Top 10 destinations in Africa

Top 10 Africa holidays Mount Kilimanjaro Best destinations in Africa

By Mark Hodson and David Wickers, Sunday Times Travel writers

What are the top destinations in Africa? Where are the best places to go for a safari, or to lounge on a tropical beach? And where would you go for a bargain break?

Madagascar

An island like no other, its entire nature having evolved in isolation from the rest of the planet, making one of the top 10 Africa holiday destinations. Combine Madagascar‘s unique flora and fauna, including the iconic, much adored lemur, staying in national parks, with gorgeous beaches, Crusoe islands and unspoilt coral reefs as a tempting finale.   See our choice of wildlife tours.

Namibia

Easy to explore independently, Namibia offers its visitors both fascinating wildlife experiences, including sightings of big game in the Etosha National Park and the cheetah and other cats cared for by the Africat Foundation in Okonjima, and remarkable wild landscapes arguably topped by the Skeleton Coast, described as a ‘journey to the ends of the earth.’   Our recommended tour operator is African & Indian Explorations.

Kenya

Kenya is our most popular destination in Africa for a safari holiday, partly because it has such amazing national parks including the endless savannah horizons of the Masai Mara, the elephant-rich Amboseli, Tsavo and Samburu. The other trump card is Kenya’s coast, both mainland and islands, where you can wash off the dust of a safari at a choice of good hotels. See a full selection of Kenya holidays.

Zimbabwe

After a long period of being well off the visitor radar, Zimbabwe is now making a come back. Its attractions are many and remarkably diverse, from the immense Hwange National Park to Victoria Falls, with the activities menu including canoeing on the Zambezi, walking safaris and fishing on Lake Kariba, all underpinned by stays in a choice of lodges luxury tented camps and highly professional safari guides.

Morocco

For a country so close to our home shores, Morocco is jaw-droppingly exotic. Options range from a city break in Marrakech, with its lively souk, choice of traditional riad townhouse houses and bewildering main square of Djemaa el Fna, to self-drive tours around the villages of the Atlas Mountains or doing as little as you like on the coast at Essouria. We recommend Lawrence of Morocco which is family-run and has more than 45 years of experience putting together amazing trips to the country.

Sierra Leone

Its unique marriage of palm-fringed beaches and mountainous tropical forests, alive with exotic birds and butterflies, plus the old colonial capital of Freetown with its colourful street markets, makes Sierra Leona on the west coast of Africa a natural competitor with The Gambia. It also shares the same time zone as home and is just a six hour flight away.

The Gambia

They call it the ‘smiling coast’ but it would be a mistake just to stick to the beaches and confine your activities to along the string of beachfront hotels. Inland, The Gambia – a long skinny finger of a country – lies a fascinating insight into rural Africa, villages that seemed to have stepped straight off the pages of national geographic, with superb birdwatching in the country’s varied habitats among the best in Africa.

Tanzania

The Serengeti, most famously the stage for the annual wildebeest migration, the greatest free show on earth, is easily combined with seeing the incredible diversity of wildlife in the World Heritage Ngorongoro crater. You also need to add Lake Manyara, the Selous, Tarangire National Park and other habitats to this incredibly rich natural pot, plus the tempting tropical beaches and islands include Zanzibar, and, for the more intrepid, Africa’s highest mountain.

Botswana

Botswana is an enthralling natural wonderland, both from copious wildlife and a broad spectrum of habitats which include grasslands, wetlands, marshlands, woodlands and saltpans. When you factor in a selection of Africa’s finest camps and lodges, which offer a choice of walks, drives and safaris by traditional mokuru canoes on the legendary Okavango delta, Botswana is an ideal place to let Africa get under your skin. Find details of Botswana holidays.

South Africa

If you list the most popular criteria for a perfect winter sun destination, taking in variables such as weather, beaches, scenery, prices and accessibility, South Africa comes out on top of the world. Add vineyards, the famous Garden route along the southern shores of the continent and superb safaris, from the world famous Kruger national park to malaria-free reserves, and the scoreboard rises even further. There are summer options too, including KwaZulu Natal offering everything from beaches to battlefields, scenery to game.