Vaccinations for Tanzania

Last checked: 2 October 2026

Only one vaccination is ever required for Tanzania, and only in some cases: yellow fever, if you come from a country where yellow fever occurs or have spent more than twelve hours in transit in one. Fly in through Europe and it is not required. A few other vaccinations are advised as well, and you go through those with your doctor or a travel clinic.

Yellow fever, when it is required

The rule works like this: vaccination is required if you arrive from a country where yellow fever occurs, and also if you have a layover of more than twelve hours in such a country.

Your journey	Yellow fever certificate required
Direct with KLM from Amsterdam	no
Via another European airport, or via Doha or Istanbul	no
Via Nairobi or Addis Ababa, layover under twelve hours	no
Via Nairobi or Addis Ababa, layover over twelve hours	yes
Kenya or Uganda first, then Tanzania	yes

If you need it, get vaccinated at least ten days before you arrive. A vaccination given later does not count yet on arrival. Your proof is the yellow card, the International Certificate of Vaccination, and you show it when you land.

Some travel clinics advise yellow fever vaccination regardless, because of the risk within Tanzania itself. Your clinic weighs that up for your trip.

What is usually advised

For everyone:

DTP, diphtheria, tetanus and polio
Hepatitis A

If you are not protected against measles, through vaccination or having had it: measles.

Depending on your trip and your situation:

Hepatitis B
Tuberculosis
Meningococcal disease
Rabies

Whether you need those last four depends on how long you stay, what you do and where you sleep. That is the clinic's call.

What is not required

You sometimes read that you need a cholera stamp in your yellow card for Tanzania. You do not. Tanzania has no cholera vaccination requirement for entry.

Take your itinerary to the clinic

The clinic asks where you are going, and the answer matters. A safari in the north, a night on the crater rim at 2,300 metres, a week by the sea on Zanzibar or a walk through the Rift Valley, each one raises different questions.

Travelling with us, bring your itinerary, day by day. Then the clinic does not have to guess.

When to book the appointment

Six to eight weeks before you fly. Some vaccinations need time, yellow fever has to be given ten days before arrival, and it lets you sort your malaria tablets in the same appointment.

Worth knowing too: altitude sickness can set in above 2,500 metres, and schistosomiasis, a parasite that lives in fresh water, is present. So do not swim in lakes and rivers.

Where to find the official advice

At a travel clinic or with your doctor, and in the WHO's guidance on international travel and health. We are not doctors and we prescribe nothing. We know what your trip looks like, they know what you need.

You do not have to work this out alone

A clinic, a visa, an insurance policy and a passport with enough life left in it. Book with us and after booking you receive an email that sets all of this out, in the right order and with the links included.

View our itineraries

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