Africa
Hitching for rides is common practice in Africa, though you may be expected to pay the driver.
Road safety in Africa leaves a lot to be desired, and seatbelts are not always fitted. Being stranded in remote areas could be a problem. Speaking English and French is an advantage as well as Portuguese in some countries. However, learning the basic of African languages will make your trip much more pleasant. Some languages are understood in very large parts, such as Wolof, Fulfulde and Bambara in West Africa or Swahili and Arabic in Eastern Africa.
For Europeans and Americans visas in Africa are relatively hard compared to other continents. For most countries it's a good idea to plan ahead.
Health
Malaria is common in most parts of Africa. Inform yourself and take precautions. Some forms of malaria are particularly deadly. The fact that local populations don't take any malaria prophelactics should definitely not stop you from taking any: locals are much more resistant to malaria.
The United Nations Statistics Division defines Africa as following:
Northern Africa
- Algeria
- File:Flag of Egypt.svg Egypt
- 30px Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
- Morocco
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Tunisia
- Western Sahara
Eastern Africa
<map lat='5.7908968128719565' lng='16.34765625' zoom='3' view='0' float='right' width='400' height='500'/>
- 30px Burundi
- Comoros
- Djibouti
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Kenya
- 30px Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mauritius
- Mozambique
- 30px Rwanda
- 30px Seychelles
- Somalia
- 30px Uganda
- United Republic of Tanzania
- 30px Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Central Africa
- Angola
- Cameroon
- Central African Republic
- 30px Chad
- Republic of the Congo
- 30px Democratic Republic of the Congo
- File:Flag of Equatorial Guinea.svg Equatorial Guinea
- Gabon
- File:Flag of São Tomé and Príncipe.svg Sao Tome and Principe
Southern Africa
- File:Flag of Botswana.svg Botswana
- 30px Lesotho
- File:Flag of Namibia.svg Namibia
- South Africa
- Swaziland
Western Africa
- File:Flag of Benin.svg Benin
- Burkina Faso
- Cape Verde
- Cote d'Ivoire
- 30px Gambia
- File:Flag of Ghana.svg Ghana
- 30px Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- File:Flag of Liberia.svg Liberia
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Niger
- 30px Nigeria
- 30px Senegal
- File:Flag of Sierra Leone.svg Sierra Leone
- Togo
Autonomic Islands or Regions
- Canary Islands
- 30px Ceuta
- Madeira Islands
- 30px Mayotte
- Melilla
- Puntland
- Réunion
- 30px Saint Helena
- 30px Somaliland