Brave or Bonkers??

[Richiewizz]

As fast as I can plan a trip....so the Foreign Office warnings against travel fall thick and fast........Syria and round to Libya seemed a good idea once...
I have lots of experience of the kind of trip once can do in 2 or 3 weeks holiday....Morocco...Poland...Croatia etc...Now...recently liberated from the world of full time work and wanting a "Big Trip" before decay sets in(further!) I am looking at the Atlantic route from Morocco via Mauritania and Mali and hoping to reach Burkina Faso or even Benin over the coming winter.....Bike and gear and personal fitness etc all sorted.....but...warnings of kidnappings and beheadings can take the edge of of ones eager anticipation! I guess many folks on here tend to just bat on anyway...but I'd appreciate comments/suggestions/thoughts on how viable this trip is.....especially as a "return" journey...ie same way back. Plus...I believe travelling when the FCO say "don't" invalidates any personal medical/accident insurance..? I'm coming to the net HU weekend at Compton Martin and hope to pick as many brains as are available....but love to read any comments here first...!
Thanks in advance
Richard Meek

[henryuk]

I'm off on that route-ish (to Guinea Bissau) in January. The FCO advise against a lot of places, and the good news stories never appear on the news, it's 'relatively' safe.

Brave - maybe, bonkers - no

[TurboCharger]

Keep your eyes wide open, your ear to the ground and listen to locals.

Avoid public gatherings.

Trust your instincts.


I would also check if your travel/health/repatriation insurance covers you if you are in a country that is in the FCO blacklist.

[Fokke]

Originally Posted by TurboCharger

Trust your instincts.

Do a bit of research on Mali. There's some gnarly places over there in the east... Border area close to Niger is a no go. The south of Burkina Faso is supposed to be a bit sketchy too. I don't worry too much... as quoted, trust your instincts. And off course check the hubb on updates.
Im riding Morocco all the way south starting October. From Nigeria is where the difficult bits start would you go that far... I should arrive to SA a couple of month later.
Enjoy the trip.

[Richiewizz]

Thanks for the above.....Mauritania seems to be the big worry at present...Sounds like the FCO think the Atlantic Highway is maybe an easy target for kidnappers..?

[tweetyduck]

Your visas should worry you as they have changed some of the rules recently. DRC is problematic as is Nigeria and Angola. This info came from the trip mentioned below. I'd get as many as you can before you leave. Thats if you can time them correctly. Angola seems to take nearly a month to get when your in the DRC and thats not a nice place to wait for a month.

Theres a couple in a Toyota just hit SA last month and the only place the felt unsafe was DRC with "daylight robbery" being quoted. Seems nothing changes in that part of the world.

[Richiewizz]

Thanks for replies...personally...not planning to go any further south than Benin..... hoping to spend some time there and then return to Spain by the same route.....Give Al Qaeda another chance to take pot shots!