Africa

Africa is a bucket-list trip for a lot of people and it lives up to it. What most people need first is a way to narrow it down, because four very different trips sit under one continent. A safari is the most expensive travel format in the world, priced per person rather than per room, and with children two questions come before all others: how old they are, and whether the trip has to be malaria-free. The Cape Winelands are the best value wine country anywhere and forty-five minutes from Cape Town. Mozambique is the beach half of a southern Africa trip and should almost never be booked on its own. Morocco is three hours from Europe and the cheapest luxury on this site, 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

Safari lodges are the most closely rationed travel product there is, and with children the rationing is by age. Sort that out first, 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 get in the vehicle. 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. 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.

The Cape Winelands

Forty-five minutes from Cape Town, and the best-value wine country in the world. Estates with three hundred years of history, hotels that would be internationally famous if they were in Tuscany, and tastings that cost about four dollars. We came here on our honeymoon, paired with a safari, and it's the part of the trip we talk about most. The first decision is which town. Stellenbosch is a real place, a university town founded in 1679 with oak-lined streets, students, and over two hundred wine producers in the valleys around it. Franschhoek is essentially one street, extremely pretty, and now the food capital of South Africa. Franschhoek for a short trip, Stellenbosch for a longer one, and split the nights if you have three. Rates run roughly $250 to $500 at the value end and $700 to $1,800 at Delaire Graff and La Residence. That's about a third of the Napa equivalent and the wine is not worse. Our guide to the best hotels in Stellenbosch and Franschhoek covers all of it, including the one hotel that sits on the pass between the two towns with a view over both valleys. One practical thing. Don't plan on driving yourself between tastings. The Franschhoek Wine Tram solves that town completely, and in Stellenbosch you hire a driver for the day, which costs less than you'd expect and is the standard approach.

Mozambique

The best beaches in southern Africa, and the right way to end a safari. Mozambique has 2,500 kilometres of Indian Ocean coastline split across three regions that differ so much in access and cost that treating the country as one destination gets you the wrong trip. Almost everyone should be looking at the Bazaruto Archipelago in the south. Five islands off Vilanculos inside a marine national park, an hour's flight from Johannesburg, with dunes, sandbanks that come and go with the tide, and the last viable dugong population in East Africa. Humpbacks pass through between July and October. The accessibility is the whole argument for the south. The northern Quirimbas islands are more beautiful and less visited by most accounts. They're also in Cabo Delgado province, which has been affected by an armed insurgency since 2017, and parts of it have been under travel advisories. Some lodges operate and some don't. That's a situation to research at the time you book rather than trust to an article, including ours, and your insurance may not cover a region under advisory. Island lodges run $500 to $1,200 per person per night, all-inclusive. Same per-person structure as safari, and it catches families out the same way. The mainland coast near Ponta Mamoli is considerably cheaper, drivable from Durban or Johannesburg, and skips the flight and the boat entirely. Our guide to the best hotels in Mozambique has the full list and the honest position on the north. The classic trip is four or five nights in the Sabi Sand or greater Kruger, then a short flight to Vilanculos and four or five on Benguerra. Safari first, beach second. The two halves complement each other precisely and doing them in that order is the right way round.

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 can't 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 out in the Agafay or a full day south to the real Sahara at Erg Chigaga. Rates run €200 to €700 for riads and boutique properties and €600 to €1,500 for the palace hotels. 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. ‍

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.

The Cape Winelands. October and November are our pick, with everything green and thinner crowds before the Christmas rush. February through April is harvest, the most interesting time to be on an estate and also the busiest. December and January are peak when South Africans holiday. Winter, June through August, is wet and cold and much cheaper, and the estates light their fireplaces.

Mozambique. April through October, which lines up with the southern African safari season and is the main reason to go then. July through October adds the humpbacks. November through March is hot and wet with a real cyclone risk from January, several lodges close, and we wouldn't book it.

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 dangerous in the middle of the day.

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

When to book

Safari lodges in the Migration window book close to a year ahead. Mozambique's island lodges are small, several have fewer than twenty rooms, and the July to October window fills six months out. The Winelands need four to five months for December and January and three for harvest, but the rest of the year is often available inside six weeks and winter inside two. Morocco is the most forgiving, though Marrakech at Christmas and New Year is not.

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 the Cape Winelands if you want the best value in luxury travel right now, you're already going to Cape Town, or you want a soft landing either side of a safari. Also the easiest of these trips to do well on a shorter stay.

Choose Mozambique if you're finishing a safari and want a beach, or you want the best coastline in southern Africa. Don't choose it as a standalone long-haul beach trip. There are closer beaches that cost less.

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 a combination if you have three weeks. Safari and Mozambique is the classic. Safari and the Winelands is the better one for a first trip, because Cape Town anchors it.

FAQs about traveling 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.

Should I stay in Stellenbosch or Franschhoek? Franschhoek for a short trip, since it's prettier and you can walk to two dozen good restaurants. Stellenbosch for a longer one, since it's a real town with far more producers around it. Split the nights if you have three.

Are the Cape Winelands worth visiting? Yes, and they're the best value in wine travel anywhere. The hotels run about a third of the Napa equivalent, tastings cost a few dollars, and dinner at one of the best restaurants in the country costs less than a mid-range meal in most American cities.

Where should I stay in Mozambique? The Bazaruto Archipelago in the south for almost everyone, an hour's flight from Johannesburg. The mainland coast near Ponta Mamoli for a cheaper and more accessible beach trip.

Is northern Mozambique safe? Cabo Delgado province, which contains the Quirimbas Archipelago, has been affected by an armed insurgency since 2017 and parts have been under travel advisories. Some lodges operate and some don't. Research the current position when you book and check your insurance covers it.

Can you combine a safari with a beach? Yes, and most people should. Four or five nights in the Sabi Sand or Kruger, then four or five on Benguerra, connecting through Johannesburg. Safari first. The beach is the recovery.

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 traveler 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. Mozambique is April to October. The Winelands are best in spring or at harvest. Morocco is best in spring and autumn. Cape Town is best in the southern summer, which is the reverse of all of it.

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