Here is the checklist I made for a trip to Kenya in October a few years ago. We did a horseback safari, so disregard the riding gear! If you are mainly doing a driving safari, you don’t really need that much outdoor gear. You will definitely want to have layers, the mornings are very cold and drives can start very early to best see wildlife. Then it is hot and dry … or maybe a rain shower! Don’t wear white, it’s very bright and noticeable to animals. Dark colors can attract flies, so best to stay in earth tones. A couple of dresses or skirts for dinners can be nice. One thing to note, if you bring clothes/shoes/etc you are willing to leave behind we found that was VERY welcome. We brought a few hundred dollars of USD cash ($10 and above) in new clean bills and they were readily accepted. If you can exchange money before travel that’s a good idea, as it can be hard to find a place to take out local currency because of early travel times from the city. If you are taking small flights in country they may have very low weight limits for bags, but everywhere we stayed offered laundry service that was amazing (although rain can delay because clothes are dried in the sun). One thing to note, they will not wash women’s underwear during to cultural norms so bring a small amount of laundry soap (you can get in travel sheets from REI). Men are ok. And if you have room, bring an extra toothbrush. Mine was stolen when a monkey broke into our room! more
