Hello dear adventurers!

I'm planning on taking a longer trip to Africa for undetermined time. The plan is to go from Egypt, and along the coast, hopefully all the way to South Africa. That will be Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar, and South Africa. I plan to be backpacking, and moving overland at my own leisure, trying to live a bit on the cheap when possible. I've never been to Africa so I have a few general questions that I hope someone could shed some light on.

a)
I have not seen many budget approximations regarding African countries.(Apart from egypt and south africa.) If I set a general budget on ~30$/day(including sleep in dorms/hostels, food, slow overland travel) could that be close to reality? I am aware that the extra things in africa that you do can be hugely expensive( safaris and kili etc.) but this budget excludes those kind of things.

b)
How common are ATMs in African cities? Are they just present in the million-people cities, and can I lift money with a debit card (from finland), or only credit card? And is there any universal currency accepted like usd or eur that is good to keep a sum of?

c)
I'm overweighing the option to bring a tent. Is it possible to camp on my own in Africa? I understand it probably depends a lot on the area but has anyone done it anywhere? I don't mean to do it all the time but I suppose I could walk a couple of miles from a smaller town and find some desolate place in the forest or on the beach? Also I'm guessing you don't really need a sleeping bag to keep you warm, just for protection of bugs and such. Could it be a good idea not to bring a tent but only to buy a mosquito net?


br. Anxious newbie

Hi Seeker,

30 Dollars is not an overunderestimate but it could highly fluctuate depending on the area.For instance, here in Kenya, around 10 Dollars can get you a roof over your head for one night, 10 Dollars can get you enough food for the day, and for 10 dollars, on public transport you can travel halfway across the country. Now, this highly depends on your survival skills and general street wisdom. You dont want to eat on a backstreet cafe with serious health risks or spend the night in an overly dingy backstreet hotel where your security is not guaranteed. You must strike a balance.

Yeah, (again am using an instance of Kenya) there are many Visa branded ATMS, for example which will dispense local currency. These are not in the big cities alone (Africa is not all that remote.). Carrying a lot of cash with you I would really discourage. I would suggest you only carry only enough for two or three days preferably in local currency.

For Camping, dont do it unless in a secure designated place, some country lodges have this option.They charge for it so please be prepared to adjust your budget acordingly.

Wish you all the best.

Worked my way through Southern Africa and ATMs were in most of the major towns, with the exception of course of Zimbabwe (you need to carry any currency you want to spend while there in, in USD or ZAR). I should also note that a few places only had Visa so might be better to carry a second card such as MasterCard (never saw American Express much), and a stash of USD is always a good idea as often border fees are cheaper this way to pay etc.

Camping you can do a whole lot in Africa so it might be worth looking into.

I've traveled around East Africa a bit, and this what I noticed.

1 - $30 is a good approximation. So long as you don't expect a thanksgiving feast for every meal. Bringing your own tent is smart. Even if you don't have a free place to stay, most hostels will let you camp out front for $1 or $2. Avoid eating at the hostels. They tend to charge well over the average cost for local food.

2 - ATM's are quite common in most major cities. It's never a good idea to take large amounts of cash with you, wherever you are traveling, and Africa is no Exception. Get enough to last for a few days at a time, especially if you are fortunate to have a card that won't charge you a ridiculous amount for exchange fees.

3 - Like i said earlier, a tent is smart. Also, don't underestimate Africa. It's a huge continent, and there's a lot of different types of weather there. Nights can get chilly, and if nothing else can be used as a good padding for sleep. As for the mosquito net....I've only ever seen them used over a bed, not sure how else it would work. Pretty much every hostel I stayed at had mosquito nets as part of the bed. No extra cost.