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Travel to Africa?

by Erik Olsen (RSS feed) on Sep 21st 2006 at 12:28PM

We try to cover Africa here as best we can. Adrienne has done many a "Word" feature on the continent, and we have some favorite places there where we've been (Morocco) and some where we'd LIKE to go (Namibia). But the unfortunate fact is that Africa is in the news a lot these days for a lot of nasty things. Starvation, war, genocide. Yo might say Africa is in a world of hurt. But is that really so?

I saw an interview recently with Paul Theroux (and I can't seem to find it on the Web) where he talks about the bad press Africa gets. That it's not nearly as nasty as folks would have us believe. The reality is, he says, Africa can still be a decent place to travel. We tend to look at the continent holistically, as if the devastation and misery we see on TV and in the paper affects every country. That's not true.

And so with that in mind, here is a travel primer for Africa that helps you decide where to go (first choose the part of the continent you want to visit), helps you figure out what you'll need in terms of both packing supplies and inoculations, and provides tips on clearing customs and so on. If you are heading to do a safari, there's help on the site to do that as well. It is a very handy guide, expertly written and comprehensive, and has sections worth perhaps printing out to help you figure out your Africa trip.

Filed under: Arts and Culture, History, Learning, Africa