Join Odyssey Overland for one of the most amazing trips you are ever likely to experience, if you are thinking of taking a break or a gap year and want the experience of a lifetime, this is it.
Please take the following into consideration before joining our expedition. If you have any questions please email us at info@odysseyoverland.co.uk and we will be happy to give you any help we can.
This is the most important item you will carry on your expedition. Please ensure it is valid for at least one year from our departure date and that it has at least 15 clear pages. Without this number of clear pages you will not be able to complete the expedition without having to get another passport en route. This is not always easy, wastes valuable time and is expensive.
While on the road we advise you to either keep the passport locked in the truck safe or in the hotel safe and not to keep it on your person. We recommend however that you carry a copy of your passport (a laminated copy works really well) on your person. Please also bring along 2 further photocopies of your passport, and leave one copy with a relative or friend.
The process for obtaining visas varies depending on whether you are travelling northbound or southbound.
For Northbound trips (ie Cape Town to Cairo), we are able to obtain all visas en-route, therefore no visas need to be organised before departure.
For Southbound trips (ie Cairo to Cape Town), we will need to obtain visas for Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia prior to departure. We will assist you in obtaining visas, and will outline the process in more detail when you have booked, however bear in mind that in order to apply for these visas we will require your passport 6 weeks before the date of departure. You will therefore need to ensure that if you need to apply for another passport you do so in time and have it available 6 weeks before departure. Also, if you have travel commitments for any time during the 6 weeks before departure it may be worth considering obtaining a second passport.
As a rough figure, budget approximately £350 for all the visas (including any obtained in the UK and those obtained en-route). Getting all the visas is ultimately your responsibility and prices vary depending on nationality and are subject to change. Please note that travellers on US passports will have significant difficulties obtaining a Sudanese visa, which is likely to cost in the region of US$350, and may not be honoured when we go to cross into Sudan.
We need you to bring along 15 passport photos for visas and other permits required along the way. Please make sure these are of passport quality, of true likeness and not of you on the way to a fancy dress party.
Travel Insurance is a vital part of your pre-trip preparation and pre-requisite for you to join us. We recommend you choose your policy carefully and make sure it fits all your requirements. We will require a copy of this insurance before you can join the trip. Please take into consideration that this is an adventure tour and that we will be visiting off the beaten track places, some which lack western infrastructure. It is also worth taking into account that there are many adventure sports available along our route, including bungee jumping, SCUBA diving, river rafting, rockclimbing, abseiling and skydiving, therefore if these appeal to you, please ensure that your insurance covers you for such activities.
We require you to have cover of at least the equivalent of £5,000,000 for medical and repatriation costs and for your insurance to be valid for the entire duration of the expedition and cover you for all the countries we visit. Many policies (particularly those available on the internet) are great for a trip to the beach in Spain, but are totally unsuitable for a trip like this! Please pay attention to the small print. Our recommendation is www.campbellirvine.com – we use them for all our insurance and they are the professionals in the Overland travel industry and understand the nature of our journey.
Recommended vaccinations and other health protection measures (including malaria prophylactics) vary according to country and recent bulletins issued by health authorities. Please consult your doctor or a specialised immunisation clinic (such as Nomad Travel – www.nomadtravel.co.uk) for vaccination and other medical requirements for your trip. Alternatively you may wish to get a MASTA Health Briefing online (www.masta-travel-health.com) which will enable you to get a personalised travel briefing for all of the countries we are visiting (costs about £4) – remember if you do get one of these that they are very comprehensive and might look a bit daunting – please don’t be put off! Please note that you will require a Yellow Fever Certificate to enter some countries.
Some vaccinations can involve multiple injections with a break between each, so please look into them well before the date of departure.
It is also worth consulting you doctor about the effects and counter effects of malaria prophylactics, contraceptive pills, other medication and the possible effects of altitude. Altitude is known to affect some of these treatments and prophylactics; we will be spending some time over 3,000m.
