Reference table
Practical facts, country by country
Plugs, currency, time zone, driving side, languages, SIM, tipping and tap water for every country we send travellers to: one table, checked against sources rather than remembered.
Last verified: 23 Sept 2026
The table
On a wide screen it is one grid: scroll it sideways and the country stays put in the first column. On a phone each country is a card of its own. Nothing here is a fee, a visa rule or a drive time, because those change faster than a page can hold them.
| Country | Plug & voltage | Currency | Time zone | Driving side | Languages | SIM & data | Tipping | Tap water | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Azerbaijan | Plug & voltageType C/F · 220V · 50Hz | CurrencyAzerbaijani manat · AZN | Time zoneUTC+4 (AZT), no DST, 1 hour ahead of Nairobi | Driving sideRight | LanguagesAzerbaijani | SIM & dataA TravelNet eSIM, live on landing. Or an Azercell, Bakcell or Nar SIM in Baku with your passport. | TippingCheck the bill before you add to it, because restaurants in Baku often include a service charge. Small notes for a driver or a guide are the usual courtesy. | Tap waterTreated, though bottled is what most people drink and what gets poured in restaurants. Ask your hotel. | Sources |
| Indonesia (Bali) | Plug & voltageType C/F · 220V · 50Hz | CurrencyIndonesian rupiah · IDR | Time zoneUTC+8 (WITA), no DST, 5 hours ahead of Nairobi. Bali is an hour ahead of Jakarta. | Driving sideLeft | LanguagesIndonesian, Balinese | SIM & dataA TravelNet eSIM, live on landing. Or a Telkomsel or Indosat SIM at the airport counters with your passport. | TippingNot a Balinese tradition, though tourism has made it normal. Many hotels and restaurants add a service charge, so check the bill first. A driver or guide who spent the day with you is looked after in cash at the end. | Tap waterNot safe to drink. Drink bottled or filtered water, which hotels provide. | Sources |
| Bhutan | Plug & voltageType C/D · 230V · 50Hz | CurrencyBhutanese ngultrum (Indian rupees accepted at par) · BTN | Time zoneUTC+6 (BTT), no DST, 3 hours ahead of Nairobi | Driving sideLeft | LanguagesDzongkha, English | SIM & dataA TravelNet eSIM works from the moment you land. Otherwise B-Mobile or TashiCell have counters in the Paro arrivals hall, passport required, and allow half an hour. | TippingNot part of the old culture here, though guides and drivers who stay with you all week are looked after by most visitors now, the guide's share being the larger one. Ask us what feels right before you go. | Tap waterBottled or boiled throughout. Hotels provide it and most will refill your own bottle. Ask your hotel before you drink from a tap. | Sources |
| Botswana | Plug & voltageType M/G/D · 230V · 50Hz | CurrencyBotswana pula · BWP | Time zoneUTC+2 (CAT), no DST, 1 hour behind Nairobi | Driving sideLeft | LanguagesEnglish, Setswana | SIM & dataA TravelNet eSIM, live on landing. Or a Mascom or Orange SIM in Gaborone or Maun with your passport. Camps in the Delta are a different matter, and some have no signal at all. | TippingExpected in the camps, never demanded. Most keep a communal box for the team you never meet and your guide is looked after separately. Pula or US dollars both work. Ask us for the sensible range at your camp before you travel. | Tap waterTreated and generally drinkable in the towns. In the Delta and the Kalahari you drink what the camp filters, and they will refill your bottle. Ask your hotel before you drink from the tap. | Sources |
| United Arab Emirates | Plug & voltageType G/M · 230V · 50Hz | CurrencyUAE dirham · AED | Time zoneUTC+4 (GST), no DST, 1 hour ahead of Nairobi | Driving sideRight | LanguagesArabic, English | SIM & dataA TravelNet eSIM, live on landing. Or an e& (Etisalat) or du tourist SIM at the airport with your passport. | TippingNot expected, though it is common, and restaurants often add a service charge, so check the bill before you add to it. | Tap waterDesalinated and treated to a high standard, though most people here still drink bottled out of habit and taste. Ask your hotel about their supply. | Sources |
