My Route Traveling Africa

My route traveling Africa turned into a crazy adventure spanning the continent from Cape Town to Cairo

As you can tell by my backpacking Africa story, I’m super passionate about traveling this continent. If you’re still not sure or are debating about going to south east Asia instead, I’m hoping these 54 reasons to travel to Africa will convince you otherwise.

Once you’re set on backpacking here, you’ll need to pack your Africa travel resources including my favorite anti-theft clothing.

Next is the fun part…. deciding where to go and in what order.

About My Route Travel Traveling Africa

I did my 7 month trip completely by myself, using public transportation. It’s easier than I imagined it would be, and you can do it too.

Let’s get one thing straight first. There is no good or bad route for traveling Africa. What matters is that you just go.

I know that’s cheesy. But it’s true. I get hundreds of messages from travelers obsessing over the perfect way to do it. Whatever your plan is, it’s going to change once you arrive. My route traveling Africa did.

My Route Traveling Africa: Original Plan

South Africa –> Mozambique –> Tanzania –> Kenya –> Ethiopia.

Original Planned Time Frame

I thought I’d spend two weeks in each country and come back home within two months.

Look at the picture below, and you’ll see things didn’t go as planned. In fact, I ended up spending 7 months traveling through 13 countries! That’s because once I started, I felt comfortable backpacking Africa solo. So my route changed drastically.

My trip was almost 4x longer than I expected & I visited more than 2x as many countries as I planned



My Route Traveling Africa (In Order): South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt.

Why You Should Do the Same Route Traveling Africa:

If you got the time & the money to cover your backpacking Africa cost, I highly suggest my same route. I got to see so much, & absolutely adored each country I visited. It was a good mix of popular backpacking destinations & off the grid/”I’m the first tourist this year” spots too. If you’re a new beginner, it’s especially great to start in South Africa (more backpacker’s, easier, etc.)

My Favorite/Least Favorite Countries

My favorite country was Malawi. The lake is so beautiful, the locals are super friendly, & there are a ton of backpackers there.

My least favorite was Burundi. But that’s mainly because I could only get a 3 day tourist visa upon arrival so I didn’t spend enough time there. It was also kind of a sad country to see, but at the same very interesting.

The country I tried to get into was the DRC. I made it all the way to the border, but was turned away because rebels had just invaded the city I wanted to visit.

What I Regret the Most about My Route Traveling Africa:

If I could change just one thing about my trip though, I would have visited even more countries. For example, I could have easily incorporated Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, and Swaziland. I missed them because in the beginning I was still a little freaked out about traveling Africa. Initially, I was also hurrying to get to Ethiopia to see some friends. I know other backpackers loved these countries though, so don’t miss out like I did.

Other Backpacking Routes:

I met many other travelers during my trip. Some of them traveled my same route in Africa. Others did it the opposite way (Cairo to Cape). And others just chose one random country and went from there. Just note, that there is no real route. No “Cape to Cairo” road. It’s more like a general direction you’re traveling with lots of different roads, buses, and ways to do it.

The route below is from a traveler in Africa who answered 9 of my burning questions about what it’s like to volunteer, fall in love on the road, & travel Africa as a South American. He skipped South Africa, which I personally loved, but it’s also more expensive.

Regions in Africa

African countries are really unique. But there are some general similarities.

North Africa- More Arabic. Biggest Destinations include Egypt & Morocco.

West Africa- More Expensive/Less Traveled. Home to some wild & bold spots like Nigeria & Senegal.

East Africa- My favorite. Known for its warm hospitality. It has some great backpacking routes/destinations.

Southern Africa- Most Developed. South Africa is obviously the most well known.

Lonely Planet’s Africa Overview is helpful if you need more info on specific countries/regions.

However your route traveling Africa turns out to be, I can promise you it will be amazing. You really can’t go wrong. Sure sometimes you realized you missed some really big backpacking events by a week or came during a rainy season, but you can make it work. The most important thing is that you go.

PS- If you still need help planning your route traveling Africa, check out my 5 Sample Itineraries that comes free with the Complete Edition of the #1 backpacking Africa book that has helped hundreds of travelers explore Africa. It includes specific places to go & route information for travelers based on what you want to see, do, and experience during your time in Africa.

Each backpacking Africa route is 2 pages long, & is based on your length of travel.

Route 1 (if your trip is 6 months+): This is for the slow & steady traveler. You got a lot of time, but it’s still not enough to see everything (trust me!). This route will take you through a variety of countries that are both well known & also off the grid.

Route 2 (if your trip is 3-5 months): This is the most popular trip length. Should you do an entire “Cape to Cairo” route or just pick a handful of countries in a region like East Africa? This route will show you the pros & cons of both, & will highlight the best way to enjoy your quasi-long journey.

Route 3 (if your trip is 3 to 5 weeks): You got to be extra careful with this time frame. It seems like a lot. Until you realize travel in Africa is extremely slow. If you’re coming for 21 days, but try and overdo it, you could easily spend a solid week of that on buses not seeing anything. I have an awesome route planned for someone coming for this amount of time. It allows you to see a sampling of different countries, regions, & cultures–without losing all your time on a bus.

Route 4 (if your trip is 1-2 weeks): You got a couple of weeks off work, now what? How can you see the best of the best? This is for traveler wanting to have amazing African vacation & maximize time on the continent (without losing your mind about the sheer volume of activities & places to see).

Route 5 (if your trip is 10-15 days): This is built for the traveler who wants to see an insane amount of countries & places in a short time frame. You won’t be there long enough to dive into the culture. But I’ll show you the best places to see & how to do them quickly! If you like to cross things off your bucket list & want to add a number of countries to your “countries visited” list, you’re going to love this plan!