Dispelling all the Lies About Traveling in Africa

Africa is the second biggest continent in size, yet people make comments like the whole continent is the same. Does that make any sense? No one makes such declarative statements about Europe, the second smallest continent because it’s so diverse. Well, guess what, so is Africa, it’s a huge continent with 54 countries inside of it. Do you really think these 54 countries are all the same? No, the fact is you can’t really make generalizations about any continent, especially the second biggest one. Well, actually there is one continent you can probably make generalizations about, Antarctica. Antarctica is cold, Antarctica has penguins, those statements are true, but the ones you hear about Africa are not.

So if you’re traveling or thinking about traveling to Africa, here are some common myths that are just not true.

All of Africa is the Same

Well, Africa is a big place, but it’s not all the same. There are thousands of different cultures here and about 2,000 different languages spoken, also the landscapes vary wildly. You can go to the beach, go to the mountains, go to the desert or go to a giant city. Saying Africa is just one big place is like thinking the whole shopping mall sells Cinnabuns. Thinking like that just doesn’t make sense.  

Don’t Go to Africa, It’s Scary

Sure there is some conflict and danger in Africa but not in the entire continent. In America, there is conflict and danger as well. Find me a continent that does not have danger or conflict inside of it. Africa gets a bad wrap, it’s the only place where if something bad happens it reflects on the entire continent. That doesn’t happen anywhere else in the world (except maybe Antarctica.) There are many safe places to travel in Africa, some are even safer than the United States.

You Go To Africa To Volunteer or Safari

When people think about going to Africa they think of only two reasons, to volunteer or to go on a safari. No one thinks you can just be a tourist in Africa. But you can totally be a tourist there, it’s an amazing place to tour! Pretty much anything you could want to do is right at your fingertips in Africa, from scuba diving to bungee jumping you can do it all.

Africa is Gross and Dirty

The only thing gross here is this generalization. There are a lot of countries that are doing very well on this continent, like Rwanda, Botswana, and even Tanzania. You will not believe how clean and developed a lot of these countries are. Sure they don’t show this part of Africa on the news but trust us, it’s definitely there.

There’s A Lot of Deadly Diseases There

Sure there have been some scares of diseases like Ebola and malaria a few years ago but those numbers have dropped off dramatically thanks mostly to the major initiatives that have been put in place to eradicate such diseases. You absolutely should still talk to your doctor about any preventative measures before heading to Africa, but you don’t need to be terrified of contracting anything while you’re there.

Traveling Alone There is Nuts!

Traveling alone in Africa is just like traveling anywhere else in the world. You have to be smart and do your best to not take chances but as long as you keep your wits about you, you should be fine. Just trust your gut and do what you think is right and you will be just as safe as you would be if you were anywhere else in the world.