sebblit7's VirtualTourist Home Page

As a journalist working in Africa for a major 1st world public broadcaster I often have more difficulty finding the basics like car hire, local fixers and hotel accommodation, than I do finding the story. What I'm trying to do here is to list as many African places that I have been to for future reference for myself as well as for the benefit of anyone else. Some of the places are Capital cities, easy to find on the net, others are more difficult. Goma for instance, or Nyala. It's mainly related to newsgathering 'business travel' so many of the pointers may not apply to people wanting to go off the beaten track for cheap. But if any of this info is useful to you please reciprocate by adding your own info to VT.com, and myself, that way we can all benefit. Please remember that things change and while I do try to keep on top of it all, if you see anything that's outdated (phone numbers, etc.) please send me a message and I'll sort it out. If you're a local Journalist, Camera Operator, Producer, Fixer, Driver, etc, living anywhere in Africa, please get in touch, who knows, you may be invaluable when a story breaks.

Wherever you're headed, Good Luck.

Most of my pages are divided into three sections:

1. The Situation - Whatever the newsworthy coverage was that got me there in the first place.

2. The Checklist - What you need to know before you go.

3. The Contacts - Important numbers for journo's and tourists: cars, hotels, and spokespeople for the various agencies.

Look at my tips for each page for more detailed accounts of hotels/car hire/etc.

If having read some of these pages either as a local where I wrote about your own hometown, or as a journo that found some of my info usefull, please get in touch.

The idea is for all of us to be informed