Open toe shoes are fine around the lodges, but on game drives I would recommend closed toe shoes. At times we got out of the vehicles to visit a site or take a break. There were not always paved walkways, so closed shoes were a smart option.
I would not wear open toed shoes. You really need to protect your toes, first from mosquito bites, mosquitoes love feet. Oh yes, tsetse bites too! Second, your feet will get very dirty. Third, you do not want to stub or catch your toes. Fourth, if you visit a Maasi village there will be cow pooh. Fifth, on the balloon ride you will be landing in a field, grass length depending on time of year. We did see a couple of snakes on our tour and this past trip we saw a trail of fire ants right across our path.
Teva type closed toe sandals would be better but I recommend shoes like Merrill or Lands End suede type closed shoes, they will get filthy very quickly but can be thoroughly washed when. You get home. My tour this time was Tanzania only and one of the tented camps had quite thick sand pathways, I was glad of proper shoes or my feet would be sandy every time I left the tent, I hate sandy feet with shoes on. Some people wore old sneakers on our tour, one lady slipped and fell because they had no tread left on the soles, so bare that in mind if you want to go that route.
Looking for appropriate footwear for safaris- comfortable, slip on type shoes. Would leather "boat shoes" type be a good choice? I need to buy something soon - leaving in a month!
No, I would not have worn my boat shoes on the safari. I normally wear those without socks. Do you have any shoes you would wear In the winter, in say the north east? Or shoes you would wear for walking in the woods when you are trying to prevent tick bites. It really is up to you what you wear, I am just trying to make sensible suggestions. How about Lands End brand or going into somewhere like EMS, REI and so on and asking the assistance in there.
I wore Top Siders on my trip although it was in March. There are times in the Range Rover that you need to take your shoes off, to stand on the seats, so they are easy to slip off. That was MY experience and I am going again in June 2015 and will wear them again.
Just returned from this trip. While on Safari I wore slip on Skeecher sneakers and socks.
Some ladies had Merrill clog style shoes which are easy to slip in and out of when jumping onto the jeep seats. No need for hiking boots.
Comments
Sandals are fine in the hotels.
Teva type closed toe sandals would be better but I recommend shoes like Merrill or Lands End suede type closed shoes, they will get filthy very quickly but can be thoroughly washed when. You get home. My tour this time was Tanzania only and one of the tented camps had quite thick sand pathways, I was glad of proper shoes or my feet would be sandy every time I left the tent, I hate sandy feet with shoes on. Some people wore old sneakers on our tour, one lady slipped and fell because they had no tread left on the soles, so bare that in mind if you want to go that route.
Some ladies had Merrill clog style shoes which are easy to slip in and out of when jumping onto the jeep seats. No need for hiking boots.