Thorn Tree travel forum

Welcome to the Africa branch!

Welcome to the Thorn Tree's Africa branch.

We hope you find plenty of useful information about travelling to Africa here. It is highly recommended that new users check out the Africa FAQ thread before posting a new thread as you may find many of the answers you seek there. It also contains helpful information about how to search the forum, advice for how to post your questions, and obsolete information was deleted as recently as June 2008! If you are a returning user or an Africa guru, please help us keep the FAQ thread up-to-date by adding important information which is absent, or pointing out information which is no longer being represented accurately.

Choosing a country to post to:

When you make a post and choose a country from the drop down menu, your post will be added to that country but will also ... more »

Your suggestions for a good read....

Hi there,

A friend of mine is travelling to Egypt for about a month mid next year. For Christmas I'd like to get her something to do with the destination.

She already has all the necessary guide books. What I would like to get her is a book to read that is set in Egypt and will perhaps describe some of the places she may visit, experiences she may have, foods she may taste or give her a sense of the atmosphere of the place. Good fiction would be interesting or well-written travel stories - I'd rather not give her a dry history lesson type book.

So, if you've read any good books about Egypt and thought "wow, that really reminds me of the time I spent there" or has given you a greater understanding of the place and it's culture (or geography or history) and entertained you at the same time, please tell me your suggestions.

Cheers,

ST more »

A Guide To African Handshakes

Ever wondered just how to master those tricky African handshake variations?

Well, now you can!

Just take a look at:

http://awoliam.blogspot.com/2009/12/guide-to-african-handshake.html

... and all your queries will be answered!

=)

Liam

Tiwi Beach Accommodations

We want to stay at Tiwi Beach during the first week of January but are having trouble finding budget accommodations. The ones recommended by Lonely Planet (Coral Cove and Sand Island) are fully booked as are most of the others that have been mentioned on the forum. Would appreciate any recommendations and contact info. Thanks.

overland tour vs. solo

considering a 21-30 day overland tour thru Ghana, Burkina, Mali, etc... first time in Africa. Recommended????? I always travel independently...but want to see alot...thoughts??

thanks

Attempy to asassinate Camara

Keep a close watch, expect fallout.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8394307.stm

Grand Sud Tour in March

Hi,
In March I with friends want to go from Marrakech to Desert for several days.
Last year I've been in Ouarzazate & Ait Benhaddou, bun my fiends - not.
Now I'm planning to make tour to Ouarzazate - Draa Valley - Mhamid (Erg Chigaga) - Tazzarine - Rissani- Merzuga - Todra - Dades- Ouarzazate - Marrakech. I think spent nights in Ait Benhaddou, Mhamid, Erg Chigaga bivouac, Tazzarine(Rissani), Erg Chebi bivouac, Tinerhir, Ouarzazate - and back to Marrakech. I sow pictures in Lp Images - it's so beautiful rout! We want to see it without hurry!

Do you know is it possible to make this tour without rent a car, or rent 4x4 with driver or maybe it better to organise tour with any locals ? I sow some local Sahara tour services, but I don't know can they arrange tour I imagine.

Any recomendations concerning rout?
And another question is about weather in Sahara and mounting in early M... more »

Egypt itinerary - 14 days enough?

Dear fellow travellers,

I am planning my trip to Egypt, where I will be likely heading next February. By far the cheapest (and even direct) flight I could get would leave me 14 whole days to explore the country, so I meade a plan to see if the time is enough.

Here is what I have so far:

day 0: fly very late on Friday and arrive at night in Cairo. Free pick up from hostel (Australian or Meramees or whereever)

day 1: explore Islamic Cairo, try to see Sufi Dancing 20:30 at the Mausoleum (it's Saturday), after that see the Khan al Khalili with hopefully not to many tourists at that time

day 2: leave early for pyramid tour. Giza, Saquara, Dashur (maybe Memphis?) . Try to arrange this trip for 130-150LE (we are two people). In the afternoon/evening maybe Cairo Tower

day 3: Museum in the early morning (in reverse order to run away from the crowds... more »

Kenya - Self-Drive camping : June 2010

It's time to forsake southern Africa and I'm looking at spending a couple of weeks next June with 3 friends self-driving around some of Kenya's NP.

I've found a number of companies that will rent us a 4x4 with camping equipment for about £185 per day and a UK based one (Safari Drive ) at £200 per day. However, I would be grateful for details of any with whom you have been satisfied (or almost more importantly) dissatisfied.

The following itinerary looks reasonable but would welcome any 'expert' advice :

Day 1 : Flight and overnight in Nairobi
Day 2 : Provsion and drive to Tsavo
Days 3 - 5 : Tsavo E & W
Days 6- 7 : Ambolseli
Day 8 : Travelling North - any suggestions for an overnight stop appreciated
Days 9 - 10 : Lake Naivasha / Hells Gate
Day 11 : Lake Nakuru
Days 12 -... more »