Beat luggage for safari
 

Going to Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa for a three week tour. Need to buy new luggage, any recommendations for easy handling? Also, anyone know the baggage restrictions for inner flights? I am a woman so will be toting more than men, lol.

Welcome to Fodors.

"I am a woman so will be toting more than men, lol."

I don't get that bit - at all. Some women may take more individual items but most men's items are larger so the total volume shouldn't be much different. Actually, because of the size of men's shoes, men usually need a little more space. In 3 weeks you won't be using that much in the way of toiletries. The tour companies usually specifically spell out exactly what size/weight of luggage is allowed. The info is probably either in the brochure or in the FAQs or both.

My wife and I only ever travel with 40 litre carry on bags only. It makes life so much simpler and reduces the chances of baggage going missing. Links to our respective packing regimes are in this section of our blog https://accidentalnomads.com/category/travel-tips/

My wife seems to take way more lotions and potions than do I but we both restrict ourselves to multi use, easily laundered clothing. we pack the same stuff regardless of whether it is a 6 day or 6 month trip.

In terms of actual luggage, I use an Osprey Farpoint 40 L which can be used either as a backpack or an over the shoulder bag. They do a female version too called the Fairview. My wife uses a Lowe Alpine TT40 carryon.

If you are going on any light aircraft then IME the operators usually insist upon soft sided bags rather than hard cases.

My foot size is 12. My wifes is 7. When we travel I take max 3 pairs shoes including the ones I am wearing but she may take up to 6-7 pairs or more so in the end she wins. I get the OP's point. :lol:.

As for luggage we have used Samsonite for many years which we bought at Costco for a very reasonable price. No issues at all and the four wheels are sturdy. I was easily able to push by myself 4 large bags once collected through IGI. You do not have to spend a lot for good luggage. We have a Samsonite outlet near us as well.

Friends of ours we call the "travelers" as they are on the go all the time it seems. They fly from here (Chicago) to various places in Asia and they just as Crellston also said take carry on baggage only. . Many others do too. The lawyer who made our trust flew to Europe with their six kids and all had carry one luggage only. People find a way to make that work. Once while waiting to embark on a cruise we chatted with some people in line who also had just carry on bags.

" . . . she may take up to 6-7 pairs or more so in the end she wins."

6 or 7+ pair of shoes on safari . . . I sure hope not. ;)

But seriously -- I own 40+ pairs of shoes but have never needed more than 3 pair on any trip. But even 4 pair of size 7's (1 on feet on flight and 3 in softsided carry on) is totally doable.

It was a joke Janis. You made a comment about not getting a lady packing more and I tossed in my own experience with my wife. :) In any case no biggie. To each their own.
All the best.
Larry

As crellston pointed out, if any flights are on light aircraft to safari camps you will need soft sided luggage, and there is a possibility that luggage which doesn’t meet the requirements could be left behind. You need to contact the safari operators for specific guidelines, but can find many references through a Google search, such as the one below.

https://www.andbeyond.com/magazine/w...frican-safari/

Check with the camps or your safari operator, most camps will do laundry (not intimates) for free so you don’t need to take many complete outfits. I take 3 pairs of pants and 4-5 tops for a 2 weeks safari knowing I can get laundry done. I don’t bother with makeup or hair care stuff because I just slather on sunblock and insect repellent and head out each day to get dusty and hot.

I’ve used this bag https://www.lipault-usa.com/luggage/...64776XXXX.html on four safaris now, including one split between gorilla trekking and photo safari, so I had a lot of gear. It’s soft sided with recessed wheels so you can get around easily in airports and the staff at camps like it because it rests easily on their shoulder or by the handle when carrying it for me. Best of all its carryon so no checking bags!!

Just something you might like to think about.

Literacy rates are very high in both Botswana and Zimbabwe, but access to reading material is very limited in many parts of both countries. Just this weekend my wife and I were out at Rysana Pan in Botswana. (A lovely spot) There is a veterinary control fence out there, and the gatekeeper sees only 3 or 4 vehicles a day. He is on duty for 12 hours a day, and has to stay close to the gate. We had a week old newspaper in our car, and he was an exceedingly grateful recipient. I expect the contents will be shared and discussed with all the herdsman passing by for the next month. And this is typical.

Most of us have old books that we will never read again cluttering our bookshelves. If you are thinking of traveling with just carry-on luggage you might be able to check in a bag or small box of old books at no extra cost. If the airline loses them it doesn’t really matter; and if you are flying off to a safari camp in the Okavango Delta the operator will almost certainly look after them for you until you return – some are signed up to ‘pack with a purpose’ and all will have some kind of corporate social responsibility programme as this is a requirement of the Botswana Government. Something to ask them about in advance.

I hope you will get to visit a village, a school, a cattlepost and a farm whilst you are here. Africa is not just about the animals. In each case a spare book or magazine will always act as a very welcome ‘thank you’ gift, and help make the transition from being an onlooker to being a friend.

Hope you have a wonderful trip.

Graeme

That is a brilliant suggestion Graeme B! When we worked as volunteers is Sierra Leone years ago we took lots of book (and pencils, notes pads etc) to fill up our luggage allowance and were amazed at how grateful the the kids, of all ages were to receive this stuff.

However, I would urge caution about leaving anything of value in luggage storage at airports. One time we checked our dive gear, locked and sealed with cable ties into the left luggage at Dar es Salaam airport whilst we went off to Selous. When we returned to to collect our bags for the onward flight to Mafia Island we found the locks removed, cable ties cut and some stuff missing, fortunately most of it was dive gear so not of much use to the perps. I mention this only as a warning for those who may be tempted or forced to leave stuff behind in whoever’s care o DONT leave anything of value or anything you are not prepared to lose.

Thanks for there link to that article, Heimdall. Very helpful.
I've got three months to practice packing! ;-)