BootsnAll Travel Community

Hi,

i wanted to do a RTW but I thought it is better to take each continent at a time.

I wanted to visit Africa from Marrocco to South Africa and then up again till Egypt.

I thought of a BACKPACK trip, traveling by train/bus between countries.

I found recently a organized tour for 43 weeks with a cost of 5000 GBP (+some extra for some optional excursions).

PLEASE ADVISE. Better backpack or organized. I mean here also from the point of view of what you see and experience also from the money point.

Thanks,
ADI

PS. Here is a link of the tour
http://www.africantrails.co.uk/trip_trans-af/trip.php?trip=trans-af

That's a tough question you propose. Some of it depends on what you like and how experienced a solo traveler you are.

In general, Africa is hard to get around in. There isn't much in the way of public transport and there's not a ton of vehicles heading every which way. For example, I wouldn't try to cross the Sahara by hitching or by hiring a car because you need to carry lots of water and gasoline if you're driving. Definitely you would want to travel on a public bus or with a group of travelers.

That's why my husband and I chose to go overland with a company for 4 months and then do 1-1/2 months on our own. This was back some years ago and I had only traveled around solo in Europe and US, no third world travel. A friend of mine recommended going with a company for a while to get my "feet wet" with independent third world traveling and then after that we'd be able to handle solo.

We traveled with the group from Morocco to Kenya. Then traveled in Kenya and Egypt on our own. I would feel much more comfortable traveling independently now of course, but a group trip was a good beginning.

If I were you, I'd do some research on what transportation options are available on your proposed routes. And see if there are backups in case those don't work out. I found things in Africa to not always work on schedule or even work all the time in central Africa, so its good to have plans. For example, we took the riverboat up the Zaire/Congo river. It was supposed to be 3 days but it took 8 because of sandbars and a funeral. You'd need to have lots of play in your schedule to rely on being someplace at a certain time.

If the transportation isn't up to what you want, then go with the group trip. Generally they mosey along in converted trucks and camp here and there. You see a lot of "real" Africa in between the "sights". The group dynamics can be a pain. In my group people got cranky and could be mean to each other. Lots of people got sick - one third with malaria, one third with hepatitus, but we did survive. Even with a group, Africa is one tough continent.

However, even with the malaria, it was a truly great part of my life. And I would do it over gladly.

quote:

i wanted to do a RTW but I thought it is better to take each continent at a time

good thinking...

quote:

I wanted to visit Africa from Marrocco to South Africa and then up again till Egypt.

This sounds convoluted to me. Maybe head through Western Africa cross over to Kenya/Ethiopia then on down to South Africa and then fly back to Egypt.

quote:

PLEASE ADVISE. Better backpack or organized.

An organized tour is definitely the quickest and most painless way to see the sites, go on safari and get a taste of Africa. And actually overlanding from Western Africa to Eastern/Southern Africa it's probably your best bet. And, quite frankly, they'll hit some remote sites that would be very difficult and time consuming to get to by public transport.

However, you certainly don't need a tour to get around West Africa or to go from Eastern Africa to Southern Africa. There is public transport. Few and far between at times, crammed like a sardine nearly always, but it does exist. The bottom line is if you want to see all that Africa has to offer, especially the culture, the people you'll have to do it independently. The overland truck camp sites are designed to miss all that.

I'm completely with you on that taking one continent at a time is a good idea. But I really suggest that you pick somewhere else than Africa as your first continent! It's THE most difficult (not as in dangerous, but as in lots-of-stuff-you-had-better-prepare-for) continent of them all to visit. You'll be better off having experience from Asia and South America before you do Africa.

As a consequence, traveling independently is the best way to do Africa, since all kinds of trouble (sickness, missing official papers, theft, etc) is bound to cause much delay for any group of travelers on a trip of long duration. If you're a clever traveler, you'll be able to get around while avoiding most of that.

To be completely fine in West Africa (and most of Mediterranean Africa) you need to speak French more or less fluently. You also need to not mind sand in your food, multi-day waits for buses, bribe-minded soldiers and being looked upon as a rich guy, because you will be, relatively speaking.

