Solo travel in East Africa.
Solo travel in Africa is possible, exciting and as safe as you make it to be. This definitive guide to solo travel in Africa covers being a solo female traveller, how to travel solo, why you should solo travel and where to go as a solo traveller! Be bold and go alone with solo travel to Africa. Read our ten great reasons why it’s the best way to travel, explore and discover Africa.
Many people may wonder if it’s possible to travel solo in Africa and our answer is an obvious yes, of course, it simply involves a bit of planning and a lot of positive thinking. Women are grabbing this opportunity by the horns, in a day and age when journeying alone is entirely acceptable and increasingly necessary. Travelling solo in Africa is eye-catching, attention-grabbing and yet, at the same time, it is peaceful and anonymous, less stressful and easier.
A solo woman traveller in Africa may be stared at, laughed at and resented or envied. Just be chilled, be sure of yourself and your needs and do what you want and need to do, with self-confidence and a set plan. The safest places to travel solo in East Africa are Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi. Solo travel in East Africa offers the best of both worlds – the freedom to be alone and the choice to connect with others and make new lifelong friends, or not.
Follow these best tips for solo travel in Africa:
Plan well in advance all your flights, transfers, accommodations, budget and possible changes. Draw up your own flexible itinerary that keeps you on track.
Get affordable and comprehensive travel insurance and make sure you apply for Visas well in advance and according to your budget.
Time, places to see, budget and possible delays or changes are important criteria for your solo travel in East Africa. Things happen slowly in East Africa and your budget therefore needs a bit of leeway for such events.
Research all the possible accommodations in hotels, lodges, resorts, game reserves, campsites, guest houses and self-catering houses you choose for quality, affordability and safety. Choose the safe part of town or don’t be too isolated in the middle of nowhere – have access to transport and assistance. Avoid ‘single supplement’ charges to save money.
Share your movements with one other person at least to ensure you are not entirely alone and have disappeared off the map of East Africa entirely! Be self-aware and self-confident.
Record your journey on a blog, in a diary, via social media and photographs. You may just write that book one day!
Now read our 10 top reasons why solo travel is the best way to travel in Africa!
You are Never Really Alone
You are a fascinating phenomenon to many Africans who will want to get to know you or chat with you for a short while. As a solo traveller, you can choose how social you want to be.
You Learn that Experiences Count More in Life than Material Goods
Living out of a suitcase alone is liberating as you are in control of what you have with you and nothing else. You don’t have space to buy things, you don’t need things and your days are packed with indescribable experiences – environmental, cultural, social and historical sensory explosions.
East Africa Becomes Addictive, Compulsive and More-ish
Once you have travelled Africa, you will never want to leave and you will already be planning your next trip when you return home. It’s the foundation for humanity, it’s our home, and it’s where we want to be.
It’s a Proper Refreshing Holiday with Time to Reflect
A time to slow down, be alone, look inside your soul and see what you need in your life going forward. A time to be free of baggage and worried thoughts, to meet other cultures, see beautiful and maybe shocking things, and rethink life.
It’s a Top Life Challenge
It means being brave and stepping away from that comfort zone called home. Be ready to catch public transport, stay in strange lodgings, meet weird and wonderful people and have your heart and mind opened to change.
Your Journey is Neither Circular nor Linear
On your return, you will not be the same person you were when you left home. Your planned journey will probably develop many unexpected directions as you meet super people, discover new sights to see and find things have changed uncontrollably. Learn to go with the flow in East Africa.
