Almost everyone who goes to the Serengeti, the Ngorongoro Crater or Kilimanjaro passes through Arusha, and most treat it as a night either side of the real trip. That is a reasonable plan, but it produces a specific packing mistake: people pack for the safari and forget that Arusha itself sits at around 1,400 metres on the slopes of Mount Meru, where evenings drop to 13°C or 14°C year round and the nights in June and July feel genuinely cold after a hot day on the plains.
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Arusha is also worth more than a transit night. It has its own national park on the doorstep with giraffe, colobus monkeys and the Momella lakes, the 4,566 metre Mount Meru rising directly behind, a large and genuinely interesting market, and the coffee farms on the slopes above town. It is the safari capital of East Africa and the administrative centre of a region of nearly two million people, not a village with an airstrip.
What Makes Arusha Different to Pack For
Altitude, not latitude, sets the temperature
Arusha is three degrees south of the equator, which suggests tropical heat, and the altitude cancels most of it. Daytime runs 23°C to 28°C all year. Nights run 13°C to 16°C, and the June to August dry season nights are the coolest. Add wind off Meru and an open safari vehicle at dawn, and the mornings are cold.
A merino wool base layer for women is the single most useful item to bring, because it handles a 6am game drive at 12°C, then a midday 30°C on the plains, and it does not hold odour across the several days between laundry that a safari itinerary usually implies. Add a fleece mid layer for the evenings and the early starts.
The two rainy seasons
The long rains run roughly March to May and the short rains in November and early December. The long rains are heavy enough to make some park roads difficult and are the reason many lodges close or discount. The dry seasons, June to October and January to February, are the main safari windows. A packable rain jacket is worth carrying in any month, since afternoon storms happen outside the seasons too.
Dust is the constant
In the dry season the volcanic soil throws fine dust over everything, in vehicles, in luggage and in eyes and airways. Neutral colours hide it, a scarf or buff is genuinely useful across the face on a dusty road, and anyone who wears contact lenses should bring glasses as a backup.
Recommended Tours and Experiences
The Arusha Packing List
Clothing
Neutral colours for anything worn in the parks: khaki, olive, tan, grey. Avoid dark blue and black, which attract tsetse flies in the bush country, and bright white, which shows dust within an hour. Long sleeves and long trousers for dawn and dusk, when mosquitoes are active.
Two merino tops, two pairs of trousers, a fleece and a shell cover a two week trip, which matters because light aircraft transfers to the parks usually cap luggage at 15 kilograms in a soft bag. Modest dress in town: Tanzania is roughly a third Muslim and broadly conservative, so shoulders covered and shorts kept for the lodge rather than the market.
Footwear
Closed shoes for the parks and for town, where pavements are uneven and dusty. A pair of waterproof hiking shoes covers Arusha National Park, the coffee farm walks and a wet season arrival. Sandals for the lodge. Anyone attempting Mount Meru needs proper boots, which is a four day trek to 4,566 metres and a serious undertaking, not a day walk.
Sun and insects
Equatorial sun at 1,400 metres burns fast even when the air feels mild, which catches people out constantly. High factor sunscreen, sunglasses and a wide brim sun hat. For insects, a repellent with 20 to 30 percent DEET or picaridin, applied at dusk.
Medical
Arusha is in a malaria zone, and antimalarials are a decision to make with a doctor well before travelling, not on arrival. Yellow fever vaccination is required if you are arriving from a country with risk of transmission, and the certificate is checked, so carry it. Bring any prescription medication in original packaging with the prescription, since pharmacy stock is variable. Rehydration salts and basic stomach remedies are worth having.
What to Wear at Key Sites
Arusha National Park
The smallest of the northern parks and the one most people skip, which is a mistake: it has the Momella lakes with flamingos, black and white colobus monkeys, giraffe in open glades, and Meru towering over all of it. It is the only northern park where you can do a guided walking safari, on foot with an armed ranger.
Practically: the walking safari means closed shoes, long trousers and neutral colours, and the ranger's instructions are not advisory. The park is higher and cooler than the plains, often cloudy, and can be wet underfoot. There are no big cats in significant numbers, which is precisely why walking is allowed.
The town, the market and the cultural heritage centre
The central market is busy, crowded and worth an hour with a guide. The Arusha Declaration Museum and the Natural History Museum are small and inexpensive. The Cultural Heritage Centre on the Dodoma road is a large gallery and shop complex, expensive but useful for buying at fixed prices rather than negotiating.
Practically: dress modestly, carry a small amount of cash rather than a wallet, and expect persistent approaches from touts and flycatchers selling safaris on the street. A firm and friendly no, repeated, works. Never book a safari from a street approach; use a licensed operator, which you can check against the tourist board register.
