Tanzania - Malaria advice
Discussion
Off to Tanzania and Zanzibar in a few weeks. Looked at the Malaria advice and it appears it is a red zone - high risk. The recommended tablets for this are bloody expensive (like £100 for the holiday) Appreciate no price on health - but has anyone got any advice or suggestions?
Thanks
Thanks
Yes, take the bloody tablets, malaria is a killer. You will also need a yellow fever jab for Tanzania (they won't let you in or out without one) + tetanus booster etc if you've not had one recently.
Malarone is the best anti-malarial since it has the fewest side-effects but there is also Lariam and Doxycycline. Lariam can cause hallucinations and Doxy can cause increased skin sensitivity to UV (so not much use unless you only go out in the dark). Lariam and Doxy are cheaper. Go and see your GP sharpish for advice and do some google research on side-effects for these drugs. For buying the tablets places like Travelpharm and Boots online are often cheapest.
Malarone is the best anti-malarial since it has the fewest side-effects but there is also Lariam and Doxycycline. Lariam can cause hallucinations and Doxy can cause increased skin sensitivity to UV (so not much use unless you only go out in the dark). Lariam and Doxy are cheaper. Go and see your GP sharpish for advice and do some google research on side-effects for these drugs. For buying the tablets places like Travelpharm and Boots online are often cheapest.
I had altered vision (green spots) when I took Larium and for the first week couldn't walk straight. Some of my fellow travellers had really bad hallucinations, we found one every morning out throwing rocks at jerrycans which he was convinced were giant yellow rabbits invading our camp.
Bluebarge said:
Yes, take the bloody tablets, malaria is a killer. You will also need a yellow fever jab for Tanzania (they won't let you in or out without one) + tetanus booster etc if you've not had one recently.
Malarone is the best anti-malarial since it has the fewest side-effects but there is also Lariam and Doxycycline. Lariam can cause hallucinations and Doxy can cause increased skin sensitivity to UV (so not much use unless you only go out in the dark). Lariam and Doxy are cheaper. Go and see your GP sharpish for advice and do some google research on side-effects for these drugs. For buying the tablets places like Travelpharm and Boots online are often cheapest.
Exactly want I would have put. Malarone rocks, but take with a meal to avoid upsetting your stomach.Malarone is the best anti-malarial since it has the fewest side-effects but there is also Lariam and Doxycycline. Lariam can cause hallucinations and Doxy can cause increased skin sensitivity to UV (so not much use unless you only go out in the dark). Lariam and Doxy are cheaper. Go and see your GP sharpish for advice and do some google research on side-effects for these drugs. For buying the tablets places like Travelpharm and Boots online are often cheapest.
Tanzania has lots of large expanses of water, hence there will be lots of mozzies. Plus lake flies (that descend in such vast swarms they can suffocate, and tsetse flies, the horror film version of the house fly - resistant to pesticides, insect spary and very hard to kill (they take several whacks with a big book). Have fun!
VxDuncan said:
Bluebarge said:
Yes, take the bloody tablets, malaria is a killer. You will also need a yellow fever jab for Tanzania (they won't let you in or out without one) + tetanus booster etc if you've not had one recently.
Malarone is the best anti-malarial since it has the fewest side-effects but there is also Lariam and Doxycycline. Lariam can cause hallucinations and Doxy can cause increased skin sensitivity to UV (so not much use unless you only go out in the dark). Lariam and Doxy are cheaper. Go and see your GP sharpish for advice and do some google research on side-effects for these drugs. For buying the tablets places like Travelpharm and Boots online are often cheapest.
Exactly want I would have put. Malarone rocks, but take with a meal to avoid upsetting your stomach.Malarone is the best anti-malarial since it has the fewest side-effects but there is also Lariam and Doxycycline. Lariam can cause hallucinations and Doxy can cause increased skin sensitivity to UV (so not much use unless you only go out in the dark). Lariam and Doxy are cheaper. Go and see your GP sharpish for advice and do some google research on side-effects for these drugs. For buying the tablets places like Travelpharm and Boots online are often cheapest.
Tanzania has lots of large expanses of water, hence there will be lots of mozzies. Plus lake flies (that descend in such vast swarms they can suffocate, and tsetse flies, the horror film version of the house fly - resistant to pesticides, insect spary and very hard to kill (they take several whacks with a big book). Have fun!
