By plane

There are a number of reliable airlines that ply the African Continent. Chief among them are certainly:

• South African Airways (SAA) (Johannesburg, South Africa), (http://www.flysaa.com), is by far Africa's premier airline and has daily flights to most major African political and economic hubs. If you're flying from the Northern Hemisphere to somewhere north of South Africa, don't forget to check how much backtracking you'll have to do, and if it's worth it. The flight from New York does stop in Senegal, but if you get off there, SAA has no connections to anywhere else.
• Ethiopian Airlines (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia), (http://www.ethiopianairlines.com) offers a direct service from many European cities & Washington Dulles Airport in USA to its hub Addis Ababa. From there it has a very good coverage to many cities in Africa. Its mileage can be used on Lufthansa services & Lufthansa miles can also be used on Ethiopian.
• Kenya Airways (Nairobi, Kenya), (http://www.kenya-airways.com), partly owned by Royal Dutch KLM, offers good service and frequent flights to all East African countries and many other major African destinations.
• Air France has flights to most West African capitals.
• Many other African carriers offer flights to more remote locations.
• Airlines in your home country may offer some flights to Africa with less backtracking. For example, there are flights to Ghana on Delta from New York, and several European airlines fly there also.

Note: Choose wisely when flying in Africa. Although the airlines mentioned above all meet FAA safety standards, the same isn't true for all airlines, especially smaller domestic carriers in countries where political stability may be lacking, tenuous or only recently reintroduced. Click on this link (http://ec.europa.eu/transport/air-ban/pdf/list_en.pdf) for the list of airlines that do not meet EU safety standards.

By car

If you want to drive your own car around Africa see also Carnet de Passage

For sightseeing trips, it may be less expensive to hire a taxi than to rent a car, but be sure to negotiate taxi fares beforehand. Travel on rural roads can be slow and difficult in the dry season and disrupted by floods in the rainy season. If you plan on traveling in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa, avoid the rainy months of May through October above the equator and the rainy months of November through April below the equator. Some roads may be flooded or washed out during these months.

Travel by car outside large towns can be dangerous. Major roads are generally well maintained but there are few divided highways in Africa. In addition, rural auto accidents are fairly common because of high speed limits and the presence of wildlife in these areas. Night driving, especially in rural areas, is not recommended, and visitors are encouraged to hire reputable tour operators for safaris or other game viewing expeditions.

By thumb

Many locals hitchhike in countries throughout Africa, often paying a small fee to the driver. It is best to check the political and social climate of each region before traveling.

In the whole of Africa it is possible to flag down cars and pay them a required fee and get a lift in return. That is just the way public transport works in this part of the world - he who has a means of transportation, that is a car or minibus, is automatically expected to give lifts to others and of course charge them a small amount of money for the favor. The idea of it has nothing to do with the Western idea of hitchhiking.

If you are of European descent, it may sometimes work by waiting alongside a road where bush taxis also go that you can stop a NGO driver, tourists or someone rich in their Mercedes and thereby go quicker and free of charge, but there are so few of these around that this is not something you can usually bank on.

Overland trucks

Some people with limited amounts of time or who would prefer not to make their own arrangements opt for the overlander experience. Many operators run tours in large trucks that are comfortable and equipped with facilities for around 8-30 persons. They're generally run on a pretty tight schedule and cover a lot of distance, such as Nairobi to Jo'burg in six weeks. These tours are run throughout the whole continent but East and Southern Africa are the most popular destinations. Accommodation is mostly camping. Most meals are arranged, and free time (like everything else) is scheduled. However, there is plenty of time to do the adventure activities certain areas of Africa are famous for. Victoria Falls, Swakopmund, Zanzibar, Serengeti National Park. Some people really enjoy these tours, especially when they do not have enough time to organize all travel arrangements themselves. Others loathe the very thought of traveling in a group and think that they keep you way out of touch with the real Africa and liken them to MTV's Road Rules. Whatever the case, they're a very different way to travel through Africa. Note that people that go on these tours tend to be young at heart and slightly adventurous, these tours are not luxury trips.