When we were planning our trip we found it difficult to find any kind of information to give us an idea of how much money we would need for the trip, as a reference here are some costs which hopefully may help you, all prices were correct in 2008.

TUNISIA

Average cost of diesel:  0.98TD per litre
Average cost of camping:  6 to 9TD per person per night

ATM’s are widely available in major towns and will accept debit as well as credit cards, changing travellers cheques and cash including £’s is very easy, also many hotels and camping will accept payment in euros.


LIBYA

Average cost of diesel:   0.15LD per litre

There is an ATM at the border and in most major towns which accepts credit and debit cards.


EGYPT

Average cost of diesel:  E£0.77 per litre
Average cost of camping:  E£25 to 50 per car per night

ATM’s are widely available in major towns and will accept debit and credit cards, changing traveller’s cheques and money is also very easy.


SUDAN

Average cost of diesel:  S£1.07 per litre
Average cost of camping:  S£10 per car per night

ATM’s only found in Khartoum and accept credit cards only, however when we were there none would accept our cards due to the US embargo.  Travellers cheques are not accepted anywhere either, but US$ can be changed quite easily in all banks even outside of Khartoum.  We did find one bank in Khartoum (Byblos see waypoint page) who will issue US$ against a credit card.  Best to make sure you take enough US$ in with you to cover the length of your stay.


ETHIOPIA

Average cost of diesel:  6.97 Birr per litre
Average cost of camping:  30 to 50 Birr per car per night

ATM’s only found in Addis and accept credit cards only.  Can change money and travellers cheques easily in all banks outside of Addis, but for some reason nowhere would change our travellers cheques in Addis even though we had had no problems throughout the rest of the country.


KENYA

Average cost of diesel:   85.35 KSH per litre
Average cost of camping:  300 to 500 KSH per person per night

ATM’s can be found throughout the country and accept all cards.


UGANDA

Average cost of diesel:  2308 USH per litre
Average cost of camping:  6000 USH per person per night

ATM’s can be found throughout the country and accept all cards.


RWANDA

Average cost of diesel:  753.50 FRW per litre
Average cost of camping:  3000 FRW per person per night

ATM’s can be found throughout the country and accept all cards.


TANZANIA

Average cost of diesel:  1703.70 TSH per litre
Average cost of camping:  4000 to 6000 TSH per person per night

ATM’s can be found throughout the country and accept all cards.


MALAWI

Average cost of diesel:  186.65 MKW per litre
Average cost of camping:  400 to 600 MKW per person per night

ATM’s are not that widespread, there are many in Lilongwe and Mzuzu which accept all cards, however please note if you are heading south to Senga Bay and Cape Maclear there are no ATM’s at all so you will need to ensure you get enough money out in Mzuzu to last until you reach Lilongwe.


ZAMBIA

Average cost of diesel:  6522 ZKW per litre
Average cost of camping:  20,000 to 40,000 ZKW per person per night

ATM’s are pretty much found throughout the country and accept all cards, however in smaller towns they tend to have machines that accept Credit Cards only, the first town we went through when entering from Malawi accepted Visa cards only.  From this country down all Barclays Banks only accept credit cards, if you have a Maestro card you need to look for Standard or Stanbic Banks.


BOTSWANA

Average cost of diesel:  9.25 Pula per litre
Average cost of camping:  30 Pula per person per night

ATM’s are pretty much found throughout the country and accept all cards, however in smaller towns they tend to have machines that accept Credit Cards only.


NAMIBIA

Average cost of diesel:  N$11.50 per litre
Average cost of camping:  N$50 to 150 per person per night

ATM’s are pretty widespread throughout the country apart from the very north-west where there are very few.


SOUTH AFRICA

Average cost of diesel:  R10.72 per litre
Average cost of camping:  R45 to 70 per person per night

ATM’s can be found throughout the country and accept all cards.



We spent roughly £2292 on diesel (which equates to 3,900 ltrs) throughout the trip, this was our biggest expense (closely followed by alcohol!!).  For visa costs please see the visa page, all costs were correct as of 2008, but please remember they are for reference only as have probably changed a bit since then.  Make sure you take plenty of US$ as this is the easiest way of obtaining local currency especially in Sudan where it is really your only option.  It is widely said that you should take lots of $1 bills with you, but we found that the money changers were reluctant to accept these, and preferred $10, $20 and $50’s.  We would suggest if you are looking to withdraw money from ATM’s that you don’t just rely on your Maestro card but also take a Credit card to use in the ATM’s where Maestro is not accepted, we will also say that Visa is much more widely used than Mastercard. 

MONEY MATTERS