Clothes for safari

[tryingtorun]

We are going to Kenya on safari in july and just wondering what's the best sort of clothes to take. I'm thinking of taking a couple of pairs of old cotton trousers and long sleeved tops. Anything else that you would consider a must. Also best footwear to take. Thanks in advance.

A woolly hat, scarf, a warm coat or a few jumpers and blanket for your legs (even with trousers it gets very windy and cold). Any warm clothing is fine and of any colour you do not have to stick to the typical green/khaki/beige combo. I'd say old trainers or walking boots - the vehicles are high to get into and some require some degree of climbing into/ jumping out of when stopped for a snack.

Nothing that screams 'safari'. Comfy, practical footwear. Nothing you don't mind getting very dusty.

Thanks for the replies, definitely didn't think about a woolly hat! I've plenty of old trainers.

Definitely warm stuff. And a head torch.

Armour??

Don’t take anything that you would hate to get ruined, as the African dust can be very hard to get out of clothes.
We were advised not to wear black or dark blue as it attracts tsetse flies, but I am not sure how true that is. Neutral colours rather than bright, I think.
Closed toe shoes, and as PPs have said, something warm, as early morning drives are very chilly.

I would check with your guide about the head torch on the drives but agree with them for if your lodge requires torches to get around after dark....on drives, we had a red light torch and we not allowed to use white light/camera flashes as it can interfere with natural behaviour such as when cats are stalking prey will be identified to the prey and therefore interfere with their natural hunt.

*they will be identified to their prey...god that makes no sense!

We went to Kenya last year - take layers!

I mostly wore black leggings or hippy trousers, with a plain neutral t shirt and trainers. Then take a hoodie or jacket for early morning or evening drives. Our lodges provided blankets in the jeeps too, if you needed more warmth for your legs!
In the middle of the day it can be scorching hot so I’d not bother with long sleeved tops unless you’re wearing them as a layer over something lighter.

I wasn’t suggesting a head torch for night drives

Thanks again for the replies and suggestions. So old clothes and layers and possibly a head torch. DH will probably have that on a list already.

Depends on what kind of vehicles you'll be travelling around in - do you know? If it's standing up in a rusty old jeep (which was what we had in Sri Lanka at Easter) then basically darker clothes you don't mind getting ruined and baseball caps & loads of sunscreen. I lived in Kenya as a kid - July is warm but not much different to the weather we'd get here. The earth is red & stains so probably wouldn't wear white socks or new white trainers! But as above, what you really don't want to wear is anything that looks like you've stepped of the set of Out of Africa because you'll look a bit of a dick! As kids we weren't allowed to wear sandals because of jiggers (insects that burrow under your toes - yes really!!). And if you're going to the coast, buy beach shoes as there are stone fish. Here's some delightful info on jiggers from the Ahadi Kenya trust www.jigger-ahadi.org/jiggers.html

Where are you going? It is not cold on the coast.

I don't think I could ever achieve an out of Africa look! We are going masai mara, lake Nauru national park and amboseli national park. 2nd part of the holiday is in Zanzibar. Also looking at photos from tour operator looks like a large handover type vehicle. Thanks again for helpful suggestions.

As above, layers and warmies for those cold 6am starts! Don't forget layers for night clothes too, don't know if it will be a hotel or tent you're staying in but this time the layers will be for mosquitoes.

For dusk onwards especially you need to be able to tuck trousers into socks and ideally tight cuffs, consider a mosquito net for your head too, they are time of year to an extent but preventing bites is essential.

You need deet - it's a nasty chemical but unfortunately nothing else does work as well!.My Dad had malaria when I was a kid and I remember how ill he was. It's not worth taking any chances!

We went to Lake Nakuru, Masai Mara then Zanzibar for our honeymoon - you’ll have a great time