We went on our first African safari. Our trip would've been better if we'd known these 5 things before we left.

My husband and I went on a luxurious 10-day African safari trip.

Jackie Longo

Each year, my husband and I try to go on a big summer trip.One summer, we headed to the beachy Maldives on a bucket-list vacation. The year after, we booked a 10-day luxury African safari trip, which felt like a cool change of scenery.For the first leg, we visited Arusha, the Serengeti, and Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania. We then spent three days in Zanzibar for a luxury beach getaway on the Indian Ocean.I can't put into words just how magical Africa was — but I can tell you that our trip would've been better if we'd known five key things before we left.From packing to planning, here's what I'd do differently next time.

Luggage delays here are more common than I realized — and I wish I'd been better prepared.

I ended up having to wear clothes from the gift shop and wash my undergarments in a sink.