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Northern Trails 73 days Cape Town - Nairobi
Summary & MapItineraryBudgetingDatesBefore you goGalleryBook now
Cape Town to Nairobi Safari Budgeting

Cape Town to Nairobi Budget

The costs to consider when travelling overland are:

Safari price £3790 and local payment $1100 USD
Optional excursions
Personal spending money
Visas



Your safari price and local payment covers:

OVER TEN GAME PARKS & OTHER HIGHLIGHTS including:

*The Masai Mara (two days)
*Nakuru National Park
*Serengeti National Park
*Ngorongoro Crater
*South Luangwa National Park
*Hwange National Park
*Addo Elephant Park
*Chobe game cruise
*Khama rhino reserve
*Kruger National Park
*Queen Elizabeth National Park
*Kazinga Channel game cruise
*The Grumeti Reserve
*Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
*Cape Agulhus
*Cango Caves
*Ostrich Farm
*Winery visit
*Lake Naivasha hippo cruise
*Bujagali
*Lake Victoria
*Maasai village visit with bush walk

CAMPING, BREAKFAST & DINNER WHILST TRAVELING ON THE TRUCK

- 63 Breakfasts and 63 dinners whilst traveling on the truck, including some local meals & pre-prepared barbecues and a contribution to the final group meal.
- 57 nights Camping and 12 nights dorm accommodation whilst traveling on the truck

- A fully equipped and dieseled expedition truck/vehicle traveling from Cape Town to Nairobi including all camping and cooking gear, a fridge, gas cooker, tents, sleep mats
- The services of a driver and safari leader
- The ongoing advice and back up from The Absolute team
- All road tolls and taxes are paid


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A recommended typical budget for your optional excursions that you might pay for once in Africa would be: US$600 - US$1500

Some clients spend more, some less. The above is a typical estimate selecting from the following main choices during the 73 days. Do re-check your budget looking at what might tempt you.

PAID BEFORE DEPARTURE £
Zanzibar including return ferry, 4 nights B&B shared accommodation, transfers from Stone Town to the beach and return, and a Spice Tour £295
Mountain gorilla trekking permit, (not including transfers), from £705
PAID IN AFRICA £
White shark cage diving - day trip inc transport £185
Table Mountain - Return Cable Car £27
Robben Island boat transfer and guided tour £40
Bungee - Bloukrans Bridge £100
Tsitsikamma Forest - Treetop canopy walk £50
Storms River - Black Water Tubing £85
Tsitsikamma - Waterfall Zip Lining £30
Addo - Night Drives £32
Drakensberg mountains day hike £from US$62
Pony trek Lesotho £from US$30
Chobe National Park - game drive £50
Victoria Falls National Park - Entrance and Rainforest Walk to see Victoria Falls £50
Helicopter flight over Victoria Falls (15 minutes) £200
Bungee jump at Victoria Falls £194
Combo deal, half day adrenaline (gorge swings, zip line, flying fox) £214
Gorge Swing - (1 jump) £140
White water rafting The Zambezi £174
Sunset cruise on the Zambezi £64
Scuba diving (single dive) off Kendwa £65
Snorkelling (3 hours) off Kendwa £15
Jozani Forest, half day excursion to see the red colobus monkeys incl entry and transfers, from £40
Prison Island with the aldabra tortoises £25
Morning safari Serengeti in 4x4 vehicle ( min 5 people) , from £175
Lake Mutande incl. canoeing £25
Chimpanzee trek £135
White water rafting The White Nile £140
Sunset cruise, The White Nile £45
Quad biking, Jinja (1 hour) £55
Hells Gate National Park (half day) incl entry, bike hire, guide and transfers £75
ALSO TO CONSIDER DURING YOUR TOUR £
Balloon safari in the Serengeti £480
Balloon safari in the Masai Mara £450
Having a drink in Zanzibar Island

