Our honeymoon was everything I wanted it to be and more. I know it can be intimidating to plan a trip to Africa because we grew up hearing things about the continent overall and really not learning about the countries enough. Information on where to go and what to do is not as plentiful as it should be and for Americans it’s far. I get it! This is why we decided to go over Christmas and New Year’s break, I wanted to take as long as possible to explore as much as possible and I’m so glad we did. I put up an instagram story when we returned and got a bunch of great questions I wanted to be sure to answer.

What country was your favorite?

We went to Kenya, Uganda, Mozambique and Namibia. I cannot choose a favorite because they were all different and all new places I really wanted to see. Here are my favrorite things about each place we visited:

• Kenya: Learning about tea farming and experiencing the global nature of the city (we went out for Japanese food our first night)
• Uganda: The landscapes were incredible, I’ve never seen such lush beauty. The plane ride from Kisoro to Entebbe was beautiful.
• Mozambique: We loved our stay at the White Pearl resort and seeing dolphins on our ocean safari was a great start to the new year.
• Namibia: Dinner under the stars and Sossusvlei (Sand Dunes + Petrified Trees) were epic and just as beautiful in person as they look in photos. I used the Sky guide app, recommended by a member of the community and it took our star gazing to the next level.

Uganda was probably the country that surprised us the most, we had such an epic experience and the country is often misunderstood. We were on hour 10 out of 12 on our car ride from Kampala to Bwindi when we asked our tour guide to tell us about Ugandan history, he did and we learned a ton. It’s highly underrated and you get such great value for Gorilla trekking (half the price of Rwanda which I still want to visit). The hospitality at Nkoringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge was great and our team at Pamoja Tours + Travel was amazing.

How long should you spend in each country?

That depends on your goals, we got a solid taste of all the countries we went to but there are definitely things we’d go back to see and do in all of the countries. We were also in some pretty remote areas of parts of our trip which was relaxing but not the most ideal if you’re looking to see a lot of a country in just a few days. I’d recommend 2-3 weeks for Kenya because there’s so much to see! For Uganda you can see and do a lot within 7 days especially if you fly both ways to do Gorilla trekking. Mozambique, was the most slow and relaxing part of the trip, I’d recommend 1-2 nights in Maputo, and then the rest of the time at one or more resorts. If you want to explore underwater nature and learn to dive you’ll want at least a week. There’s SO much to see in Namibia and areas can be quite spread out so I’d recommend 1-2 weeks to see all the highlights. If I’m going to Africa from America I like to see as much as I can because it’s not a quick trip there.

What if any, challenges did you run into on your trip?

Travel within Africa is not as easy as it could be, mostly due to each country not having their own home airlines, smaller airports and not enough travel to support more plentiful routes. You can typically get around more easily within regions, which is why we stuck mostly to East Africa for this trip. We had to fly to Doha, Qatar to get from Uganda to Mozambique and although the countries are relatively close there isn’t a direct route. We spent a solid amount of time traveling and I wish we could have spent it in country. Since we had a complex itinerary there were a lot of moving parts, we worked with Lona, a travel advisor to plan which helped keep us organized since there were a lot of moving parts. Typically, I’d plan and schedule everything but since this was such a big trip having planning, activity and general support for anything that didn’t go according to plan was helpful.

Where did you go?

We went to Kenya (Nairobi and Maasai Mara), Uganda (Kampala and Bwindi), Mozambique (Maputo and White Pearl Resort), Namibia (Windhoek, Sonop and Voigtland).

I shared most of the hotels we stayed in here. I’ve also shared room tours and more info on the hotels on here.

How did you book places to stay and tours?

I keep record of bucketlist hotels, experiences and properties I love. That plus a flight deal usually creates most of our trips. I love a hidden gem and I’m a huge fan of boutique hotel experiences where service is a top priority. Typically I’d book myself since I love planning travel. I usually use Expedia to compare and book but since this was a long and special trip I worked with Lona, a travel advisor on the itinerary. I had a list of hotels I wanted to stay at and an ideal budget so she worked with local providers and tour agencies to create the itinerary. Unlike some honeymoon companies where they have itineraries you can choose from that aren’t super flexible this was a completely customized experience. We didn’t do a ton of tours per se, most of the activities we did were through the hotel or typical for the area.

What vaccinations did you get?

Yellow fever which now lasts your lifetime and Hepatitis. Depending on where you’ll be within the country you may also need Malaria pills. My husband decided to take Malaria pills right before we left, I decided not to because Malaria mosquitos aren’t able to live at the higher altitudes in Bwindi and they weren’t in the area we stayed in, in Mozambique. I also didn’t want to have to handle side effects but definitely something you should chat with your healthcare provider about to make sure you are doing what is best for you. We didn’t drink tap water anywhere but Namibia where it’s safe to drink. Something to look up anywhere you go. These vaccines can be expensive so would recommend planning in advance so you’re not surprised by the $300-500 price tag closer to the trip.

What were the temperatures like during your trip?

This was a solid time to visit almost all of the countries.

• Kenya: High 60s at night and up to 75/80 degrees during the day.
• Uganda: 60s at night and up to 75/80 during the day (cooler in Bwindi especially at night)
• Mozambique: 70s at night 80/90 during the day
• Namibia: 60s at night 90+ during the day

I packed layers and I’m so glad I did. My packable puffer coat came in handy especially during evening drives and excursions. Mozambique got a lot of rain toward the end of our trip but we had some solid sunny days.

What visas did you need?

The only countries that required visas before arrival were Kenya and Uganda. We did the East Africa visa through Kenya which was great because it was one application for two countries. The process is a little confusing because when you get approved it says EAT but only says Kenya on the paperwork. Trust the process and when you arrive they’ll give you the proper in-passport East Africa visa. It was about $100 per person for both. Mozambique required a visa on arrival and it was $10 per person. We didn’t need a visa for Namibia or South Africa where we left back to the states from.

Any travel tips?

So many things come to mind but here are a few things I want to highlight.

• Don’t sleep on the Airport lounges especially the one in Mozambique, the food was really good. Priority pass is worth it, I get it for free through my travel credit card.
• If you plan on traveling via small planes (ie plane from Nairobi to Maasai Mara), plan to bring a soft duffle or smaller bag to transfer for your stuff. We had two carry on bags and ended up needing to leave our away carry-ons twice during the trip to fit our things in a duffle.
• Bring something for seasonal allergies if you have them, going on safari I didn’t suspect my allergy symptoms to flare up as much as they did. I wish I’d remembered my nasal spray or allergy relief pills.
• Brush your teeth with bottled water if the tap water isn’t safe to drink. Learned this one the hard way many years back so now I don’t play. Minimize your chances of getting sick accidentally.
• Keep these travel essentials in mind, they were super helpful during our trip.