A recent piece in the Times examined the industry and ranked Dragoman as their number one choice for Overlanding.
Tim and I booked our overland trip with Intrepid, who outsource their African Overland trips to Dragoman. We were huge fans. Obviously everyone has differing needs on the road and you need to choose the company that is going to cater best to yours. But we felt that Dragoman provided friendly and capable crew, a vehicle in good nick, good routes, sensible itineraries and they attracted a good variety of people who were, as a rule, all happy to get in and contribute to the smooth running of the trip.
But we crossed paths with many (50+) overland trucks as we made our way around Africa, and we spoke to passengers from a few. And I get the impression that almost everyone we spoke to felt that their truck and the company that they had chosen were the best. Which adds up to a lot of happy travellers and hopefully some reassurance to people struggling to choose a company that they are probably going to be happy with their holiday at the end of the day.
The thing about overlanding is that how much you enjoy the trip is going to be influenced by how well you enjoy the company of your fellow passengers. And this is outside the control of the tour operators. Short of screening their passengers, they cannot guarantee the ‘type’of people that will be on the trip. Though obviously the reputations of different operators means they generally attract different travellers – so understanding their brand will help you understand the types of people you’ll probably end up travelling with.
For instance, we noticed that Acacia (English company, modern trucks in good condition, really friendly and fun crew, similar route to us) seemed to attract a younger crowd. Their trucks we encountered had lots of students and gap year people and their youth seemed to be characterised by an eagerness to impress. They were painfully competitive – carrying on about things like whose truck was faster and flashing their breasts and butts when their truck overtook us on road. And they were far more conscious of things like the way they looked. As an illustration, the girls on the Acacia truck were often spotted in the ladies toilets applying make-up – which seemed unnecessary, given the surroundings and the activities – and the vast majority of other overlanders seemed to be able to function happily without it. But they all looked to be having a great time – and I would recommend them highly to younger travellers.
Dragoman/Intrepid seemed to attract predominantly people between 20-35. The average age of our group was 30 – but we had quite a few 18-21 year olds too. At one stage we had a sixteen year old and her mother (and they were great) and one of the other Drago trucks had a lady in her sixties. So we were a real mix.
The only outwardly unhappy overlanders we encountered were a Kumuka truck which travelled alongside us for much of the time we were in Uganda. They were struggling with a vehicle which was repeatadly breaking down – and leaking tents. On a night we slept through a powerful storm, without a drop in any of our tents, the vast majority of the Kumuka truck were forced to evacuate their tents and sleep in the bar. And on top of the misery of wet sleeping bags and belongings, the campsite owner charged them for it! They were very unhappy campsers. But they are one of the cheaper players in the market – so maybe you get what you pay for. Regardless, a good friend of mine, who’s opinion I value, travelled with these guys in 2008 and recommended them to me: “Our overland tour was great – it was with Kumuka and we thought they were fantastic and wouldn’t hesitate to go with them again.” His trip was without issue. So a lot of it is the luck of the draw.
Christie and the peeps from the Uganda and Rwanda route
What we liked about Dragoman/Intrepid
- The truck was spacious and old school. Comfortable but not too polished, still felt like we were roughing it a bit, authentic overlanding. We had one or two problems over the eight weeks we were onboard. But they were dealt with quickly and we were kept informed of what was going on. Our ability to stick to the itinerary was never affected.
- The truck was equipped with a fridge, library, comfortable seats and also some tables to play cards, write journals etc. whilst on the move. There were sockets for charging cameras and phones. Windows wound down all the way so taking photos was a breeze. Everyone got a chance to play their music (from their MP3 players through the truck speakers) during the drives.
- Rather than individual lockers we had one large luggage locker at the back of our truck. I preferred this. It meant that my bag didn’t have to be smaller than the dimensions of a fixed locker size (which it would have to if we had travelled with one of the companies providing individual lockers) and there was room for the other bibs and bobs (masks etc.) I bought along the way. The locker was managed in such a way that our belongings were safe and secure.
- Crew (driver, co-driver and cook – Matt then Jono, Emily and Denford) were diverse in age and nationality (British and Zimbabweans). They were good company, mixed well with us and were both friends and leaders, fun but professional – getting us where we needed to be, on time. They kept everyone happy. There were low-to-no issues amongst our groups – and if ever there were niggles these guys easily resolved them.
- Denford’s cooking was fabulous, tasty and healthy – we ate a mix of local cuisine (such a pap, eaten with our hands) and more familiar favourites.
Denford dishes up some of his fab food to Katie
- Whilst it was a “participation camping” style of trip, our daily jobs were easy and manageable
- Tents and bedrolls (yes, they supplied these – one less thing for us to carry) were in good nick and clean
- They managed the kitty well and at the end of some legs of the trip we actually got some money back, or got some additional activities covered. Bonus!
- They don’t skimp on the important things – like 4WD vehicles for safari in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater.
This article from the Independent that looks at overlanding is worth a read too…
