Malaria, water, wildlife and the practical realities — without either scaremongering or false reassurance.
Tanzania is a safe and well-established safari destination. It is also a developing country with tropical diseases and genuinely wild animals, and both of those deserve clear, practical guidance.
Malaria
Malaria is present across most of Tanzania including the safari areas and Zanzibar. Prophylaxis is strongly advised — speak to a travel clinic six to eight weeks before you travel, since some regimens must be started in advance.
Prophylaxis is not the whole answer. Cover up at dusk and after dark, use repellent containing DEET or picaridin, and sleep under the net your camp provides. Most camps in high-risk areas spray at turndown.
Vaccinations
A yellow fever certificate is required if you arrive from or transit a country with transmission risk. Beyond that, a travel clinic will typically discuss hepatitis A, typhoid, tetanus and rabies depending on your itinerary and history. Get the advice from a clinician who can see your records, not from a website.
Food and water
Drink bottled or filtered water — your vehicle carries it and it is included on our itineraries. Camps and lodges filter their own. Avoid ice and salads at roadside stops you have not chosen; be more relaxed about food in the camps themselves, where standards are generally high.
Around wildlife
The rules are short and they are not negotiable. Stay in the vehicle unless your guide says otherwise. Do not stand up through the roof hatch when close to animals. Do not walk between your tent and the mess after dark without an escort — that is what the whistle or the radio in your tent is for. Zip your tent, including the bathroom side, because baboons and vervets are quick and unsentimental.
Your guide is trained and will position the vehicle safely. Trust them over your own instinct about how close is too close.
Altitude
The Ngorongoro rim sits at around 2,200 metres, which is enough to make some people breathless on arrival. Kilimanjaro is a different order of problem entirely — see our mountain pages, but in short, route length matters more than fitness.
Sun
You are on the equator at altitude in an open vehicle. Hat, sunglasses, high-factor sunscreen and more water than you think.
Emergencies
Our safari days include Flying Doctors evacuation cover, and camps have radio or satellite contact. This does not replace comprehensive travel and medical insurance, which we require every guest to hold.
Personal safety
Ordinary precautions apply in towns: do not flash valuables, use hotel safes, take a taxi at night rather than walking. In the camps and parks, crime is essentially not a concern. Check your own government's current travel advice before you go.