The coffee farms and the slopes
Arabica has grown on the slopes of Meru and Kilimanjaro since the late nineteenth century, and farm visits on the hillsides above town make a good half day, with cooler air and much greener country than the plains below. Take a layer; the slopes are noticeably cooler and it rains up there when the town is dry.
Onward to the parks
Arusha is the staging point for the northern circuit: Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro and the Serengeti. Kilimanjaro International Airport is about 50 kilometres east, and the smaller Arusha Airport handles the light aircraft into the parks. Ngorongoro deserves its own note, because the crater rim sits at 2,300 metres and is genuinely cold, often in cloud and around 10°C in the morning, so the fleece comes out there more than anywhere.
What Not to Bring
Leave camouflage clothing, which is illegal for civilians in Tanzania and can cause real trouble at the border and with police. Leave single use plastic bags, which are banned nationwide and are confiscated on arrival. Leave hard shell suitcases if you have a light aircraft transfer, since soft bags are required. Leave anything black or dark blue destined for the bush, because of tsetse flies, and leave valuables and jewellery you would mind losing.
Essential Resources for Women in Arusha
Emergency numbers in Tanzania: the general emergency number is 112 or 911, police 112, and ambulance response is unreliable outside private providers. In practice, for anything medical, go directly to a private hospital or have your lodge arrange transport rather than waiting for an ambulance.
Tourist police: Tanzania has a tourist police unit in Arusha, based at the central police station, which handles visitor complaints and safari disputes. The Tanzania Tourist Board office in town also maintains the register of licensed operators, which is the place to verify a company before paying anything.
US Embassy in Dar es Salaam: 686 Old Bagamoyo Road, Msasani, Dar es Salaam, telephone +255 22 229 4000, at tz.usembassy.gov. There is no consulate in Arusha, so this is a long way away, which is an argument for enrolling in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program at step.state.gov before you travel.
Main hospital or clinic: the Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre is the main private hospital used by visitors and has a hyperbaric chamber and emergency services. Mount Meru Regional Referral Hospital is the public facility. For anything serious, evacuation to Nairobi is the usual route, which makes medical evacuation insurance essential rather than optional, particularly if you are climbing Meru or Kilimanjaro.
Official health authority: the Tanzanian Ministry of Health at moh.go.tz.
US State Department travel advisory for Tanzania: current advisory level and detail. Read it directly rather than relying on this page, since the level and the regional notes change.
UK FCDO travel advice for Tanzania: entry requirements, safety and health guidance, including the visa rules and the yellow fever certificate requirement.
Official tourism authority: the Tanzania Tourist Board at tanzaniatourism.go.tz, with Tanzania National Parks at tanzaniaparks.go.tz for park fees and regulations and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority at ncaa.go.tz for the crater.
Solo women safety assessment: Arusha is manageable alone with ordinary care, and many women pass through it solo on the way to a safari without incident. Tanzanians are generally warm and helpful and violent crime against tourists is uncommon. The real issues are specific and worth knowing in advance. Street crime is the main one: bag snatching and phone snatching happen in the town centre and around the market, so carry little, keep your phone out of sight, and do not walk at night, which is the firmest piece of advice here. Take a taxi or a lodge transfer after dark, even short distances, since street lighting is poor and the risk rises sharply. The flycatchers, the men who approach tourists on the street selling safaris, are persistent and occasionally aggressive in their persistence rather than dangerous, and a firm repeated no while continuing to walk is the way to handle it; never hand over money or a passport to anyone who approached you on the street. Safari scams are a genuine financial risk, so book through a licensed operator verified against the tourist board register and pay by traceable means. Attitudes to women are conservative, and dressing modestly reduces unwanted attention considerably. Health is the other real risk: malaria is present, tap water is not drinkable, and altitude on Meru or Kilimanjaro causes more trouble than wildlife ever does. On game drives, stay in the vehicle unless a guide tells you otherwise, and treat that as absolute.
Reading On
Arusha is the start of the northern circuit rather than the end of a trip. The Tanzania travel guide for women is the parent for the whole country and covers the seasons, the visa and the regions, and the Tanzania packing list for women covers a full itinerary. For where you are probably going next, the Serengeti travel guide for women and the Kilimanjaro travel guide for women are the two big ones, the safari packing list for women covers game drives in general, and the Zanzibar travel guide for women and the Stone Town packing list for women cover the coast most people finish on. The travel packing guide for women is the parent for all destinations. For why merino is the fibre that handles a cold dawn, a hot midday and several days without laundry, the best merino wool base layers for women explains it, and the Roman Trail collection is where the tops themselves live.
If the outer journey is calling you, the inner one usually is too. Explore SoulMap at romantrail.com/blogs/soulmap.
