What I Wore In South Africa | My Safari Outfits

For spring break this year, we went on a family trip to South Africa. We explored Cape Town and went on an African safari — a bucket list trip for us! Here are all of my outfits, plus things I bought for my husband and kids to wear during our safari.

For spring break, we went on a big trip to South Africa with our family. We explored Cape Town for a few days and then spent the rest of our time on a safari! Here are my Cape Town and safari outfits.

Earlier this week I shared all the other details of this trip, like costs, planning, logistics, safety, etc. You can read it all RIGHT HERE!

Here is everything I brought and wore on our trip – some things that I picked up for this trip, and others that I put together with pieces already in my closet.F

How we packed our suitcases and which bags we brought with us

I got this question a lot while we were traveling, and for good reason! If you’ve looked into or been on a safari, you know that going on those tiny planes has weight and size restrictions. You MUST carry a soft duffle (no hard suitcases), and they have certain size and weight restrictions (15 kg, which is about 33 lbs).

Our family brought 6 suitcases on this 10 day trip. We each brought one SOFT DUFFLE BAG, and then we brought one additional normal suitcase. We purchased the EXTRA LARGE size of the duffle bags since that was largest size allowable on the tiny safari plane. The boys were able to pack all of their items in their duffels without an issue, and with room to spare. PW and I eached packed all our safari items in our duffle bags, and then our cape town items and our toiletries together in the additional suitcase.

This actually worked out really well.

We didn’t even have to open the safari bags for the first two days of our trip, and then we put everyone’s dirty laundry and the things we wouldn’t need from the boys duffle bags into the additional suitcase, and had the hotel store that for five days while we went on the safari. So we each just took our duffles (and one kid and one adult backpack) on that portion of the trip.

I think we could have easily gotten away with four duffles instead of five with the amount of things we packed, because the two younger boys duffles were not full at all, but it was nice to keep everyone’s things separated, and we didn’t have to pay for extra luggage on the trips so having an extra wasn’t an extra expense.

All of my South Africa and Safari Outfits

TRAVEL OUTFIT: I wore this spanx set on the plane cause it’s the most comfortable set ever. We had a full 24 hour day of travel, with one 16 hour flight from Atlanta to Cape Town, so comfort was essential. This set looks pulled together while still feeling like pajamas. My discount code for Spanx is below!

I ended up wearing this same outfit on the way back to the US after our trip, so I don’t have a separate travel day outfit at the end of this post.

SPANX AIR ESSENTIAL HALF ZIP PULLOVER (use code MERRICKXSPANX for 10% off) | SPANX AIR ESSENTIAL WIDE LEG PANTS (use code MERRICKXSPANX for 10% off) | ROTHY’S SNEAKERS

ARRIVAL DAY OUTFIT: When we arrived in Cape Town after a full, very long travel day, I was ready to get out of my travel clothes and feel like a human. We arrived in the afternoon, so we got to our hotel and I changed into this pretty little outfit. The weather was beautiful and this skirt and tee combination were perfect.

ABERCROMBIE MIDI SKIRT (almost sold out, different pattern HERE) | PUMIEY TEE (wearing size small) | HERMES SANDALS (similar affordable version HERE) | MADEWELL MINI CROSSBODY BAG

HIKING OUTFIT: On our first full day in Cape Town, we took an Uber to the base of Table Mountain and then took the aerial tram up to the top. I looked at the weather and thought it was going to be cooler than it was, so I’d planned to wear a little athletic dress, but ended up wearing leggings and a tank instead and I was pretty warm. It was super sunny and not very breezy at the top so the running jacket that I brought was definitely not needed. And my athletic dress came with me on the trip for no reason.

BEIGE HOUR LEGGINGS | COMFORT COVE TANKS (code MERRICK for 15% off through April!) | NIKE SNEAKERS |BASEBALL CAP | PEEPERS SUNGLASSES | DAGNE DOVER BACKPACK

CAPE TOWN SIGHTSEEING OUTFIT: The rest of the day in Cape Town was spent on a Cape tour. We were on the tour for about 5 hours, driving all along the coast to the most southwest point of the Cape, the Cape of Good Hope, and the beach where we saw the African Penguins! Since we were in the tour van for a lot of this tour, I chose a breezy dress with some comfy sandals. If we had been walking a lot, I would have chosen sneakers instead.

This eyelet dress is coming soon to MerrickWhite.com!

I took this gorgeous picture in the back of our beautiful Mount Nelson Hotel after we got back from the tour.

