A number of travelers have chosen to discover Africa on a masterful road trip. Africa is a vast continent with some of the best attractions that can boost your desire to explore this beautiful landmass.
There is no doubt that Africa has adventures to offer thanks to its natural wonders. Choosing a road trip in parts of Africa is not for the faint-hearted. Rather, it takes a real confident heart to cross over by wheels on your own. From Cape Town in South Africa to Central Africa and then connecting to North Africa through the dunes of the Sahara to the Mediterranean Sea, it is a journey that only a few have managed to carry out.
For lack of better words; many people often come to Africa with preconceived ideas of what a perfect 4x4 car should look like for an overland trip to Africa, based on what they've probably read in a guidebook.
Unfortunately, they are often surprised to find many older cars considered the only option for landing but with a relatively bigger budget. There are reasons for this, but we may not go into them, as the cost of travel is not our focus today.
You just need to understand that a road trip is the best way to encounter and explore the beauty that inhabits the magnificent continent of Africa, especially with the right 4x4 vehicle.
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Experience a classic African road trip
Classic African road trips are often performed in Hiluxdouble cabins, Land cruisers, or Land rover defenders. These three are the classic icons to land in Africa. However, since only a few roads trips across Africa, it is recommended to do a regional road trip for familiarization purposes.
Each region has its own specificities and moreover, we choose to offer you a 360° zoom into one of the best African safari regions in Africa, the East Africa region.
There are three options for taking a road trip to EastAfrica. Overland trucking (group trip with guide), auto tour, and car rental with driver.
Self-driving road trip in East Africa
A self-guided East Africa road trip gives you the opportunity to explore East Africa on your own at your own pace without needing to stick to the itinerary.
The East Africa road trip is Africa's most rewarding road trip as far as safaris go. The East African region hosts some of the most exceptional wilderness moments with award-winning tourist destinations in place; talk about the great annual migrations from the plains of the Serengeti National Park in northern Tanzania to the Maasai Mara National Reserve in southern Kenya, the mountain gorilla trekking that is only possible in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda and from Rwanda Volcanoes National Park, unique cultural experiences and much more.
However, to better experience the road trip in East Africa, good planning is a prerequisite; i.e. where are you going to fly from and where are you going to depart from? Both of these issues will heavily affect your budget; it is therefore recommended that before you confirm your flights, you get a good car rental deal in any East African country.
Once you have the best car rental deal, you can then book flights to the country where your land journey in East Africa will begin.
Overland trucking road trip
The basic budget option for road trips in Africa is the overland truck option where you travel in a group of 15 or more. In this kind of road trip, you will not travel comfortably since you will travel in the back of the truck.
You will have a professional guide and sometimes a professional chef who will prepare food for you while camping. However, you will also have times when you will spend nights in decent accommodations. In other words, it's a combination of both.
Road trip with a professional driver guide
A professional driver-guide can make or break your travel experience. Once you're able to bond with your guide at the start of your trip, you can easily explore the best of East Africa without fear of getting lost or ripped off.
The driver-guide saves you the safari fatigue of driving yourself for more than 5000 km. You will also travel without worrying about mechanical breakdowns, as everything will be in the care of the professional driver-guide.
The East Africa road trip offers a list of activities that many people always consider returning for a second experience.
Top East Africa Road Trip Highlights
East Africa is blessed with several wildlife adventures. These include but are not limited to gorilla trekking in Uganda and Rwanda, golden monkey tracking in Uganda or Rwanda, chimpanzee tracking, safaris in the savannah national parks of the Murchison Falls, Serengeti National Park, Kidepo Valley National Park, Masai Mara Game Reserve among several other great national parks in East Africa.
The annual migrations of the great beasts between the plains of the Serengeti Game Reserve in northern Tanzania and the Maasai Mara Game Reserve in southern Kenya make live wildlife safaris a reality. You can witness this annual migration from the comfort of an open-top safari vehicle.
Meet the sought-after big cats on African safaris in various national parks. See live predators such as Nile crocodiles prepare to catch reluctant beasts crossing the Mara River.
You can also climb to the roof of Africa in Tanzania. Kilimanjaro mountains are among the main attractions that adventure seekers cannot miss. In East Africa, you can also hike the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th highest peaks in Africa.
On a road trip in Uganda, meet the endangered mountain gorillas in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. You can also track mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Virunga National Park in DR Congo.
Community visits are also a highlight in all East African countries. In order to experience the real culture, you may need to set aside an entire month for cultural tours in Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and other East African countries.
Religious and historical tours are often an overlooked part of East African road trips, but worth every penny. In addition to these; Sea tours to Zanzibar, Mombasa, and Dar es Salaam remain the main highlights of East African road trips.
Mountaineering is also among the activities to consider on your East Africa road trip given that the region is home to the five highest places on the African continent. That is Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Mount Kenya in Kenya plus the Rwenzori Mountains in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
You will never run road trip activities in East Africa but you might run out of time. To better plan your East Africa road trip, please consider the services of a professional tour operator based locally.
With great experiences awaiting you, a road trip throughout Africa is a must! You can easily start planning a Master Class Road Trip in Africa and experience one of the most beautiful tourist spots in East Africa.
