Before our July 2026 trip, I would have told you without hesitation that I preferred travelling with friends.
The reason was fairly simple.
I thought travelling for weeks with just the four of us would eventually become boring.
After four weeks, four countries and more than 6,000km through Southern Africa, I don’t think that anymore.
Just perhaps not for the reasons I expected.
Our trip gave us a fairly good opportunity to experience both.
We started out travelling independently as a family through South Africa and Botswana. In Livingstone, we joined the Sebata 4×4 group and travelled through Zambia and Zimbabwe together before eventually saying goodbye to them at Mana Pools. From there, the four of us continued alone again through Zimbabwe, Gonarezhou and back towards South Africa.
That change in rhythm taught me a lot.
Why travelling with a group reduces the pressure
The biggest benefit of travelling with a group, for me personally, isn’t actually the social side. It’s not having to be in charge.
When we’re travelling alone, somewhere in the back of my mind I’m constantly thinking ahead.
Where are we sleeping tonight…What time do we need to leave…Where’s the next fuel stop…Do we need groceries…Where do we get firewood…What documents do we need at tomorrow’s border…Is the road ahead okay…Have I forgotten something?
You can be sitting beside a beautiful river in Zambia and still mentally be three days further down the road.
Joining an organised group took a huge amount of that pressure away.
The route was planned. The accommodation was known. Someone was thinking about the border crossing. Someone knew where we were stopping for supplies.
For once, I could sit back and simply enjoy the journey.
There is also something reassuring about knowing that if something does go wrong, you aren’t dealing with it alone.
We didn’t encounter any extreme 4×4 situations on this trip. The closest was a deep water crossing where we decided not to tow the Bush Lapa through as we were alone. But we’ve experienced tougher routes before. In Baviaanskloof, for example, having another vehicle and someone outside spotting the line through difficult sections was a necessity.
Whether you need that backup depends enormously on where you’re going. But knowing it’s there does change how you travel.
The frustrations of travelling in a convoy
Of course, travelling with people also means something every convoy learns very quickly.
You wait.
Someone needs fuel…Someone needs the toilet…Someone isn’t ready…Someone has misplaced something…Someone wants coffee.
And suddenly a ten-minute stop becomes half an hour.
If you’re the sort of person who wants to leave at 05:30, get somewhere and get on with the day, group travel can test your patience.
Game drives were probably where I felt that most. Sometimes you just want to turn left because something looks interesting, sit quietly at a sighting for twenty minutes or abandon the plan completely. That is much harder when several vehicles are trying to move together.
Why shared adventures matter
But then there is the other side of travelling with people, and it’s probably the reason I’d still choose it.
You share the experience. The campfire stories. The laughs about something that went wrong earlier in the day. The first drink after a long drive. The wildlife sighting everyone talks about that evening.
The memories start belonging to more than just your family.
Our kids also had other kids around them. They could disappear off and play rather than us constantly expecting them to participate in whatever “family experience” we thought they should be having.
And the adults shared the load too.
Someone made the fire. Someone cooked. Someone washed dishes. Someone sorted something out.
Without really noticing it, the pressure on our little family unit reduced.
That’s something I hadn’t appreciated before.
The freedom of travelling alone
There were moments on the trip where all four of us just wanted our own space, so travelling alone gives you freedom that a group simply can’t.
Once we were back on the road alone again emotions felt strangely mixed.
There was sadness because we’d formed new friendships and knew that realistically some of those people we might not see again until another trip next year and there was definitely a weight of responsibility again because suddenly I was back in charge and we weren’t entirely sure what the day ahead would bring.
But there was also excitement.
It was just us again. Our timetable. Our decisions. Our next destination. And there is something wonderful about that too.
You can leave when you want. Stop when you want. Change the plan. Upgrade to a room because everyone has had enough of camping. Or simply spend an afternoon saying very little to anyone.
When you’re travelling with friends, particularly for weeks, there can be an expectation that because you’re together you should constantly be doing things together.
Sometimes you don’t want another campfire. Sometimes you don’t want another conversation. Sometimes you just want to sit quietly with your own family. And that’s okay too.
Should your family overland alone or with friends?
By the end of the trip, my view had changed quite a bit.
I no longer think there is a correct answer to whether families should travel alone or with friends.
For us, the ideal trip is probably exactly what we experienced.
Some family time alone…Join with friends…Then break away and have your own adventure again.
If I were choosing the perfect travelling group size, I’d also keep it small. Three or four vehicles feels about right to me. Enough people for company, security and shared experiences without turning every fuel stop and shop into a logistical exercise.
So when someone asks whether they should overland as a family on their own or find friends to travel with, my answer now is simple.
Try both.
You might be surprised by which one you enjoy.
I certainly was and if you absolutely forced me to choose only one?
I’d still travel with people, because you can always find moments of solitude along the way.
But some of the best stories are better when there’s someone around the fire who remembers them too.
Planning your own Southern African adventure?
If you are still working out the basics of your route and setup, start with our practical beginner’s guide to family overlanding in Southern Africa.