Visas in Africa
 

Hiya all,

I'm leaving on my trip through Africa in 4 months and figured it was time to start looking into the whole visa situation....thought I would start here with a very general question. Surely you don't need to get a visa for every country you intend visiting before you go(my plan is through West africa ..across to Ethiopia and down the East coast)....and then does anyone have any idea which countries you definately should try get a visa for before departure. I imagine North Africa is worse than the South but just guessing??....I have a German and a South African passport does anyone have any idea which would be better to travel on?

Thanks for the help folks, man this site rocks.

Later

Some visas are easy to get at the border, ie from Kenya southwards. Ethiopia was easy but that was in Cairo. Met some folk who had real hassel getting Sudan visa in Chad but also met people who couldn't get their Sudan visa from their embassy in Europe. Got mine in a day in Cairo which seems the best bet but no use if your comming in from the West. Met folk who gave up and flew bikes from Chad to Addis, seemed quite easy and straight forward but then you miss Sudan which is excellent. Met one chap, a German, who went through Cameroon, Congo , DRC and Angola with no worries. German passport good one to travel on especially compared to Brit one as visa fees are much less. Chris.

First thing to do: Phone embassies of the countries you are planning to travel through to ask for their visa requirements. London is the ideal place, for all African countries have embassies or consulates in London.
Second: get as many visas as you can before leaving. Applications take time to go through, you many be more comfortable waiting in London than in some fly-blown place in Africa.
Third, try to find out the location of the embassies of the countries in question abroad. For example: Tanzania has an embassy in Lusaka, Zambia. You may need a visa for Tanzania, but there is no Tanzanian embassy in Malawi, the country next door, and Tanz. visa is not available at the border. Do your homework. Also be advised that land border between Chad and Sudan may be closed until further notice.
Fourth: Consult a government travel advisory. I'm sure GB has one on the Internet.
Enjoy your trip planning. Almost as much fun as doing your trip.
Get a copy of the Lonely Planet, Africa.
Go to all the back pages of Horizons Unlimited.
Good Luck!

Thanks for the replies guys, I think I will get most of them on the road, I have done some homework as to where I need to be to get what visa and will continue with it...I was wondering if there were any specific visas one cant get on the road or would be easier from home....guess more reading and getting intouch with the consulates is the answer.

Safe travels
Mark