Questions re Independent Travel in Africa

mectavba

Hi folks,

I am planning on travelling from Cairo to Cape Town in Jan 2012 and have a few questions. I'd really appreciate your advice, particularly if you have travelled this way before.

1. Vaccinations etc.

From what I can research I will need vaccinations for Hep A&B, typhoid, Diptheria, tetanus (had a shot about 5years ago), Rabies and Yellow Fever.
Is there anything I'm leaving out? Anything I dont really need?
D2 medical centre seems to be the best value in Dublin...any other recommendations?
How far in advance of travelling should I get the shots?

Also, what are people's experiences re malaria? Did you stock up on tablets before you left or get them along the way? Which ones would you recommend?

2. Banking & Money.

My account is currently with AIB. However, my credit card is Mastercard and Laser is Maestro. It seems that it will be necessary to have a Visa card of some sort. AIB arent introducing their Visa Debit until 2012, so too late for me. Should I consider switching to Ulster Bank who have a Visa Debit? Anyone know when BOI will introduce their Visa Debit?

3. Insurance.

World Nomads seems to be universally recommended. Anyone travel using them? I got a quote at just over €350 for 8 months, but that includes Level 2 Sports & Activities as I intend going Scuba diving. This makes it €80 more expensive. Is it possible to just buy insurance for the scuba diving as you go rather than have me convered for it for the whole 8 months, as I will only be doing it from time to time?

4. General gear.

Where is the best place in Dublin to get gear for backpacking i.e. rucksack, sleeping liner etc.?

Many thanks for reading and thanks in advance.

g'em

I did Egypt to Zimbabwe a few years ago. Off the top of my head I can't remember what shots are needed but Tropical Meidicine Bureau will have loads of info.

If you're planning on going to Malawi and swimming in Lake Malawi you'll need Billharzia medication, but don't get it here, you'll get it for $4-5 out there.

Malaria tablet wise you need to take the diving into consideration. If you plan of scuba diving Lithium is out the window because claustrophobia is a potential side effect. Doxicycline is a favoured one for diving but afaik it's not very effective in Africa. tbph the TMB will be best placed to advised you on this again. I have a terrible habit of never finishing my malaria tablets anyway

Gear wise, less is more. Bring plenty of dark clothes so the dirt doesn't show up, and clothes that if you had to leave behind or got lost you wouldn't be heartbroken. In Zambia and Malawi clothes can be used to trade for wooden goods and you can pick up heaploads of clean second hand clothes in big markets at the side of the road and in towns.

Depending on where you're going you'll need quite a range of clothes though - highland Ethiopia gets very cold at night, as does many of the flatlands. I honestly wouldn't bother forking out for a bag liner, a single cotton duvet cover would suffice.

Hand sanitiser, lots of baby wipes, an all in one shampoo/ shower gel, decent pen knife, needle and thread, spare memory card for a camera, bandana of some sort (multi functional!!). With your backpack pockets will be your friend so that you can have all the bits and pieces to hand. Some countries will gladly take US dollars, in fact most will, and it may not even be worth changing over depending on local inflation rates.

When you come to borders make a point of telling them you're Irish - our visa charge was waived in most countries whereas our US travelling companions got charged an arm and a leg! Some borders (Zam/ Zim for e.g.) are particularly difficult and not to be recommended at all.

I dunno if you're planning on doing it all solo but it might be worth looking into doing a few weeks with an overland tour group, they'll help bring you over longer distances that would otherwise be a bit of a pain and it's a great way to meet people.

If you're planning on doing a lot of diving I'd actually say get regular insurance and then get separate DAN diving insurance - make sure you bring your license card and logbook.

That's all I can think of for now...

sarkozy

Good advice. Regarding shots, if you go to a TMB or similar, tell them the countries you're going to and the activities you expect to do and they'll tell you what you need to get. That list seems familiar. Don't wait, because rabies, for example, takes two or three shots, and some Hepatitis shots require a month between one shot and the other, though you can have this accelerated. If, by the time you get to South Africa and you need booster shots, remember you can simply go into a pharmacy and they can administer them.

About malaria, you won't need a prophalaxis in southern Zim, Botswana and not in South Africa, Lesotho or Swaziland. Technically, you'd need malaria tablets in Mozambique, but in big cities like Maputo or Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, I didn't take anything because I wasn't going into the countryside, where you definitely do need them. A good, but pricy option, is Malerone, which is now licenced for use for up to 12 months. However, it's far easier to get doxycycline up and down the continent and it's very cheap. Worth checking out whether you can handle it before you go as it can have bad side effects and you won't easily get Malerone down there.

+1 on the passport tip, however there is probably still a reciprocal thing in place where Irish people entering Tanzania pay twice as much as most others for a visa. Mine was waived because I had a 'special' passport, though it shouldn't have been. Paying for entry to South America and Namibia isn't necessary, Mozambique is expensive for everyone (roughly $80). I'd strongly recommend budgeting for visas before leaving.

Intercape is a good southern region bus service that serves SA, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe (up to Victoria Falls). The onboard entertainment leaves much to be desired, though!

mectavba

Thanks a million for the replies, I'll take all that advice on board.

Doxycyclone seems to be the best option. If I am going in jan, when would you say I'd want to be getting my first shots?

What about the banking/money? Did you bring much cash with you? Euros/Dollars?

Did you have much trouble with Irish bankcards?

bungaro79

i was in east africa last month and for malaria there i took malarone instead of doxycyclone, you need to start taking these 1 week before entering a malaria area. as for your shots i think most last for a year (some like yellow fever last for 10 years) so you could probably get them now. for malaria (which is probably you're biggest worry) some people say taking b2 vitamins are supposed to help ward them off too. not sure what your accommodation would be like but you might need to bring your own mozzie net just in case.

atms are great but in africa don't expect them to be working all the time so make sure you have an emergency stash somewhere just in case! i remember seeing something on the sunday times travel section recently, it was like a mini bag with a lock on it, it couldn't be slashed open too. us dollars will be accepted in most places but you should be ok with euros too although using the local currency is the best option. we had no problems with our aib laser cards though.

don't skimp on the insurance and you might be wise to ensure you are able to be flown back home in the worst case situation. in east africa theres the flying doctors which for about $25 you can get cover for in case you need to be air lifted out.

g'em had great tips for what to bring, especially the baby wipes!! the missus brought these and we were glad she did, they're so flipping useful! what i did notice that alot of people wear wearing very light sports top things (can't think of the names but they're basically the summer version of body warmers!) which we so thin to pack and easy to wash by hand. but a nice light warm top is essential too. i got a couple of pants in debenhams which were zip offs at the knees so had 2 in 1!