Frequently Asked Questions

At Rock My Adventure, we are laid-back adventurers and backpackers at heart, however, we do like comfort and luxury too, so our style is what you would call ‘flashpacking’ aka fancy backpacking.

We have an organised itinerary with tons of wonderful things included, but our trips are informal and not like a traditional tour.

After years of experience travelling through Africa, we feel that this is the BEST way to travel because you get the best of both worlds.

We want to show you the REAL Africa – the highs, the lows, and everything in between. If you’re expecting luxury all the time this probably isn’t the trip for you (although the places we stay are pretty nice and comfortable).

But if you’re looking for an incredible adventure, to make new friends, and to get a well-rounded portrayal of the countries we visit then you’ve come to the right place.

One night we may camp deep in the bush, another we’ll stay in a very comfortable hotel. One day we might eat at a small local restaurant and the next we might go for cocktails at the nicest hotel in town. Sometimes we take public transport and but mostly we have our own private vehicle which is much more comfortable.

There are planned activities most days, although we also like to build in ‘free’ time where you can have time to yourself too away from the group (if you wish).

Occasionally we’ll have long travel days, this is unavoidable if you want to travel around Africa without flying (and all part of the experience), but we try to keep these to a minimum and make them as fun and bearable as possible.

Sometimes we’ll have quiet nights around the campfire and sometimes we’ll go out dancing in the town (we know all the best places to go)!

You will have a Group Leader who will be part of the group but who will manage the logistics on the ground (so you don’t have to), as well as lots of Local Tour Guides & Experts who will show you around and give you an insight into their wonderful countries.

Our groups will usually consist of 8 – 10 people to provide you with an intimate and authentic backpacking travel experience.

Keeping numbers low ensures that the trips don’t feel too ‘tour’ like and allows us to get to know each other properly and make new friends as we go too.

We mix it up between backpacking and flashpacking (fancy backpacking) with occasional luxury so you get the best of both worlds but at an affordable price.

This can mean travelling on public transport (occasionally – mostly we have private transport), eating at local restaurants, meeting other travellers, staying in some ‘rustic/basic’ accommodations, meeting locals and being out of your comfort zone every now and again.

But sometimes we’ll also stay in comfortable lodges, eat in fancy restaurants and treat ourselves!

These trips combine all the best bits of African travel. Every day will be an adventure and you will go home with the best stories to tell your friends!

We will follow the itinerary as outlined on the website, but adjustments (to activities, hotels, and itineraries) may be necessary due to availability, weather conditions, seasonal changes, or unforeseen circumstances beyond our control.

However, we will always endeavor to make sure we do everything as planned and ensure that you have a fabulous trip whatever happens.

This is part of the fun and adventure of Africa travel so the more flexible and able to ‘go with the flow’ you are, the more fun you will have! If you are super rigid, impatient or easily frustrated, Africa travel might be a struggle.

The accommodation will vary from trip to trip. Please see the FAQ’s on each individual tour page for more info.

Sometimes we stay in more luxurious places, sometimes we stay in more ‘rustic’ places, sometimes we camp. It varies from trip to trip. This helps us to keep costs reasonable.

Each of our accommodations is chosen specifically for different reasons. It might be because they have a great atmosphere or it could be because they do great things for the community.

You will usually share a twin room with a same-sex roommate. Occasionally the room configurations may change (single, triple, quad) due to availability in the lodges/hotels.

If you are travelling in a couple, you will always have a private room and we will try to make sure that it is a double (if requested), but if no doubles are available, it will be a twin room.

If you would prefer a double – please fill in the booking form as soon as possible to let us know your bed preferences.

Your Group Leader is there to ensure your trip is safe, enjoyable, and hassle-free.

They’ll accompany the group throughout the journey, handle logistics on the ground, and provide day-to-day support as needed.

Additionally, they serve as the main point of contact with our Local Tour Guides.

Sometimes Helen will lead the tours, sometimes it will be another of our awesome Group Leaders – depending on our availability.

But one thing’s for sure – we’re all passionate about Africa travel and can’t wait to share our love of this continent with you!

