I spent four months travelling around Africa on buses, boats and planes – these are the mistakes people make when planning a trip to the continent and why South Africa is best for first-timers

‘I’ve travelled to over 70 countries across five continents, but even that couldn’t prepare me for a lot of what I experienced in Africa.’

TikTok traveller and blogger Eli Solidum (@elisolidum), from the Philippines, is telling MailOnline Travel about his amazing four-month odyssey around Africa, a journey that had ‘a ton’ of challenges but that also featured ‘surreal’ and ‘otherworldly’ experiences.

The 28-year-old reveals the best country on the continent for first-timers, why the wildlife is a shock to the system and the common mistakes people make when planning a trip to Africa.

But first, what were the ‘ton’ of challenges he faced?

Eli travelled to Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, and reveals: ‘Logistically, it might be the toughest trip I’ve taken. Just between infrequent and unreliable public transportation, lack of budget accommodation options in certain parts, outdated and inaccurate maps, fewer online resources covering my destinations, I had to freestyle a lot of it and adapt on the fly.

‘I didn’t run into many travellers to exchange advice and plans with. It was also mentally challenging being a foreigner because you stuck out no matter what. It was impossible to keep a low profile and I just wasn’t used to the constant attention, even if most of it was out of harmless curiosity.’

The 29-year-old traveller explains there’s a ‘sweet spot’ when it comes to planning a trip in Africa. Eli says: ‘I didn’t have which countries I’d be visiting set in stone, so spontaneous detours to Uganda and Rwanda required visas that I had to wait for.’

The wait meant Eli had to stay in Kenya ‘longer than planned’ and ‘readjust’ his visa in ‘a whole 10-day-long mess of hobbling around Nairobi to sort everything out’.

He reveals: ‘Even if you don’t like planning your trips, which I very much don’t, I’d recommend looking into the visa requirements for every country you might visit, checking what vaccines and medications are required or recommended, figuring out where the major transportation hubs and airports are, and then going from there.’

But on the flipside, Eli warns it’s easy to make the common mistake of overplanning a trip to the continent.

The traveller says: ‘If you plan too much and have strict bookings and flights for every stretch of the trip, that plan will fall apart before too long.

‘Things often move slowly here, like the three-day train ride from Dar-es-Salaam to Lusaka. I was about three days in when it broke down less than halfway to the destination. I later met some people in Lusaka planning on taking the same train and reaching Dar-es-Salaam in time for a flight exactly three days later. I didn’t stay in touch with them, but I’m willing to bet they missed their flight.’

Then there are the buses. They generally make getting from place to place easy, but there’s always the danger of getting on the wrong one. 

Eli explains: ‘East Africa had no shortage of buses or shared minibuses called matatus and it was easy to get from place to place. But bus stations were often chaotic or overwhelming and showing up as a foreigner with two backpacks strapped on both sides of me usually meant that I’d be dragged all over the place by people trying to get me on their bus, which wasn’t always the correct bus.

‘Things are bound to happen, and a simple domino falling can demolish your entire itinerary.’

Luckily, there’s no planning required to enjoy Africa’s spectacular wildlife, with Eli revealing he was surprised at how ubiquitous it was.

He explains: ‘You don’t even have to go on safaris to see wildlife. I’d be riding my bike and have to stop to let a giraffe cross. I’m walking to lunch and a baboon is ripping open a trash can in front of me, while a warthog snatches some of the rubbish and runs away with it. I hitched a ride in Botswana and we had to stop on the highway for half an hour because a huge herd of zebras and elephants were taking turns drinking from a watering hole on one side of the road. It was awe-inspiring, and never got old.’

Botswana is also where Eli had one of ‘the most peaceful experiences’ of his life, despite the appearance of a fearsome uninvited guest. He reveals: ‘Being on the mokoro (a flat, narrow type of canoe) and gliding through the waters on the [Okavango Delta] in the morning light was one of the most peaceful experiences of my life. It was serene, the stillness of the water, the chirping of the birds, it just felt like a dream.

‘At the same time, you’re on this tiny, defenceless slab of wood in waters inhabited by countless hippos and elephants. We were charged by a hippo on our way back to our starting point, and those few seconds felt like an eternity. Luckily, it was a bluff charge and it backed off, but it was a massive jolt of adrenaline to contrast with how calm the morning had been thus far. It really drove home the reality of how wild, untamed, and untouched some of the places I was visiting still were.’

So, apart from Botswana, what are the bucket-list places?

Eli recommends Sossusvlei in Namibia, a salt pan surrounded by desert dunes, which he describes as the ‘most surreal, otherworldly place I visited’. Mount Kenya was also a highlight. Eli reveals: ‘Reaching the summit of Mount Kenya was unforgettable because it was such a challenge, fighting the altitude and beginning our summit push at two in the morning.’

He adds that Mosi-oa-Tunya, the Zambian National Park that’s home to half of the Victoria Falls waterfall, is ‘awe-inspiring, living up to the hype and then some’.

And don’t miss Uganda. 

Eli explains: ‘It wasn’t even on my radar when I landed in Kenya, but I met so many Ugandans in Kenya and they were always smiling and laughing. I got curious and wanted to see why everyone in the country was so dang happy all the time. I only spent 10 days there but I loved it.

‘It’s got a little bit of everything. Gorilla trekking, chimpanzee trekking, Murchison Falls, the source of the Nile River, crater lakes and the snowy Rwenzori Mountains, home to some of the tallest peaks in Africa. It’s one of the most lush countries I’ve been to and the people there were among the friendliest and funniest. The nightlife scene is incredible and probably the best in East Africa.’

For the first-time visitor to Africa, Eli recommends South Africa as the ‘best introduction’. He explains: ‘Cape Town and the Garden Route are a great place to find your footing, due to them being a good mix of Western and African cultures. I found it a good introduction, like letting yourself into the continent gently before diving into the more remote and culturally-different regions. 

‘If I hadn’t visited Cape Town five years ago, I think I would have struggled more with travelling the rest of the continent. It’s a great place to meet other travellers, too, so you can get advice from them or even meet up with them along the way.’

While Africa isn’t a well-trodden route on the backpacker circuit, that can have unexpected benefits. Eli reveals: ‘There weren’t too many backpackers travelling the continent while I was there. It’d be nice sometimes because you’d pay $10 (£7.88) for a shared dormitory in a hostel and have the whole room, sometimes even the whole hostel, to yourself.’

Eli remarked that some of the ‘fancy several-hundred-dollar-a-night’ lodges offer camping spots for a fraction of a price and that sometimes he’d stay in a hotel or apartment when he ‘needed a breather after a big adventure’ – but that for the most part his budget was $20 (£15.76) or under a night.

So what would Eli tell someone reluctant to visit Africa?

He says: ‘I think it’s good to have a little indecision and anxiety before going. It’s not your typical travel destination and there will be challenges. Backpacking Africa is not for everyone, but if adventure is what you’re looking for, there are few places in the world that can offer what Africa does. 

‘Most travellers I’ve met have said the same thing. It isn’t easy, but it is an immensely rewarding experience and perhaps the most fulfilling trip I’ve ever taken. If you want to come away from your trip with countless stories and lifelong memories, then Africa will provide that in abundance. It’s unlike any trip I’ve taken before.’