francoeurdavid

My brothers and I are planning a massive trip around Africa and Europe for a total of 100 days.

I post here because I'm looking for help and resources for fellow backpack travellers. I'll make a list of what are plans are and I need advice if this is good or not and if it can be done or not!

The trip itself :

We plan to land in North Morocco or Tanger (and take the ferry to Morroco). From there we thought about either renting a car or buying one and drive down the atlantic cost up to the Côte d'Ivoire. From there, We would then drive back up and make our way in Europe via a ferry in Tunis to Italy.

We would then drive up through Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and end up in France to take a flight back from Charles-de-Gaule. This is what it would look like :

http://goo.gl/maps/y5YWi

So here are a couple of question we have for you guys :

Is it reasonable to drive that much for a 100 days ?

Google estimates the trip to 203 hours, if we drive 3 hours a day, it would go down to something like 70 days. Of course it would take us much more as we would get lost / mechanic issue / ferry, etc...

Is it better to take a ticket for a round trip or to buy two tickets, one to go and one to comeback separately. Is it even possible to get out of the custom without a return ticket?

Is it better to rent one or many car along the trip or to buy one? Let say we buy a car in Morroco, is it possible to resell it in France before returning?

Do you have links to resources that would help us ensure we have most of what is required for a backpack trip like this?

Currently we have :

A backpack
Sleeping bag
Tent
Ground matress
Knife

There must be many things we forget or we are too optimistic about? Could you point us what you think could be wrong with the way we think and give us your feedbakc on our idea?

Thanks a lot, David, Kevin and Olivier

Note that I intend to update this post based on the answer I get from the people I ask these questions.

Fra_Diavolo

First off, the travel you have in mind is much more frequently discussed at the Thorn Tree on the Lonely Planet site.

I lived in West Africa for a while, but it was long ago and I'm afraid my info would be outdated. That said, Ivory Coast is still recovering from a civil war and security can be an issue. Mali was the scene of an Islamist uprising only recently quelled. Mali and Algeria both have active terrorist groups which kidnap Western tourists and hold them for ransom. Then, of course, there's the Sahara desert crossing -- not to be undertaken lightly.

I think you need to do a little more research into a workable route.

thursdaysd

Sounds far too much distance - but you should ask about the Europe leg on the Europe board. And the whole trip on the Lonely Planet board.

Don't you read the news? Looking at the map I think you have major security issues with Western Sahara, Mali and Algeria at a minimum.

"The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advise against all but essential travel to Bamako and against all travel to the rest of Mali. You should not travel to the north of Mali under any circumstances."

Algeria: "The FCO advise against all but essential travel to parts of the country."

I hope you are not planning on free camping in Europe.

francoeurdavid

Thanks again guys. I'll definitely give a look at Lonely Planet.

That said, thanks for the advice in security, it is something that we didn't think about.

We were not hoping for free camping in Europe, but more for cheap youth hostel. There are probably some places we will be able to sleep in a tent, right? What is so bad about this idea?

Thanks again, David.

Fra_Diavolo

No longer a camper myself. Many years ago I camped in England asking farmers if I could pitch a tent in a field.

Here are some sites I found on camping in Europe:

http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/09...ers-guide.html

http://www.transitionsabroad.com/pub...n_europe.shtml

http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/0899camping.htm

That should get you started!

thursdaysd

Nothing wrong at all with sleeping in a tent. You just need to do it in the right places.