If you are hoping to travel with a particular Group Leader, please enquire upon booking!

We work with lots of Local Tour Guides in each of the areas we visit.

The Local Tour Guides have been chosen by Helen because they are awesome and experts in their field.

We work this way because our aim is to support lots of local businesses and it gives us lots of interaction with local people from different areas of the countries we visit.

Your Group Leader will liaise with the Local Guides on the trip.

Cool people, obviously!

In all seriousness, there are a real mix of ages, nationalities and personalities!

We’ve hosted people from UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Croatia, Romania, Norway, Sweden, Ireland, France, South Africa, Uganda, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Switzerland, Brazil, Greece, The Netherlands, Albania, Germany, Spain, Argentina, the Netherlands… so far!

Most people are solo travellers but sometimes we get couples or friends joining the group too. Everyone is welcome!

The youngest person on our trips has been 20 and the oldest, 81. We just ask that you are open, laid-back, robust and up for an adventure.

We have a Facebook group for those who have joined the trips so you will be able to meet, interact and ask questions before you go.

Travelling in Africa is in a league of its own!

TIA means ‘this is Africa’. It means that the water may go off mid-shower or be freezing cold (even in the nice hotels), the power might go out, the car may break down, and things may go wrong sometimes – but this is what also makes Africa travel so unique, challenging, and fun! It makes you grow!

Or advice – relax, be flexible, bring your sense of humour and enjoy being on Africa time. Things work differently over here and it can be frustrating at times. However, the one thing that we’ve learned, is not to stress if something is late or it doesn’t quite turn out as we expected – TIA!

Embrace it all – those moments will make the best stories and be your fondest memories. This is called ‘Type 2 Fun’!

At the moment it’s 18. This is because many of the trips are designed to be backpacker/flashpacker style and not child-friendly.

Most of our travelers are typically in their early thirties to mid-fifties, though we’ve had adventurers between the ages of 20 and 81 join our trips.

There’s no upper age limit, however, we generally recommend these trips for those under 70, given the physically demanding nature of travel in Africa – think long, bumpy car rides, heat, and early mornings – it’s less about fitness and more about endurance.

But you know your own stamina, so if you are in good health, and are comfortable with the backpacker/flashpacker style of travel, plus able to enjoy the company of a diverse age range, then you’re more than welcome to join us!

Each trip has information in the FAQ’s section about the fitness level needed.

Travelling in Africa can be physically demanding at the best of times – with long, bumpy car/boat rides, early starts, hot, hectic and dusty days – you’ll need to be ready to handle these challenges!

These trips are generally not recommended for anyone with back issues or injuries, as the rough roads can be particularly jarring.

If you are concerned, please feel free to discuss with us before you book.

Of course! This is your holiday!

If there are any of the activities you don’t want to do, you don’t have to.

We also have some free days and evenings so that you can do what you want!

We generally travel overland and avoid flying.

Anyone who knows Africa will tell you that the journey is all part of the adventure! Why fly when you can go overland, stopping in random places and meeting local people?

Also, internal flights in Africa can be unreliable.

Between the main destinations on the trip, we usually use a mix of transport, this includes – private minibuses, coaches, taxis, safari vehicles, boats or trains. But we also sometimes use public buses, ferries, boats and tuk-tuks depending on what’s available.

Sometimes there’s air-conditioning, sometimes there’s not. It’s a surprise! 

Please see the FAQ’s on each tour page for more information.

Africa is a vast continent and the attractions/destinations are often quite far away from each other, so you should expect some long driving days – but we generally do a lot less driving than the overland-type tours.

Long drives are unavoidable on these types of trips, so if you don’t think you can handle the it, you might be better off booking a private trip where you fly everywhere.

Travelling overland in a group is the most economical option (aside from taking public transport) and as we have our own transport (most of the time), you will be a lot more comfortable than you would if backpacking alone, using public transport.

Plus you can take all the toilet breaks you like and we try to make the journeys as fun as possible! In fact, the driving days can often be some of the fondest memories… in hindsight! 😉

Just be aware that there isn’t always air-conditioning in the cars. Again, if you want full luxury, you are better off booking a private, luxury safari.