| Egypt | Plug & voltageType C/F · 220V · 50Hz | CurrencyEgyptian pound · EGP | Time zoneUTC+2 (EET), UTC+3 in summer, 1 hour behind Nairobi, level with it from late April to late October | Driving sideRight | LanguagesArabic, English | SIM & dataA TravelNet eSIM, live on landing. Or a Vodafone, Orange or e& SIM at the airport with your passport. | TippingBaksheesh runs through the whole day here: the boatman, the man who steadies your camel, the housekeeper who folds the towel into a swan. Keep a pocket of small notes and give little and often rather than once and large. | Tap waterBottled, and that includes the ice unless you have asked. Nile boats and hotels supply it. Ask your hotel before you drink from the tap. | Sources |
| India | Plug & voltageType C/D/M · 230V · 50Hz | CurrencyIndian rupee · INR | Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST), no DST, 2½ hours ahead of Nairobi | Driving sideLeft | LanguagesHindi, English, 22 scheduled languages | SIM & dataA TravelNet eSIM, live on landing, the simplest route, given how long a tourist SIM takes to register. Or Airtel or Jio at the airport counter with your passport. | TippingModest and frequent. Check whether a service charge is already on the bill before you add to it. A driver and guide on a multi-day route are looked after properly at the end rather than daily. | Tap waterBottled or filtered, always, and skip ice from roadside stalls. Hotels provide sealed bottles. Ask your hotel before you drink from the tap. | Sources |
| Japan | Plug & voltageType A/B · 100V, 50Hz in eastern Japan and 60Hz in the west | CurrencyJapanese yen · JPY | Time zoneUTC+9 (JST), no DST, 6 hours ahead of Nairobi | Driving sideLeft | LanguagesJapanese | SIM & dataA TravelNet eSIM, live on landing, the simplest route here, since Japan's visitor options are data-only SIMs and pocket wifi rather than prepaid voice. Airport counters rent both if you would rather. | TippingNot practised, and offering it tends to leave people awkward rather than pleased. Good service is the standard, not something you pay extra for. Where a ryokan or a private guide is involved there is a correct way to do it, so ask us before you travel. | Tap waterSafe from the tap across the country, and people here drink it without thinking about it. Carry a bottle and refill it. | Sources |
| Kenya | Plug & voltageType G · 240V · 50Hz | CurrencyKenyan shilling · KES | Time zoneUTC+3 (EAT), no DST | Driving sideLeft | LanguagesEnglish, Swahili | SIM & dataA TravelNet eSIM, live before you have cleared the terminal. Or a Safaricom SIM at the airport counters with your passport. | TippingExpected, never demanded. Most camps keep a communal box for the team you never see, and you look after your guide separately, because he is the one who made the week. Ask us for the sensible range at your camp before you travel; it moves with the property. | Tap waterBottled or filtered. Every camp and hotel we use provides it and most will refill your own bottle. Ask your hotel before you drink from the tap. | Sources |
| India (Ladakh) | Plug & voltageType C/D/M · 230V · 50Hz | CurrencyIndian rupee · INR | Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST), no DST, 2½ hours ahead of Nairobi | Driving sideLeft | LanguagesLadakhi (Bhoti), Hindi, English, Urdu, Purgi | SIM & dataMobile data in Ladakh is hit-or-miss and the rules change without notice, and no SIM or eSIM, ours included, can be promised to work up here. Expect patchy signal outside Leh, check with your provider close to travel, and plan as if you'll be offline. | TippingModest. Your driver carries the day on the high-passes route and your guide the rest of it; both are looked after at the end rather than daily. | Tap waterBottled or boiled. At this altitude you will drink far more than you expect, so ask your hotel about refills rather than buying it by the case. | Sources |
| Madagascar | Plug & voltageType C/D/E/J/K · 220V · 50Hz | CurrencyMalagasy ariary · MGA | Time zoneUTC+3 (EAT), no DST, same as Nairobi | Driving sideRight | LanguagesMalagasy, French | SIM & dataA TravelNet eSIM, live on landing. Or a Yas (formerly Telma), Orange or Airtel SIM in Antananarivo with your passport. Signal thins out quickly away from the towns and the main roads. | TippingAppreciated and increasingly expected in tourism. Guides, drivers and the porters on a forest walk are looked after at the end, in ariary and in small notes. Ask us what feels right for your route before you go. | Tap waterUnsafe. Drink only boiled or bottled water, and skip the ice. | Sources |
