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What to wear on a Tanzania safari

Neutral colours, layers, and why the answer changes between the vehicle and a walk.

A safari vehicle stopped on a track while a large buffalo herd moves across the plain around it

Think practical, not fashionable. And the practical reasons are very real.

Colour

Neutrals: khaki, olive, stone, brown. That's not because animals mind colour when you're in a vehicle (they mostly ignore vehicles altogether). It's because colour matters the moment you step out of one, and because bright white shows every speck of dust within an hour.

Two specific tips. Avoid dark blue and black: they attract tsetse flies, which live in parts of Tarangire and the western Serengeti, and their bite is genuinely unpleasant. And avoid camouflage patterns, which civilians aren't allowed to wear in Tanzania and several neighbouring countries.

Layers

The temperature swing across a single day is what catches people out most. A cold dawn, a hot midday, a cool evening. A fleece and a windproof jacket over a shirt covers all three, and you'll be peeling layers off through the morning, not putting them on.

Evenings

Long sleeves, long trousers and closed shoes after dusk. Again, it's all about the mosquitoes. And don't worry, camps aren't formal. Nobody dresses up for dinner in the bush.

If you're walking

A walking safari changes the answer. You'll need proper closed shoes, long trousers to protect you from thorns and grass seeds, and neutral colours stop being a preference and become a rule.

Last reviewed 17 September 2026. Spotted something that's out of date? Give us a shout and we'll fix it.

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