Travel Medicine · Tanzania · Destination
Yes, for safari and Zanzibar. The CDC says malaria is present in all areas of Tanzania below 1,800 m (5,900 ft), which covers the Serengeti, the northern safari circuit, and Zanzibar, so pills are recommended. The exception is high on Mount Kilimanjaro, above the malaria zone, where altitude sickness becomes the main concern instead. Doxycycline and Malarone both work for Tanzania, and we can prescribe either. CDC guidance checked June 19, 2026.
| Destination | Malaria pills? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire, Arusha, the northern safari circuit, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar (below 1,800 m) | Yes | CDC lists malaria across these areas. Doxycycline or Malarone are appropriate. |
| High on Mount Kilimanjaro (above the malaria zone) | No | Too high for malaria. Altitude sickness is the real risk above the tree line. |
A safari, a Zanzibar beach stay, or a Kilimanjaro climb that starts in the lowlands all call for malaria pills. You only rise above the malaria zone high on the mountain itself, where the planning shifts to altitude.
For Tanzania the CDC lists atovaquone-proguanil (Malarone), doxycycline, mefloquine, and tafenoquine as options. Chloroquine is not used here because the parasite is chloroquine-resistant. Two of the recommended options, doxycycline and Malarone, we prescribe for a flat $45, sent to your own pharmacy. Many safari travelers pick Malarone because you stop just 7 days after leaving; doxycycline is cheaper but continues 4 weeks after. See doxycycline vs Malarone.
Mount Kilimanjaro tops out at 19,341 ft (5,895 m), and altitude sickness is the single biggest reason climbers turn back. The CDC flags the high altitude as a real concern. Acetazolamide, started before you ascend, is the standard prevention, and we prescribe it, so a Kilimanjaro trip usually needs both malaria pills for the lowlands and altitude medicine for the climb. See our altitude sickness page.
I am Bidwell Cranage, a nurse practitioner and Member of the International Society of Travel Medicine. I have had altitude sickness on Colorado 14ers and summiting Acatenango in Guatemala, so for a Kilimanjaro trip I would treat the altitude with the same respect as the malaria. Plan for both: malaria pills for the safari and Zanzibar legs, and altitude medicine for the mountain.
We do not give vaccines. We refer you to a travel clinic for those and can still handle your malaria pills, altitude medicine, or a standby antibiotic online. See online travel medicine vs a travel clinic.
Stomach trouble is common on safari and in Zanzibar. Many travelers carry a standby azithromycin course so a bad case does not cost them a game drive or a beach day. We can include it with your visit.
For one flat $45 visit, sent to your own pharmacy with no markup, we can cover the prescription side of a Tanzania trip: malaria pills (doxycycline or Malarone) for the safari and Zanzibar, altitude medicine if you are climbing Kilimanjaro, and a standby antibiotic for traveler's diarrhea. We refer you to a travel clinic for yellow fever, typhoid, and hepatitis A shots, and for mefloquine or pregnancy.
Yes. The CDC says malaria is present in all areas of Tanzania below 1,800 meters (5,900 feet), which includes the Serengeti and the northern safari circuit, so it recommends malaria pills. Doxycycline and atovaquone-proguanil (Malarone) are both appropriate, and we can prescribe either for a flat $45.
Yes. Zanzibar is below the malaria elevation cutoff, so the CDC recommends malaria pills there too, even for a beach-only trip. Doxycycline or Malarone are both appropriate options.
You start below the malaria zone and climb above it. Malaria pills are recommended for the lower approach, the parks, and any safari or Zanzibar add-on, but high on the mountain the real risk becomes altitude sickness. Most Kilimanjaro climbers plan for both: malaria pills for the lowlands and acetazolamide for the altitude. We can prescribe both.
The CDC does not generally recommend yellow fever vaccine for Tanzania, and it is not required for travel directly from the United States. It is required if you are arriving from, or transiting more than 12 hours through, a country with yellow fever risk, which catches many safari travelers connecting through other African hubs. Yellow fever, typhoid, and hepatitis A are shots, so we refer you to a travel clinic for them while handling your malaria pills and altitude medicine online.