| Malaysia | Plug & voltageType G · 230V (often 240V in practice) · 50Hz | CurrencyMalaysian ringgit · MYR | Time zoneUTC+8 (MYT), no DST, 5 hours ahead of Nairobi | Driving sideLeft | LanguagesMalay, English | SIM & dataA TravelNet eSIM, live on landing. Or a Maxis or CelcomDigi tourist SIM at KLIA with your passport. | TippingNot expected. A service charge is usually printed on the bill, and rounding up for a driver or a porter is as far as it goes. | Tap waterTreated at source, though the pipes vary and most residents boil or filter it. Bottled is everywhere. Ask your hotel about theirs. | Sources |
| Maldives | Plug & voltageType C/D/G · 230V · 50Hz | CurrencyMaldivian rufiyaa · MVR | Time zoneUTC+5 (MVT), no DST, 2 hours ahead of Nairobi | Driving sideLeft | LanguagesDhivehi, English | SIM & dataA TravelNet eSIM, live on landing. Or a Dhiraagu or Ooredoo tourist SIM at the Velana arrivals counters with your passport. | TippingMost resort bills already carry a service charge, so anything on top is yours to judge. Cash for the villa host and for the dive guide who took you out is the usual way of it, and small notes travel better than a card. | Tap waterDesalinated on the island, and most resorts leave filtered water in the villa rather than expecting you to buy it. Ask your resort before you drink from the tap. | Sources |
| Mauritius | Plug & voltageType C/G · 230V · 50Hz | CurrencyMauritian rupee · MUR | Time zoneUTC+4 (MUT), no DST, 1 hour ahead of Nairobi | Driving sideLeft | LanguagesEnglish, French, Mauritian Creole | SIM & dataA TravelNet eSIM, live on landing. Or a my.t or Emtel SIM at the airport with your passport. | TippingDiscretionary and quietly done. Hotels often add a service charge, and a note at the end for the person who looked after you all week is the one that lands. | Tap waterTreated and generally drinkable on the main network, though most hotels still put bottled water in the room. Ask your hotel about theirs. | Sources |
| Morocco | Plug & voltageType C/E · 220V · 50Hz | CurrencyMoroccan dirham · MAD | Time zoneUTC+0 (GMT), no DST, 3 hours behind Nairobi. Morocco left UTC+1 on 20 September 2026, so older guides will be an hour out. | Driving sideRight | LanguagesArabic, Amazigh (Berber), French | SIM & dataA TravelNet eSIM, live on landing. Or a Maroc Telecom, Orange or inwi SIM at the airport counters, where your passport is registered against it on the spot. | TippingSmall and often rather than large and occasional: the guide, the driver, the porter who carried your bags into the medina. Round up in cafés. Keep small notes on you, because nobody ever has change. | Tap waterChlorinated and treated in the cities, but bottled is what visitors drink and it is sold everywhere. Skip ice in the smaller places if you would rather be careful, and ask your hotel. | Sources |
| Oman | Plug & voltageType G · 240V · 50Hz | CurrencyOmani rial · OMR | Time zoneUTC+4 (GST), no DST, 1 hour ahead of Nairobi | Driving sideRight | LanguagesArabic, English | SIM & dataA TravelNet eSIM, live on landing. Or an Omantel, Ooredoo or Vodafone SIM at Muscat airport with your passport. | TippingA service charge is often already on hotel bills, so anything on top is yours to judge. Rounding up for a driver or a guide is appreciated, and small notes travel better than a card. | Tap waterDesalinated and treated, though bottled is what most people drink out of habit and taste. Ask your hotel about their supply. | Sources |
| Qatar | Plug & voltageType G · 240V · 50Hz | CurrencyQatari riyal · QAR | Time zoneUTC+3 (AST), no DST, same as Nairobi | Driving sideRight | LanguagesArabic, English | SIM & dataA TravelNet eSIM, live on landing. Or an Ooredoo or Vodafone tourist SIM at Hamad International with your passport. | TippingA service charge is often already on the bill, so anything on top is yours to judge. Rounding up for a driver or a porter is normal, and small notes travel better than a card. | Tap waterDesalinated and treated to a high standard, though bottled is what most people drink out of habit and taste. Ask your hotel about their supply. | Sources |
