# Good countries in Africa to visit **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 17, 2018, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-countries-in-africa-to-visit/806861 "2018-01-17T21:37:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2018, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-countries-in-africa-to-visit/806861/21 "2018-01-18T21:48:21Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Count me in. Best vacations of my life and wouldn’t trade them for anything. My biggest recommendation is to stay out of the government-run parks and go with a company like Wilderness Safaris. We only went to one government park - Chobe - and ended up in a truck with 12 other people, driving on a paved road with many other trucks full of tourists, all of which rushed to the same spot every time some animals were spotted. Compare that to our trip to Mambo Camp in Botswana, where the trucks can go off-road and the guides are extremely knowledgeable and professional locals with respect for the land and animals. How much does a trip like that cost, ballpark? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2018, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-countries-in-africa-to-visit/806861/22 "2018-01-18T22:25:58Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > How much does a trip like that cost, ballpark? I have no recollection of the cost. But we were living in Mali at the time, flew to SA and then by small plane to a dirt strip near Mombo Camp, spent a few days there, then flew to King’s Pool and onward to Victoria Falls. Then flew back to Pretoria and then to Abidjan and back to Bamako. Two weeks total. I have a vague memory of $10K being tossed around, but those trips were in the 90s. Cost varies, as you can opt for different levels of accommodations, etc., but Wilderness does it up right. I just looked at the Wilderness site, and see that costs at Mombo Camp are now between $1800-2900/night. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-countries-in-africa-to-visit/806861/23 "2018-01-19T08:02:18Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > FWIW, the US [State Department](https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/somalia-travel-advisory.html), the UK’s [Foreign and Commonwealth Office](https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/somalia), and the [Government of Canada](https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/somalia) all advise against travel to Somaliland due to the threat of kidnapping and violent attacks on foreigners. Did you feel at all unsafe there? No. It is “mandatory” for foreigners to travel with an armed bodyguard outside Hargeisa and Berbera, but apparently, this is waived on the road between the two cities. On the bus, at the checkpoint, I was warned “keep your head down so nobody can see you”. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-countries-in-africa-to-visit/806861/24 "2018-01-19T08:49:51Z")
A family friend is a retired African Studies professor and I see him posting a lot on FB about Ghana, to which he has significant professional and cultural ties and travels back and forth frequently. From what he posts, it seems like a very interesting place and an economic/democratic success story which is becoming a very significant power in Africa and dispels many of the negative stereotypes held in the West regarding Africa. I’m surprised it hasn’t been mentioned here. Anyway, I’ve never been anywhere in Africa, but if I was going to, that’d be where I’d go. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-countries-in-africa-to-visit/806861/25 "2018-01-19T15:40:09Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I just looked at the Wilderness site, and see that costs at Mombo Camp are now between $1800-2900/night. Wow. That seems…really high. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-countries-in-africa-to-visit/806861/26 "2018-01-19T17:34:45Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > Wow. That seems…really high. Consider that you’re getting first class accommodations, three great meals a day, and a morning, afternoon and evening game drive with an experienced guide. It’s expensive to resupply these remote locations, maintain the Range Rovers and rooms, and pay all the staff that prepare meals, clean rooms, etc. It’s also the experience of a lifetime that I was, in the end, more than happy to pay for. And more than once. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-countries-in-africa-to-visit/806861/27 "2018-01-19T19:34:50Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Consider that you’re getting first class accommodations, three great meals a day, and a morning, afternoon and evening game drive with an experienced guide. It’s expensive to resupply these remote locations, maintain the Range Rovers and rooms, and pay all the staff that prepare meals, clean rooms, etc. It’s also the experience of a lifetime that I was, in the end, more than happy to pay for. And more than once. And I hope some of the money goes into conservation efforts and the local community. Many safari areas have that type of set up, not all. It pays to do your research obviously. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-countries-in-africa-to-visit/806861/28 "2018-01-19T19:49:13Z")
I work with a lot of people from various African nations. How safe and enjoyable a visit to many of them can be depends on what local contacts you can arrange in advance. I was talking about plans/dreams of visiting Lesotho and some of the other small states and someone raised there said basically “Call me first and I’ll let some relatives know to look after you”. In his humble opinion, and that of others I’ve discussed the matter with, it can be pretty sketchy for a general issue tourist to wander around most parts of Africa without some sort of local bona fides unless you stay to the strictly tourist sections of some of the bigger countries. Their opinion could be wrong and it was just from people who have moved here for one reason or another - but most seem to feel that the same holds true through all of the continent. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-countries-in-africa-to-visit/806861/29 "2018-01-19T21:05:49Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > And I hope some of the money goes into conservation efforts and the local community. Many safari areas have that type of set up, not all. It pays to do your research obviously. Yeah, on our trip back out of Tanzania, the driver asked if we wanted to pull into a Masai kraal, which we did. For a $10 fee each, they showed us local costumes and some dancing, plus offered some crafts for sale. The money they got all went to schooling and medical supplies for the village ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2018, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-countries-in-africa-to-visit/806861/30 "2018-01-19T21:39:11Z")