If you're really going rural then take a malaria self-test kit with you, but be aware that Malarone itself does mask some of the early symptoms of infection.
(In fact, the medical advice for us here in Angola is to not take anti-malarials as long term use isn't good for the liver and the medics here hate them as they block the early signs(
When are you off, where are you going, and who are you doing the safari with? (PM me if you prefer)
We're off to TZ and Zanzibar in a couple of weeks ourselves - safari and beach!
Yellow fever - if you've not had it already, get it ASAP - it's not effective for 6-weeks apparently, but the date on the certificate I think lets you into the country after a week (oddly...). Remember to take your certificate with you.
Malaria - Malarone, definitely - take 2 days before, every day there, then 7 days after. Or Doxycylcine, but that commonly causes nausea in women. Asda are doing Malarone for £2.50 per tablet.
Also, when you get your Malarone prescription, get one for 'Ciprofloxacin' - it's a general antibiotic which does a very good job of sorting food-poisoning out (but don't use just on a slightly dodgy tummy).
Finally, check TripAdvisor out if you haven't already - there's LOADS of advice on there!
Cheers matey,
Martin.
We're off to TZ and Zanzibar in a couple of weeks ourselves - safari and beach!
Yellow fever - if you've not had it already, get it ASAP - it's not effective for 6-weeks apparently, but the date on the certificate I think lets you into the country after a week (oddly...). Remember to take your certificate with you.
Malaria - Malarone, definitely - take 2 days before, every day there, then 7 days after. Or Doxycylcine, but that commonly causes nausea in women. Asda are doing Malarone for £2.50 per tablet.
Also, when you get your Malarone prescription, get one for 'Ciprofloxacin' - it's a general antibiotic which does a very good job of sorting food-poisoning out (but don't use just on a slightly dodgy tummy).
Finally, check TripAdvisor out if you haven't already - there's LOADS of advice on there!
Cheers matey,
Martin.
I spent a couple of weeks in Tanzania at Easter visiting my OH who was there on her gap year. I was on Lariam tablets, but would definitely recommend Malarone despite the price as the Lariam brought on some fairly unsettling dreams. It also made me quite confused when dozing off or waking up.
Apparently some of my OH's friends who had been on Doxy found that it made their skin more photosensitive, and got some fairly bad sunburn as a result.
We were in Arusha, where the mosquito population wasn't quite as high as i'd been expecting; we still managed to get bitten though as we had one stuck under the net one night. Not pleasant.
Apparently some of my OH's friends who had been on Doxy found that it made their skin more photosensitive, and got some fairly bad sunburn as a result.
We were in Arusha, where the mosquito population wasn't quite as high as i'd been expecting; we still managed to get bitten though as we had one stuck under the net one night. Not pleasant.
The missus goes quite regularly and did get malaria a couple of trips back, which wrecked her holiday and she was lucky that she was visiting family who were locals and knew where best to get help.
Never heard her mention a yellow fever jab though.
Have seen some of the photos of Zanzibar and it looks awesome, hope you have a good time out there.
Never heard her mention a yellow fever jab though.
Have seen some of the photos of Zanzibar and it looks awesome, hope you have a good time out there.
havoc said:
When are you off, where are you going, and who are you doing the safari with? (PM me if you prefer)
We're off to TZ and Zanzibar in a couple of weeks ourselves - safari and beach!
Yellow fever - if you've not had it already, get it ASAP - it's not effective for 6-weeks apparently, but the date on the certificate I think lets you into the country after a week (oddly...). Remember to take your certificate with you.
Malaria - Malarone, definitely - take 2 days before, every day there, then 7 days after. Or Doxycylcine, but that commonly causes nausea in women. Asda are doing Malarone for £2.50 per tablet.
Also, when you get your Malarone prescription, get one for 'Ciprofloxacin' - it's a general antibiotic which does a very good job of sorting food-poisoning out (but don't use just on a slightly dodgy tummy).
Finally, check TripAdvisor out if you haven't already - there's LOADS of advice on there!
Cheers matey,
Martin.
We're going with Hayes and Jarvis on the 30th. Doing 8 days safari and then a couple of days in Stonedown followed by a week in Nungwi.We're off to TZ and Zanzibar in a couple of weeks ourselves - safari and beach!
Yellow fever - if you've not had it already, get it ASAP - it's not effective for 6-weeks apparently, but the date on the certificate I think lets you into the country after a week (oddly...). Remember to take your certificate with you.
