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 Holidays
Cairo to Nairobi overland tour
Overland travel in Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya.
From
£2625
9 weeks
ex flights
Cape Town to Victoria Falls holiday in Southern Africa
A spectacular and diverse African journey
From
£2899 to £3399
22 days
inc UK flights
Namibia and Botswana camping safari
Camping safari to Namib desert, Caprivi, Etosha & Okavango
From
£2125
21 days
ex flights
The Grand Southern Africa safari
21-day tour from Cape Town to Victoria Falls
From
£1769 to £2759
20 days
ex flights
Victoria Falls to Cape Town small group holiday
Explore the best of Southern Africa's wildlife and nature.
From
£1786 to £2135
22 days
ex flights
Addis Ababa to Cairo Ethiopia, Sudan & Egypt tour
Ethiopian highlands, deserts and coral reefs
From
£1575
6 weeks
ex flights
Cairo to Cape Town overland tour
Epic 17 week overland journey from Cairo to Cape Town
From
£4795
17 weeks
ex flights
West African overland tour
Off the beaten track West Africa overland tour
From
£4455 to £4615
70 days
ex flights
Nairobi and Cape Town African overland truck tour
The best of Eastern and Southern Africa overland
From
£4450 to £4585
71 days
ex flights
West Africa overland expedition
Travel from the Sahara to the Ocean at Guinea Bissau
From
£7645
4 weeks
ex flights
Ethiopia tour by overland truck
A pioneering expedition through Ethiopia's incredible north
From
£1540 to £1575
21 days
ex flights
Overland tour of Kenya to Rwanda
Join game drives in Kenya & a gorilla trek in Uganda
From
£875
19 days
ex flights
Nairobi to Dar-Es-Salaam overland tour
From mountain gorillas to blue waters of Zanzibar
From
£1575
5 weeks
ex flights
Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe expedition safari
Expedition trip through Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi.
From
£2875
20 days
ex flights
Nairobi to Harare overland tour, 41 days
From mountain gorillas to blue waters of Zanzibar
From
£1795
6 weeks
ex flights
Cape Town to Victoria Falls small group lodge tour
Classic route lodge safari to Namibia, Botswana & Zimbabwe
From
£2990
21 days
ex flights
Zanzibar to Victoria Falls overland tour
Overland trip through Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe
From
£1060 to £1090
19 days
ex flights
Safari adventure holiday, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique
An extraordinary camping safari across South Eastern Africa
From
£2135
22 days
ex flights
Overland tour from Vic Falls to Cape Town
An overland adventure from Victoria Falls to Cape Town
From
£945
22 days
ex flights
Southern Africa overland holiday
Discover southern Africa from Kruger to the Okavango Delta
From
£1933 to £2250
18 days
ex flights
Ethiopia to Kenya overland truck tour
Overland through Ethiopia's remarkable tribal lands
From
£1790 to £1860
24 days
ex flights
Kenya to Harare overland tour
Nairobi to Lilongwe, an African adventure
From
£1125
22 days
ex flights
Overland tour from Cape Town to Victoria Falls
Experience the incredible diversity of Southern Africa
From
£945
22 days
ex flights
Guinea Bissau to the heart of the Sahara overland tour
Travel from Guinea Bissau to the heart of the Sahara
From
£8175
4 weeks
ex flights
Ethiopia overland tour, 35 days
A wonderful overland tour of Ethiopia
From
£2640 to £2705
35 days
ex flights
Rift Valley overland tour of Ethiopia & Kenya
From Rift Valley of Ethiopia to the Plains of Kenya
From
£650 to £690
10 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
Western Sahara overland tour, Marrakech to Bissau
Travel from North Africa through the Sahara to the tropics
From
£7299 to £7599
4 weeks
ex flights
Cape Town to Zanzibar overland tour
Stunning beaches with some of the best wildlife parks
From
£2425 to £2480
42 days
ex flights
West Africa tours, Ghana Togo & Benin
Explore West Africa's highlights overland
From
£1290 to £1350
21 days
ex flights
Cairo to Cape Town itinerary & highlights
Travelling 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 Holiday
Namibia and Botswana camping safari
Camping safari to Namib desert, Caprivi, Etosha & Okavango
From
£2125
21 days
ex flights
Small group travel:
2020: 7 Jun, 5 Jul, 2 Aug, 23 Aug, 13 Sep, 27 Sep, 11 Oct, 22 Nov, 20 Dec
2021: 24 Jan, 21 Mar, 11 Apr, 18 Apr, 16 May, 13 Jun, 4 Jul, 18 Jul, 1 Aug, 15 Aug, 22 Aug, 5 Sep, 12 Sep, 26 Sep, 3 Oct, 17 Oct, 24 Oct, 7 Nov, 12 Dec
2020: 7 Jun, 5 Jul, 2 Aug, 23 Aug, 13 Sep, 27 Sep, 11 Oct, 22 Nov, 20 Dec
2021: 24 Jan, 21 Mar, 11 Apr, 18 Apr, 16 May, 13 Jun, 4 Jul, 18 Jul, 1 Aug, 15 Aug, 22 Aug, 5 Sep, 12 Sep, 26 Sep, 3 Oct, 17 Oct, 24 Oct, 7 Nov, 12 Dec
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about Overland or need help finding a holiday 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 holidays travel guide to find out all about what this kind of holiday 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 holiday? 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 holidays 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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