Check with your doctor to get current recommendations and advice for travelling to East Africa.
Anti-malarial tablets are recommended as there is malaria in Africa. Whilst the probability of you getting malaria is low it is not worth the risk as nobody wants to be sick on their holiday.
Yellow Fever
Please note that below is just a guideline.
A Yellow Fever Vaccination card is not compulsory to enter Rwanda or Tanzania UNLESS you are flying into Rwanda or Tanzania via a Yellow Fever endemic country. For example, you can expect to be asked to show your Yellow Fever Vaccination card if you are:
- coming into Tanzania via a country where yellow fever exists (for example, Uganda and Kenya) whereby you have stayed in those countries for 12 hours or more, before arriving into Tanzania, either by road or by air.
- travelling to Zanzibar as they regularly ask visitors to produce their Yellow Fever Vaccination card on arrival to the island by either air or by boat.
NB: Make sure that you have the Yellow Fever Vaccination at least 10 days BEFORE arriving in Tanzania.
You do not need a Yellow Fever Vaccination card if:
- you are 60 years or older
- your child is less than one years old.
- you are simply transiting through the Kenya Airport for less than 12 hours, on your way to Tanzania.
If you qualify for one of the categories above then note points 1 and 4 of the following Ministry of Health Yellow Fever Entry Letter, print the letter hour and bring a hard copy with you incase (unlikely) you are asked why you don’t have a Yellow Fever Vaccination card.
Ideally its best if you come straight into Tanzania’s Mt Kilimanjaro International Airport from outside Africa (e.g. on Qatar or KLM airlines who fly directly into Mt Kilimanjaro Airport) instead of arriving into Tanzania via Uganda or Kenya first. If you fly directly into Tanzania from outside Africa you won’t need a Yellow Fever Vaccination card as per the Yellow fever entry requirements in Tanzania mainland, which you can print and carry with you in order to justify why you have not had the yellow fever vaccination card if asked. A letter from your doctor explaining why you have not had the vaccination is also worth bringing if you feel like bringing it.
NB if you are:
- Traveling to Zanzibar then there is a high chance that you will be asked for proof of having had the yellow fever vaccination.
- Staying in Kenya (outside the airport) for at least a night then again, you are likely to be asked for proof of having had the yellow fever vaccination on arrival into Tanzania.
If you are interested in having more background info on yellow fever etc then please see the following links:
Below vaccinations are optional:
Typhoid: This vaccination is good for three years.
Hepatitis A: Should be just taken prior to departure, as immunity becomes less effective with time.
Hepatitis B: Is a viral disease transmitted mainly through blood or sexual contact.
Meningitis: The vaccine for meningitis is called Menamune. It can cost up to $100 at clinics that don’t administer it frequently, or as little as 1/3 of that cost elsewhere. You may want to shop around. While this disease occurs only sporadically, it is fatal unless treated immediately.
