9 Things I Wish I Knew Before Going on an East Africa Safari – Tips

Are you getting ready for your first safari? When I first went on safari, I was excited but also a bit nervous because I didn’t really know what to expect, despite having done a ton of research. After all, you can research as much as you want but nothing beats first hand experience! In this blog post, I’m going to share some East Africa Safari tips that I learned from my own experience – things I wish I would’ve known before going on safari. These tips will help you know what to really expect and how to prepare better. These are my 9 things I wish I would’ve known before going on safari – let’s get going!

1. Shoes don’t matter.

I know what you’re thinking with this – you’re going on safari, you should wear rugged shoes for the African bush. But in reality, you are not getting out of the car. At all. It’s too dangerous. My sister and I wore flip flops most of the time and we found it much more practical — especially if you’re short, because you will need to climb up on the safari vehicle seats to look out the top to view animals. You don’t want to be wearing shoes when doing this, as it gets the seats dirty, so you need something you can slip on/off quickly. Plus, it gets warm and flip flops were so much more comfortable.

Helpful East Africa Safari tips: This advice goes out the window if your itinerary includes a walking safari.

2. You don’t need safari clothing

Ask yourself: When you get back from your trip, are you going to reach for that hideous khaki safari shirt you just had to have for this vacation? Probably not. Are you ever going to wear that Panama Jack-style hat again? I doubt it — (but I do recommend a hat for sun protection, but I’m sure you have one in your closet you can bring).

Save your money; you don’t need cosplay Jack Hanna here and purchase a new wardrobe. Wear whatever you want. In fact, getting all decked out in safari gear looks a little goofy. We wore mostly athleisure clothing (and most of it was from Costco!) — tank tops, long sleeve running shirts, sweatshirts, joggers, yoga pants, shorts – simple, comfortable and breathable stuff that we could layer and move around in easily. We never had an issue with mosquitoes or bugs (except in Tarangire National Park).

Remember when Banana Republic used to sell safari clothing? Most people on safari do not dress like that. It’s kinda cringe, you look like you’re wearing a costume. But if you want to, you do you — again, wear what you want.

Also, wear whatever colors you want too — except camo — this is reserved for the military. If you want to wear a hot pink shirt, you go girl. Trust me, the lions are not going to run away because you’re dressed in neon. As for colors, only thing would be to wear light colors for sun protection and to not look so dusty and dirty during your game drives — that dust on your black shirt will make you look like Pig Pen from the Peanuts cartoons!

3. Tse Tse Flies were only an issue in Tarangire National Park

We did not see tse tse flies at all anywhere else during our three week safari. But when we did encounter them in Tarangire National Park, they were BAD. VERY BAD. Supposedly, they’re attracted to blue and black colors — we were wearing light colored clothing and they still attacked us.

4. The food is not good

This was consistent throughout my entire safari experience — the food at the lodges was not good. Yes, that was despite the reviews I read online from various sources on these lodges — everyone was raving about the food but we found most of it inedible, and we are not foodies. I’ll eat at a Golden Corral every once in a while, but this stuff was worse than a Golden Corral dinner.

5. Ladies, wear sports bras and only sports bras

Don’t even bother bringing a real one – you need a sports bra no matter what. The roads are so dang bumpy — I can’t even begin to tell you how bad it is. You have to trust me on this and pack sports bras and sports bras only.

6. No matter how much you pay for your safari, you all see the same animals

When you’re on safari game drive, you’ll be in a branded Land Cruiser or mini van with your tour operator’s logo. And in my research prior to leaving, I knew the high end tour operator’s names — Abercrombie & Kent, Four Seasons, &Beyond and others. And guess what? We’d often be in the same exact spot, right next to an Abercrombie & Kent vehicle, viewing the same pride of lions feeding on a cape buffalo. The only difference? They’d go back to much more luxurious lodging than others. However, there are a few private conservatories in the Masaai Mara, which some luxury lodges use, but in general, you’re going to see those Four Seasons vehicles right next to yours when viewing animals.

Even though in general I was disappointed in our lodging and food, ultimately I still wouldn’t want to shell out thousands of dollars per person, per day, to stay at a nicer resort. We still had a great trip going mid-range. And, several times on our safari, we were viewing lions by ourselves with no other vehicles around.

7. It’s helpful to have some local currency

All in all, we spent the most time in Kenya — and we started our trip there — so we had exchanged some USD for Kenyan Schillings, which proved to be clutch, especially for buying souvenirs and for tips. In Uganda, we weren’t there for very long and didn’t exchange any currency and wish we would’ve for small purchases.

While most lodges accept USD for tips and small purchases, it’s really helpful to have local currency. Plus, when you’re on the road with your driver, going from park to park on travel days, you’ll be stopping at gas stations and roadside souvenir stands. Some of these places — especially the gas stations — do not accept US credit cards and only accept local currency. It’s nice to have snacks and drinks in the car on long travel days.

RELATED: What’s a Typical Day on an East Africa Safari Like?

And while the lodges will accept tips for staff in USD, it puts the burden on the locals to go get it exchanged at some point — give them local currency if possible. You also won’t have to worry about having USD in pristine condition – many places won’t accept bills older than 2013, and won’t accept them if they are wrinkled.

8. Safari is a physically difficult vacation

You think, “Oh, we’re just in a car all day, no biggie! It’ll be relaxing!” WRONG. This is anything but relaxing. The roads are no joke – they are back-breaking bumpy. Initially, I thought about bringing my 70+ year old mom on this trip, thinking it was just a simple car ride, watching animals, but in hindsight, she would’ve been in so much pain. Do not underestimate the poor condition of these roads!!!

9. Going on Safari in March (off season) is a great time to go!

This was a huge concern of mine — knowing that the rainy season starts up in March and continues until June. I was worried we’d run into heavy rains ruining our game drives, animals hiding in long grass, and getting stuck on muddy roads. And because this is low season, doing research on the internet was not helpful as most people visit during the drier months. But I went with it — did my 3 week safari in March and had a great time — we only had rain ruin our plans one day — we had major afternoon thunderstorms hit when we were in the Ngorongoro Crater.

And because it was low season, we also never ran into major safari vehicle ‘traffic jams’ in the parks — sometimes we even were able to view lions and we were the only vehicle around. We also got good prices on our safari too. Absolutely NO regrets going on an East Africa safari in March!

BONUS TIP! If you go on safari for too long, you might get bored

We went ALL IN on safari – my sister and I went for three damn weeks, and visited three East African countries. Everything I read online was all, “MORE TIME IS ALWAYS BETTER.” But I disagree. You don’t need three weeks; you don’t even need a week (though I do recommend at least a week if you’re visiting from the USA because it’s a long journey getting here!). We got safari-‘d out — seeing your first elephant in the wild is amazing. But after seeing your 50th elephant, well, you don’t even bother to photograph it. This isn’t like going to Yellowstone National Park, where you MIGHT have an off-chance at seeing a grizzly bear or a wolf. No – you WILL see animals and you likely will see “The Big Five” within 2 to 3 days, as long as you go to the parks that have the animals you want to see.

RELATED: Ultimate 3-Week East Africa Safari Itinerary

I hope these tips can help you demystify the safari experience and prepare you for the adventure that awaits. Every safari is unique, and while you can plan and prepare, part of the joy is embracing the unexpected! Hope these East Africa safari travel tips helped! Have a great trip!