* Note: The information below is valid now (2004/2005) but I imagine will
constantly change, so can be used as a guide only.
From talking to others it seems that visa costs and requirements vary greatly
depending on where you get them from.
So shopping around may be worthwhile.
** GPS waypoints are from Magellan SportTrak GPS. To download complete list as an excel file click here All Country GPS.xls
Click here to download excel version of information.
|
Country |
Visa Reqd? |
Visa Cost |
Where to Get |
Insurance |
Where to Get |
Road Tax |
Fuel Cost £/l |
Exchange Rate |
Notes |
Money |
Highlights |
||||||||||
| South Africa | No | Couldn't buy (but don't really need as included in fuel cost, apparently) | None | 0.43 | 11ZAR/£ | Never stopped by police, good roads, can use visa to pay for fuel. | ATMs take maestro/visa everywhere |
|
|||||||||||||
| Mozambique | Yes | 121 Rand | On border | $15 | On border | None | 0.43 | 38000Mtl/£ | Rarely stopped by police just for chat, very nice. Not asked for documents. Cash for fuel only. | Some ATMs take visa (no maestro). |
|
||||||||||
| Tanzania | Yes | $50 | At Maputo takes 2 days (may be able to get at border) | Not bought | On main borders | $5 - $25 | 0.46 | 2000TSh/£ | Road tax cost depends on border. Tourists generally not stopped by police (make sure your number plate is clean!). Cash for fuel only. | ATMs take visa. Some Barclays accept maestro. |
|
||||||||||
| Kenya | Yes | $50 | On border | Not bought | On main borders | $40 | 0.57 | 100KSh/£ | Don't have to buy road tax on every border. Not stopped by police. Can use visa for fuel in big towns | ATMs take visa. Some Barclays accept maestro. |
|
||||||||||
| Uganda | Yes | $50 | On border | $20 | On border | 37000USh | 0.75 | 2000USh/£ | Have to pay road tax in shillings and must buy insurance to get tax. Change money beforehand if you can to avoid bad exchange rates on border crossing. Only stopped by police once. | ATMs take visa. Some Barclays accept maestro. |
|
||||||||||
| Malawi | No | $20 | On border | 0.47 | 205Kw/£ | Police check insurance every time (large fine if you don't have it!) and check lights/indicators work. Lots of police blocks on all main roads. Cash for fuel only. | ATMs take visa. Some Barclays accept maestro. |
|
|||||||||||||
| Zambia | Yes | $60 | On border | $35 | On border | 0.50 | 9100ZMK/£ | Insurance lasts for 3 months. Make sure you have reflective strips on front & back of car. Regular police blocks on main roads, check lights/tape/seatbelts etc. will fine if any problems. Cash for fuel only. | ATMs take visa. Some banks accept maestro. |
|
|||||||||||
| Botswana | No | 75 pula | 0.35 | Namibian insurance covers Botswana | Drove through too quickly! | ||||||||||||||||
| Namibia | No | 940N$ (for a year, can get refund when you leave) | Not on border, we found through Welwetschia | 110N$ | 0.36 | 11N$/£ | Cross Border Charge needs to be bought at border, will be checked. Could only buy insurance for a year, then cancel and refund before leaving. Namibia not accept yellow card. | ATMs take visa/maestro |
|
||||||||||||
| Angola | Yes | £150 | Pretoria (need letter of invitation, 1 week) | Not bought | None | 0.18 | 160 Kw/£ | Difficult to get visa in Southern African countries and very expensive. We heard it is easier if coming down the way, or get before leaving home. Not asked for Insurance but stopped a few times at police checks (nice to tourists). | Some ATMs take visa, easy to change T/Cheques and cash. |
|
|||||||||||
| DRC | Yes | $110 (we got transit visa for $50 on border) | Luanda (1 day) | Not bought | None | 900 Congo franc/£ | We managed to get a transit visa on border, but was hard work and had to wait a day for chief to arrive to issue it. Stopped at police checks and documents/insurance requested (although they seem nice to tourists). | Didn't change any. |
|
||||||||||||
| Congo | Yes | $90 | Luanda ( 1 day) | Not bought | None | 0.33 | 900 CFA/£ | Very easy border crossing, lots of police blocks but no hassles for tourists. | Some ATMs take visa, easy to change T/Cheques and cash. |
|
|||||||||||
| Gabon | Yes | $100 | Luanda (2 days) |
Not bought (checked by police) |
None | 0.39 | 900 CFA/£ | We found Gabon police/officials to be most corrupt so far. Stopped at every road block to check paperwork and requests for beer/money etc. Don't hand over original papers! | Some ATMs take visa, easy to change T/Cheques and cash. |
|
|||||||||||
| Cameroon | Yes | 50000 CFA | Libreville (1 day) | Not bought (checked by police) | None (toll roads) | 0.52 | 900 CFA/£ | Lots of police blocks, need original paperwork (including insurance) but police v. nice and no hassles. | Some ATMs take visa, easy to change T/Cheques and cash. |
|
|||||||||||
| Chad | Yes | 30000 CFA | Libreville (on the spot) | Not bought | None | 0.61 | 900 CFA/£ | Borders no problem (but asking for money), only stopped at one police block where he tried to tell us it was illegal to not have any gas! (when we wouldn't give him anything). On th whole not too bad. | Could use visa, T/C & cash inside bank in N'djamena. |
|
|||||||||||
| Niger | Yes | 30000 CFA | Yaounde (1 day) | Not bought | None (main road is toll road) | 0.51 | 900 CFA/£ | No problems at borders or police checks, main road good, a few campsites but easy to bush camp. | Good rate for T/C in Niamey, black market readily available. |
|
|||||||||||
| Mali | Yes | 20000 CFA | Niamey (issued straight away) | Not bought | None | 0.48 | 1000 Western CFA/£ | Good roads, everyone very friendly. No problems from police (but they like you to get your passport stamped in towns). Very touristy place. | Plenty of places to change T/C and cash, didn't try visa. |
|
|||||||||||
| Senegal | No | Not bought (checked by police) | None | 0.51 | 1000 Western CFA/£ | Police near big towns very keen - check all paperwork, inc. vaccination certificates, and must have fire extinguisher and 2 warning triangles. Rosso border full of touts, watch your back. | ATMs take visa |
|
|||||||||||||
| Mauritania | Yes | 12500 West CFA | Niamey (issued straight away) but had to specify dates, consul in Bamako much nicer and gives 15 days from date of entry | Not bought (checked by police) | None | 0.45 | 272 Ouguiya/$ | Rosso border hard work with "guides" trying to help you, or take your money (read Mauritania diary for details). One police told us we had to get local insurance, but our total Africa insurance worked OK. All police blocks friendly and no problems at Morocco border. | Good rate for Euros on black market, not so good in Banks. Don't want dollars. At border had to declare currency, but never checked again. |
|
|||||||||||
| Morocco | No | Can use green card but coming north is difficult to get. We had to buy 10 days for £75 in Dhakla. (but never checked yet) | None | 0.43 | 15.86 Dirham/£ | Police checks no problem, no documents checked so far but photocopies of passports are useful to save time. | ATMs everywhere take Visa, Cirrus. Easy to change money. |
|
|||||||||||||
