Best Hat for African Safari

The best hat for an African safari is a wide-brim, UPF 50+ sun hat in a neutral colour with a chin cord, and the two picks that most often win are the Tilley LTM6 Airflo and the Sunday Afternoons Ultra Adventure. If you are packing for game drives in open vehicles, brim width and a secure fit matter more than looks. A safari hat is simply a light, shading hat built to block strong equatorial sun across long days in the bush.

I have worn a few of these across dusty afternoons in the Serengeti and cold dawn drives in the Masai Mara, so this roundup sticks to hats I can vouch for and to specs I checked against the makers. Prices sit in the FAQ at the end, never in the body, so you can compare features first.

What Makes a Good Safari Hat for a Game Drive

Start with three things. A brim of at least three inches all the way round, a UPF 50+ rating, and some way to keep the hat on your head. That last point is the one first-time travellers forget. On an open 4×4 doing 40 on a park track, a loose hat is gone in a second, and you do not want to be the person asking the guide to reverse for it.

The brim should sit somewhere between flimsy and rigid. A floppy brim collapses in your eyes and gives poor shade. A stiff, board-like brim catches wind and is a pain to pack. A lightly foam-stiffened or structured brim holds its shape and still folds for the flight. Look for a full 360-degree brim rather than a cap-style peak, because the sun in the middle of the day hits your ears and the back of your neck as hard as your face.

UPF 50+ is the rating you want. It is the top band a fabric can carry, and it blocks about 98 percent of UV. Most quality outdoor makers now hit this on their sun hats, but cheap fashion straw and canvas often do not, so check the label rather than assume.

Best Overall Safari Hat: Tilley LTM6 Airflo

The Tilley LTM6 Airflo is the hat I hand to friends who ask what to buy for their first safari. It does everything the bush asks of it and it is guaranteed for life, which matters when you plan to reuse it on trip after trip.

The mesh band around the crown is the reason it works in heat. Hot air escapes at the top instead of sitting against your scalp, and on a windless midday drive that airflow is what keeps you comfortable. The dark underbrim is a small touch that helps a lot on bright, dusty tracks where glare bounces up from the road. It packs down without a fuss and pops back into shape, and Tilley’s lifetime guarantee means you are unlikely to buy another.

Best Coverage: Sunday Afternoons Ultra Adventure Trip Hat

If you sunburn easily or you are travelling with children, the Sunday Afternoons Ultra Adventure gives you the most coverage of any hat here. The reason is the neck cape.

That six inch cape at the back is what sets it apart. On a long walking safari or a boat cruise where the sun sits behind you for hours, the back of the neck is the spot people forget to cream and the spot that burns worst. The cape solves it without sunscreen. The hat is very light, it breathes through side mesh, and the brim folds flat so it travels easily. Some people find the cape a touch utilitarian in photos, but on the ground it earns its keep.

Best Value Safari Hat: Columbia Bora Bora Booney II

Not everyone wants to spend a lot on a hat they will wear for two weeks. The Columbia Bora Bora Booney II is the sensible budget pick and it protects you just as well as hats costing three times more.

For the money this is hard to beat. The three inch brim is a touch shorter than the premium hats, so very tall travellers may want a touch more shade, but for most people it does the job. The chin strap and rear toggle mean it stays put on a drive, and the wicking band keeps sweat out of your eyes in the heat. It comes in khaki, sage and other muted tones that suit the bush. If you want a spare hat as well, buy two of these rather than one expensive hat.

Best Structured Brim: Outdoor Research Sunbriolet

Some people cannot stand a brim that flops. The Outdoor Research Sunbriolet is built for them, with a foam-stiffened brim that keeps its shape all day yet still folds for packing.

The longer rear brim is a smart detail, since the back of the neck needs the most cover during the middle of the day. The foam and piped edge keep the brim flat and shaped, so it will not sag into your eyes when you sweat, and the detachable cord holds it on in wind. It is a genuinely comfortable hat for long hours and a good middle choice between the cheap booney and the lifetime Tilley.

Best Classic Canvas Hat: Tilley T3 Wanderer

If you like the old-school look of a broken-in cotton bush hat, the Tilley T3 Wanderer is the one to reach for. It is the heritage design that made the brand, updated to feel worn-in from day one.

The snap-up brim is the party trick. When the sun swings to one side you snap that edge up, and when the light is flat you drop both sides for full shade. The brass grommets let heat out of the crown. Cotton duck is heavier and slower to dry than the nylon hats, so it is less ideal if you expect rain, but for dry-season savannah trips it looks the part and lasts for years. Just remember cotton is not the pick for a wet-season trek where quick-dry nylon wins.

Choosing by Trip Type and Season

The right hat shifts a little with where and when you go. Here is how I would match them to the common trips.

One honest caveat on comfort. No hat makes strong tropical sun pleasant on its own. Pair any of these with UPF long sleeves, sunglasses and sunscreen on your face, and the hat becomes the top layer of a system rather than your only defence.

Colour, Material and Packing for the Bush

Colour is not just about looks on safari. Guides recommend neutral tones, khaki, olive, stone, tan and soft brown, because they blend with grass and soil and keep you less obvious to wildlife. There is a health reason too. Tsetse flies, which bite and carry sleeping sickness in parts of Zambia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, are drawn strongly to blue and black. The CDC lists neutral-coloured clothing as one of its tips for avoiding tsetse bites, so leave the navy and black hats at home for those regions.

On material, quick-dry nylon suits most trips because it sheds sweat and light rain and packs small. Cotton canvas looks classic and vents well through grommets but dries slowly, so it is a dry-season choice. Whatever you pick, choose a hat that folds or crushes without wrecking the brim. Rolling a soft hat inside a shirt or tucking it into a shoe in your bag helps it hold shape on the flight.

Fit is worth a last word. A hat that is slightly too big will lift and shift on a bumpy track, and one that is too tight gives you a headache by lunchtime. Most of these hats come in sizes rather than one-size-fits-all, so measure your head and buy the right one rather than guessing. To size yourself, run a soft tape around your head just above the ears and eyebrows, then match that to the maker’s chart. If you sit between two sizes, most people go up, because a slightly loose hat with the cord drawn in beats a tight one that pinches by the afternoon.

One more practical point on care. Sun hats collect dust, sweat and sunscreen fast in the bush, and a grubby sweatband is the usual reason a good hat starts to smell. The nylon hats here wash easily, most on a gentle cycle or by hand in cold water, and they dry overnight at camp. The cotton T3 Wanderer also washes but takes longer to dry, so rinse it early in the day if you can. Give any hat a shake-out and a wipe of the band each evening and it will see you through the whole trip in good shape.

Related Safari Guides

Keep planning with our Safari Gear Guide. Read next: Best Insect Repellent for Safari, Best Lightweight Safari Pants, Best Sunglasses for Safari, and Best Safari Backpack.