Traveling to Africa with children

[smashedbanana]

Looking for advice for anyone who’s travelled to Africa with young children please….

We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to visit Zanzibar. We would be taking our 4 year old who would need to take malaria tablets while we’re there and have a yellow fever jab before we travel. Im concerned about the tablets making her nausea or having difficulty getting her to take them while we’re there, also giving her an another jab with more medication etc. gives me mum guilt. Obviously should we decide to go, we’ll make sure she takes everything necessary.

I have contacted our GP for advice and need to fill in a form so, in the meantime, wanted to ask on here for any first-hand experiences.

Before anyone suggests Europe etc instead, this would be an all expenses paid trip and other holidays arent currently an option at the moment given cost of living/mortgage increases… thanks in advance! X

Glad you specified which of the 54 African countries you meant!
Having taken a baby and toddler to Ethiopia (although to stay with family) several times for holidays Zanzibar, which is idyllic, will be an absolute breeze. No problems with the pills etc- I seem to remember hiding them in other food- no side effects.
Hope you went, I loved Zanzibar and safari in mainland Tanzania.

Hey! Thanks for the reply! Did your little ones have the yellow fever jabs too? X

Yes, all good.

I don't have any experience of Zanzibar, but I would emphasise caution with malaria. The tablets help, but the best prevention is to not get bitten, and sometimes that isn't easy. Given your situation that it is a once in a lifetime trip, I'd probably go, but I would be on permanent mosquito watch including taking my own net unless staying somewhere really good. Also, note DEET is not particularly nice, so I'd try to cover most of my daughter up in the evening.

I'd have no guilt about jabs. They're great.

I've not been to Zanzibar, but I took DCs to Ghana when they were that age. They had Yellow Fever and Hep jabs, anti-Malaria treatment too. All fine, we went for 3 weeks no issues whatsoever. We were warned about mosquitoes but had no major problems, have been to Caribbean many times and mosquitoes are far more plentiful there