Hey
Im currently planning to travel through Africa and have been doing a lot of research but I would like some advice on a few things, well a lot of things actually, so any advice would be much appreciated.
Im an Irish guy, 25, have always been fascinated with Africa, the continent itself, the people, the music, the culture, the politics, the animals everything. So I want to experience as much of it as I can. I want to have a mix of secluded, not well travelled parts to the party centres in Africa to the culturally amazing. I will either be travelling alone or maybe with a friend similar to me...what would people's thoughts be on that? Which parts would be grand on your own, where would you need a friend with you?
My plan is to catch a cheap Ryanair plane to Malaga, get a boat to Morocco and make may way down Western Africa, then at some point fly across to East Africa (Ethiopia most likely) and make my way down to South Africa.
So, firstly, some general q's- I would like to know what people's thoughts are in terms of what I should budget in terms of money and time for this trip.
I only speak fluent English, bit of German (not much use I know) so should I think about learning French, how essential would it be? To what level would i need to survive? Interact with locals in certain countries?
SO my provisional route would be as follows. Most of my research has been into the west so far so my qs will prob be more specific there, anyway:
Morocco:
Plan on getting the boat to Ceuta,then travel South West stop in a few citeis like Rabat, Tangier, Fes- which would people recommend most in this region and why?
Then id like to head to the Draa Valley, how far is it practical to go and what is the cheapest means of doing so?
Next I will head south towards Western Sahara stopping in places like Laayoune, Essaouria- again which towns would be most worth stopping in?
How long do people think it would take to do this, assuming I dont stay more than 2/3 days in any spot? I know thats a bit general but any type of guideline would be great.
Mauritania:
My main q here is whether it is worth taking the iron ore train out to Choum. Would I be as well just continuing south? How long extra would it add to my journey by going out on it checking out a few of the twons and then going to Noukachott?
Senegal:
Ive read about the border headaches on the border, but thats fine, i plan to go to St louis, then Dakar, then maybe down the Petite Cote a little. I also want to visit the Casamance region. Would it be best to head back to Dakar and take the ferry down or to continue down buy road through Gambia?
Gambia:
I would like to make my way up the river inland and then up into Senegal to Tambacounda. From there I want to start my trip to Mali, any tips?
Mali:
Im confused what would be the best thing to do here, if i was to go up the Niger towards Timbuktu, firstly is it worth it? How long would it take to get up and back down? What is the security situation?
Next, Im planning Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria and Cameroon, but....
I havent decided how far I should keep going. It seems that travel gets a lot tougher at this point, how true is this? Also how long do people think it would take me, roughly, to get to Lagos, if I went straight down south through Ghana then continued along the coast?
I am a little bit concerned if it is wise to travel through Nigeria. The security and safety issues are obvious. Also the roads across seem to very bad and same in Cameroon (a place id love to get to). So Nigeria is my main concern- what are people's experiences? Anyone really recommend it? How about Togo, Benin and Ghana?
My thoughts are to get a flight in Lagos to Addis Abbaba. Ive had a check online and it seems it would be roughly 400 euro, are there any cheaper alternatives?? If i made it to Cameroon I would fly from Douala. DO people have any other suggestions re flying from west to east Africa??
Ive not researched too much the Eastern leg as I want to get a plan sorted for the West and i have a friend who traveleed the east before.
A few qs I do have: How long would people think I should spend? Rough ly that is?
I wanna do Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania- head to Zanzibar, but I would also like to go to Rwanda. How difficult is it to get from the East coast of TZ to Rwanda??
Im not sure about Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique....what are the benefits/ drawbacks here. Think I will avoid Zimbabwe.
Then, Botswana, if i dont go all the way down to south Mozambique, maybe Namibia, but im not sure if Ill want to cross the continent the whole way again at this stage, then into South Africa-dont worry about advice for there have plenty of people to ask!
So, thanks if you have got down to this point. I would appreciate any views, comments etc. Id particularly like if anyone could give a ball park minimum I would need in terms of time and money. Im happy enough to rough it when I need to, but I guess when I get to the places where there is a party culture I'll be looking forward to a few of the local beverages...
What time of year would people recommend/ warn to avoid for the different places?
Also, I wouldnt rule out stopping volunteering or working for a while if the opportunity arose. How likely are you to come across these opportunities or do you really need to have something sorted before you go?
Thanks again.
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