I’m fond of Botswana, though Tunis and Egypt were enjoyable as well. I’d like to visit Namibia. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-countries-in-africa-to-visit/806861/31 "2018-01-20T23:43:14Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > In South Africa, I’d stick to Capetown and avoid Jo-Burg and Pretoria. They’re dangerous as hell if you’ve not been coached on proper behavior, but luckily I was (given that I have to fly into Jo-Burg to visit my plant in Silverton which is in Pretoria). Heck, I’ve stayed a few times in B&B’s in Oscar Pistorius’ neighborhood (more of a compound, actually). Anyway, the really cool thing about being in Pretoria — if you keep yourself safe — is the proximity to Pilanesberg National Park, which is kind of a “Kruger light,” and of course, the proximity to Kruger National Park. And of course near Johannesburg are the lion safaris, including the one that I went to before someone got eaten there. I’ve been to Port Elizabeth on a day trip (flying in and out), and it seemed nice enough. I’d love to spend some more time there, and visit Cape Town, too. Given that I have friends in Pretoria now and know how to avoid car jackings, I’d go there again. Amazing food, amazing people. I can’t wait to go back. South Africa is really an awesome, amazing place with awesome, amazing people. (Black/English/Afrikaner all, I might add.) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2018, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-countries-in-africa-to-visit/806861/32 "2018-01-20T23:59:35Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > They’re dangerous as hell if you’ve not been coached on proper behavior, but luckily I was (given that I have to fly into Jo-Burg to visit my plant in Silverton which is in Pretoria). Heck, I’ve stayed a few times in B&B’s in Oscar Pistorius’ neighborhood (more of a compound, actually). > > Anyway, the really cool thing about being in Pretoria — if you keep yourself safe — is the proximity to Pilanesberg National Park, which is kind of a “Kruger light,” and of course, the proximity to Kruger National Park. And of course near Johannesburg are the lion safaris, including the one that I went to before someone got eaten there. > > I’ve been to Port Elizabeth on a day trip (flying in and out), and it seemed nice enough. I’d love to spend some more time there, and visit Cape Town, too. Given that I have friends in Pretoria now and know how to avoid car jackings, I’d go there again. Amazing food, amazing people. > > I can’t wait to go back. South Africa is really an awesome, amazing place with awesome, amazing people. (Black/English/Afrikaner all, I might add.) We spent a week in Pretoria on the return leg of our big safari trip. Turned out to be a bad idea, as my wife fell on the steps at the Voortrekker Monument and really bunged her leg up good. Luckily, we had access to the embassy doctor who referred her to someone to cast the leg. I recall going to a store just down from the hotel to get her something. I laid a Rand note of some denomination on the counter to pay, and the cashier quickly scooped it up and handed it back to me. “Please hold on to your money; children prowl the stores and will run up and steal it.” I also remember that most every residence we passed had barbed wire and broken glass on the walls, and heavy iron security gates. We were warned ahead of time to avoid Jo-Burg. ---
**Author:** ![Ramira](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ramira/32/344_2.png) [@Ramira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ramira)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2018, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-countries-in-africa-to-visit/806861/33 "2018-01-21T11:53:13Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > , it can be pretty sketchy for a general issue tourist to wander around most parts of Africa without some sort of local bona fides unless you stay to the strictly tourist sections of some of the bigger countries. Their opinion could be wrong and it was just from people who have moved here for one reason or another - but most seem to feel that the same holds true through all of the continent. **This is complete nonsense.** Particularly “most seem to feel that the same holds true through all of the continent” Nonsense, like making stupid statements about all of Europe. There is absolutely no serious issue to wander around independently in a Morocco or a Senegal or a Ghana or a Benin etc - any more than if you are in any other countries. The crime rates alone show this. The countries that have the active civil unrest (regionally in the tunisia) or even the conflict (the RDC, the Somalia, the Algeria), of course that is a different question. and the South Africa is difficult around the big interior cities. But to make this statement sweepingly about the entire continent is complete nonsense and illogical. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2018, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-countries-in-africa-to-visit/806861/34 "2018-01-21T13:49:37Z")
> [@Ramira](#): > > **This is complete nonsense.