Africans Cannot Afford To Travel Around Africa

Africa is a challenging continent to travel around even at the best of times. It can be a surreal experience at the best of times seeing things unfold in front of you that you only remember hearing and reading about prior to your trip. Westerners usually find Africa to be very cheap due to the low price of commodities and the favourable exchange rates. For many Africans the chance to travel around their continent like westerners do is simply nothing more than a dream.

While we might travel to Africa to indulge in a Namibia safari an African may firstly not be interested in something that he has grown up with, and secondly may not be able to afford to take part in a trip like this. The problem actually begins before any activities are booked; it begins with the visas and the cost of transport. Unlike westerners who are able to travel to Africa and purchase their visas upon arrival, many Africans must apply for their visas at least a month in advance with very little hope of one ever being granted. South Africa is a prime example of this requiring over 40 African nations to apply for a visa prior to arrival in the country including its neighbour and fellow Southern Africa Development Community member, Botswana. If an African citizen wants to apply for a visa to venture on a Zambia safari, it can take as long as two weeks to process with no guarantees of any travel at the end of it.

Visas are not the only obstacle many Africans fail to overcome in their quest to travel as money is another troublesome affair. The price of a flight from west to east Africa can be as much as $1000 in some cases, which for many withers away that dream of heading to Tanzania to visit the Ruaha National Park. Travelling costs in Africa can in fact be more than travelling to the USA or to Europe in many cases completely ruling out travelling around the continent for 99% of Africans. It seems as if the odds are truly stacked against them and there is very little they can do about it. Until regions in Africa begin to open up there is still going to be huge restrictions on travel throughout the continent.

Tags: kenya safari, Namibia Safari, Tanzania Safari, Zambia Safari