What to wear in South Africa + Mozambique in December

Let’s just say that packing for our trip to Africa took a lot of research and time. We’re here to make your packing efforts easier!

Keep in mind that December in South Africa & Mozambique is the beginning of their summer. For our time in Cape Town, we had one cooler day that was rainy. However, the next day, it was sunny skies and absolutely gorgeous. During the safari and beach part of our trip, it was HOT!

For Cape Town, we recommend packing for any city type of trip: comfy walking shoes, jeans, casual tops, and a pair of sandals. If you’re heading out to the Winelands, a colorful dress for the ladies and khaki shorts + a polo for the guys works. A rain jacket is always nice to have in case of rain, or just as a light layer.

For safari, you’ll need to think about packing for morning and evening game drives. Stick to muted colors; think greens, khakis, and neutrals. Camouflage is actually illegal in some African countries, so be sure to leave that at home.

For the morning drives, you’re up bright & early (think 5:30 AM coffee time) to head out to catch the animals starting to move around for the day. Athleisure + a ball cap works perfectly! Just remember: the animals don’t care what you’re wearing (so long as it isn’t bright colors or wild prints). I recommend a pair of Vuori joggers (or these Amazon dupes), a t-shirt, and a long-sleeve shirt or jacket that is easily removable. For the evening drives, I dressed it up a bit. I didn’t want my attire to scream “I’M ON A SAFARI!”, so I selected casual dresses and my Veronica Beard Valentina sneakers. For drives, I would always wear a hat to help shield the sun and to keep my hair under control. You’ll want sneakers (one pair you are fine to get dirty and one lifestyle sneaker) for this portion of your trip.

I actually rented my safari dresses from my favorite rental company, Nuuly. The lineup included a Maeve Utility Shirt Dress, a tank dress by Daily Practice, and a Moon River midi dress. I also packed this cropped bomber jacket (which came in handy more than once in Cape Town) by Pilcro and this tunic dress for the Mozambique/beach part of our trip. Get $30 off your first Nuuly when you use this link.

A bathing suit is always good to have on-hand for spa time and of course for the beach part of your trip.

Questions about what to pack? Ask Erica: ecarr@bookitboxtravel.com