MERRICK WHITE COLLECTION EYELET DRESS (COMING THIS MONTH!) | HERMES SANDALS (similar affordable version HERE)|  3 PIECE PEARL AND GOLD STRETCHY BRACELETS

SAFARI TRAVEL DAY: The following morning we had an early flight from Cape Town to Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport, where we caught our tiny 12-person plane to the Phinda Private Game Reserve. I wore this striped tee and olive green pants combo, and my sneakers. This was my least favorite of my safari outfits. The striped tee was a last minute addition to my suitcase and it’s a very bulky and boxy tee and I felt like it looked weird untucked and tucked, but better tucked, so I rolled with it.

I wore this for the travel day AND for our first game drive the evening we arrived at the reserve.

ABLE STRIPED TEE | ANTHROPOLOGIE COLETTE WIDE LEG PANTS | MADEWELL BROWN LEATHER BELT | ROTHY’S SNEAKERS | PEEPERS SUNGLASSES | DAGNE DOVER BACKPACK| SIMILAR HAT

SAFARI OUTFITS: On each safari day, we had two game drives and then dinner when we returned from the second game drive. On some days, I changed for the second game drive (especially if we got dirty or rained on), and also I would change for the hours in between the game drive to exercise or swim, so there were a lot of outfits per day!

Since we had 8 game drives over our 5 days there, I had a few mix and match pieces that I wore over and over in multiple ways. You’ll see a few of them here!

EDDIE BAUER OLIVE RAINCOAT (WEARING SIZE XS REGULAR)| POLISHED PRINTS WHITE TEE | AMERICAN GIANT TAN TEE (USE CODE MERRICK) | SIMILAR CARGO PANTS HERE AND HERE) | MADEWELL BROWN LEATHER BELT | SIMILAR LACE UP BOOTS | BASEBALL CAP

BOMA DINNER OUTFIT: We had nice dinners in the beautiful outdoor boma two different times, and I got a little more dressed up for those in this pretty linen dress and another dress you’ll see below.

This dress is linen so it definitely gets a little wrinkly, but it’s very comfortable!

ABERCROMBIE LINEN DRESS | HERMES SANDALS (similar affordable version HERE) 

SAFARI OUTFITS: More game drive outfits! I paired lots of neutrals together, and then added a belt and boots and sometimes a hat and a raincoat depending on the weather!

The Old Navy pants are a similar version to the Anthropologie ones, and are comfy, but not quite as good of a fit and not the same soft stretchy fabric, more of a soft canvas. I still like then and they’re a good affordable alternative!

AMERICAN GIANT TAN TEE (code MERRICK) | ANTHROPOLOGIE COLETTE WIDE LEG PANTS | OLD NAVY HIGH WAISTED WIDE LEG PANTS | MADEWELL BROWN LEATHER BELT | SIMILAR LACE UP BOOTS | BASEBALL CAP

SAFARI AFTERNOON: After the gym one day, in between our game drives, I put on my suit and swam for a little bit with the boys. This infinity pool overlooking the bush was so gorgeous!

This black one shoulder swimsuit fits so well and is super comfy. It came with a tie on the shoulder for a bow detail, but I removed the bow to make it a classic black suit.

SUMMERSALT THE BOW SHOULDER RUCHED SWIMSUIT (I removed the bow) | SIMILAR HAT (I bought mine in Mexico on the beach last year)

SAFARI OUTFIT: This outfit was maybe my favorite safari outfit I put together. I looked for ages for a good jumpsuit that was comfortable and cute and fit well, and finally found this one. It’s perfect and a nice, soft fabric with some stretch. The knees do stretch out a tiny throughout the day, but it didn’t bother me. I’m wearing a size X-small.

ALBION FIT CITY JUMPSUIT (the color I’m wearing is mostly sold out, a few other colors/sizes available) | SIMILAR JUMPSUIT | SIMILAR HAT | SIMILAR LACE UP BOOTS

BOMA DINNER OUTFIT: I wore this outfit to the Boma on the second night (we ate in the Boma every other night). It was our last night before we left, so I wanted to get dressed up a little for our last night. This dress was a perfect packable dress cause it has a crinkle material and doesn’t wrinkle at all.

NORDSTROM CIEBON METALLIC PRINT TIE WAIST DRESS | HERMES SANDALS (similar affordable version HERE) | SIMILAR LARGE HOOP EARRINGS

LAST SAFARI and TRAVEL OUTFIT: this was the outfit I wore after our last safari drive when we flew back to Kruger Airport and then back to Cape Town. This comfy linen shirt is super affordable and these are the same old navy pants that I wore on safari one day.

BUTTON DOWN LINEN TOP | OLD NAVY HIGH WAISTED WIDE LEG PANTS | MADEWELL BROWN LEATHER BELT | SIMILAR HAT | MADEWELL MINI CROSSBODY BAG | ROTHY’S SNEAKERS

CAPE TOWN SIGHT SEEING DAY: I wore this on our last day in Cape Town when we did a city tour and a few other fun activities for the boys, like mini golf and tobogganing. This skirt is so fun and lightweight and breezy! It was a little bit of a chilly day so I was glad for a jacket, even though I only wore this jacket one time.

