Plan your trip
Safari travel information
The practical questions that come up before every trip — visas, health, money, connectivity and safety — answered directly, with a note on when to double-check with an official source.
Before you go
Visas and entry requirements
Tanzania issues its own visa, available on arrival for many nationalities or in advance through the official e-visa portal — applying online first is worth doing, since the arrival queue for visas can be the slowest part of landing at Kilimanjaro International.
Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda are covered by the East Africa Tourist Visa, a single visa valid for entry into all three countries, applied for online before departure. It's the more efficient route if your trip crosses more than one of the three, though a single-country e-visa is also available for each.
Most nationalities need a passport valid for at least six months beyond your entry date, with at least one blank page. We check the current requirement for your specific nationality and routing when we draft your itinerary, but the final booking is always yours to make — confirm directly with the relevant embassy or immigration portal before you travel, since requirements do change.
Confirm current visa requirements for your nationality with the relevant embassy or official immigration website before booking flights.
- Tanzania
- Own e-visa or visa on arrival
- Kenya / Uganda / Rwanda
- East Africa Tourist Visa (joint) or single-country e-visa
- Passport rule
- Valid 6+ months beyond entry, 1+ blank page (most nationalities)
Before you go
Vaccinations and health
A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required for entry if you're arriving from, or have transited through, a country with risk of yellow fever transmission — this is a long-standing international health regulation, not an East Africa-specific rule, and it's checked on arrival. If your routing doesn't pass through such a country, it typically isn't required, but this depends on your specific itinerary and nationality.
All four countries' safari regions carry a malaria risk. Most travellers take a course of antimalarial tablets and use standard mosquito precautions (repellent, covering up at dawn and dusk, sleeping under the nets every camp provides) rather than relying on one measure alone.
Routine vaccinations — the ones already on a standard adult schedule, plus hepatitis A and typhoid, which are commonly recommended for East Africa specifically — are worth discussing with a doctor or travel clinic six to eight weeks before departure, since some require more than one dose over time.
This is general awareness, not medical advice. Confirm current vaccination and malaria-prevention recommendations with a doctor or travel clinic before departure.
On the ground
Money, currency and tipping
Each country has its own currency — the Tanzanian shilling, Kenyan shilling, Ugandan shilling and Rwandan franc — but US dollars are widely accepted for park fees, lodge extras and tipping across all four. Bring bills dated 2009 or later, without tears, stamps or marks: older or damaged notes are commonly refused by banks and lodges throughout the region.
Card payments work at most lodges and camps but not at park gates or with mobile guides, so carry enough cash — a mix of small-denomination dollars and some local currency — for tips and incidentals along the route.
Tipping guides, drivers and camp staff is customary and forms a meaningful part of their income across the safari industry region-wide. We give guests a written tipping guide specific to their itinerary before departure, since the right amount depends on group size, trip length and how many staff are involved.
- Tanzania
- Tanzanian shilling (TZS)
- Kenya
- Kenyan shilling (KES)
- Uganda
- Ugandan shilling (UGX)
- Rwanda
- Rwandan franc (RWF)
On the ground
Connectivity and electricity
Local SIM cards are available at every major airport and give reasonable data coverage in towns and near park gates, but coverage thins out or disappears entirely inside the parks themselves — this is normal, not a fault, and most guests treat it as part of the point.
Camps vary: some now offer wifi in communal areas via satellite connection, others run on generator or solar power for a set window each morning and evening with no internet at all. We tell you which is which for every camp on your itinerary before you book, so there are no surprises.
Power sockets across all four countries are the UK-style three-pin (type G) or the European two-round-pin (type C/F), depending on the country and building — a universal travel adaptor covers every property you're likely to stay at.
Read the full packing listOn the ground
Safety on safari
A guided vehicle safari is a managed environment: your guide sets the route, decides how close is safe, and handles every interaction with wildlife. The main practical rules are straightforward — stay in the vehicle unless your guide says otherwise, keep noise down near animals, and follow camp guidance about walking between tents after dark, when torches and an escort are standard practice at most properties.
Standard travel-safety practice applies in towns and cities the same as anywhere else: keep valuables out of sight, use hotel safes, and take normal precautions with belongings in busy areas like markets or bus stations.
Logistics
Getting there: major airports
Each country's main international gateway connects to Europe, the Middle East and other African hubs with regular direct or one-stop flights. Which one you fly into depends on where your itinerary starts — we build this into the routing when we draft your plan.
- Tanzania
- Kilimanjaro Intl (JRO) or Julius Nyerere Intl, Dar es Salaam (DAR)
- Kenya
- Jomo Kenyatta Intl, Nairobi (NBO)
- Uganda
- Entebbe Intl (EBB)
- Rwanda
- Kigali Intl (KGL)
Common questions
Travel planning, answered directly
Almost certainly yes, though the process differs by country. Tanzania has its own e-visa or visa-on-arrival; Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda share the East Africa Tourist Visa, or can be entered on separate single-country e-visas. Requirements vary by nationality, so confirm with the relevant embassy or official immigration site before booking.
A yellow fever certificate is required if you're arriving from a country with yellow fever risk. Malaria prevention (tablets plus standard mosquito precautions) is strongly advised for the safari regions in all four countries. Routine and hepatitis A/typhoid vaccinations are commonly recommended — a doctor or travel clinic can confirm what applies to you specifically.
Camps and lodges provide drinking water — usually filtered or bottled — rather than expecting guests to drink tap water directly, which we'd advise against throughout the region. Bring a refillable bottle; most camps will fill it for you.
US dollars (2009 or later, undamaged) are the most useful single currency across all four countries for tips and incidentals, alongside some local currency for smaller purchases. Card payments work at most lodges but not at park gates or with mobile guides.
In towns and near park gates, usually yes with a local SIM. Inside the parks themselves, coverage is patchy to nonexistent, and camp wifi (where it exists at all) runs on satellite connections that vary camp to camp — we tell you what to expect at each stop before you travel.
Millions of people safari through Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda every year without incident. A guided vehicle safari is a managed environment where your guide handles wildlife interactions; towns and cities call for the same ordinary precautions as any unfamiliar city.