I'd really like some help on deciding which overland trip to
go on. I've seen advertising for lots of different companies
and they all look good, so I thought I'd ask all you
experienced travelers for your opinions!
I'm a 24 year old english female who has not traveled much
before, and the idea of backpacking fills me with dread (I
think I'm not "street-wise" enough!) I want to go to east /
south africa, probably for about 5 weeks, possibly over the
millenium.
Although I've not travelled abroad much, I'm used to camping
and 'roughing it'. I'm more inclined to go on one of the
trips that provides a cook as food hygene is important to me
, but I don't mind being expected to help with the camp
chores, seting up tents etc.
What do you think????
Thanks in advance for any information or advice you want to
throw my direction,
nicole.
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I have just returned from an overland trip in Southern
Africa with AFrican Routes and it was the best. You have to
do it. The trip was from Cape Town to Vic Falls for 19 days
and I wish it was longer. I cant wait to do more maybe up to
Nairobi next time. Definately I recommend Arican Routes
they were very reliable and are based in Durban
take a look at http://www.travelinafrica.co.za if you
bookmark it you'll notice it mushrooms sometimes
and dont be a whinging pom.....you CAN backpack if you
want!!! if you do Namibia definately go with an overland
Nicole. Can recommend a company called Bukima. My partner
and I did a four week trip starting Vic Falls through
Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe finishing in Harare. Two
crew on board, one driver and one organiser. The passengers
were organised into groups of three and took turns at duty.
We were give a small kitty for the day and were responsible
for buying the food for the day, and preparing dinner and
breakfast. Everybody was responsible for their own lunch.
Everybody got involved with setting up camp and washing up.
Hygene was good. It's in the best interest of the truck
companies to maintain hygene as sick passengers cause
untold problems and bad publicity. Your trip will depend on
what sort of group you have on board, but usually, they
will be there for the same reason as you. The truck crews
usually know their way around and you have some great
experiences and see some magnificent scenery and wildlife.
Enjoy you trip. If I can be of any further assistance,
please email me.
Hi Nicole, I have done 3 trips with guerba. Having met
other trucks while travelling I highly recomend them. A
little bit more expensive but definately worth the extra.
Have you seen this site - www.angelfire.com/ab/overlander?
It is new but already contains some good info.
~
I have been with Guerba - 22 day Vic Falls to Capetown.
Good trip - great food thanks to the cook. I would NOT do a
trip without a cook. I wouldn't want to trust my other
passengers to cook for me, that would suck! I didn't like
the Guerba trucks that much though it was nice to get the
luggage locker under the seats. Also, the range range on my
trip was large, 18-66, with lots of people in their 40s. I
was 26 when I went and felt a little out of the group.
~
I'm doing another overland soon, 11 weeks with Dragoman
from Harare to Cairo (overfly Sudan). The Drago trucks are
great and I think they tend to take people that are a
little younger than Guerba due to their age restrictions.
~
You get what you pay for in most cases and Guerba &
Dragoman are both among the best companies. I wouldn't go
too cheap - I've heard bad stuff about Encounter Overland,
Absolute Africa, etc. Some people seem to enjoy Truck
Africa, which seems to be the middle of the pack, dollar-
wise.
My partner and I did a 10 week Africa overland late last
year with an English based co. called Phoenix. It was
awesome and they have excellent trucks. The cost was about
950 pounds for the trip. Their e-mail is
www.phoenixexpeditions.co.uk and I would highly recommend
them. Everyone I know has enjoyed the company that they
have gone with, it really depends on which itinery you want
to do. Phoenix are mid-range, Dragoman and Guerba tend to
be a bit more. Good luck and have a fun trip.
Now does anyone here object to my using their comments on
my site (it's the angelfire one that Mags mentioned)...
I'm on a mission to gather this info to answer people's
questions about overland companies and could use your
input. Names/addresses will not be used, only opinions.
Lemme knwo if anyone objects to their opinions beign
published on this site.
http://www.angelfire.com/ab/overlander
Thanks ALL!
Shazzer
Dear Nicole,
Southern Africa is packed with backpackers. So, if you travel indivdually, that does not mean that you will be "lonely", unless you want to be on your own. It is not dangerous either, as long as you use your common sense and be careful.
I can't understand the concept of wanting to travel in a group of 10 or more. This is just to encourage you to go and see the countries from another perspecive than from a tourist-truck.
Happy travels
Karen
Hi Nicole,
I'm a 26 year old Canadian female. I've done two trips
with Guerba. I'd definately recommend them. They have
very high standards with regard to hygiene and meal
prepartion. You don't need to be an experienced
traveller. If you enjoy camping and don't mind helping out
with the chores, you'll do fine. Camping is the only way
to go. There's nothing better than hearing the sounds of
Africa at night. There are some things you just cannot
experience from the comfort of your hotel room. Good luck
and enjoy!
My pennyworth is check my thread on the thorntree about an
expedition we are running mid-july in a light aeroplane -
because it is of an exploratory nature i am doing this at
cost. it could offer you the experience of adventure
together with the security of a small group.
Just thought I'd add another suggestion to the list - I went
with Worldwide Adventure Travel and they were brilliant.
Best of all was that they had 3 staff, where as many of the
companies only have 2. The companies all seem to travel
very similar routes and do similar things so the decision
bascially comes down to staff and equipment and cost - I can
recommend Worldwide on all 3 counts.
I went with Kumuka and had a great time. The fact that
they have an age limit means that you'll be with people the
same age as you (most in my group were late 20s). We had a
rota about the chores and cooking was one of the chores but
hygene was not a problem, and the food was great! Also the
price covered pretty much all you wanted - food, camping,
enterence to parks... And they clearly state it when you
have to pay extra (e.g. to fly over the Okovango, or
activities in Vic falls).
Also if you're trying to decide where to go and have to
choose I'd go for Southern Africa, (Though East Africa is
also great) and definitely do Namibia!
Lefrog