Africa Travel Information

Have you ever thought of the Gambia as a great Africa holiday destination? If not, picture this: in the year 2011, the World Economic Forum ranks Gambia as the sixth most competitive country in travel & tourism in sub-Sahara Africa. This puts the country ahead of Kenya and Tanzania, two of the most popular African safari destinations.

The only other sub-Sahara Africa countries ranking higher than Gambia are Mauritius, South Africa, Namibia, Cape Verde, and Botswana.

And, no, the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report is not just one of those economic reports that seem out of touch with the reality on the ground. The report considers several practical metrics, among them the human, cultural, and natural resources; the tourism business environment and infrastructure; and the countries’ travel and tourism regulatory framework. Several reputable organizations, among them the world tourism organization, contribute towards compiling the report.

For the Gambia to rank this high therefore, it must have something special don’t you think?

So what’s there to see in Gambia?
In one word, plenty. You can enjoy a very vibrant rural African culture, a luxury holiday in the country’s magnificent beaches, scenic landscapes, an incredible birdwatching experience, amazing wildlife and nature reserves, plus an unrivaled African hospitality. Read the rest of this entry »

(NB: The recent political uprisings in Tunisia caused several governments to issue travel warnings for their citizens planning to travel to Tunisia. The situation has however improved greatly after the ousting of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Many governments have since then eased the travel alert. However, if you are still concerned about your security, you should seek adequate information from your travel agent and/or country’s state department before making any Tunisia travel plans)

Tunisia is a true gem of North Africa travel, even though an unsung one. Nestled between Algeria and Libya, two of the largest countries in Africa, Tunisia is one country you can easily ignore in any map of Africa. Yet it offers you a great holiday experience that very few other African destinations can match.

Nature and history are the two key ingredients to Tunisia’s attractiveness. Its location at the Mediterranean sea has gifted it with incredibly beautiful beaches, where you can enjoy the perfect sun-and-sand beach holiday. When you venture just a few kilometers from the coast, you will get into the expansive Sahara desert, whose amazing landscapes you can explore atop the back of a camel.

After you have had enough of the beaches and desert landscapes, you can tour the many historical sites in Tunisia. Carthage is one of these. This ancient city-state was the capital of the Phoenician civilization. The city was situated just North of present day Tunis.

It was from Carthage that Hannibal, the great conqueror, launched his almost successful conquest of the Roman empire. From its early days, Carthage and Tunisia have been under the control of different great civilizations, among them the Greeks, Romans, and the Arabs. Today, there are several monuments from this rich past, which you should visit during your trip to Tunisia.

Below are pictures of 11 of the greatest sites you must visit in Tunisia. To book a holiday to Tunisia, I recommend you take a look at these great Tunisia holiday packages at the RealAdventures.com website. Read the rest of this entry »

Update: 18 Feb 2011: After Hosni Mubarak’s February 11th resignation as Egypt’s president, the Egypt travel industry looks set for quick recovery. Already, some countries, like the UK, have eased their Egypt travel advice. Some big travel agents have announced plans to resume trips to Egypt as early as next week.

It is still important to continue monitoring the situation before making your holiday arrangements, but I remain optimistic the situation will get back to normal very quickly. If you plan to travel to Egypt any time soon, I recommend that you take a look at some of these great Egypt holiday packages at the Africaguide website.

The Great Pyramid at Giza. One of Egypt's key attractions

At the time I am writing this post, the news about the ongoing street protests in Alexandria, Cairo, Aswan and other cities in Egypt is almost stale news. Global news websites like CNN have covered the two-weeks old political unrest in great detail.

The political implications of the protests aside, the tourism industry is turning out to be the biggest loser so far. Just yesterday, Thomas Cook announced that the Egyptian and Tunisian protests will cost them about £20million. This is as a result of booking cancellations and emergency evacuation.

Consider the fact that Thomas Cook is just one of the several hundred travel agents that organize holidays to Egypt. Compared to Thomas Cook, most other travel agents may be smaller, but their combined total volume of business is obviously very big. I am not an expert in economics, but logic (twisted perhaps) tells me that if all agents are facing cancellations of similar magnitude, Egypt has already lost tens of billions of dollars in tourism revenue in these two weeks. Read the rest of this entry »

It is a well known fact that Kenya is one of the greatest Africa safari destinations. But where should you go when you want to see some amazing scenic sites while on your safari?

I was a bit lazy to do a full write-up about this, so I decided to create a simple video instead. It ended up taking more than two hours.

This is my first ever attempt at creating a video, so just pardon any traces of amateurism. The next videos will obviously be better. I hope you enjoy this one. Feel free to leave your comments here or at youtube.

(This is the first part of three intended posts on how to travel in the horn of Africa. )

Basic information about the Horn of Africa

Map of the Horn of Africa

The “horn of Africa” is a region in the easternmost part of Africa, neighboring the Arabian Sea and the gulf of Aden. The countries found in this region are Somalia, Djibouti, and Eritrea. Some authorities also include Ethiopia, Kenya and Sudan as part of this region.

Generally, not many people travel to the horn of Africa (I am excluding Kenya, Sudan, and Ethiopia in my definition of this region). This is mostly because of high insecurity in this area region as a result of constant armed conflicts and political instability.

Compared to Somalia and Eritrea however, Djibouti is quite a safe destination. But some governments advice their nationals against traveling to some parts of Djibouti, the United Kingdom and the USA for example.

If you work for a humanitarian organization, or you have business interests in the horn of Africa region, or you are a really adventurous traveler seeking an off-the-beaten-track travel experience, you may one day want to travel to the horn of Africa. But before visiting, please make sure you understand the security risk involved. As much as possible, you should seek expert advice before your trip. Read the rest of this entry »

As I write this post, the news of Prince William’s engagement to Kate Middleton is one of the trending topics in the world media, and of course in twitter. Not really surprising, considering our fascination with royalty, especially the British Royal family.

For African safari enthusiasts, you may cherish the fact that the prince proposed while on holiday in a private game reserve in Kenya – the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy.

About the Lewa Conservancy
This wildlife sanctuary is situated about 250 kilometers (by road) North of Nairobi, near Isiolo town. Its history goes back to the early 1980s when rampant poaching threatened to wipe out the population of black rhinos in northern Kenya. Read the rest of this entry »