Diving with Great White Sharks in SA

Meeting the locals at the Maasai village

Coconut trees on the beach Zanzibar Island

Rhinos South Africa

Balloon safari in Kenya


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You will need spending money to cover drinks, lunch and souvenirs and different small incidental costs whilst on tour such as cheap excursions costing under U$20 Other costs to note are those times we dont cover meals or accommodation on the tour, as well as tipping, extra transfers and upgrades. Be aware during the trip tour there are busy times where we dont cover meals and/or accommodation as during these sections most people are away from camp doing their own thing on different excursions. It is then impractical to cover meals or accommodation. The times to note on the Northern Trails tour are when the truck parks up for a few days at specific activity locations - Victoria Falls, Zanzibar and Jinja - so please ensure you have enough money to cover meals during these times. And note as well spending money is needed to cover camping on the off-chance you chose to stay back on the overnight excursions. The overnight excursion on this tour is the Zanzibar Island break (x4 nights). Tipping is customary in Africa, so budget for gratuities if you wish for guides or drivers who provide good service such as on game drives or guided tours. Again it is at your discretion, but your tour leader and driver will appreciate a tip to acknowledge their hard work during your tour. For some excursions extra transport is needed to get to the start point such as to the gorillas, and lastly some campsites en route also have simple huts or chalets on site. If you feel like a break from camping and youd like an upgrade at some point it is well worth having a little bit of money budgeted accordingly. The recommended spending money for Northern Trails is: US$1420 - US$1680

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Your passport needs to be valid for at least 6 to 9 months after your trip finishes. Ensure also that you have enough pages in your passport for each country you visit. As a guide then, for the Northern Trails you will want to have a minimum of 10 blank pages (sides).

If you have dual nationality you can only use one passport for the entire trip, but bringing both passports is a wise back up. More information can be found in the different country listings on the FCOs website (www.fco.gov.uk) under entry requirements. Do be aware it can be illegal to travel in Africa on two passports.

As of January 2026, a visa is now required for most nationals for Malawi, including most Western, European, Canadian, American, Australian, New Zealander and most South American nationals. This is 50 USD for a single entry visa and we advise you apply online ahead of time and will provide the necessary documents for this application. Please contact us if you have not received anything by a month prior to departure.

For those passport holders that require a visa for Rwanda, you can purchase the East Africa Tourist visa at the border and this will give you entry to Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya.

For those passport holders that do not require a visa for Rwanda, you will need to apply for a Ugandan visa in advance and this can be done online. Irish nationals do not require a visa for Uganda.

If you do not have an East Africa Tourist visa, you will need to apply for an ETA to Kenya in advance online. This is instead of the former tourist visa.


For this tour for most passport holders including British, Australian, Irish, South African, German, French, Dutch, Canadian and American, visas for Zimbabwe and Tanzania can be arranged in Africa en route.

Visas are not usually required for Zambia, Botswana or South Africa for most passport holders.

If your passport is not detailed please don't hesitate to contact us for further details of your requirements.

Be aware that visa requirements can change without prior notice. This information is given as a guide only.

Budget for all visas up to US$210 depending on nationality

VISA CHART
Kenya
Rwanda
Uganda
Tanzania
Malawi
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Botswana
Namibia
South Africa
PASSPORT
Australian
$30
-
$50
$50
$50
-
$30
-
-
-
New Zealand
$30
-
$50
$50
$50
-
$30
-
-
-
South Africa
$30
-
$50
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Canadian
$30
-
$50
$50
$50
-
$75
-
-
-
American
-
$100
-
$100
$50
-
$30
-
-
-
British
$30
-
$50
$50
$50
-
$55
-
-
-
German
-
$100
-
$50
$50
-
$30
-
-
-
Dutch
-
$100
-
$50
$50
-
$30
-
-
-
Irish
$30
$30
-
$100
$50
-
$55
-
-
-

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Pre and post safari please click here.


Other exciting ADD-ONs

  • Balloons
  • Beach Stays on the Kenya Coast
  • Climb Kilimanjaro

    We recommend




    Remember you then need to budget for flights, insurance, vaccination costs and any equipment you might need such as a sleeping bag.

    Any queries? Call our office on +44 (0) 208 742 0226, email us at absaf@absoluteafrica.com or skype us on skypeabsoluteafrica

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