Welcome To Nomadic Newbie
Hi! I’m James and I’m a South African remote worker and company owner with wanderlust. That means I want to go places and see the world, but I don’t have the same passport or currency-based earnings as most ‘First World’ digital nomads.
This site aims to fill the gap for South Africans and those from other middle income countries. Maybe later I’ll take this public and try to monetise it, but for now this is mostly just a place for me to gather all my research, help me with my own travel plans and share my plans with friends.Let’s explore!
The plan so far...
I aim to spend most of 2024 travelling, starting off with 6 weeks in India from mid March to late April.
I’ll be back in SA for Africa Burn from April 29 to May 5 and to give myself a breather to catch up on work and plan the next steps.
It’s a bit impractical and overly ambitious, but might ride the festival wave and do Strab in Mozambique in late May. From there I could head north up through Moz and on to Malawi and even Tanzania to escape the cold.
South America and specifically Machu Picchu / Cuzco works well for the SA winter and with Peru giving a 180 day stay visa-free, it is blipping very high on my radar for a longer-term base from which to do a hop here and there.
From around October, India and SE Asia get much better again, so that seems like a good time to head over there.
Confirmed
India: March 15 to April 24
Afrika Burn: April 29 – May 5
Options and ideas
I’ve got my visa and flights booked for India, but the rest of the year’s plans are yet to be written.
Having recently read a Cape to Cairo travel book (Dark Continent, My Black Arse by Sinhle Khumalo), I’m eager to reignite my old African travel plans for the winter and work up to Lake Malawi and eventually Zanzibar. (For work reasons I won’t be able to consider the full overland journey, but I would like to do it in separate stages so that eventually I can say that I have covered that distance overland.)
Ghana and Kenya are two destinations that make sense for work purposes, which means I can claim flights and accommodation as work expenses for added tax bonuses and savings.
Namibia has also blipped on the radar, but more for a trip with my mom than a full nomad venture. The son of a good friend of her’s is an elephant whisperer in Swakopmund and that sounds worth checking out…
Machu Pichu along with South and Central America are all super appealing. Peru’s 180-day visa makes it appealing and a good candidate for the SA winter.
Bali, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and much of SE Asia looks very promising too, but I think I’ll only head that side after the SA winter. SE Asian visas tend to be for just 30 days, but I’ve found Malaysia and Nepal give 90-day stays to SA passport holders (so far, the search continues…).
Expect this ‘short list’ to grow over the coming weeks as I fill up this site…
To me this project is a bit like one of those old Choose Your Own Adventure stories, but I’m keen for input. This is a placeholder for a place to comment, pitch in and help choose!
Some kinda forum login button to come…
Countries, places and events on my immediate radar:
Georgia
Georgia absolutely deserves a mention, even if only for the fact that it is the only country to offer a full year’s stay without a visa. It’s a little pricier than SA, but that’s to be expected for Europe. This definitely warrants more investigation, but I’d rather Russia was more peaceful.
- Visas: No visa, 1 year
- Flights: R12K – R13K
- Currency: R1 = 014 Georgian lari
- Costs: 18% > SA
Ghana
Ghana has the dual appeal of being somewhere that I’ve wanted to visit along with being somewhere I have a legitimate work interest in visiting. The chance to work expense some travel costs and gain a deeper insight into the country’s culture is a decent drawcard for me.
- Visas: 90 days per year visa-free for SA
- Flights: CT – Accra return from R14K
- Currency: R1 = 0.65 Ghanaian Cedi
- Costs: Numbeo 28.5 | WData 27 | 36% < SA
India
India is cheap and accessible, with reportedly excellent connectivity. The best times for travel are October to March, but I’m heading there from mid March to late April, starting off in Arambol in Goa and then making my way to Rishikesh in the foothills of the Himalayas.
- Visas: Free of charge visa for 90 days
- Flights: Flights for R10K – R16K+
- Currency: R1 = 4.46 Indian rupee
- Costs: Numbeo 22.9 | WorldData 26.9 | 48% < SA
Malawi
Known as “The Warm Heart of Africa”, Malawi offers very good value and its famed friendliness extends to SA passport holders. Lake Malawi is somewhere I’ve been wanting to go to for about 20 years. Riding the Inyala Ferry or its replacement is a Bucket Lister!
Peru
Peru is not only home to Machu Picchu, one of my long-term Bucket Listers, but Cuzco has been highly recommended to me as a place with a vibrant nomad community. Getting there from SA is a bit complicated and costly, but it looks good for a long stay.
- Visas: None, allowed 183 days
- Flights: about R30K CT – Lima
- Currency: R1 = 0.2 Peruvian sol
- Costs: Numbeo 33.6 | 7% < SA
Tanzania
Tanzania has been elusive. I got as far as getting a yellow fever card and visa (we needed them in 2010), but never made it past Mozambique. I like the idea of the Tazara Express and of course Zanzibar. If I feel fit enough, maybe I can even get that Kili selfie haha!
- Visas: 90 days on entry
- Flights: around R10K+
- Currency: R1 = 134 Tanzanian shilling
- Costs: 22% < SA
Most recently posted:
The unfolding plan
So... decisions decisions decisions... but the year's started and it's 2 months to the starter pistol, so I need to...
Georgia
Georgia absolutely deserves a mention, even if only for the fact that it is the only country to offer a full year's...
Ghana
Ghana has the dual appeal of being somewhere I've wanted to see, and somewhere I have a legitimate work interest in...