Six to eight weeks out
Take your route, not just the country name
Malaria risk varies enormously within a single country. The answer for Laikipia is not the answer for the coast.
This is not medical advice
We are a travel planning service. What follows is about the shape of the conversation to have and when to have it, not about what you should take.
The decisions are for a travel clinic or your doctor, with your route, your medical history and your nationality in front of them.
Why the route matters more than the country
Malaria risk is largely a function of altitude and water. In Kenya, Laikipia at 1,800 metres and the Indian Ocean coast are very different propositions, and a blanket answer for "Kenya" serves neither.
The same is true of Tanzania, and of the difference between the Rwandan highlands and a lakeside stay. Take the actual itinerary, with the altitudes if you have them — we will send it in a form a clinic can read.
Yellow fever, which is a border question
Some countries require proof of yellow fever vaccination depending on your nationality and on where you have travelled before arriving. This is a document check at immigration rather than a health recommendation, and the certificate has its own validity rules.
It matters particularly on multi-country trips, where the order you visit places in can change what is required.
Timing
| When | Why |
|---|---|
| 8 weeks before | Some vaccination courses need more than one dose, spaced |
| 6 weeks before | The latest comfortable window for a first appointment |
| Inside 4 weeks | Still worth going — some protection is achievable — but options narrow |
| Antimalarials | Several start before you travel and continue after you return |
The unglamorous things that actually affect a honeymoon
- Stomach upsets, which are the commonest thing to go wrong and are mostly about water and ice discipline
- Sun, which at altitude is stronger than people expect even when it is cool
- Dehydration, which is easy in a vehicle in dry heat and feels like tiredness
- Insect bites in the evening, which is when the mosquitoes that matter are active — long sleeves at sundowners
- Altitude, if Rwanda or the Kenyan highlands are in the plan — it makes a trek harder than the same walk at sea level
Tell us anything relevant
Dietary requirements, allergies, mobility, anything that affects a small aircraft, and anything a camp should know. Remote camps handle all of it well given notice and badly given none, because the food arrived by light aircraft three days ago.
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