Backpacking Africa from Cairo to Cape Town

Is it safe to travel overland through Africa?

Yes, probably much safer than you think, and definitely safer than what most people imagine. We spent 10 months traveling overland through 14 African countries. Not only did nothing bad happen, but we genuinely felt at ease most of the time: walking around at night, hitchhiking, leaving our backpacks in buses while grabbing a snack… no problem.

That said, safety in Africa (like anywhere) is situational. A few moments did call for extra caution:

• Ethiopia: We were heading north while regional conflict was still active. We weren’t directly in the zone, but close enough to stay alert.
• Lamu, Kenya: It was listed in the red zone of the French foreign ministry due to regional instability. We still went, had a beautiful time, but checked updates and stayed aware.
• Durban, South Africa: One rough evening. We arrived unprepared, ended up in a sketchy neighborhood, and felt the tension. We left quickly, unharmed but on edge.

We often get asked about safety for solo female travelers. Truthfully, it’s hard to answer. Lisa was rarely alone, but when she was, she noticed a lot more attention and unsolicited interactions. Africa isn’t uniquely dangerous, but like anywhere, it requires awareness and street smarts. For solo women, some experience with solo travel is probably a good idea before jumping into this kind of trip.

Bottom line: we only speak for the places we’ve been, and safety can change fast. Ten days after our visit to Lalibela (Ethiopia), fighting resumed in the city. The border crossings into Burundi closed just days before we intended to cross... Stay flexible, stay informed, check travel advisories, talk to locals, and trust your instincts.

Africa isn’t risk-free. But it’s also not the warzone people often picture. We found it welcoming, eye-opening, and very often, peaceful.

Do I need visas for all countries?

Yes, most countries will require a visa. In our case, for the countries we visited, all of them were either e-visas or visas on arrival. We never had to physically go to an embassy or plan too far ahead.

If you're applying for an e-visa online, make sure you're on the official website (usually the ugliest one). Scams are common. The process can also be surprisingly strict — follow every instruction carefully:

• Make sure your picture matches the exact format and size requested.
• Double check the letter of invitation or purpose, including to whom it should be addressed.

As a rule of thumb, you can expect to pay around $50 for a 30-day visa in most countries.

How did you get from place to place?

Mostly by public transport: buses, minibuses, shared taxis. Sometimes we rented a car or hitched a ride. We took many motorbikes, a few ferries, and the TAZARA train.

While it's hard to have accurate information on departure times, arrival times, or updated prices, a simple rule applies:

• If people live there, there is a way in and out.

Usually, head to the bus station or main square and ask around. Most intercity buses leave early in the morning, sometimes as early as 4am.

How much did we spend and how hard was it to stay on a budget? Is Africa expensive?

Overall, Africa wasn’t particularly expensive — a bit more than Southeast Asia, but with significantly less comfort. Our daily average was 35€/person/day, including everything (even vaccines, backpacks and travel insurance for 10 months). Our budget breakdown is shared in the section above. Safaris and national parks are absolutely beautiful, but they’re pricey. In some countries, the visa fees alone can add up quickly — especially if you’re crossing many borders.

Food was generally affordable and decent across the continent, and we rarely had to spend a lot to eat. Traveling as a couple definitely helped us cut costs (shared rooms, shared rides, etc.). We also hitchhiked quite a bit — sometimes to save money, sometimes to save time — and we used Couchsurfing and Workaway a few times to stretch our budget.

We feel like we did almost all the big activities we had in mind, so we have no regrets on that front. The only thing we skipped was seeing the gorillas. It was just too expensive: $1,500 in Rwanda or $750 in Uganda per person. Hopefully one day, but not this time.

Just to note: in Jordan, we spent half our time traveling with Lisa’s parents, and in Namibia, we were with Pol’s parents — so our budget in those countries isn’t really representative. We spent less there than we would have on our own.

Sticking to our budget was a real challenge. It required constant attention and definitely added to the fatigue over time. But it also gave us more raw, real moments and a deeper experience overall. We wouldn’t change a thing.

Did you get sick?

Yes, we did get sick a few times during our time in Africa, but to be fair, we stayed there for almost a year and were constantly on the move.

• Pol got malaria in Zambia, but it was treated promptly.
• He also had another malaria-like disease that was undiagnosed in Rwanda, and a skin infection.
• Lisa got a skin infection (from swimming in contaminated lakes), an eye infection, and a weird bump on her face in South Africa.

Our experience with the health system was not the best. We left many clinics frustrated and disappointed. That said, it was always fairly easy to reach a clinic or hospital and then purchase the prescribed medicine.

The prices of exams and doctors were quite reasonable, ranging from 20€ to 250€ for the most advanced ones. We always felt at ease thanks to our health insurance, so we did not hesitate to go for the better-rated and more expensive private clinics.

It was the first time we ever got health insurance, and we were very happy with the experience with Chapka. Everything is completely digital, managed from the phone. We never had to pay a deductible and always got our money back within 10 days.

If you're considering them, you can use our link. It's a free way to support our work. We chose them because the price and conditions seemed the best, and we only partnered with them after our trip once we were satisfied!

What are our favorite countries?

That's one of the most asked questions we get, so we've had the opportunity to iterate a bit on our answer.

We usually reply that Uganda was our favorite for a long time. We just had an amazing time there, low key with no big plans in the country. We volunteered on a coffee farm and felt so welcomed by Peter's family.

Tanzania also comes to mind. The country is huge and full of magnificent nature and a great diversity of landscapes, from Zanzibar to Kilimanjaro to rainforests. The main drawback is that it's quite expensive to do the touristy things.

Malawi was a great surprise. Again, we had no expectations prior to visiting and fell in love with the lake, the villagers living by its shores, and the diversity of nice eco lodges all around the country.

Finally, Namibia is probably the best country in the world for a road trip. The infrastructure is super ready, and the landscapes are unmatchable. The only regret is that it felt very different from the Africa we had been traveling through for months, so to us it doesn't feel like a complete part of the same adventure.

What are our least favorite countries?

Ethiopia was challenging. Towards the start, Lisa got a food intoxication on the first day and was struggling to eat during our stay there. The comfort was minimal and we got very tired from exploring the country. That being said, it was the most unique and challenging country, so we're glad we went.

Rwanda was unfortunate. Pol got sick, so we had to cancel our plans and get some rest in Kigali. We had just finished our awesome 1-month stay in Uganda, and the prices of tourist attractions in Rwanda are just prohibitive for backpackers on a budget.

Mozambique also didn’t feel so great to us, but it was almost at the end of our trip and we were tired. We had lots of problems with the police, the visa was expensive, and we didn’t do much. The beaches were beautiful but too windy to really enjoy.

This is not to say you would have the same experience, of course. We thought a few times that if we had started the journey in reverse, from Cape Town to Cairo, our opinion on some countries would probably be very different.