What to expect on an overland tour in Africa

An overland tour is very different from your standard hotel-based holiday. Here’s how …

An African overland tour is an expedition across vast, changing landscapes, designed for those who value the journey as much as the destination. It’s important to understand what you’re signing up for so that your expectations are realistic and you arrive with the right mindset.

Let’s look at the daily realities and unique magic of overlanding in Africa.

The rhythm of the road

Overlanding is, by definition, a road trip. And Africa is a vast continent. So expect to spend a significant amount of time in your vehicle.

‘Transit days’ are a core part of the experience, allowing you to see the transition from lush forests to arid deserts and witness local life in rural hamlets that fly-in tourists never see.

Know that the infrastructure across Africa varies wildly. While some highways are beautifully smooth, you’re invariably going to traverse roads that are more potholes than tarmac as well as corrugated dirt roads and rough bush tracks. You’ll be in a vehicle custom-built for these conditions, but you’re going to be bumped about.

Also, while you’ll have a comfy chair and nice legroom, know that you won’t be in a luxury vehicle. Importantly, there won’t be air conditioning. So expect to get dusty and feel hot when it’s hot outside.

Those who enjoy the overlanding experience most are the ones who appreciate road tripping because they’re curious about the non-postcard side of Africa too. It also really helps if you embrace the driving as time for reading, listening to music or audiobooks, chatting with others, and playing travel or phone games.

Early starts

If you aren’t naturally a morning person, an African overland tour might turn you into one. Most days begin at dawn, or shortly before. Sometimes, the reason is to enjoy a game drive when the wildlife is most active. At other times, it’s about travelling before the hottest part of the day, or about needing to cover a great distance that day.

As a bonus, these early mornings mean you regularly see gorgeous sunrises and capture winning soft-light shots. In fact, watching the sky work through a succession of deep morning hues with a mug of coffee in hand is a ritual that most overlanders come to cherish.

Simple accommodations

Overlanding packages allow you to choose between different styles of accommodation. The most budget-friendly is camping, where you sleep in sturdy domed tents, use communal ablutions, and eat dinner around a campfire. While the campsites are generally clean and functional, they’re a far cry from a hotel stay.

If you opt for a lodge-based tour, you can expect three-star lodges or guest houses. These provide more comfort, but even here, the facilities are simple. Many lodges rely on solar power or generators, meaning air conditioning is a rarity. The focus is on clean, hearty hospitality rather than Instagrammable fineries.

A let’s-all-pitch-in experience

Another of the defining features of an African overland tour is that you aren’t just a passenger; you’re part of the crew.

This might look like helping to load and offload the vehicle, putting up your own tent, and assisting with food prep on a rotational basis.

As you likely know, pitching in with necessary tasks is often the easiest way to get to know new people; you’re focused on a shared goal and this helps to break down potential barriers like social awkwardness. It’s also often a welcome bit of physical labour given the hours of driving involved in overland tours. And finally, but perhaps most importantly, such regular mucking in is exactly what builds the special camaraderie typical of overland tours.

Unpredictable conditions

It’s important to understand that an overland tour isn’t about having a seamless travel experience. That’s the domain of luxury travel, not overlanding. An overlanding tour is an adventure.

What’s more, it’s important to really take in the fact that most of Africa is third-world, and so things don’t always work out as planned here. Sometimes itineraries must be reworked a bit in light of unforeseen circumstances. So the way to enjoy your tour is to come with a relaxed, go-with-the-flow attitude.

Also, remember that the concept of ‘adventure’ actually involves elements of surprise and sometimes even obstacles. So if your vehicle is brought to a standstill for an hour when passing through a town with a street protest, that’s a colourful story you take home with you. And if it rains incredibly hard one night and water leaks into your tent – that’s a memorable part of your African adventure, not the end of the world!

Connection over connectivity

On an African overland tour, you often can’t connect to a mobile service, especially in remote areas like the Okavango Delta or the Namib Desert. In addition to this, accommodations’ Wi-Fi is often spotty, slow, or just non-existent.

This can be a shock to the system at first. But of course, it’s really one of the greatest gifts of an overland trip. When you take away the possibility of checking in with the outside world, you connect more with those around you, with nature, and with your internal world.

On an overland tour, you usually spend your evenings around a campfire. You share stories and listen to the sounds of the bush, from a nearby stream to a distant hyena cackle. It’s in these offline hours that nervous systems settle, and lifelong friendships are forged.

It’s 100% worth it

If you’re looking for a stylish, cushy, or predictable vacation, an African overland tour may not be for you. But if you want to really get to know the continent and have a full-bodied adventure, there’s really no better way to travel. You’ll return home with dirty boots and a heart and mind changed by countless indelible experiences.

Note: This blog post was created in 2015 by Sarah Duff. It was completely rewritten in 2026 by Megan Abigail White.