Why an Overland Tour?

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BY João and Margarida

a group of people riding in the back of a safari vehicle in Africa

Editor’s note: This is the second blog post in a series written by Portuguese couple João and Margarida, who did an epic African overland adventure with us in 2019. The post has since been updated to reflect current information.

After choosing Africa as the first destination in our world tour, we had to decide how we would travel around once there.

Africa has unique challenges tied to poverty, insecurity and healthcare services. So traveling there requires significant research.

Why we chose an overland tour

As mentioned in the previous post, we opted to join an overland tour.

The other options we considered were:

Buying a car upon arrival and selling it before departure. We would have more freedom this way. But for the period we need it (three months), the costs would be high, and we would be very tired from all the driving (the distances in Africa are huge). There would also always be the possibility of not being able to sell the car before our departure.
Public transport and hitchhiking, by far the cheapest option but one that brings uncertainty. Also, finding bus companies online to go from point A to point B in Africa is quite a challenge.
Renting a car. This would be quite expensive, there would probably be lots of bureaucracy due to all the borders we will cross, and all the driving would also be very tiring.

After looking at the pros and cons of each option, we decided that an overland tour would be the best, both in terms of safety and the number of things we would be able to see and do. After deciding on an overland tour, we started searching for the best companies.

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46 Day Nairobi to Johannesburg and Gorillas Overland

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Nature & Wildlife, Wilderness Walks, Gorilla Trekking, Cultural Immersion, Big 5 Safari, Dramatic Vistas

46 Day Nairobi to Johannesburg and Gorillas Overland

Nairobi

Pretoria

Tour Type

Camping

Group Size

Max 18

Comfort Level

Classic

Age Range

18 years +

Operated in

English Guided

Destinations

South Africa, Tanzania, Botswana

Overview

This Nairobi to Kruger Overland provides a fantastic insight into East Africa’s greatest attractions and... Read More

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Price From

was ~~R172,950~~

R138,260

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There are multiple companies that organize overland African trips. All of them charge a pre-trip ‘base’ price as well as a local payment that you hand over when you start the trip. The local payment money is destined for the general expenses of the trip (food, fuel, and included activities). Local payments mean a range of prices exist for all types of travelers, from those who want an all-inclusive experience and to sleep in luxurious lodges to those who don’t mind sleeping in a tent and cooking shared meals.

We wanted the package that could offer the most for the least daily cost. There is a search engine for overland tours that helped us a lot here: TourRadar. On TourRadar, we quickly saw that the two most competitively priced companies were Absolute Africa and Oasis Overland. Still, you need to pay close attention to what is included and what is not included in a package. For this reason, we ended up choosing to book with another company, African Overland Tours, because while they are more expensive per day, they include more meals and more activities (namely the Ngorongoro Crater and Okavango Delta safaris). Also, they were more responsive and nicer when answering our emails.

We hope to have made the right choice!

You can visit João and Margarida’s Facebook page and Instagram account, both called Nomad Plot, to see more photos from their journey. Or head to the next blog post in the series: Packing for a Round the World Trip.