[Trip Review] Waka Waka Africa: How to plan your trip to Africa

I took this trip back in June 2024. It was my first time in Africa, and I know that Africa is not the most common destination, so I thought I should share my learnings, perspectives and share with everyone how I went about planning the trip.

When to travel to Africa?

There’s no easy answer to this question because it all depends on your itinerary but July-August is good for visiting Africa, especially if you intend to visit Masai Mara and Serengeti for the great migration.

If you are interested in catching the sardine run, July is a good time too!

Do take note that July and August are the peak seasons, so if you have a limited budget, consider visiting Africa in late June instead.

Getting There

There are several direct flights to get to the African continent from Singapore. Singapore Airlines flies to Cape Town and Johannesburg while Ethiopian Airlines flies to Addis Ababa. If you have a specific destination in mind, feel free to take a connecting flight too!

I took advantage of the Krisflyer Global Redemption Sale to redeem tickets to Africa. I generally don’t recommend redeeming economy tickets but this was a good deal.

I paid a total of 43500 miles and approximately $105 SGD in taxes for the following tickets. Cash tickets on this itinerary costs around $1000 SGD so I got a value of about 2 cents per mile, which is acceptable.

I’m not going to review the flight, as there’s nothing special about the flight. There’s not a whole lot of value-add in a review since I’m sure everyone has flown economy before. RIGHT?

If Addis Ababa, Cape Town and Johannesburg are not your destinations, then you will have to take an intra-regional flight, and this is where things can get interesting.

Intra-Regional Flights

Despite spending less than 3 weeks on the continent, I took 10 flights, flying almost every other day, so I have a good sense of how intra-regional flights work in Africa. Here are some lesser known quirks and tricks for you to take note of:

1. Position yourself at Johannesburg or Nairobi

   Johannesburg and Nairobi are key aviation hubs in Africa; you can fly to most places from these two cities.

2. Don't discount low-cost carriers in Africa

   In Africa, low-cost carriers offer a very competitive product. On most routes, check-in luggage is included in the ticket and on some routes that are longer (e.g. about 4 hours), a light refreshment is also served. I would recommend flying with FlySafair, a major low-cost carrier in Africa, as I had good experiences onboard, and they provided good value.

3. Very early boarding

   Airlines in Africa are surprisingly punctual and this can be attributed to early boarding. Most airlines start boarding one hour before the scheduled flight departure. I almost missed my flight a couple of times because everyone else boarded because of how early they board and close the gates.

   While my experiences with intra-regional flights were mostly positive, I had a couple of bad experiences too. Flight cancellations were more common than expected so be prepared to make alternative plans. I recommend staying alert too, and always keep your valuables safe.

Vaccinations

You will need to get some vaccinations done before your trip to Africa, I recommend the following:

• Typhoid

• Tetanus

• Hepatitis A

• Yellow Fever (You may or may not need this, depending on where you are going in Africa, but its probably better to take it.

I recommend getting the vaccinations done at the Travellers’ Health and Vaccination Clinic at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. Set up an appointment by calling them and get the vaccination done approximately 4-6 weeks before your trip. If you are clueless as to what vaccinations you need for your trip, the nurses there are more than happy to guide you.

Visas

Singaporeans may take it for granted but you may need a visa depending on where you choose to visit. Please do your research when planning your trip!

Cash and Cards

Credit card acceptance is very high for F&B businesses, but I recommend exchanging at least 1000 USD in Singapore (for 2 pax on a trip of roughly 2 weeks). Most countries accept USD since their domestic currencies are not very stable.

You can’t exchange most African currencies in Singapore anyway. Even if you manage to find a money changer in Singapore that has those currencies, the exchange rate is BAD.

If you need more cash, consider withdrawing from ATMs using Revolut (or Trust/Wise/Youtrip etc). It’s a good idea to bring a multi-currency card to Africa.

Sim Cards

There are no sim cards that cover all countries on the African continent. To avoid spending too much money on sim cards, I recommend splitting them with your travel partner, e.g. you get a sim card for South Africa, then your travel partner gets a sim card for Zambia etc. ICC and Airalo are your best friends.

Conclusion

A trip to Africa need not be daunting if you are well-prepared. Yes, there are more things to take note of compared to your usual holiday trips, but trust me, an African holiday is rewarding.

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