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 Victoria Falls vacation in Southern Africa
A spectacular and diverse African journey
From
US $3255 to US $5035
20 days
ex flights
Namibia and Botswana camping safari
Camping safari to Namib desert, Caprivi, Etosha & Okavango
From
US $2815 to US $2950
21 days
ex flights
Nairobi and Cape Town African overland truck tour
The best of Eastern and Southern Africa overland
From
£4415 to £4585
71 days
ex flights
West Africa overland expedition
Travel from the Sahara to the Ocean at Guinea Bissau
From
£6995 to £7645
4 weeks
ex flights
The Grand Southern Africa safari
21-day tour from Cape Town to Victoria Falls
From
£2549
20 days
ex flights
Victoria Falls to Cape Town small group vacation
Explore the best of Southern Africa's wildlife and nature.
From
US $2292 to US $3125
22 days
ex flights
Cape to Windhoek Namibia Desert tour
Lodge safari from Cape Town to Namibia, Sossusvlei Etosha
From
US $2890
13 days
ex flights
Safari adventure vacation, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique
An extraordinary camping safari across South Eastern Africa
From
US $2830 to US $2840
22 days
ex flights
Ethiopia to Kenya overland truck tour
Overland through Ethiopia's remarkable tribal lands
From
£1770 to £1860
24 days
ex flights
South Africa and Swaziland safari
Lodge safari all encompassing South Africa & Swaziland
From
US $2545 to US $2660
17 days
ex flights
Cape Town to Victoria Falls small group lodge tour
Classic route lodge safari to Namibia, Botswana & Zimbabwe
From
US $4195
21 days
ex flights
West African overland tour, Dakar to Freetown
Overland tour using a combination of overland vehicles, 4x4s and boats
From
£1525 to £1580
23 days
ex flights
Kenya and Ethiopia overland tour
Overland tour of Ethiopia with Northern & Central Kenya
From
£3250 to £3355
44 days
ex flights
Cape Town to Vic Falls small group tour
Adventure packed vacation from Cape Town to Victoria Falls.
From
US $2755 to US $3035
22 days
ex flights
Cairo to Cape Town overland truck tour, the Nile route
Explore the length of Africa on this epic overland journey
From
£9375 to £9710
142 days
ex flights
Ethiopia overland tour, 35 days
A wonderful overland tour of Ethiopia
From
£2630 to £2705
35 days
ex flights
Uganda and Kenya overland truck tour
Overland adventure in East Africa including Gorilla trek
From
£1360 to £1420
21 days
ex flights
Ethiopia tour by overland truck
A pioneering expedition through Ethiopia's incredible north
From
£1540 to £1575
21 days
ex flights
Cairo to Nairobi overland safari truck tour
Overland through the Sahara and the Ethiopian Highlands
From
£5505 to £5700
72 days
ex flights
Family overland safari in Zimbabwe, Botswana & Namibia
Family overland tour in Southern Africa
From
£2240 to £2375
19 days
ex flights
West Africa overland tour, Dakar to Accra
Off the beaten track West Africa overland tour
From
£3270 to £3390
50 days
ex flights
West Africa tours, Ghana Togo & Benin
Explore West Africa's highlights overland
From
£1280 to £1350
21 days
ex flights
Cape Town to Zanzibar overland tour
Stunning beaches with some of the best wildlife parks
From
£2405 to £2480
42 days
ex flights
Western Sahara overland tour, Marrakech to Bissau
Travel from North Africa through the Sahara to the tropics
From
£6649
4 weeks
ex flights
West African overland tour
Off the beaten track West Africa overland tour
From
£4430 to £4615
70 days
ex flights
East African budget overland tour
3-week wildlife odyssey in the heart of East Africa
From
£2079
21 days
ex flights
South Africa, Botswana and Zambia vacation
A taste of Africa through the continent’s popular highlights
From
US $1475 to US $2259
14 days
ex flights
Eastern Trans Africa & Gorillas overland tour
Journey up the Nile through to Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya
From
£6695 to £6935
92 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
Cape Town to Victoria Falls vacation in Southern Africa
A spectacular and diverse African journey
From
US $3255 to US $5035
20 days
ex flights
Small group travel:
2019: 8 Jun, 7 Sep, 26 Oct, 2 Nov, 9 Nov, 23 Nov, 12 Dec
2020: 29 Feb, 21 Mar, 25 Apr, 16 May, 27 Jun, 4 Jul, 11 Jul, 18 Jul, 25 Jul, 8 Aug, 15 Aug, 29 Aug, 5 Sep, 12 Sep, 19 Sep, 26 Sep, 10 Oct, 17 Oct, 31 Oct, 7 Nov, 21 Nov, 12 Dec
2019: 8 Jun, 7 Sep, 26 Oct, 2 Nov, 9 Nov, 23 Nov, 12 Dec
2020: 29 Feb, 21 Mar, 25 Apr, 16 May, 27 Jun, 4 Jul, 11 Jul, 18 Jul, 25 Jul, 8 Aug, 15 Aug, 29 Aug, 5 Sep, 12 Sep, 19 Sep, 26 Sep, 10 Oct, 17 Oct, 31 Oct, 7 Nov, 21 Nov, 12 Dec
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about Overland or need help finding a vacation to suit you we're very happy to help.
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.
More about Overland
Jump aboard our overland vacations travel guide to find out all about what this kind of vacation involves, and get ready to unleash the explorer within.
Our exciting guide to the best overland tour routes is stuffed with useful info on what to expect, but don’t forget our helpdesk team can go into much more detail if you need it.
It’s easy to find useful information about the destinations you’ll be visiting, but more difficult to get a feel for one important aspect of overland travel – what it’s like to spend weeks on end in a truck.
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Will my kids enjoy an overland vacation? What if I can only take a few weeks off work? Where are the best places to take an overland tour? All these questions and more are answered by the experts.
All our overland guides. Find all of our overland guides in one place; includes all rail and self-drive vacations as well as trips using a combination of transport; or see our regional overland trips.
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Photo credits: [Page banner: Phil Whitehouse] [Intro: Ferran Feixas]
[Itinerary & highlights: ray rui]
[Practicalities 1: Gopal Vijayaraghavan]
[Practicalities 2: Maxim Medvedev]
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