Africa Travel Checklist: Entry Rules, Health and Packing

Check your destination's immigration authority or consulate for your passport and purpose of travel. Confirm authorisation or visa requirements, passport validity and blank pages, onward travel, child documentation and any mandatory visitor insurance. Check transit requirements separately. Processing times, fees and eligibility can change; obtain any required approval before travelling.

For Kenya, use the official eTA portal to check eligibility and apply where required. Namibia changed visitor-visa rules in April 2025; check current British-passport guidance and your own passport-specific requirements. A multi-country visa should be used only after the relevant authorities confirm that it covers your journey; do not assume it replaces a required Kenyan eTA.

Use US travel advisories, Canadian travel advice, UK travel advice or your own foreign ministry. These sources have different passport and audience scopes.

Discuss the complete route, travel dates, activities and your medical history with a qualified travel-health professional. They can assess vaccines, malaria prevention, prescriptions and fitness for travel. Bring current CDC destination information to the discussion. Border vaccination certificates and clinical recommendations are separate questions; check both for your route and transit history.

Do not start or stop medication on the basis of a general travel article or a destination label. Ask how to carry your prescribed medicines legally, what documentation is needed and what to do if you become unwell. The CDC pre-travel consultation guidance explains why advice depends on the individual traveller.

Check that your policy covers every destination, planned activity, relevant medical condition and evacuation arrangement. Ask your insurer about exclusions, assistance contacts and claim procedures. Ask the operator how emergencies are handled in remote areas and who arranges onward care.

Obtain luggage limits, dimensions and bag-type rules from each airline or transport supplier on your itinerary. A safari-flight allowance is not a continent-wide rule: Safarilink's terms have route-specific allowances and excess conditions. Confirm laundry availability and charges with the actual lodge rather than assuming it is included.

Pack layers suitable for your route's climate, comfortable footwear for the booked activities, sun protection, a torch, chargers and the right plug adapters. Ask your operator about local clothing requirements and specialist trekking equipment. Keep travel documents, prescribed medicines and essential contact details accessible.

Check the actual start and end locations, dates, accommodation, group size, transport and guide languages. Obtain a written price basis, inclusions, exclusions and cancellation terms. Confirm which flights, permits and transfers are booked and which remain subject to confirmation.

Entry, health and luggage guidance reviewed 2026-10-09 using the linked official government, public-health and airline sources. Recheck before booking and departure, and after any route change. Operator-specific logistics require confirmation from the supplying operator.