We drove the west route through Africa ourselves: 23,000 kilometres, 21 countries, 140 days from Hamburg to Cape Town. Historically there are three ways to cross the continent. In practice only one of them works at the moment. Why that is, how the west route runs, and what you should know about safety, season and duration before you start planning in earnest.
The last day in Europe, and then onto the ferry. From here it is 23,000 kilometres to Cape Town.
The most storied way to cross the Sahara would be the central route: through Algeria into Niger, the classic line of the old desert expeditions. At the moment it is not realistic. In many regions of Niger there is a high risk of kidnapping, violent crime and terrorist attacks, and in northern Nigeria there is a serious risk of attacks by Islamic State West Africa (ISWA) and Boko Haram. The neighbouring countries Mali and Burkina Faso carry equally clear travel warnings. For the foreseeable future this route is not an option.
The east route runs from Egypt into Sudan and on into Ethiopia. Sudan has been at war since April 2023, between the army and paramilitary groups, and northern Ethiopia is volatile too. If you still want to travel down the eastern side, you can ship your vehicle to Mombasa in Kenya and drive south from there. It is a fine trip, but it is honestly only half a Trans Africa.
That leaves the west route: Morocco, Western Sahara and Mauritania into Senegal, then down the Atlantic side of the continent to South Africa. It is the longest route and the one that passes through the most countries, and at the moment it is the only realistic one. For us it came to 23,000 kilometres and 140 days.
It begins with a ferry, which is a fitting way to start: usually from Algeciras in southern Spain to Morocco, an hour and a half, around 200 euros for two people and a vehicle. From there you drive through Morocco and Western Sahara to the Mauritanian border, out in the desert. That border is the most complicated on the whole route, and it comes right at the start. Which is good news: once you are through it, the hardest border is behind you.
West Africa proper starts in Senegal, and with it the densest part of the trip: The Gambia, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, with Sierra Leone and Liberia too if you want them. Then Central Africa, with Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo and a short, intense stretch of DR Congo, before Angola, Namibia and South Africa bring in the south. Each of these sections has its own rhythm, its own landscape and its own surprises. North Africa from Morocco to Mauritania is shaped by the desert, West Africa is densely populated, full of colour and full of beaches, Central Africa is dominated by rainforest, and from Angola on, the land opens up again. Every section and every country has something of its own. In the guide we go through each country in detail: how to get the visa, how the border works, what to watch for, and the places we liked best.
Stuck in a river bed in Namibia. With a shovel, sand ladders and some pushing you get out of almost anything.
The short answer is yes. The west route is in good shape at the moment. Every border is open, and the countries, or at least the regions you pass through on the classic line, are safe. What matters just as much is knowing which neighbouring countries and border regions to stay out of. That list includes Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, northern Nigeria, the north of Ghana, Togo and Benin, and the east of DR Congo. Kidnapping, armed groups and continuing conflict are real there.
The classic route is a safe corridor. It only asks that you know where the corridor runs and where it ends.
The best time is the European winter, roughly September to May. Many overlanders start in Morocco in September or November, we set off at the beginning of December. That avoids two things at once: the extreme summer heat in the Sahara, in Morocco and Mauritania, and the rainy season in West and Central Africa, which usually falls between May and November. Keep roughly to that window and you arrive in Namibia and South Africa in their autumn. A good time, with mild temperatures, little rain and fewer tourists.
We have met overlanders who take a whole year, and a couple who pushed the route through in two months. We were on the road for 140 days. That worked, but it was tight.
We would recommend six to seven months. That gives you enough time to get to know the countries properly, to take small detours, and to keep a buffer for the things you cannot plan: illness, a stay at a garage, a visa that takes longer than expected. And it has one very practical side effect. With more time you can take the cheaper standard option on the visas instead of paying for express processing, which usually costs around 30 per cent more.
Your rough route is already decided. What is left is whether you want to add Sierra Leone and Liberia, which border you take from Nigeria into Cameroon, and how you want to spend your time in southern Africa. Then the questions that have nothing to do with the route: which vehicle, which visas in which order, how much budget, how the borders work, where you sleep at night. That is exactly what we wrote down in our guide.
We recommend six to seven months. We were on the road for 140 days and would happily have had another month. Faster than three months and the trip turns into pure driving.
The European winter, ideally starting between September and December. That avoids the summer heat in the Sahara and the rainy season in West and Central Africa.
The classic line is in good shape at the moment and every border is open. There are neighbouring regions you should stay out of, such as Mali, Niger or northern Nigeria. Respect, yes. Fear, no.
We wrote down everything we learned in 140 days of Trans Africa: all 16 country chapters, every border step by step, the visa overview with what we paid and where we applied, real costs and the best camp spots. The step by step preparation we could not find ourselves. And if you would rather talk it through with us, that is what the consulting is for.