Further south, Congo is a no-no right now, speaking Portuguese will be a great help in Angola and Mozambique, and you'll have to restrain yourself seriously in South Africa in order not to be looked upon as an annoying, presumptuous and pretentious pain in the ass by the flashpackers you'll happen upon. #8D)

Going up the east side of Africa is doable, except you might want to give Sudan a miss. By then you'll be so exhausted that you're unlikely to enjoy the rest of your trip much anyway...

But really. Go somewhere else first and build up some experience.

Bjørn
http://bjornfree.com/

I agree that Africa is a tough first continent, but if your dream is Africa, then I say "go for it".

My husband's first overseas trip was a 6 month trip through Africa. Like I said above, we did 4 months on a tour because it was his first continent. After that, we were quite seasonsed at traveling and had no problems with independent travel in Africa.

Like everyone said, there are easy places to get around in Africa like east Africa. Those places actually have public transport, other spots are harder to get around and some like Congo is now, are just impossible.

I didn't mind the delays too much when traveling with a group. It helps to slow down a bit and wait in one place. Then you get more chance to meet local people or explore around independently from the group a bit.

The thing with groups on long trips is that they tend to bicker alot. And that gets on the nerves. People get sick, they get tired, and they get irritable with each other.

If you do go to Africa and you decide to go without a group, then I recommend you find a friend to travel with. Someone who has some independent travel experience. Because Africa is a tough continent for a first one, but I have to say it's a very rewarding place as well.

If you want to contact me directly, I am happy to talk more about my trip experiences with you or anyone else here reading this. It was an incredible experience.

thanks all for the infos.

i will (re)consider my plans accordingly to your reccomandations.

i'm waiting for more oppions because i think this will be a though one.

thanks

Hi Adibacanu,

If you are still looking for options in Africa for overland trips I recommend that you check these out:

http://www.bootsnall.com/adventures/trips/search?contin...=&keywords=&x=5&y=13

Good luck and safe travels.

Cheers,

That said, I'd do a lot of research not just on commercial sites, but by reading people's blogs.

If you want to travel only be land (no plane) then definitely an overland group tour would be good in some parts, as getting from, say Egypt to Kenya on one's own can be very tetchy.

But, WITHIN areas, you should have no problems doing it solo. I did East Africa and Egypt both as a solo female traveler and had no problems. I think you could probably do most of East down to South Africa on your own, but you might want to do mix it up a bit, some organized overland tours, and then spend more extensive time in certain areas on your own.

I'm a single female and I traveled a Cairo to Cape Town route, although I flew from Egypt to Nairobi. Don't skip Ethiopia though. I only did b/c a friend met me in Egypt and we had to get to Tanzania for our climb by a certain date. Point is tho transport exists in this part of Africa. I used bus companies mostly. They are late - one was 36 hours late - but I wasn't on a schedule. I would advocate no overland company that route because there is transport available, it's doable and do you really want to be stuck with the same people that long? I saw those groups rumbling through town sealed in these big trucks, which to me seemed like a huge barrier between them and the countries they were in. Why not get on a bus with the locals. I have a Zambian penpal now from one journey. And one of my best memories is from Namibia. I met a local there and ended up camping with him and another guy for a week in all sorts of places off the usual route. That wouldn't have happened if I was part of an organized tour - or maybe I would've met him but would I have parted from the group? I don't know what it's like in Western Africa but that's my next destination once I finish my world tour (and get a job to fund it). I've hit country #24 after 11 months on the road and although this trip rocks, I think a year in Africa is a sweet idea!

snarkyinla, ChrisRae ,

thanks for the answers.

First of all for both congrats. You are tough women.

Second you're getting at my "sensible" point. I think it is easier with the organized tour but i am afraid of missing the "real" africa...

I am thinking more and more of doing on my own....

Thanks.

PS. ChrisRae, can you give me (maybe as a PM) some infos about your world tour. Thanks.