Hey guys...

I need some advice. My husband and I are planning a RTW trip and so far, it has seemed like Africa won't be in the cards due to transporation costs. Blake wrote about our woes in a recent post on http://www.backpackerdaily.com. Since then, we have come across several other travel blogs that show wonderful stories and pictures of Africa, which makes me think twice about not going.

We might be able to swing both countries...but that's a strech. It would be possible only if we found a really cheap way to get to the places we would want to see.

So...here's the question:

If you could only choose one continent to go to (Africa/South America) which would you choose and why?

Cost factors swing heavily in favour of South America. Africa, despite being a fairly poor continent, doesn't have a reputation for being particularly cheap. On both continents, I've only visited a single country, so I'm not really able to judge them much by their merits. My experience with long term travel has been, though, that pretty much everywhere is great, so stretching your dollar is likely more important than where exactly you go.

Hey,

Well if you really can't do both I'd say...Africa! Hands down. I've never been to South America though I've been through Central America, and even though every single country or region has so much to offer, Africa really just struck a special chord with me. I just find it so different and interesting.
You mentioned you'll be in Spain. Have you considered going into Morocco and flying from there? It doesn't fly to East Africa that I know of, but mostly anywhere in the West. Or even travel overland to Ghana and fly to Kenya from there. West Africa is off of most travellers radar, so I'm going to do a plug for it. I spend most of my time in Benin, but have also been to Togo and Ghana. The culture is amazing, the people incredible and the food-Horrible! But it's such an experience. As for cost, West Africa is very, very cheap, especially compared to East Africa. Transportation is usually around $5 for a short-distance (2-3 hours) $16 for long-distance (12 hour overnight bus). Hotels are cheap, cheap, cheap! Sometimes $10/night for a double, and sometimes these even have fans, proper toilets, running water, etc. And food is also incredibly cheap. Street food is $1.50/plate with meat normally. Even eating "luxuriously" at western-style restaurants are normally less than $10 per meal. There is also wildlife in West Africa. I've seen hippos, elephants, baboons, monkeys (even fed them bananas), crocs, pythons, antelope (tons), warthog, etc. There are lions, and hyenas as well though harder to find. Also compared to East Africa prices it's insanely cheap. ($3/hour for a guided safari walk in Mole Nat. Park. Get about 20 feet from wild elephants). Mole Motel even has dorm rooms within the park for $12/bunk per night. There's a great balcony overlooking the watering hole. A pool and even food within the park can be bought at the staff cafeteria for only about $4/plate! Anyways, just throwing it out there for your consideration. It's also an area very untouched by the tourist trail, so you'll meet tons of locals and really integrate and have cultural experiences that are harder to have elsewhere. It's also home to tons of interesting and disturbing slave-trade museums and former colony slave buildings.
Anyways, I've also heard tons of great things about East/South Africa, so if you could ever fit in both, say overland Spain-Morocco-Ghana then fly Ghana-Kenya and continue where ever from there. If this is definitely not an option, I don't know if you're by Dubai at any point by it offers cheap flights to Tanzania and Kenya which is a great gateway to South/East Africa.
Let us know what you choose!

Ben

That's a really tough choice. I haven't been to South America (yet), but it sounds cool. Otoh, I also love Africa, though I've only been to a few countries so far (Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Tunisia). I can certainly second the recommendation for West Africa. Here's some pictures from my last trip to Burkina to give you an idea: http://www.flickr.com/photos/15897482@N ... 446587277/