On safari, you will spend quite a lot of time in the car – this is the nature of the safari and cannot really be avoided.

At Rock My Adventure we are passionate about working with and supporting great local tour companies, tour guides, activity providers and social enterprises/charities to give you the highly personalised African adventure you’ve always dreamed of.

Throughout the trip we’ll interact wth lots of local people – our guides, out and about in towns and villages, with the tribes we meet and with our local friends.

Having spent a lot of time on the African continent, between us we’ve been fortunate enough to make a lot of local friends in all the places we go and they always want to come and hang out with our groups when we’re in town!

This includes all the information you need on:

• Flights
• Insurance
• Visas
• Health & Safety
• Money & Budgeting
• What to Pack

If you need any support with your pre or post-tour Africa travels, please don’t hesitate to contact us. It’s all part of the Rock My Adventure service!

This is an exclusive offer to anyone who books a Rock My Adventure trip.

However, we can help look for flights and advise on which flights to book!

We are a ground tour operator and do not provide flights so we do not need to hold an ATOL licence.

ATOL applies to companies selling air travel packages.

Yes! Rock My Adventure is a member of Protected Trust Services who are similar to ABTA (who you will probably have heard of as they are the biggest company of that type).

In the unlikely event of the Rock My Adventure going bust, Protected Trust Services provides you with complete protection against us and the suppliers we use as per the UK Package Travel Regulations.

So you can be assured that your money is fully protected at all times.

Most of our feedback can be found on our Testimonials page. This is the feedback taken from the feedback forms that we send out at the end of the trip.

Alternatively, you can find feedback on Tripadvisor and on our Facebook page.

You can also join the Rock My Adventure Community on Facebook to ask questions or get feedback from previous travellers.

We don’t yet have reviews on other sites like FEEFO as they are very expensive to join, so this helps us be a little bit cheaper than most other tour companies of a similar nature.

It depends on the trip!

But generally, we can stay in a mix of mid-range lodges, flackpacker hostels, hotels, eco-lodges, tented camps (glamping) and camping. 

We try and choose eco-friendly, unique and interesting places to stay where available!

Some places are fancier and some are more rustic. When we stay in the more rustic places, it’s usually because they offer something else – great location/experience that you can’t get at the fancier places.

Most rooms are ensuite, but due to the unique nature of the places we stay, occasionally there will be shared facilities.

If travelling solo, we will pair you up with a same-sex room mate and you will mostly sleep in twin rooms.

Occasionally the room split may be different, depending on the availability in the accommodation we use. If you are a couple, we will ensure you always have your own room.

You will find more information about the accommodation used on each specific trip on the itinerary.

If you have any questions or concerns about the accommodation on any particular trip, feel free to ask.

If you are a couple, we will always ensure you have your own room.

Specific room requests may come at an extra cost.

The only time we will need charge a single supplement is if you specifically request your own single room.

Most places we stay have regular, Western-style, flushing toilets.

Occasionally they accommodations will have compost or eco-toilets, which are pretty much like western-style toilets but they are long (or short) drop and they don’t flush. You do your business and then put some sawdust down the loo. They’re really not bad at all.

The rooms generally have ensuite bathrooms, however, very occasionally we will use shared facilities.

However, on the trip, especially when we are driving or on safari, you may come across other types of toilet.

The different types of toilet you usually find are:

1. Western-Style: Toilets that you probably have at home.
2. Flushing Squat: Ceramic squat toilet. It they aren’t the flushing type, they’ll probably have a bucket of water that you can use for flushing. Most of the service/gas stations have these but they vary in standard!
3. Hole in the Ground: This is usually a long drop squat toilet in an outhouse. The state of these vary greatly. Usually found in villages and rural areas.
4. Compost Toilet: A long (or short) drop toilet, but seated rather than squat. Usually found at eco-lodges/campsites.
5. Bush Toilet: Find a bush, squat behind it and do your business. Usually happens on safari or on long road journeys.

