driving trip to africa

tankbarry

hi was thinking of doing a driving trip to africa in about 18 months time. i know its a long time away but it takes alot of planning to do it. We would have to get our own car/jeep , probaly camp instead of hotels, stuff like that. also visas to different countrys take alot of time to sort. Thinking of stopping in Liberia so that means travelling through england, france, spain, morrocco, western sahara, mauritania, mali, sierra leone, then finally Liberia . People think im mad if i do it but its a bit of adventure so hopefully it would happen.... But will fly home..


what do ye think

Gaz

West Afica will be more difficult, I travelled down the east side (public transport) and the road network is much better, Sudan is currently building new roads, once complete it will be pretty much paved the whole way from Wadi Halfa to Cape Town.
I would not recommend Liberia or Sierra Leone, those countrys are not equiped for tourists yet, civil war and the like are still fairly recent.

Good luck

tankbarry

was in liberia and sierra leone and it wasnt that bad. they are absolutely some great things to do there... i know of people that have done the drive well not all the way to liberia but with in 300 hundred miles of where i want to go and they didnt have any problems. i actually think that it would be 1 of the best holidays u could do:)

Neamhshuntasach

While i would agree with you about Sierra Leone i can't really do the same regarding Liberia. I traveled right down the west coast of Africa overland and it was really difficult at times. And Liberia was one of the countries that posed a lot of problems. Shortage of water and electricity being off more than on. Also roaming gangs and altercations with the UN. Not to mention the road conditions outside Monrovia. It wasn't too long after the civil war when i was there so i'm not sure how it has changed in 5 years. But i'd look into it. I read recently that there were problems again. If you haven't already been, Sapo national park is well worth a visit.

Also be careful with Mali. Especially the northern part which borders Niger and Algeria. Westerns have been targeted and kidnapped up until recently. Not much up there anyways.

Well enjoy the trip when you get around to it. People are always put off Africa but it's okay once you plan it. It just takes more planning than anywhere else and the visas can be a nightmare. Not to mention their costs and payments to local tribes.

tankbarry

I was there late 2006 and i didnt think it was that bad even at that stage there was tourists coming there. they were starting to work on roads and stuff so Id say its much better now. Even the video on youtube you can see its much cleaner then when I was there and some people have said it has. All i need now is the money :) I was told by a french guy that if i really wanted to I could do the trip in a car the roads were that good last year ( except for a 100 mile stretch ) in mali.... so just the money now

Civilian_Target

Heya,

We're planning a voyage of our own along West Africa this winter. Obvious, I think it sounds like fun.

Not so sure about East Africa, in general it's a lot more dangerous than West Africa, although the West has some hot spot that are wise to avoid.

My experience so far (but I haven't left yet) is that:
- Paperwork is an amazing ballache. If you want visas in advance it takes at least 4 months after you buy your car to get the paperwork down, because you need a Carnet du Passage before you can apply for your visas
- Start getting vaccinations early, you will need a lot of them
- Hardening the car can be relatively cheap, but it is a lot of work. (Maybe less so if you have a 4x4, we are going in a Renault 4.) Make sure you get the Haynes manual for your vehicle, because you'll need to understand it