** > > Particularly “most seem to feel that the same holds true through all of the continent” > > Nonsense, like making stupid statements about all of Europe. > > There is absolutely no serious issue to wander around independently in a Morocco or a Senegal or a Ghana or a Benin etc - any more than if you are in any other countries. The crime rates alone show this. > > The countries that have the active civil unrest (regionally in the tunisia) or even the conflict (the RDC, the Somalia, the Algeria), of course that is a different question. and the South Africa is difficult around the big interior cities. > > But to make this statement sweepingly about the entire continent is complete nonsense and illogical. Absolutely right, it was complete nonsense. Africans are people, just like everyone else, characterized by a general tendency toward generosity and hospitality and trust. If you go far enough from the beaten track, you may encounter people who are curious about outsiders, but will rarely treat a stranger unkindly. Like everywhere, there are opportunistic criminals, of whom one must always be wary, but otherwise, the traveler will be treated as hospitably, if not more so, as any of the most popular tourist meccas on any continent. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2018, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-countries-in-africa-to-visit/806861/35 "2018-01-21T14:11:40Z")
> [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#): > > I’m off to Democratic Republic of Congo this week. I’m going to climb a volcano called Nyiragongo and visit some mountain gorillas. By all accounts these are two incredible locations in the same national park. However the country is not considered safe. If you aren’t comfortable with that sort of thing then avoid. But for pure adventure I reckon it won’t get better. I will report back if I survive. > > Africa however is, as you’d expect, massively varied. Are there beach resorts with wild nightclubs? Perhaps somewhere but they are probably the exception. I hope you survive. Please report back. Sounds fascinating! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2018, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-countries-in-africa-to-visit/806861/36 "2018-01-21T16:14:09Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Absolutely right, it was complete nonsense. Africans are people, just like everyone else, characterized by a general tendency toward generosity and hospitality and trust. If you go far enough from the beaten track, you may encounter people who are curious about outsiders, but will rarely treat a stranger unkindly. Like everywhere, there are opportunistic criminals, of whom one must always be wary, but otherwise, the traveler will be treated as hospitably, if not more so, as any of the most popular tourist meccas on any continent. IME, this is also the case. Kids are the most curious and will gather around you and stare if you’re in more remote areas. When we were in Dogon country, the kids were staring at my t-shirt, which had a picture of a bull elk on the front, and which they had of course never seen. I pointed to it and said “Wapiti.” They all repeated it in unison, and unlike kids in the first world, would likely remember it their entire lives. The most aggressive anyone ever got in the two countries we lived in was when kids would shout “Tubob!” in Mali, or “Muzungu!” in Uganda. Both basically mean “foreigner”. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2018, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-countries-in-africa-to-visit/806861/37 "2018-01-21T21:08:13Z")
Going to DR Congo tomorrow! Going to have to be very wary in Goma but going north up to the gorillas will be the biggest risk. Well have armed guards. But whilst Congo is chaotic right next door is Rwanda. I’ve been in Kigali since Thursday and this is honestly the cleanest city I’ve ever been to. I saw my first bit of street litter today - I nearly took a photo! Rwanda is safe and pleasant. Aside from hitting the bars though and a few hours at the excellent Genocide Memorial Museum there’s not much to do here! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2018, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-countries-in-africa-to-visit/806861/38 "2018-01-21T22:30:31Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I also remember that most every residence we passed had barbed wire and broken glass on the walls, and heavy iron security gates. We were warned ahead of time to avoid Jo-Burg. Yeah, walled and gated communities are getting more and more popular. Some people try to stick it out. Talking to the owner of one of the B&B’s I stayed at, he decided to move into Silver Lakes (serious f’ing security here) after he was shot in his garage by a robber. His story isn’t unique. My company’s foreign workers on international assignment are required to live in such communities, and given that the company pays, it’s kind of a nice gig. And for security, all of the approved company hotels in Pretoria are B&B’s in such compounds. There’s no way to stay in a normal hotel. ---
**Author:** ![Ramira](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ramira/32/344_2.png) [@Ramira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ramira)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2018, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-countries-in-africa-to-visit/806861/39 "2018-01-21T22:52:44Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > The most aggressive anyone ever got in the two countries we lived in was when kids would shout “Tubob!” in Mali, or “Muzungu!” in Uganda. Both basically mean “foreigner”. Toubab. It is used to mean Westerner. Not just foreigner but westerner style foreigner (including people like black americans). ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2018, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-countries-in-africa-to-visit/806861/40 "2018-01-21T23:56:06Z")
> [@Ramira](#): > > Toubab. > > It is used to mean Westerner. Not just foreigner but westerner style foreigner (including people like black americans). Thanks. I mangled the spelling, which is embarrassing. I asked my local engineer what it meant, and the closest he could come was ‘foreigner’ or ‘stranger’. The only Bambara I knew was the formal exchange of greetings: i ni cè; i ke kenewa; etc. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-countries-in-africa-to-visit/806861.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-countries-in-africa-to-visit/806861.md?page=3)