Yes of course, we’ll help you book pretty much any activity you want to do on the tours, but…

…we won’t book elephant back rides as these are damaging for the elephant and usually the elephants have been tortured into submission.

And we won’t book lion walks, as lion breeding in Africa is big business and often the lions are not going to be released back into the wild as you are told, they are being bred to be sold to hunting farms so people can shoot them – not cool.

Feel free to send us a message if you want more information.

The food varies from country to country and trip to trip.

Some people like more local food, some like more Western food, so on these trips we do both so that we have a good balance!

For some meals, we’ll eat very cheap and cheerful local foods, like maize porridge (ugali/nsima/nshima), goat, chapatis, rice and beans, greens, and fish. We tend to usually do this a few times per trip, but if you love African food, you can eat more of it obviously! Just ask your tour leader!

Then other times we’ll go for pizza, burgers, curries or salads or whatever else we can find. A lot of the places we eat have a mix of options (both African and non-African dishes), so you’ll usually find something you like!

Some of the meals are set meals (especially in the safari lodges), but most are a la carte, so you’ll be able to choose for yourself. Just don’t always expect the variety of food you have at home.

If there’s something you really don’t like or can’t eat, just let us know at the time of booking and we’ll do our utmost to accommodate you.

If you have an allergy or a strong aversion to a certain food, please let us know beforehand so we can advise the chef. Please note that we cannot accommodate specific diets like keto/paleo/low carb etc.

Please be aware that what you say on your booking form is what is communicated to the hotels/activity providers. So if you decided to be a vegetarian/vegan on the week you filled in your booking form – that’s what we communicate and that’s what you will get.

If your food preferences/requirements change between the time you fill in your booking form and the trip – it is YOUR responsibility to let us know.

We always make sure that our suppliers are aware of any dietary requirements, however we cannot guarantee that there will not be cross-contamination or traces of allergens. The understanding of food allergies is not as comprehensive in Africa as it is in some parts of the world.

If your allergy is severe, you must travel with an epi-pen. If you are worried about this, please feel free to discuss this with us.

Yes, to come on any of our trips you need your own travel insurance. If you get sick or injured whilst on the trip, many of the hospitals won’t treat you until they see that you either have the money to pay for your treatment or that you have the insurance to cover it.

We will ask you for your travel insurance details at the beginning of the trip and if you don’t have it you will not be able to join the trip.

Travel insurance doesn’t cost that much, so it’s better to be safe than sorry!

We would advise that you take malaria tablets if going to a malarial zone.

However, whether you take the tablets is entirely up to you and your physician. Some people prefer to take them, some people don’t.

Malaria is prevalent in some of the areas we visit on the trips, but not all, so we would advise that you speak to a licensed health professional to discuss your needs and then take the necessary precautions.

It depends on the trip! Some do and some don’t! And it can also depend on where you are coming from and what you’ve had before!

Please see the FAQ’s for each individual tour for more information and feel free to ask us if you’re not sure.

We will advise in the pre-departure information, however, we advise you to speak to a trained medical professional as well.

A) Book via the Book Now on our website.

B) Email us to check on the availability of the trip. We will then send you the info on how to join and pay your deposit for the tour.

Once you’ve done that, we’ll send you your invoice/receipt and your pre-departure information and give you all the support you need to prepare for your trip.

A) Credit or debit card via the website.

B) Direct bank transfer or by a transfer company such as Transferwise (where you can use credit/debit cards). We will email you the details.

The money you pay goes to a trust account as required by UK law. This keeps your money safe until your holiday is completed.

In that case, the full balance is required when booking or asap!

Yes of course you can. Just ask us to set this up for you.

As long as you have paid the balance 62 days before the start of the trip, we don’t mind how you pay. 🙂

No, please don’t. Not all of the kids we’ll meet will have access to dental care and it also encourages them to beg.

If you want to bring anything, please check with us first. Clothes, pens and charitable donations are all good, as long as they are distributed via the proper channels.

We also support several GoFundMe campaigns for some of the causes close to our heart (breakfast programmes, school fees) and the people you might meet on your trip. So if you want to donate, we will send you the links!