your activities involve direct outdoor exposure such as a walking safari you probably won’t need serious rain gear. Your vehicle should keep you dry.

As for bugs yes there are mosquitoes and insects in certain areas but it’s rarely as dramatic as people imagine. Most camps and lodges are well prepared and many safari vehicles are open and breezy which naturally keeps insects away during drives. But if you are one of those unlucky travellers who seems to attract insects wherever you go, good insect repellent is worth packing especially for the evenings and lightweight long sleeves or trousers can help around sunrise and sunset. In most safari destinations you do not need heavy duty bug gear or full mosquito nets over your face.

Footwear is equally important. In most cases comfortable walking shoes or trainers will be perfect but they should be well worn and supportive. Around camp a pair of sandals or slip ons makes life easier but avoid anything open toed once you head beyond the dining area. When you step out of the vehicle for an evening sundowner the last thing you want is to be in flip flops.

One thing people rarely think about until it’s too late is battery life. A power bank is surprisingly useful on safari. Between taking photos filming wildlife using maps and keeping your screen brightness on full in the African sun your phone battery can disappear alarmingly fast especially during long game drives.

And remember on safari you’re not the show. The landscape and wildlife are. Your goal is to disappear into the background just enough to witness it properly, wear clothes that keep you warm or cool and allow you to crouch, climb, sit, walk, swat, breathe and squat. Out here what you wear is not about style

Lastly some activities such as gorilla trekking in Rwanda or Uganda may require more specialised gear so speak to your tour operator or guide before taking about appropriate attire for more active outdoor experiences.

Summarised List:

• Hat 

• Sunglasses

• Suncream

• Supportive Shoes

• Neutral Colours

• Clothing you can layer

• Powerbank