Malaria - Malarone, definitely - take 2 days before, every day there, then 7 days after. Or Doxycylcine, but that commonly causes nausea in women. Asda are doing Malarone for £2.50 per tablet.
Also, when you get your Malarone prescription, get one for 'Ciprofloxacin' - it's a general antibiotic which does a very good job of sorting food-poisoning out (but don't use just on a slightly dodgy tummy).
Finally, check TripAdvisor out if you haven't already - there's LOADS of advice on there!
Cheers matey,
Martin.
We've had a look on trip advisor..found it really useful..infact chose our beach hotel based on the reviews.
How about you? Which part of Zanzibar you off to?
Cheers
Nungwi is stunning. I can't remember the name of the dive company we went out with, but we just got chatting to the bloke in the bar the night before!
Definitely take the correct vaccines and tablets and do so asap! A friend of mine got malaria when we were out there and he was in a very bad way. It isn't easy to get any relief from the symptoms either when it is so hot most of the time!
Definitely take the correct vaccines and tablets and do so asap! A friend of mine got malaria when we were out there and he was in a very bad way. It isn't easy to get any relief from the symptoms either when it is so hot most of the time!
rsole said:
Off to Tanzania and Zanzibar in a few weeks. Looked at the Malaria advice and it appears it is a red zone - high risk. The recommended tablets for this are bloody expensive (like £100 for the holiday) Appreciate no price on health - but has anyone got any advice or suggestions?
Thanks
THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING ELSEWHERE??? MY MISTAKE, SOUNDS GOOD ANYWAY, BEST GET YER VACINATIONS THOUGH!Thanks
SMD
Just back today. Safari was FANTASTIC!
Safari pointers:-
- Layout of the northern parks is: from Arusha you head south, then either further south to T'gire or turn west to the other three, which are (in order) L.Manyara, N'goro, S'geti.
- the roads are SH'T!!! Really, truly, utterly awful. Sealed roads finish before you get to Tarangire and after Mto Wa Mbu town (between L.Manyara and N'goro). And they're the sort of roads that WILL kill anything shy of a Land Rover or Land Cruiser - our car sheared a lower strut-bracket (1-inch wide metal) on the way out of Oldupai Gorge, so we were running on 3 dampers and 4 leaf-springs for half the safari! Transit times take a while, as a result. Also, some drivers are utter lunatics, but cutting corners seems to be de-rigeur out there, although you'll get a couple of "moments".
- there is LOADS of dust - take optrex, take BIG sunglasses (forget fashion), and take camera cloths. DON'T change lenses out in the field.
- all four of the "hunts" we saw / saw aftermath of were in the morning, and typically before ~10.30am, so you'll want to be up-and-out early in the Serengeti and N'goro (fewer predators in Tarangire / L-Manyara). So DO NOT go back for breakfast - take a breakfast box out on a 6.30 or 7am start, then go back for a 3-hour lunch break (if staying >1 night at the same place). Do be aware that both the driving and the looking-out for animals is hard work on your guide - anything more than a 9-hour day for the guy is going to be hard, and he'll probably have another hour behind the scenes
- we got ripped-off in T'gire with a "nature walk" which was a waste of time, had a fake Maasai guide (one of their porters - the silly chap was sitting around in trousers and a shirt the following morning!), and the next place offered one for free (which may well have had a Maasai guide as their security team were Maasai).
- All 4 parks were interesting, but in the dry season we'd have passed on Lake Manyara - nothing the other parks didn't have, and the trees were a lot more 'closed-in', making it harder to see stuff unless you were very close to it.
- WATCH for the driver/guide trying it on with regard to timings and park fees - both S'geti and N'goro (N'goro conservation area, which stretches from Mto Wa Mbu town to the Naabi Gate with the S'geti) are 24-hour periods, but of course the N'goro crater fees (crater is small part of the NCA) are for a 6-hour period which is best done in the morning, so if you enter the N'goro Conservation Area at say 1pm (as we did from S'geti), you'll need to be out by 1pm the following day, which will cut short your time in the Crater! Cute, eh?!?
- On a similar vein, DO take a print-out of your itinerary, as our guide tried to cut our last day in the S'geti out completely despite our itinerary saying "Serengeti" - I think their office rather than him, but they were trying to save costs! If we'd not had that printout and questioned it we'd never have seen a cheetah close-up and watched it hunt twice and make 1 kill!
