Africa

Africa is a bucket-list vacation for so many, and it does not dissapoint. A safari is the most expensive holiday format in the world, priced per person rather than per room, and with children it comes down to two questions before anything else: how old they are, and whether the trip has to be malaria-free. Morocco is the opposite proposition, a short flight from Europe, the best-value luxury destination we cover, and a country where a room that costs €2,000 a night in Italy costs €600. Every hotel below was paid for out of our own pocket.

We'd rather cover two things properly than list fifty countries we haven't been to. Here's where we are so far.

Safari

Africa's safari lodges are the most closely rationed travel product there is, and with children the rationing is by age. It's the first thing to sort out, because it eliminates most of the options before you've compared a single photograph.

The rough shape of it: many lodges cap standard game drives at six, several require a private vehicle for younger children, walking safaris usually start at twelve and sometimes sixteen, and gorilla trekking in Rwanda and Uganda is fifteen and over with no exceptions. A lodge saying children are welcome is not the same as a lodge where your child can go on the drive.

Malaria is the second filter. If you want a malaria-free safari with young children, that means South Africa, specifically the Eastern Cape and the Waterberg, and it narrows the list considerably.

Our guide to the best family safari hotels in Africa, by age works through the whole thing by age band rather than by country, which is how the decision actually gets made.

On cost, be ready for this: safari lodges quote per person per night, all-inclusive, and the good ones run $600 to $1,500. A family of four for five nights is a serious number before flights, and internal light aircraft transfers add more.

Morocco

The easiest luxury destination to reach from Europe and the best value on this site. Three hours from London or Paris, and a country where you can spend one night in a palace, one in a courtyard house down an alley too narrow for a car, and one in a tent on a dune, all in the same week.

Marrakech is the entry point for almost everyone. The medina riads are the atmospheric choice and the palace hotels in Hivernage and the Palmeraie are the comfortable one. The distinction matters more than people expect, because you cannot drive to a riad. A porter meets you at the nearest vehicle access and you walk the last stretch with your luggage.

Beyond the city, the Atlas is an hour away, Fes has the best-preserved medieval city in the world, and the desert is either forty minutes away in the Agafay or a full day south to the real Sahara at Erg Chigaga.

Our guide to the 10 dreamiest hotels in Morocco covers all of it, from Royal Mansour to a kasbah in a palm grove where there are no menus and dinner appears somewhere different every night.

Rates run €200 to €700 for riads and boutique properties and €600 to €1,500 for the palace hotels.

Best time to visit Africa

Safari, southern Africa. May through October is the dry season and the best game viewing, because the bush thins out and animals concentrate around water. July through September is peak. The green season from November to April is cheaper, greener, and harder for spotting.

Safari, east Africa. June through October and January through February. The Great Migration river crossings in the Masai Mara run roughly July through October, which is the single most sought-after window in African travel and needs booking a year ahead.

Morocco. March through May and September through November, with April and October the two best months. June through August regularly passes 40°C in Marrakech and the desert is genuinely dangerous in the middle of the day.

Cape Town and the Cape, if you're combining a safari with a city, is best from November through March, which is the opposite of the safari season further north. Plan around that rather than being caught by it.

Which African trip is right for you

Choose a safari if the wildlife is the reason you're going and the budget can absorb per-person all-inclusive rates. Best with children over six, and over twelve if you want walking safaris in the mix.

Choose a malaria-free South African safari if you have young children. It's the only version of this trip that works properly under six, and the Eastern Cape and Waterberg lodges are built for it.

Choose Morocco if you want a short-haul luxury trip, the best value on this site, or a first trip to Africa that doesn't require a year of planning and a five-figure budget.

Choose both if you have three weeks. They combine poorly on logistics and beautifully on contrast.

FAQs about travelling in Africa

How old do children need to be to go on safari? It varies by lodge and it's the first thing to check. Many cap standard game drives at six, several require a private vehicle below that, and walking safaris usually start at twelve or sixteen. Gorilla trekking is fifteen and over.

Where can you do a malaria-free safari? South Africa, specifically the Eastern Cape and the Waterberg. This is the standard answer for families with young children and it narrows the lodge list considerably.

How much does a safari cost? Luxury lodges quote per person per night, all-inclusive, typically $600 to $1,500. That's per person, not per room, which catches a lot of people out. Internal light aircraft transfers are extra and add up.

When is the Great Migration? The river crossings in the Masai Mara run roughly July through October. It's the most in-demand window in African travel and lodges book close to a year ahead.

Is Morocco a good first trip to Africa? Yes, and it's the easiest by a wide margin. Three hours from Europe, no vaccinations required, no malaria risk, and a fraction of the cost of a safari.

Can you drive to a riad in Marrakech? No. Medina streets are too narrow, so you walk the last stretch with your luggage. Worth knowing if you have heavy bags, young children, or an older traveller with you.

What's the best time to visit Africa? It depends entirely on where. Safari is best in the dry season, roughly May to October in southern Africa. Morocco is best in spring and autumn. Cape Town is best in the southern summer, which is the reverse.

Do you need vaccinations for Africa? For most safari destinations, yes, and malaria prophylactics for many. For Morocco, no. Check current requirements with a travel clinic well ahead, since some need multiple doses.