With a landmass that vast, how could anyone possibly generalize about safety, wealth, landscapes, or comfort? Yet many still do\u00e2\u20ac\u201doften letting fear keep them from exploring beyond Morocco, Egypt, or Tunisia.<\/p>\n I won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t pretend the continent is flawless. But if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re into backpacking and have even the tiniest sense of adventure, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s absolutely no reason to hesitate to chose Africa as a backpacking destination<\/a>. The unknown is always a little intimidating, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s okay. I get emails every week from first-time Africa travelers asking in which countries to begin.<\/p>\n So here it is: my pick of 5 African countries that are safe, scenic, relatively easy to travel, and perfect for breaking in your Africa travel legs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Tanzania is a solid entry point for Africa travel\u00e2\u20ac\u201dno judgment if you want to stick to the tourist trail. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s well-worn for a reason, but there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still plenty of room to go rogue. English is widely spoken, so you should be able to communicate easily, even in small towns. The tourism infrastructure is well-developed, and the variety of landscapes is truly next-level.<\/p>\n A few backpacker highlights:<\/em><\/p>\n * Safari in Serengeti and\/or Ngorongoro crater<\/strong><\/p>\n * Chimpanzee tracking, Fishing and snorkelling in and around Tanganyika Lake<\/strong><\/p>\n * Beaches, spices and swahili charm on the islands of Zanzibar and\/or Pemba<\/strong><\/p>\n * Scaling Africa’s tallest: Mt. Kilimanjaro\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n With The Gambia nestled entirely inside Senegal, it makes perfect sense to visit both. Despite their geographical closeness, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re culturally very different.<\/p>\n Senegal has hosted tourists for decades and offers a mellow vibe with decent infrastructure. French being one of the official languages, you might have to dialogue with gestures. This works perfectly fine, especially in a country where smile is more important than words. The Gambia, dubbed \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Africa for beginners\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em>, is smaller, English-speaking, and super accessible for a short trip.<\/p>\n A few backpacker highlights:<\/em><\/p>\n * visit Dakar’s colourful chaotic markets<\/strong><\/p>\n * Join a fisherman’s crew in Gambia<\/strong><\/p>\n * Live jazz and historical charm in Saint-Louis, Senegal\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Uganda is the kind of place where backpacking feels like an actual adventure<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u201dasking for a lift on the back of someone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s motorbike, sharing matoke in roadside joints, watching the landscape change hour by hour. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s friendly, English-speaking, and brimming with diversity. Pair it with Rwanda for an itinerary that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s both scenic and soul-stirring. They may be neighbors, but culturally, they’re worlds apart.<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0Keep in mind that you’ll need a higher budget for Rwanda.<\/p>\n A few backpacker highlights:<\/em><\/p>\n * Gorilla tracking\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n * Relaxing and bird watching in Lake Bunyonyi<\/strong><\/p>\n * Murchison Falls: giraffes, waterfalls and epic boat safari’s<\/strong><\/p>\n Ghana is full of contrast: tropical rainforests and dry savannahs, colonial castles and remote tribal villages, high-energy cities and deeply rooted traditions. A few backpacker highlights:<\/em><\/p>\n * Visiting the historic slave forts of Cape Coast and Elmina Castle<\/strong><\/p>\n * Trekking in Kakum National park<\/strong><\/p>\n * Experiencing village life and visiting Larabanga mosque<\/strong><\/p>\n 5. South Africa:\u00c2\u00a0Western comfort in an African robe<\/strong><\/p>\n If you are yearning for some African flavour but are not quite ready to leave behind your western comfort, South Africa is the perfect compromise. It’s modern and developed in many ways, but still very much African in its energy, creativity, and joie de vivre<\/em>.<\/p>\n From transportation to hostels and top notch sites, South Africa has everything you need for a surprising backpacking trip.<\/strong><\/p>\n There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a huge range of experiences to be had\u00e2\u20ac\u201dfrom wine tasting and surfing to penguin-spotting and safari adventures.<\/p>\n A few backpacker highlights:<\/em><\/p>\n * Cape Town and surroundings<\/strong><\/p>\n * Hiking in the dramatic Drakensberg mountains<\/strong><\/p>\n * Wild life galore in Kruger National Park<\/strong><\/p>\n Backpacking in Africa isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like Southeast Asia. It can be tougher, slower, and yes\u00e2\u20ac\u201dpricier. But the depth of interaction<\/em>, the raw beauty<\/em>, and the sense of true discovery<\/em> are on a whole different level.<\/p>\n The countries listed here are perfect for beginners, but they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not basic. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll challenge, surprise, and move you. And once you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve caught the Africa bug, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a whole other list of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153edgier\u00e2\u20ac\u009d destinations waiting for the more intrepid among you.<\/p>\n But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a post for another day.<\/p>\n The post “First time Africa Travel: where to backpack<\/a>” first appeared on Travel Cake<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" So, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve decided to go for it\u00e2\u20ac\u201dyou’re going to venture into what many still unfairly call the scariest, darkest continent of them all. Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear up that misconception right off the bat. Yes, some African countries come with their share of challenges, but Africa is enormous. Did you know that the entire USA, China, India, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5112,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,115,122],"tags":[110,38,18,34,25,37,26],"country":[223,198,204,201,222,249],"class_list":["post-2292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa","category-tanzania","category-uganda","tag-africa","tag-backpacking","tag-budget","tag-destination-guide","tag-tanzania","tag-tips","tag-zanzibar","post_format-post-format-image","country-ghana","country-senegal","country-south-africa","country-tanzania","country-the-gambia","country-uganda"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2292"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4581,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2292\/revisions\/4581"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2292"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=2292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"true](\"https:\/\/travelcake.site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/true-size-of-africa.jpg\")
<\/a>1. Tanzania: The Classic crowd-pleaser<\/strong><\/h4>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>2. Senegal and The Gambia: West Africa’ warm welcome<\/strong><\/h4>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/h4>\n
3. Uganda: Mellow, lush and diverse – combine with Rwanda:<\/em><\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n
\nUganda has so much to offer: Safari’s on foot, by 4×4 or by boat. Explosive waterfalls, vibrant nightlife, adrenaline sports, lakes and gorgeous jungle hikes. There is a reason why they call it the “Pearl of Africa”.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>4. Ghana: On the Gold Coast of Africa<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\nYou’ll find Muslim, Christians and animists living side by side in harmony. You’ll see traditional villages contrast against bustling cities where fashionistas stylishly parade through the hotspots. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lively, diverse, and surprisingly easy to get around thanks to a solid network of intercity buses and widespread English use.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>Have you backpacked Africa? Would you like\/dare to?<\/strong><\/h4>\n