Luggage on Safari
Weight
While traveling between parks in the landcruiser, your luggage can be stored either in the Landcruiser boot or in the main body/seating area of the vehicle or can be tied at the top of the vehicle.
In the boot, 3 medium size (upto 27 inches in height) hard case bags can fit in along with space for some duffel bags.
Safari Landcruiser usually has have 7 window seats for clients (if you are traveling solo or as a couple, landcruiser with 5 window seats might be provided). So if your party size is under 7, you will have space inside vehicle to keep some of your luggage. But please note, luggage kept inside vehicle might hinder you from easily moving inside the vehicle or changing seats quickly etc which usually happens when you are on game drives.
Lastly, excess luggage can be tied at the top of landcruiser. While this can be fine for transfers between parks, when you are on game drives, roof will be popped up and you will be standing and looking out from the open top. In this scenario, luggage on top can block views behind the vehicle.
So overall, we advise you to keep your luggage to a minimum. One small soft-sided bag plus a day pack (of about 20 KG per person) is easy to accommodate even in a party of upto 6 clients in the vehicle. But for parties of 5 or more, we recommend against bringing hard/externally framed suitcases as they are difficult to store.
Please check our list of recommended items to carry on safari.
Flight restrictions
If your tour includes flights to national parks(called bush flights), please check the baggage policy of these flights on their respective websites as these are strictly implemented and excess baggage might not be allowed.
The total baggage allowance for each passenger inclusive of hand baggage and cameras for most of the bush flights is 15kgs per client(this can change slightly from airline to airline so please always check for your specific airline). Excess baggage will only be carried at the sole discretion of the captain of the aircraft if the payload of the aircraft and/or space permits and will be charged at the prevailing rate for carriage of freight.
Hard shell bags, large bags are not allowed in bush flights.
We always recommend you to check airlines baggage policy for bush flights from their website (your voucher mentions the name of airlines we booked for you or you can ask your sales representative for the same) and pre-book excess luggage if any.
Storage of Excess Luggage
If your trip is beginning and ending at the same location, excess luggage can usually be stored at your arrival/departure hotel and can be collected after your trip.
Luggage lost by Airlines
For international flights arriving into Tanzania/Kenya/Uganda, it is not uncommon for the luggage to arrive a day or two late.
To be prepared for such cases, we recommend you to pack all your essentials like medicines, travel documents, set of clothes e.t.c in your hand luggage so that you can proceed for your safari as per your schedule without waiting for your luggage to arrive.
In such cases, you can share the number of our operations managers to airlines and ask the airlines to call them once your luggage arrives so we can coordinate and find the best way to get your luggage to you at the earliest.