- MAKE SURE you've enough water in the 4x4, EVERY day (is your guide's responsibility!) - we ran out both our last two days, and I got mild heat-stroke on the journey back to Arusha.
Finally, if you've a private safari, then YOU call the shots, although the guide is the person who'll make/break your safari, so DO build a good relationship with them - if you want to stay and watch something, say-so. If you want the engine off to take better photos, say-so. But also ask their opinion, and try and build up an idea of how trustworthy they are...
Other stuff:
- Never got asked about Yellow Fever certificate in Zanzibar - there's £50 down the drain!
- Precision Air were alright - we had no problems.
- "Tips" are everywhere - baggage handlers, waiters, drivers, the guys who transfer you to/from airports (at ZNZ this was worthwhile - gave him a TSh5,000 tip (£2.50) and he hung around and spoke to one of the airport guys who personally escorted us through the whole baggage and departure tax process, so we knew our bags were OK!). Budget for it, and try and enter the country with a handful of $1 bills for the first day/night until you get some change.
Nungwi:
- Langi Langi restaurant excellent (for dinner, anyway) - owner (Sele) worked in the kitchen at the London Hilton, and speaks very good East-London English also as a result. "Saidi" (tel # on TripAdvisor or through Sele) was a good taxi-driver, and a lot cheaper for visits to Stone Town / Josani Forest than the organised tours.
- Restaurants / hotels take TSh, trip / taxi people take US$, so have both. Exchange rate better at ZNZ airport than in Nungwi resorts, although £ rate similar, so take some £ with you as a back-up. T/Cheque rates in ZNZ terrible!!!
- Nungwi Town is VERY poor with nothing worthwhile to see (except turtle sanctuary at top-point - but be warned there are two - the one beginning with "B" is a copycat commercial one - the one beginning with "M" is the right one) - all the stuff happens at the hotels. But even there most are quiet independent places so it's a quiet resort.
- Didn't go snorkelling as all the boats looked a little "worn" - old wooden things with an outboard and a half-roof which doubled as more seating (yet only held up by 6 planks!). Also I saw more than one owner bailing dirty water out at the end of each day...and never saw any life-vests (I'm not a strong swimmer). Plus the general attitude out there seems to be a lot more 'lackadaisical' than e.g. SE Asia / Cook Is. / Egypt... A shame, as the waters are supposed to be very good off a few of the northern islands.
Any more questions, ask...
Cheers,
M.
Safari pointers:-
- Layout of the northern parks is: from Arusha you head south, then either further south to T'gire or turn west to the other three, which are (in order) L.Manyara, N'goro, S'geti.
- the roads are SH'T!!! Really, truly, utterly awful. Sealed roads finish before you get to Tarangire and after Mto Wa Mbu town (between L.Manyara and N'goro). And they're the sort of roads that WILL kill anything shy of a Land Rover or Land Cruiser - our car sheared a lower strut-bracket (1-inch wide metal) on the way out of Oldupai Gorge, so we were running on 3 dampers and 4 leaf-springs for half the safari! Transit times take a while, as a result. Also, some drivers are utter lunatics, but cutting corners seems to be de-rigeur out there, although you'll get a couple of "moments".
- there is LOADS of dust - take optrex, take BIG sunglasses (forget fashion), and take camera cloths. DON'T change lenses out in the field.
- all four of the "hunts" we saw / saw aftermath of were in the morning, and typically before ~10.30am, so you'll want to be up-and-out early in the Serengeti and N'goro (fewer predators in Tarangire / L-Manyara). So DO NOT go back for breakfast - take a breakfast box out on a 6.30 or 7am start, then go back for a 3-hour lunch break (if staying >1 night at the same place). Do be aware that both the driving and the looking-out for animals is hard work on your guide - anything more than a 9-hour day for the guy is going to be hard, and he'll probably have another hour behind the scenes
- we got ripped-off in T'gire with a "nature walk" which was a waste of time, had a fake Maasai guide (one of their porters - the silly chap was sitting around in trousers and a shirt the following morning!), and the next place offered one for free (which may well have had a Maasai guide as their security team were Maasai).
- All 4 parks were interesting, but in the dry season we'd have passed on Lake Manyara - nothing the other parks didn't have, and the trees were a lot more 'closed-in', making it harder to see stuff unless you were very close to it.