| Rwanda | Plug & voltageType C/E/F/G · 230V · 50Hz | CurrencyRwandan franc · RWF | Time zoneUTC+2 (CAT), no DST, 1 hour behind Nairobi | Driving sideRight | LanguagesKinyarwanda, English, French, Swahili | SIM & dataA TravelNet eSIM, live on landing. Or MTN or Airtel at Kigali airport with your passport. | TippingExpected in tourism, low-key everywhere else. Porters and trackers on a forest morning are looked after separately from your guide, so carry small notes with you. There is no card machine on the mountain. | Tap waterBottled or filtered. Lodges provide it and most will refill your bottle. Ask your hotel before you drink from the tap. | Sources |
| Seychelles | Plug & voltageType G · 240V · 50Hz | CurrencySeychelles rupee · SCR | Time zoneUTC+4 (SCT), no DST, 1 hour ahead of Nairobi | Driving sideLeft | LanguagesSeychellois Creole, English, French | SIM & dataA TravelNet eSIM, live on landing. Or Cable & Wireless or Airtel at Mahé airport with your passport. | TippingRarely solicited and never obligatory, and a service charge is usually on the bill. Skippers and dive guides are the exception, and they earn it. | Tap waterTreated on Mahé and generally fine; the smaller islands vary, and most hotels supply bottled or filtered water. Ask your hotel about theirs. | Sources |
| Singapore | Plug & voltageType G/C/M · 230V · 50Hz | CurrencySingapore dollar · SGD | Time zoneUTC+8 (SGT), no DST, 5 hours ahead of Nairobi | Driving sideLeft | LanguagesEnglish, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil | SIM & dataA TravelNet eSIM, live on landing. Or a Singtel, StarHub or M1 tourist SIM at Changi with your passport. | TippingNot customary. A service charge sits on most bills and staff would rather you left it at that. | Tap waterTreated to drinking standard and people here drink it straight from the tap. Bottled is easy to find if you would rather. Ask your hotel. | Sources |
| South Africa | Plug & voltageType C/M/N · 230V · 50Hz | CurrencySouth African rand · ZAR | Time zoneUTC+2 (SAST), no DST, 1 hour behind Nairobi | Driving sideLeft | LanguagesEnglish, isiZulu, isiXhosa, Afrikaans, and 8 more official languages | SIM & dataA TravelNet eSIM, live on landing. Or a Vodacom or MTN SIM at the airport with your passport. | TippingHere tipping is part of how people are paid rather than a bonus. Around a tenth of a restaurant bill is the common instinct, car guards get coins on the way out, and your guide is a separate matter altogether. | Tap waterLong a point of pride and safe from the tap in the big cities, though supply and quality vary town to town. Ask your hotel about the local supply. | Sources |
| Sri Lanka | Plug & voltageType G/D/M · 230V · 50Hz | CurrencySri Lankan rupee · LKR | Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST), no DST, 2½ hours ahead of Nairobi | Driving sideLeft | LanguagesSinhala, Tamil, English | SIM & dataA TravelNet eSIM, live on landing. Or a Dialog or SLT-Mobitel tourist SIM at Bandaranaike with your passport. | TippingSmall and often. Service charges appear on many bills; the driver who takes you round the island for a week is the one to think about properly at the end. | Tap waterBottled or filtered. Hotels provide it and refills are easy along the tea-country route. Ask your hotel before you drink from the tap. | Sources |
| Tanzania | Plug & voltageType G/D · 230V · 50Hz | CurrencyTanzanian shilling · TZS | Time zoneUTC+3 (EAT), no DST, same as Nairobi | Driving sideLeft | LanguagesSwahili, English | SIM & dataA TravelNet eSIM, live on landing. Or Vodacom or Airtel at Kilimanjaro or Dar with your passport. | TippingExpected, never demanded. Camps keep a communal box for the back-of-house team and your guide is looked after separately. Ask us for the current sensible range at your camp before you travel. | Tap waterBottled or filtered. Camps and lodges provide it and most will refill your bottle. Ask your hotel before you drink from the tap. | Sources |
| Thailand | Plug & voltageType A/B/C/F/O · 220V · 50Hz | CurrencyThai baht · THB | Time zoneUTC+7 (ICT), no DST, 4 hours ahead of Nairobi | Driving sideLeft | LanguagesThai | SIM & dataA TravelNet eSIM, live on landing. Or an AIS or TrueMove H tourist SIM at Suvarnabhumi with your passport. | TippingNot a Thai habit and never demanded. Rounding up a fare or leaving the small change covers most of it, and a service charge is usually already printed on hotel and restaurant bills. The people worth thinking about properly are the guide and the boat crew who gave you a whole day. | Tap waterBottled or filtered. Nobody here drinks it from the tap either, and bottled is everywhere and cold. Hotels provide it and most will refill your own bottle. Ask your hotel before you drink from the tap. | Sources |
