Africa

Hey

I’d like to travel to Africa May/June 2011. I’d like to go to South Africa/Namibia/Botswana/Zambia etc. I’ve seen tours but including all the optional stuff I’d end up spending around £2000 for 5 or so weeks! Is it possible to get around these places safely and see everything still? I don’t really want to spend so much money!

Thanks,
Bethany

The simple answer is yes. There are plenty of cheap inter-city buses, and if you’re vigilant about personal safety you should have no problems.

Won’t the safaris cost the same though? The actual tours I don’t think are too expensive

I assumed that Bcambridge was referring to those all-inclusive things where you drive around in a 5-ton truck running over the locals. In my experience, if you can spare a few days to arrange a safari yourself (tagging onto an existing group if possible) you’ll save a few hundred pounds.

I assumed that Bcambridge was referring to those all-inclusive things where you drive around in a 5-ton truck running over the locals. In my experience, if you can spare a few days to arrange a safari yourself (tagging onto an existing group if possible) you’ll save a few hundred pounds.

Yes, I agree. You can get a ‘cheap’ safari if you either join an existing group or do a self-drive. I’ve done both when I worked in Kenya. It was far less expensive to self-drive, even with the cost of the 4x4.

I intend to do Kenya to South Africa overland independently because I dislike the idea of the Africa overland buses that ship tourists from A to B to C on a schedule.

Think of it this way; cost-wise, most tour operators will put a mark-up of at least 30% on the cost of the tour (more often 50%+) so if you see a tour for say £2000, you can pessimistically take 1/3 off the cost and do it independently for that.

If you are worried about being alone, or dealing with travelling in Africa, then you might want to pay the extra for that. It’s not for me though.

I used overland tours from Cape Town to Victoria Falls through South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, then Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Zanzibar and Kenya.

I found the tour from Cape Town to Vic Falls was through a lot of desert land and outback country. We stayed out in the desert and visited areas which you would bypass on a public bus. We also picked up a couple of lads in Namibia who found they could not cross overland from Namibia to Botswana without being on a tour bus.

The second tour stopped a lot in towns or tourist stops which I think you could reach by bus or other public transport. Equally I found myself rushing through places I could easily have spent a lot more time in.  I’m not sure if it was just a difference in the two companies (I used two different companies) or more the landscape. On reflection of my experience, I would use an overland truck to go through Namibia (and Botswana) and travel independently though other more established countries.

I want to go to Africa myself but the overland tours are so highly priced that I won’t be able to do it on the budget I am planning to save.
I have been to Tanzania before I found it ok getting buses etc.
I just have the normal concerns of overlanding without a tour and having the back up they do etc.
Alexander how do you intend doing your overland tour? And how do you even ‘plan’ something like this?!
I would love to see Africa doing it myself rather then spend a huge amount of money on a tour! any advice an tips would be great!

I really want to go back to Africa but all the tours seem mega expensive… I have looked into the possibility of using local buses/trains but as I am travelling on my own, I don’t think it would be safe.

Any suggestions would be great :)

everyone try www.africantrails.com cheapest overland tours by a mile. Also they actually have these little minibus hop on and off things in the southern and eastern part of africa!

Hey,

Thanks for the recommendation - have you used them?

On average how much do you think these tours cost? From my research they have been coming up quite expensive :(

Hoping to have 3K saved by this time next year and when I get to Aussie I am staying with family to work for a bit before carrying on :)

my gf used them and she is telling me they were good so id say they were. Cheap aswell so thats the main thing. 2k on everything for flights, jabs, visas, the trip everything for a month in africa, id say thats good considering.

I am afraid I have to tell you all, that South Africa is no longer cheap.
it is now bordering on excessive expensive.
I would say, that the last 4-5 years have seen the inflation skyrocket.
I was there just this December gone, 2010, and was amazed by the cost of shopping.
Even in the likes of Pick ‘n pay, I could clearly see costs had escalated.
So my friends, this is why the safari’s and tours are no longer a reasonable as they used to be.
In short, it is only going to get more expensive.
Oh, and another thing is WATCH OUT - BE SECURE AT ALL TIMES.

Cape Town and the Western Cape is very nice, but I would not go again to Jo’burg for all the money in China.
I did not feel safe, I am not racist, but I really was the ‘odd man out’

Any one want any more info, let me know.

‘vette

Excessively expensive compared to what? Europe or other parts of Africa? I find it difficult to believe that South Africa (aside from the very touristy places) can be excessively expensive.

Can you give us some specifics on costs as it appears you have been there recently…

How much was a local bus journey / a hostel bed / a filling meal?

Touristy things like safaris are never going to be ‘cheap’ because they are targeted at the wealthy tourist and not the local person.

