Where to begin planning my first big trip?

[eng1i5h]

So where do I begin?
I've decided which bike im buying (XT660Z Tenere) and I know my destination (Cape Town). I have a time frame in mind (16 weeks) and I've pretty much chosen my route (West Africa route). So where do I go from here?
My Questions are.
When do I go?
What Visas do I get in advance?
Where do I get visas en route?
Do I need a Carnet for my bike?
Insurance requirements?
Roughly how much money will I need?
What countries do I avoid?
Which borders are problematic?
I'm sure I will have many other questions, but I'm at the very early stages of planning my trip.
I already have a BMW GSA but I think a smaller bike would be better, so I'm on the hunt for an XT660Z now.
All advice is gratefully received and if you think of anything else, please shout up Thanks in advance.

[mika]

Hello there,

welcome to the HUBB, you have come to the right place to start planing your journey down to Cape Town. You will find all information here, pls also use the search function, and travelers here will be happy to answer all your questions.

But pls dont forget that your journey will be your journey and it will be different to any other travelers journey, so for example it will be very difficult to answer the question how much money you will need, because we dont know your style of traveling and your needs. But you can do a rough calculation about the money you will need, looking at milages you are going to travel, calculating petrol costs (use 1,5 Usd a liter), hotel costs, food, for a day and then calculate it for the entire journey. Dont forget for example, transport back from RSA to the UK or spare parts and bike preparation before you set off. If you calculated a sum, than double it, than you approximately know what you need, but be sure you have a reserve on your account for emergencies.

Personally I think your choice is bike very good. Make sure you know as much as you can about your bike and you can service it yourself.

mika

[Flipflop]

Have a look at UKGSer trip reports:
Gael warnings in West Africa & Gael warnings in the Congo.
Simon Dippenhall travelled down the west side and has now traveled up the west side on an 1150gs. He did, however do it in stages.

This is a trip on my list
https://www.tripsavvy.com/africas-dr...easons-1453967
This website will help you avoid the wet season.
If you left on the 1st October that would give you 7 months of dry season down the west side to get to Cape Town - and April is the start of the dry season in SA.

North Africa doesn’t really have a wet season if you avoid the mountains - Morocco is a holiday destination from the uk so IMHO no need to look around if you’re on the long way down.

Only thing that might be of note is the 2 ‘Gaels’ are travelling on Irish passports which makes things easier in some places but I’m not sure about Africa.

Good luck with your research and travel - don’t forget to give something back ie trip report.

[Tomkat]

If you know where you're heading then spend some time on google maps. Rough out a route that will take you through places you think sound good, avoiding places that might get you killed. Do some research on the countries you expect to pass through, find out the do's and don't's and whether they need carnets, visas etc.

I made a spreadsheet with waypoints, using google to tell me the mileages between them and calculating the total. I assumed 150 miles per day average to include some days for rest, maintenance, sightseeing or getting over a dose of the squits. That gave me the duration of the trip. Along the way I have noted places of interest, travellers recommendations for hotels, etc.

[7800]

Hi April is the end of the dry season in the Western Cape, but the weather is changeable any time of the year. The opposite further north

[Flipflop]

Originally Posted by 7800

Hi April is the end of the dry season in the Western Cape, but the weather is changeable any time of the year. The opposite further north

According to this https://www.tripsavvy.com/africas-dr...easons-1453967 april is the start of the dry season in SA but I haven’t been there a who knows what’s true on the internet these days

[Scrabblebiker]

Thebesttimetovisit.com might be useful. But don't rely on the colours only. Click on the actual destination and it will give you historical precipitation, wet days per month and temperatures.

[7800]

Originally Posted by Flipflop

According to this https://www.tripsavvy.com/africas-dr...easons-1453967 april is the start of the dry season in SA but I haven’t been there a who knows what’s true on the internet these days

Hi Flipflop

I live in Cape Town, our "wet" season is usually July, August. Although it can rain anytime of year. The summer or dry season is usually January, February. Jo'burg is the opposite as is most of the rest of Southern Africa.

[7800]

I am almost done with my planning for a UK to Cape Town via west Africa trip. PM me if you want to and I will help you all I can. Although there are others on here that have done the trip that I'm sure will be more than willing to help."West African Travellers" is a great fb page for up to date information. Adventure Rider and UKgser forums are also good sources of information. "Rugged As" youtube page is quite recent and fun to watch and their blog has good info. "Biking over yonder" is also a good blog and doing it on a Honda Crf250l.