| Turkey | Plug & voltageType C/F · 220V · 50Hz | CurrencyTurkish lira · TRY | Time zoneUTC+3 (TRT), no DST, same as Nairobi | Driving sideRight | LanguagesTurkish | SIM & dataA TravelNet eSIM, live on landing. Or a Turkcell, Vodafone or Türk Telekom SIM at the airport with your passport. | TippingRounding up is normal, and a little more in a restaurant if the service earned it. Cash travels better than adding it to the card, and small notes are easier to leave. | Tap waterTreated and chlorinated, and still not what people here drink. Bottled is the habit, and taste is the reason. Ask your hotel. | Sources |
| Uganda | Plug & voltageType G · 240V · 50Hz | CurrencyUgandan shilling · UGX | Time zoneUTC+3 (EAT), no DST, same as Nairobi | Driving sideLeft | LanguagesEnglish, Swahili | SIM & dataA TravelNet eSIM, live on landing. Or MTN or Airtel at Entebbe with your passport. | TippingExpected in tourism, and generous in spirit rather than in amount. Porters, trackers and your driver-guide are each looked after in turn, with small notes carried with you. | Tap waterBottled or filtered throughout. Lodges provide it. Ask your hotel before you drink from the tap. | Sources |
| Vietnam | Plug & voltageType A/B/C · 220V · 50Hz | CurrencyVietnamese đồng · VND | Time zoneUTC+7 (ICT), no DST, 4 hours ahead of Nairobi | Driving sideRight | LanguagesVietnamese | SIM & dataA TravelNet eSIM, live on landing. Or Viettel, Vinaphone or Mobifone at the airport with your passport. | TippingNot a Vietnamese habit, though tourism has picked it up. Guides and drivers on a multi-day route are the ones who notice; leave it small, and in cash. | Tap waterBottled. Hotels supply it and refill stations are common in the tourist towns. Ask your hotel before you drink from the tap. | Sources |
| Zambia | Plug & voltageType G/C/D · 230V · 50Hz | CurrencyZambian kwacha · ZMW | Time zoneUTC+2 (CAT), no DST, 1 hour behind Nairobi | Driving sideLeft | LanguagesEnglish, Bemba, Nyanja, Tonga | SIM & dataA TravelNet eSIM, live on landing. Or MTN, Airtel or Zamtel with your passport once you are in Livingstone or Lusaka. | TippingExpected in the camps, never demanded. There is usually a communal box for the back-of-house team, and on a walking safari the guide and the scout who walks in front are looked after separately. Carry small notes. There is no card machine on the riverbank. | Tap waterBottled or filtered. Camps and lodges provide it and most will refill your bottle. Ask your hotel before you drink from the tap. | Sources |
| Zanzibar (Tanzania) | Plug & voltageType G/D · 230V · 50Hz | CurrencyTanzanian shilling, though hotels often quote in US dollars · TZS | Time zoneUTC+3 (EAT), no DST, same as Nairobi | Driving sideLeft | LanguagesSwahili, English | SIM & dataA TravelNet eSIM, live on landing. Or Vodacom or Yas (formerly Zantel) at Zanzibar airport with your passport. | TippingExpected in the hotels and quietly done elsewhere. Beach resorts usually run a shared box for the team; your dive guide or dhow skipper is separate. | Tap waterBottled or filtered. The island supply runs brackish in places. Resorts provide it and many will refill your bottle. Ask your hotel about theirs. | Sources |
| Zimbabwe | Plug & voltageType G/D · 220V · 50Hz | CurrencyZimbabwe Gold (ZiG) · ZWG | Time zoneUTC+2 (CAT), no DST, 1 hour behind Nairobi | Driving sideLeft | LanguagesEnglish, Shona, Ndebele, and 13 more official languages | SIM & dataAn Econet or NetOne SIM with your passport once you are in Victoria Falls or Harare. TravelNet does not cover Zimbabwe yet. | TippingExpected in tourism and genuinely relied on. In practice it happens in US dollars, so carry small notes. Nobody will have change for a fifty. Camps keep a communal box for the team you never meet and the guide is a separate matter. | Tap waterBottled or filtered. Camps and hotels provide it and most will refill your bottle. Ask your hotel before you drink from the tap. | Sources |
Every country here has a page of its own: the destination pages carry the same facts in a readable block, plus what there is to do. If you live in Kenya, the resident rates price much of this in shillings, and when to go answers the other half of the question.
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