Tanzania Packing List
- Country Tanzania
- Guide Packing
- Reviewed 19 August 2026
- Length 3 min read
Credit Eric Kilby, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Last reviewed 19 August 2026
Three things on this list are not preferences. They are rules with penalties, and they are the reason to read a packing guide for Tanzania rather than reuse one for the region.
Plastic bags are banned, and they are collected on arrival
Tanzania bans plastic bags for environmental reasons. If you arrive by air you will be asked to hand over all plastic bags on arrival.
The ban does not include ziplock bags used for airline security procedures, so the small clear bag holding your liquids is fine. Everything else that you might casually pack things in is not: bin liners, laundry bags, the supermarket carriers people use to separate shoes from clothes.
Pack fabric bags and dry bags instead. They work better anyway.
The Zanzibar dress code carries a fine, and the fine is large
Dress modestly throughout Tanzania. In Zanzibar and Pemba this is enforced. Women wearing shorts or sleeveless tops away from tourist resorts, particularly in Stone Town, may cause offense.
The enforcement is specific. Zanzibari authorities can fine you 700 US dollars or more for wearing what they consider inappropriate clothing in public. For guides or tour operators the fine can be at least 1,000 US dollars, which means your guide has more at stake in your wardrobe than you do.
Cover shoulders and knees away from the beach and the resort. A light long sleeved shirt and loose trousers or a long skirt cover it, and are cooler in the sun than the alternative.
What the rules require
- Fabric and dry bags, not plastic ones, and a clear ziplock only for airline liquids.
- Clothes that cover shoulders and knees for Stone Town, Pemba and anywhere away from a resort.
- A scarf or wrap, which solves a mosque, a church and a sudden downpour.
- Copies of your passport photo page and visa, carried separately from the originals.
- Insect repellent and long sleeves for dusk, for malaria and dengue rather than comfort.
- Nothing made of animal skin, which you will be questioned about on the way out.
Altitude is a packing problem, not only a Kilimanjaro problem
Altitude sickness is a risk in parts of Tanzania. The obvious case is Kilimanjaro, where the summit is at 5,895 m and the route passes through five vegetation zones on the way up, ending in alpine desert and ice.
The less obvious case is that the northern circuit is high before you climb anything. The Ngorongoro crater rim and the highland plains around it are cold at night in a way that catches people who packed for the equator. Bring a warm layer and a hat even if you never intend to walk uphill.
If you are trekking, the advice is to use a reputable company, stick to established routes, walk in groups, and be equipped for the terrain and for low temperatures.
The rains, which are two seasons and not one
The rainy seasons generally run from the end of March to May and from October to mid December, though their length varies.
Heavy rainfall and strong winds affect travel. Flooding and landslides occur. Roads in national parks are mainly dirt tracks and can become hazardous or impassable after heavy rain, which is when a four wheel drive stops being a preference.