Tips for traveling in Africa

Jambo!

In this post I will pretend that I have the audacity to relay any useful information on Africa. As a non-African citizen I will never feel that I have any authority to say what is best for traveling in Africa or for helping Africa, I can only hope to learn from my own personal experiences (both traveling and through my work). Now that the disclaimer is out of the way....

I am going to do this post in several sections so that those of you looking for very specific advice wont have to sort through all of my ramblings to get it. This section will be on selecting a travel destination- other sections will be, preparing for your trip, smart choices while traveling, and how to have a successful safari (I've been on two so I feel fairly competent to provide advice on the matter!

Selecting a destination:

Traveling to Africa can be a very daunting idea for those who either do not study it constantly (myself) or have simply not been before. My dad for example gets all of his information from the news paper and what does he see- rape, kidnapping, armed rebel groups. What most people fail to remember is that Africa is huge, it is an entire continent and while protests in North Africa and the Middle East have to an extent shown a link between the countries it is still possible to go without bumping into a rebel fraction. Furthermore you can go pretty much anywhere and come back alive- some places just require more luck than others. The DRC is one of the most volatile countries in the world yet a few friends of mine have gone for work and safely returned. The best thing to do however is read State Department travel warnings and country profiles to decide exactly how much you want to be concerned for your safety while abroad. But remember even America has places that are not recommended to visit (I would not be safe in certain parts of DC after dark that is for sure). But the State Department is your best bet: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_1764.html

For those who are really interested in getting to Africa (and I am speaking of sub-Saharan Africa) there are several countries that are so tourist oriented that I would recommend them as good introductory trips:

Ghana in west Africa is great for first time visitors, everyone speaks English (taught in school) and the country is one of Africa's oldest democracies. Accra the capital has beaches, an art market, and famed Oxford Street where it is easy to get western comforts like pizza or ice cream. Loads of cheap beach resorts dot the coast and for those with an altruistic side it is very easy to do a week of volun-tourism in Ghana for real local flavor. While there be sure to try Fufu with stew or Banku two popular Ghanaian dishes. Plantains and goat meat are other local favorites. The locals are super friendly and travel is cheap around the country especially if you take a tro-tro (really old mini van fit to seat about 20). Everyone there will call you an 'Obroni' but take no offense (means foreigner or white person) just smile and say Medasi (thank you in Twi).


The whole of East Africa is pretty much geared towards family friendly tourism although the flight is slightly longer. Uganda is great for gorilla trekking and while the Ugandan government might not have the best track record in human rights, the big brother government allows for a very safe and beautiful capital city. Meanwhile Kenya and Tanzania are both prime destinations for Safaris and luxury beach holidays. Kenya is currently on the State Department do not travel list, the recent ICC summons have caused significant political tension in the country. Unfortunately the Rift Valley (where a large portion of the violence occurred) is a popular Safari destination. My best advice would be to just be aware of the situation and to insure your trip. At the moment things appear to be calm but as my Kenyan friends say, 'we check the political forecast the way others check the weather before deciding to go into town'. Tanzania is another great introductory country to travel to with plenty of Safari options, the AMAZING island of Zanzibar, and Mt Kilimanjaro for the particularly adventurous. While Swahili is the national language here (Ugandans and Kenyans speak Swahili but do official business in English) most Tanzanians involved in the tourist industry speak English just fine and it is taught in schools.


Mt Kilimanjaro

Other great places to go to include Zambia which not only has excellent Safari choices of its own (I recommend my friend's lodge: http://marulalodgezambia.com/) but also has the impressive Victoria Falls as well. Once again it is very easy to get by in English and if in the capital Lusaka you can even go to a giant shopping mall (after spending a month in Moshi Tanzania this was probably more impressive to me than those coming directly from America).

While I have not personally been, I have heard amazing things about Namibia, another safe and tourist friendly country. While here be sure to try sand surfing! Another popular tourist destination would be Botswana who recently received free tourist adverts with the First Lady's visit.


Finally another great 'introduction' to Africa would be a trip to the rainbow nation, South Africa here you can travel through wine vineyards, be on the look out for sharks, hike up tabletop mountain, and much more. Be sure to have biltong while there!