"You are well advised to set out with a professional pilgrim as a guide. Such men of lifelong calling (or penance) are easily recognizable, 'adorned with many tokens, the witness of many wonders, the hero of many adventures.'"
If You See The Buddha On The Road, Kill Him. Sheldon Kopp
If You See The Buddha On The Road, Kill Him. Sheldon Kopp
When we first began planning this trip, we had some knowledge about what a road trip of this magnitude would entail, having driven from England to Mongolia in 2012, but west Africa was a bit of a mystery. A quick search online found a ton of information that we waded through. Here is some of the most useful info we have found thus far.
- http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/
- This is by far one of the most useful webpages around. It contains info on planning motorcycle and car trips pretty much anywhere in the world. In all reality, you could find nearly all the information for your trip here. A particularly useful section of this website is The HUBB forum: http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/
- Within the HUBB forum is a huge amount of information. For west Africa, there is one thread in particular that has excellent information and should be consulted for all types of info. Seriously, this man has gone above and beyond in compiling a great list of information: http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/sub-saharan-africa/comprehensive-guide-west-africa-without-89519
- http://www.voodoochile.se/CCC/VC4/VC4-motoMore/VC4-beyondBorders/VC4-beyondBorders.asp
- This is an equally useful website as the HUBB forum. This man from Sweden has compiled an extremely comprehensive collection of info from his travels in Africa. He documented in detail every border crossing, what he was asked for, and how long each crossing took. He also did the same for each visa he applied for. It really is the most thorough list of info on overlanding in west Africa I have ever seen. He tracked his gas usage and compiled it onto a spreadsheet, listing how much a liter of petrol costed in each country (http://www.voodoochile.se/CCC/VC4/VC4-motoMore/VC4-beyondBorders/VC4-countrySummary.asp). There was so much info that I did not get through all of it. There might be anything buried in there! For anyone looking to travel by car or motorcycle through Africa, this should be one of your staple websites.
- https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/welcome
- This is the Thorntree forum hosted by Lonely Planet. Most travelers will recognize the famous guidebook's name. The forum has been very useful for odd questions mostly related to tourism (good places to stay, local spots to visit, visa questions). I've had very good luck with it in the past for travel to most anywhere. Chances are, if you have a question, someone else has probably already had it, and asked it. Take advantage of this very useful resource!
- https://sahara-overland.com/home/
- Any and everything about the Sahara! Chris Scott has been traveling in the Sarah by motorcycle and car since 1982. He has published numerous books on the subject, and his website contains just about any information you could possibly need. For west African travelers, he has great info on Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, and Niger. If you fancy a desert crossing from west to east across the desert, this is the place to come to prepare. The forum on his website links to the HUBB. The website also includes a great collection of travelers tales who have had adventures in the Sahara.
- http://www.fabandvivien.com/
- Fab and Vivien. Fab attempts to drive an old Mercedes north to south in west Africa. He does so on the cheap and attempts to raise money to donate to charities to make the world a little bit better. He does a good job on his blog, and the video entries are also fun to watch. Some decent info here about borders and visas, but mostly its just an entertaining site to get you excited about the trip!
- Trip blogs. There are tons of trip blogs and videos about crossing Africa. Many people have done it. Here are two websites that I enjoyed reading, and they have some good info as well.
- https://capetocapeblog.wordpress.com/about/
- Pretty detailed blog and route map. Individual country and visa info.
- http://indlovu.org/africa/blog/
- Very well done website with good videos and a detailed blog. There is some visa info as well.
Well, that is all I have for you! I'm sure I'm missing some great piece of information, or the best video blog out there, but this is more than enough to get one started on planning an amazing road trip. Enjoy!
