Cairo to Cape Town overland tours
Dispelling easy stereotypes every step of the way, on an overland tour from Cairo to Cape Town you’ll quickly learn the truth behind the saying that ‘Africa is not a country’. Naturally, exploring the big ticket locations: the Nile, the Great Rift Valley, the Sahara, will captivate you, but this is also an opportunity to really delve beneath the headlines and catch sight of the ‘real Africa’ on a continent that is often visited but rarely well explored.
Our Overland Vacations
Cape Town to Vic Falls vacation in Southern Africa
A spectacular and diverse African journey
From
US $4179 to US $4399
20 days
ex flights
Namibia and Botswana camping safari
Camping safari to Namib desert, Caprivi, Etosha & Okavango
From
US $2815 to US $2990
21 days
ex flights
Nairobi To Dar Es Salaam overland tour
From mountain gorillas to blue waters of Zanzibar
From
£1895 to £1945
5 weeks
ex flights
The Grand Southern Africa safari
21-day tour from Cape Town to Victoria Falls
From
£1810 to £3679
20 days
ex flights
Cape Town to Victoria Falls small group lodge tour
Classic route lodge safari to Namibia, Botswana & Zimbabwe
From
US $3940 to US $4240
21 days
ex flights
Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe expedition safari
Expedition trip through Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi.
From
US $3905
20 days
ex flights
Cairo to Cape Town itinerary & highlights
Traveling the length of a continent, some 10,400km as the crow flies, it can take up to 20 weeks to get from Cairo to Cape Town, or indeed the other way. Luckily, for those with more ambition than time, it’s easily possible to break this route up into shorter stages that you can tackle over several years if you wish.
Michael Battley from our supplier Dragoman on the flexibility of overland Africa itineraries:
“Often you can make a tour as long or as short as you wish. For example we have had passengers that have completed Cairo to Cape Town but done it over a five year period as they come back and rejoin at the point they left last time. Each individual leg is designed as a trip in its own right, which then just has the benefit of tying together with other legs to form the longer itineraries.”
“Often you can make a tour as long or as short as you wish. For example we have had passengers that have completed Cairo to Cape Town but done it over a five year period as they come back and rejoin at the point they left last time. Each individual leg is designed as a trip in its own right, which then just has the benefit of tying together with other legs to form the longer itineraries.”
Over the course of an odyssey from Egypt to South Africa you can pass through countries including Botswana, Rwanda, Zambia, Ethiopia, Namibia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Kenya. The breadth of landscapes and cultures that you will experience is immense.
In respect of activities, you might be raising your adrenaline levels with white water rafting, or scuba diving in the Red Sea. You will equally be gaining valuable insights into the realities of life in different parts of Africa, by meeting Maasai communities, taking bush walks with San tribespeople, and eye opening, ethical tours around townships.
In respect of activities, you might be raising your adrenaline levels with white water rafting, or scuba diving in the Red Sea. You will equally be gaining valuable insights into the realities of life in different parts of Africa, by meeting Maasai communities, taking bush walks with San tribespeople, and eye opening, ethical tours around townships.
Our top Overland Vacation
Namibia and Botswana camping safari
Camping safari to Namib desert, Caprivi, Etosha & Okavango
From
US $2815 to US $2990
21 days
ex flights
Small group travel:
2022: 31 Jul, 11 Sep, 25 Sep, 20 Nov, 18 Dec
2023: 22 Jan, 19 Mar, 26 Mar, 2 Apr, 14 May, 11 Jun, 2 Jul, 16 Jul, 30 Jul, 13 Aug, 27 Aug, 10 Sep, 24 Sep, 8 Oct, 19 Nov, 17 Dec
2022: 31 Jul, 11 Sep, 25 Sep, 20 Nov, 18 Dec
2023: 22 Jan, 19 Mar, 26 Mar, 2 Apr, 14 May, 11 Jun, 2 Jul, 16 Jul, 30 Jul, 13 Aug, 27 Aug, 10 Sep, 24 Sep, 8 Oct, 19 Nov, 17 Dec
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Practicalities
On a Cairo to Cape Town overland tour, you can definitely expect to be roughing it for the most part. Wild camping, or bush camps with limited toilet facilities are the norm, and by the time you reach the finish line, you’ll be an expert at setting up tents, collecting water, and choosing food at local markets.
Roads can be dusty, waterlogged, pitted with potholes or blocked by bad tempered buffalo, making progress slow. But travel in Africa is rarely fast, and its unpredictable nature should be embraced. The luxury comes from the experiences you’ll have as you travel, such as sleeping beneath a starry African sky every night. That is something that never, ever gets boring.