This is a major consideration and it is difficult to recommend what is best. There is no doubt that cash is king for ease of use, but you will have the usual security problem. Traveller’s cheques, while the safest option, are often difficult to cash (and in some of the countries we visit, impossible) and we do not recommend them. In addition heavy commissions and other charges may be levied.
Debit and credit cards will work in most major centres, but often one type will work and another will not. We would suggest that if you are considering bringing funds in this form you bring both a Visa and a MasterCard, as these are the two, which are most commonly accepted. Remember to inform your bank of your intended travel plan, as they tend to stop cards when used in unusual countries. The most sensible suggestion would be a mix, half in US$ cash, and half on a debit card. With cash please ensure that you get nice new notes (post 2000) as many countries will not accept the older or damaged notes. Bigger notes also get better exchange rates, so bring the bulk in 50’s and 100’s. All can be locked up in the onboard safe. Also see the debit/credit card links under Useful Links.
This is entirely up to you, we recommend you budget
approx £12 per
day and this should be enough to cover general daily costs, possibly you
could get by on less if you are prepared to eat modestly and not spend
money on expensive goodies. Some days you may spend a bit more and other
days a lot less, but it all evens out over the duration of the trip.
This amount does not include optional excursions, adventure activities or
souvenirs. Everybody has different interests and budgets, some may want to
enter every historical site along the way, buy expensive souvenirs or possibly
do a diving course. Our recommendation is to budget £12/day and then
come up with maximum amount you are prepared to spend on optional activities
and stick to the budget.
As we will be camping about 80% of the time it is well worth investing a bit of time and money in a good sleeping bag and roll matt.
Buy yourself a good sleeping bag as you never know when we might get a cold snap. The option of combining a sleeping bag and a liner is well worth considering as it keeps you warmer and the liner is great for those hot nights when the sleeping bag may be too hot. There is always the option of buying a blanket or two as we go along but it is best to come prepared. Sleeping bags should come in an easy-to-stuff bag, some tend to pack down really nice and small but require Houdini to get them in the bag every morning. Consider buying a slightly bigger bag to make packing away easier. (Note if you are considering the undertaking the Kilimanjaro Climb, please read the detailed information under Optional Activities before deciding on a roll matt or sleeping bag).
Roll mats – We suggest the thicker Thermarest. A good night's sleep allows you to appreciate the coming day's activity so it is well worth spending a little more to ensure your comfort. Make sure it comes with a good strap to keep it rolled up and a patching kit, as they are known to get the odd puncture. A good pillow is also essential; the blow-up ones may seem to be the answer but the real thing is far better.
We recommend that you use a backpack or duffle bag that you can carry on your back /shoulder and strongly suggest not bringing a conventional suitcase. Due to space limitations everybody is only allowed one large bag, a daypack, sleeping bag and a roll mat. You will easily be able to carry everything you need into this amount of luggage. Remember at times you will need to carry your bags to hotels and through some borders.
This is personal choice; things to consider are comfort, ease of washing (dry quickly) and packability. Ladies also need to take into consideration that we will be visiting a large number of Muslim countries and out of respect and to be accepted it is advisable to cover up your arms and legs. We suggest your old well-worn favourites, which you don’t mind getting a bit dirty, and possibly swapping or giving away as we go along. As we go, you will be able to buy most things anyway. Possibly not quite the style that you would buy back home, but it does help you to blend in.
Suggested items:
Laundry can be done easily and cheaply as we go, bring a small washing line along if you plan to do some of your own. Washing powder is cheap and freely available.
You will be able to get most toiletries along the way so bring just enough to get you started. We ask everybody to bring their own personal first aid kit. The truck will have a comprehensive first aid medical kit on board but for day-to-day stuff we ask that you use your own.
Suggested items:
Here again it is up to you to decide what best suits you but don’t blow the bank trying to get all the latest gadgets. If you bring the basic you can buy what you need as you go.
Suggested items:
This list could carry on forever, remember that most stuff we can get as we go, so rather pack as lightly as possible or you will find you are carrying around items rarely of any use.
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