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. Please ask your flight agent at home who is helping you to arrange your flights to Africa to check current rules as well as do your own online research before traveling (as rules do change).
A Yellow Fever Vaccination card is not compulsory to enter Rwanda or Tanzania UNLESS you are flying into Rwanda or Tanzania from a Yellow Fever endemic country. For example, your plane is very likely to be checked if you are coming into Tanzania via a country where yellow fever exists (for example, Uganda and Kenya). If you are coming straight into Mt Kilimanjaro Airport from outside Africa (e.g. on Qatar or KLM airlines) and not passing through Uganda or Kenya first, then you can download and print Yellow fever entry requirements in Tanzania mainland to justify why you have not had the yellow fever vaccination. 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.