I was wearing this when we got to the aiport, and I changed back into my Spanx set for the airplane and put this outfit in my backpack.

CUTS WHITE TEE | SIMILAR LIGHT DENIM JACKET | FARM RIO MAXI SKIRT | MADEWELL MINI CROSSBODY BAG | SIMILAR WHITE SNEAKERS | SIMILAR SUNGLASSES

My packing list:

• 5 t-shirts (1 tan, 3 white, 1 stripe – I absolutely didn’t need 3 white tshirts, not sure how that happened that they all came on the trip with me, but I wore all three. I could have brought 3 or 4, and picked different colors/prints for each)
• 1 linen shirt (I meant to wear this on safari drives but forgot so I wore on the last travel day – it would have been a great option cause it’s so comfy)
• 3 pairs of safari pants (1 olive green, 1 green/tan cargo, 1 rust)
• 1 safari jumpsuit (tan)
• 2 skirts for Cape Town
• 3 dresses (one for sightseeing in Cape Town, two for nice dinners at the safari reserve)
• rain jacket
• denim jacket (as I mentioned above, I intended to wear at least twice, but only wore once – not really worth bringing)
• 1 leather belt
• travel lounge set
• 4 pairs of shoes (running sneakers, tan low cut sneakers, leather sandals, lace up boots — if it hadn’t been raining most of our safari days, I would have worn the sneakers a lot more, I think, but boots were better for the mud and for warmth).
• 1 swimsuit
• 1 pair of cream linen shorts as a swim coverup
• 3 hats (wide brim straw, 1 olive green baseball hat, 1 cream baseball hat — I never worn the cream one)
• 1 backpack
• 1 mini crossbody (I brought this on all our game drives to hold my sunglasses and phone, and love it for the airport for holding my wallet and phone to make them easily accessible).
• pajamas
• 3 exercise sets (sports bra, socks, leggings, tank)
• toiletries
• undergarments

All of this fit into my 1 duffle and 1/2 of the shared suitcase without even coming close to the weight limit.

What I brought and didn’t wear:

• Anthropologie dress: I brought this for a safari dinner and the first night we got back late from our game drive and went straight to dinner without changing. So I didn’t wear this at all. It’s SO soft and comfy though – I wish I had worn it!
• Athletic dress: I intended to wear this and my denim jacket for our Table Mountain hike, but I got nervous at the last minute that it would be too cold, so I swapped for leggings and a tank and jacket. So my denim jacket only got worn once the whole trip (last day in Cape Town), and that made it a little bit of a waste of space. Oh well.
• Cream baseball Madewell hat: I thought I’d wear it, but didn’t end up wearing it cause it just didn’t look great with my outfits.
• Extra swimsuit. I packed an extra swimsuit, but only wore a swimsuit once the whole week. If it had been hotter, I’m sure I would have swam a few different days, but it wasn’t super warm and the water in the pool was a little chilly, so two swimsuits wasn’t necessary for me.
• Lightweight scarf: I looked at so many safari outfit pictures and saw lots of people in scarves like this, so I bought this inexpensive one from Amazon and never wore it. I thought about it one day, but put it on and felt ridiculous. Maybe if it had been super dusty it would have been a good option to be able to pull over my face as we did our drives, but it was muddy and rainy and a lightweight oversized scarf was not the vibe. I intended to bring a smaller neck scarf, like a handkerchief, but I couldn’t find the one I knew I already had, so I didn’t bring it.

What I bought for my husband for this trip: I picked up a few new things for PW – a pair of SHORTS and PANTS in olive green color from lululemon, WHITE and TAN LINEN SHIRTS FROM QUINCE, and the rest of his pieces he pulled from his closet. The new items I got him are things he will continue to wear — he actually loved the linen shirts, I was a bit surprised how much he liked them! It’ll be a great date night shirt option for the warmer months.

What I bought for the boys on this trip: My boys are pretty picky about their clothes (they, like all boys, want to be very comfortable at all times), and I was sure that if I got linen shirts or cargo shorts, they would refuse to wear them. But coincidentally, safari colors are very trendy this year, so I was able to find their favorite shorts in great safari colors. I bought them THESE SWEAT SHORTS (their favorite) in RUST, OLIVE GREEN, and TAN for each of them, and then a few inexpensive tees in neutral colors. THIS HENLEY, THIS TEE, and THIS HENLEY.  I also bought each of them a pair of TAN JOGGER PANTS and a GREEN RAIN JACKET. They’re all super soft material and they’ve all worn them to school since we returned home from our trip!