How to prepare and what to pack for your African Safari from clothes to cameras!

Safari Clothes while Rhino Tracking

Everything you’ll need for your Safari adventures in Africa

I was born and raised in Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley and definitely consider myself a Valley Girl. I’m not quite the outdoorsy, sleep under the stars, go camping type. When we booked our Africa trip, I guess I didn’t realize how much of this trip would be like camping… ok… glamping!

Make fun of me all that you want as to what I wore, but just know that I was comfortable and didn’t get one bug bite in 2 weeks!

Regardless here are the items that were essential for this trip for those of you who don’t typically have adventurous clothes in your closets (and don’t want to break the bank)!

See my packing list of things you can purchase on Amazon here: Amazon African Safari Packing List

Packing Essentials for Safaris in Africa

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Packing Clothes for 2 Weeks in East Africa for Safaris

Everything I researched before we left suggested to wear layers which wasn’t helpful because that led me to all kinds of questions: What kind of layers? How many layers are really necessary? I now have those answers! In the morning it is chilly. I wore a short-sleeved t-shirt, a long-sleeved cotton pullover that was treated with bug repellant. Josh runs a little warmer so he had one of his long-sleeved safari Columbia shirts on and was fine.

More neutral, camouflage like colors are recommended but camouflage itself is not allowed as it is military wear only! We stuck to more beige, greens, and grays as you want to blend in to not scare away the animals. Also, they say blue and black attract the Tsetse fly, which is a disgusting fly that can bite you and give you some terrible disease. Bring bug repellent and treat your clothes with permethrin.

We treated our clothes with permethrin by spraying them before we left. Some clothing brands sell permethrin-treated shirts and pants, like Exofficio. Check the label, but most pre-treated clothes will last up to 70 washes. If you treat them yourself, the permethrin should last at least 7 washes.

All of our lodges did our laundry once a day, which was included with our booking. Make sure your lodge will do laundry for you in advance. The only thing they didn’t wash was women’s underwear since men were doing the laundry. I heard they don’t always have the cleanest water at times, but we didn’t have a problem. Most lodges will wash in the morning and hang dry so you don’t have to worry about anything shrinking.

Safari Clothes to Pack

My clothing packing list for 2 weeks in Africa (Josh packed very similar):

1. 5 T-shirts (treated with permethrin) - Josh packed 4 quick-dry T-shirts and 2 safari Columbia shirts

2. 2 Long-sleeved shirts - not too heavy, I recommend the Exofficio bug repellant pullover, I also had a fleece pullover because I get cold easily

3. 5 pairs of pants/leggings - I packed one pair of Hiking Pants - convertible ones are great if its really hot

4. 4 pairs of socks - including 2 pairs of Hiking socks

5. 5 pairs of underwear

6. 3 bras

7. Hiking shoes - high tops are better for your ankle but not necessary

8. Rain Jacket - lightweight and packs into a little pouch

9. Sun hat or baseball cap - get something snug so it doesn’t fly off when on safari

safari clothes

Tips for Toiletries

I recommend packing lightly as we took about 2 showers a day, I definitely did not go full make-up every day.

1. Sunscreen - ThinkSport is our fave

2. Bug repellent - Ultrathon is a lotion and lasts 12 hours

3. Don’t bring manicure scissors. They were confiscated at the airport :(

4. All the lodges had shampoo, conditioner, and body wash, so I left mine at home

5. Hairdryer - some lodges had a hairdryer and others didn’t. They usually had restrictions to use them at a certain time too, check with your lodge if you can’t live without one.

Everything listed above fit into my $20 Eddie Bauer duffle bag! Why did I pack a duffle bag? This bag is very lightweight and according to our small plane’s regulations, we couldn’t have anything with wheels.

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Pack Safari clothes and Cameras. You never know when you’ll see elephants!

What to Pack for a day on a Safari

Since you might be sitting in a vehicle for a while, wear something comfortable. I wore a t-shirt (sprayed with permethrin), bug repellent pants, hiking shoes, a hat, and brought a fleece pullover for the cool mornings and evenings. I am not an outdoorsy girl by any means, and would rather be in a dress and flip flops.

1. Binoculars

2. Phones 

3. Cameras

4. Hat

5. Sunglasses - protect from wind, dirt, and sun!

6. Apply sunscreen to your face and chest - ThinkSport is our fave

7. Bug repellent - Ultrathon is a lotion and lasts 12 hours

8. Wear something comfortable - I’d wear a t-shirt and safari pants or leggings

9. Sweater for cool mornings or late afternoons

10. Some vehicles will have chargers with USB and international plug - bring cables for charging

11. A blanket is usually in the vehicle 

12. Pack snacks and water - our lodge provided a meal most of the time. We packed some granola bars, you never know how long you’ll be out there!

If I had skin showing I wore bug repellent, and I didn’t get one bite! Bugs love to bite me wherever we go and I was deathly afraid I was going to be eaten alive in Africa. I used Ultrathon insect repellent and it worked so well! We sprayed our clothes with Permethrin which lasts for about 7 washes. Some of our clothes were already treated and brands like Exofficio will last for up to 70 washes!

Camera Gear for Safaris

My favorite part! We took our camera gear seriously and came back with some amazing photos and high-quality videos that we will have forever and ever.

• Sony a7rii with a 70-300mm lens on it to get close shots of animals further away

• Sony 6500 with a 10-18mm lens for wider shots

• We are obsessed with the DJI Osmo Pocket Camera that has a stabilizing gimbal for amazing 4K footage, panorama shots, and the ability to track what you are shooting! It’s replacing our GoPro. This captured Josh being pushed by a gorilla as Josh was falling and the gorilla was jumping!

• iPhone for animals up close and for social media quick posts. I liked recording a couple of videos on my phone then uploading to my social media stories later at the lodge.

See my packing list of things you can purchase on Amazon here: Amazon African Safari Packing List

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