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Safari Clothing – What to Wear on an African Safari

As a passionate traveller, it has always been on my bucket list to go on an African safari. Although this goal is still to be ticked off, I am very curious to know how it is to go on a safari and what’s the ideal safari clothing. In the following guest post, you’ll find out what to bring and how to dress appropriately. In case you are not the safari type, read here about tropical places like Thailand or Belize. But now, let’s dive into right into the following safari clothing hacks! 

Fashion Tips for a Safari in Africa

By Cristina Costea

What to wear on an African Safari

If you’ve never been on an African safari, what do you think of when you imagine your safari outfit? Does your mind automatically go to the classic safari clothing that you see in the movies? Khakis and hats? 

If that’s the case, we at BookAllSafaris.com are here to inform you that those clothes may not be the only safari clothing option. With that, here is our recommendation on what to wear during an African Safari.

 

Blend into Your Background

African Safari
African Safari

One of the golden rules of safari clothing is to wear clothing that blends into your background. So, yes, khaki is a great colour, but so are brown and green. Avoid red, yellow or any other strong colour that you can see from a mile away. It’s not that the predators will take notice of you and start to hunt you, but you will make the animals notice you and that can be a disturbance.

That said, if you’re on a walking safari, you need to be a bit more careful about what you wear than you on a driving safari.

Also, please try to avoid black, white and camouflage. Black can attract bugs (especially the nasty tsetse fly), white is going to get dirty in a matter of seconds and in the majority of African countries camouflage is worn by soldiers.

 

Layer Your Safari Clothing

www.jeyjetter.com: What to wear on an African Safari_layer your clothing

If you’ve never been on a safari in Africa, you’ll be tempted to pack only light clothes and you would be making a mistake. The weather in most safari countries can be quite extreme: at noon, you’ll be roasting in the sun, thinking you’ll never need another sweater in your life and in the evening, after the sun goes down, you’ll feel the chill! This is the reason why layering your clothes is absolutely essential while on a safari in Africa. Let’s say you’re going on a safari in South Africa, depending on the season, you could be facing temperatures as low as 41 F (5 C), so you will need to pack accordingly.

 

Safari Clothing: Footwear

www.jeyjetter.com: What to wear on an African Safari_Safari FootwearThe type of shoes you’re going to wear on your safari can vary depending on the type of safari you’re taking. Are you going to be in a car, chasing after the big five? Then, some light boots or even trainers will do. Are you going to pay a visit to a family of gorillas in the rainforest, then you need boots that are light, comfortable and also waterproof. We recommend you do some research online or at your local shoe store for the best hiking boots for you. They can make or break a safari experience.

Last, but definitely not least, it is imperative that you wear your safari shoes at home to break them in. You don’t want first-time wear blisters!

 

Safari Clothing: Accessories

www.jeyjetter.com: What to wear on an African Safari_Safari AccessoriesThere are two accessories you absolutely need when going on an African safari: sunglasses and a hat or a scarf. When it comes to glasses, we highly recommend the polarized ones, that will make it easier for you to spot wildlife in the distance and will make the sun more bearable.

A hat or a scarf is also very important and will keep not just the sun away from the face and neck, but the dust, also. You can even use the scarf to wipe your brow or your phone. Whatever accessories you bring with you, make sure that they have more than just one purpose.

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Have you been on a Safari in Africa? What did you wear? Please share your thoughts and let us know if we listed all the necessary things for a Safari in Africa!

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NOT DONE READING YET?

If you’re not the Safari type, you might want to check out Why it’s more fun in the Philippines and where you can find cool places to stay and work as a digital nomad.

Or perhaps you’re still deciding if the digital nomad lifestyle is for you, read here how Five years of full-time travelling have changed my life.

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About the author:

Cristina Costea

Cristina is a writer for BookAllSafaris.com. She is a passionate traveller, cat aficionado and novice writer.

 

By Julia Jerg

Julia is the founder and chief editor of Jey Jetter, a site that showcases the option of working remotely and travel as much as you like. Julia is a former PR/marketing consultant who turned into a remote working social media manager, travel writer and public speaker living location independently since 2011. She has been to 86 countries on all 6 continents and lived in several different countries for more than six months. Her laptop is her office and the label 'digital nomad' fits best to describe her lifestyle. On this site, she writes about personal freedom, remote work and her passion for travelling.

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