- WATCH for the driver/guide trying it on with regard to timings and park fees - both S'geti and N'goro (N'goro conservation area, which stretches from Mto Wa Mbu town to the Naabi Gate with the S'geti) are 24-hour periods, but of course the N'goro crater fees (crater is small part of the NCA) are for a 6-hour period which is best done in the morning, so if you enter the N'goro Conservation Area at say 1pm (as we did from S'geti), you'll need to be out by 1pm the following day, which will cut short your time in the Crater! Cute, eh?!?
- On a similar vein, DO take a print-out of your itinerary, as our guide tried to cut our last day in the S'geti out completely despite our itinerary saying "Serengeti" - I think their office rather than him, but they were trying to save costs! If we'd not had that printout and questioned it we'd never have seen a cheetah close-up and watched it hunt twice and make 1 kill!
- MAKE SURE you've enough water in the 4x4, EVERY day (is your guide's responsibility!) - we ran out both our last two days, and I got mild heat-stroke on the journey back to Arusha.
Finally, if you've a private safari, then YOU call the shots, although the guide is the person who'll make/break your safari, so DO build a good relationship with them - if you want to stay and watch something, say-so. If you want the engine off to take better photos, say-so. But also ask their opinion, and try and build up an idea of how trustworthy they are...
Other stuff:
- Never got asked about Yellow Fever certificate in Zanzibar - there's £50 down the drain!
- Precision Air were alright - we had no problems.
- "Tips" are everywhere - baggage handlers, waiters, drivers, the guys who transfer you to/from airports (at ZNZ this was worthwhile - gave him a TSh5,000 tip (£2.50) and he hung around and spoke to one of the airport guys who personally escorted us through the whole baggage and departure tax process, so we knew our bags were OK!). Budget for it, and try and enter the country with a handful of $1 bills for the first day/night until you get some change.
Nungwi:
- Langi Langi restaurant excellent (for dinner, anyway) - owner (Sele) worked in the kitchen at the London Hilton, and speaks very good East-London English also as a result. "Saidi" (tel # on TripAdvisor or through Sele) was a good taxi-driver, and a lot cheaper for visits to Stone Town / Josani Forest than the organised tours.
- Restaurants / hotels take TSh, trip / taxi people take US$, so have both. Exchange rate better at ZNZ airport than in Nungwi resorts, although £ rate similar, so take some £ with you as a back-up. T/Cheque rates in ZNZ terrible!!!
- Nungwi Town is VERY poor with nothing worthwhile to see (except turtle sanctuary at top-point - but be warned there are two - the one beginning with "B" is a copycat commercial one - the one beginning with "M" is the right one) - all the stuff happens at the hotels. But even there most are quiet independent places so it's a quiet resort.
- Didn't go snorkelling as all the boats looked a little "worn" - old wooden things with an outboard and a half-roof which doubled as more seating (yet only held up by 6 planks!). Also I saw more than one owner bailing dirty water out at the end of each day...and never saw any life-vests (I'm not a strong swimmer). Plus the general attitude out there seems to be a lot more 'lackadaisical' than e.g. SE Asia / Cook Is. / Egypt... A shame, as the waters are supposed to be very good off a few of the northern islands.
Any more questions, ask...
Cheers,
M.
Bluebarge said:
Yes, take the bloody tablets, malaria is a killer. You will also need a yellow fever jab for Tanzania (they won't let you in or out without one) + tetanus booster etc if you've not had one recently.
Malarone is the best anti-malarial since it has the fewest side-effects but there is also Lariam and Doxycycline. Lariam can cause hallucinations and Doxy can cause increased skin sensitivity to UV (so not much use unless you only go out in the dark). Lariam and Doxy are cheaper. Go and see your GP sharpish for advice and do some google research on side-effects for these drugs. For buying the tablets places like Travelpharm and Boots online are often cheapest.
I have done a lot of travel in Africa and South America and never take anti malaria tablets as they can make you feel pretty ill. It is a little know fact that you can in fact take the tablets IF you contract malaria and use them as treatment. Malarone is the best anti-malarial since it has the fewest side-effects but there is also Lariam and Doxycycline. Lariam can cause hallucinations and Doxy can cause increased skin sensitivity to UV (so not much use unless you only go out in the dark). Lariam and Doxy are cheaper. Go and see your GP sharpish for advice and do some google research on side-effects for these drugs. For buying the tablets places like Travelpharm and Boots online are often cheapest.
S
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