I joined a day trek to Mt Longonot in Kenya (back in 2005 mind you) which was arranged locally for a group of local people who worked at a pub near where I lived, and although I paid the same costs as them for transport, I had to pay a higher fee to enter Hells Gate National Park because I wasn’t a local. This is standard wherever you go in Africa really.

Excessively expensive compared to what? Europe or other parts of Africa? I find it difficult to believe that South Africa (aside from the very touristy places) can be excessively expensive.

Can you give us some specifics on costs as it appears you have been there recently…

How much was a local bus journey / a hostel bed / a filling meal?

Touristy things like safaris are never going to be ‘cheap’ because they are targeted at the wealthy tourist and not the local person.

I joined a day trek to Mt Longonot in Kenya (back in 2005 mind you) which was arranged locally for a group of local people who worked at a pub near where I lived, and although I paid the same costs as them for transport, I had to pay a higher fee to enter Hells Gate National Park because I wasn’t a local. This is standard wherever you go in Africa really.

.
Hi Alex,
We were there in December for a few weeks. For the umpteenth time.
Don’t take any local busses, by these I mean the ‘Golden Arrow’ busses.
You can take the Grey Hound and the similar that all depart from outside cape Town train station, these are typically long distance to Jo’burg, Durban and the other places.
They are not really cheap, and if you go onto some of the local low cost air carriers, like Kululu dot com, for example, you can get bargains.
Remember South Africa is a big country, and as such, takes a lot of travel time, if doing it on any wheels thing.
In years gone by, I could drive Cape Town to Jo’burg in around 13 hours.
Now you need around 16 hours to drive it.
Simply because more speeding traps.
I have lived there for several years, in Cape Town.
Beautiful city, but just getting a little more worry about theiving and violence, shame really.
Prices are expensive compared to UK.
For many of the groceries we bought in Pick ‘n Pay, we could see almost every thing could be bought for cheaper in Tesco or Asda.
Up till about a few years ago, I would say prices were 80% of what you pay in UK.
Now, a typical shopping trolly will cost more in Cape Town than UK.
I don’t mean like going to the very cheap stores like ‘Shoprite’ or ‘Checkers’
You can buy cheap clothes there, but the quality is very poor, as they are brought in from China, at a very cheap price.
Aka, get what you pay for.
Petrol and diesel is the same price as in UK. And also rising fast, almost every week.
The cheapest ‘half decent’ room for a night in Green Point, which is a 15 min walk to Waterfront, was comming in at R200 a night.
Not cheap considering.
Another place we stayed at many times is ‘Check Inn’ hotel, which is also on the Green Point main road, not far from the new stadium, just across the road.
Don’t go to ‘Sleep easy’ hotel.
I had my wallet stolen from thee while I was taking a shower. Never heard a thing,
long story, the room maid, gave her keys to some one, and they copied them.
Poiice involved, but not interested.
£700 gone missing.
The hire car was from Car Mania, on Main Road Observatory.
I have known Lance, the owner,  for many years, even still, a cheapo 1300cc Corolla is still R400 a day.
And remember to have a good deposit, and take all the insurance offeres, as if the car gets broken into, which hire cars are, on a regular basis, if no additional insurance, then you need pay glass, adn any other damage.
Over the many years I have been going to Cape Town, it is sadly losing it’s appeal.
I used to really love the place, but now, I can ‘Take it or Leave it’
It’s just not the same.
The train is nice from Cape Town to Simons Town, as it runs along the coast line from Muizenberg to Simons Town. Wasn’t expensive,
Simons Town is a naval ship yard, which has been some what down graded in the years, and is now very much a tourist place.
I did a lot of school and college out there also, so my affair with Cape Town is not a short one.
Also go for a helicopter trip over Table Mountain, they do this at several agents in Waterfront, and use ‘Court Line’ helicopters.
Also go to Hout bay, and take the boat out to seal island, thats nice.
Go up to Blouberg Strand, and do some wind surfing with a sail wing, and a surf board strapped to your feet.
or further on is the quad place, where you can do 1 of the 4 quad runs.
1st one last about an hour, second about 2 hours,
All good fun.
Also remember to go the ostrich place, also by Blouberg, or might be a little past Blouberg.
if your into motor racing, then pop along to Killarney race track.
Thats also up around Blouberg way, but not on the beach side like Blouberg is.
Remeber to do Red Hill, Boyes Drive, Chapmans, Roi Ells, which is out towards Strand, which is opposite Fish Hoek, as you look across the bay (False Bay )

Any more, then just ask. I can go on for hours. I know my reply is all jumbled up, but any way.

‘vette