Africa

Safari in the east and south, medinas and desert in the north, and islands scattered across the western Indian Ocean.

Africa is too large to treat as one place, and the journeys I design here fall into three broad kinds. The first is safari, in the savannah, delta and desert country of East and southern Africa, from the Maasai Mara and the Serengeti to the Okavango Delta, the Namib and the Kruger. The second is North Africa, where the medinas of Marrakech and Fez, the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara sit close together, and where Egypt still turns on the Nile. The third is the islands of the western Indian Ocean: Mauritius, the Seychelles, Madagascar and the coast and islands of Mozambique and Zanzibar.

The seasons differ a great deal across the continent. In much of southern Africa the winter months, roughly May to August, are dry, with clear warm days and cold nights, and animals gather at the remaining water, which makes them easier to find. The summer brings heat and storms, often short and very local. Just south of the equator, Rwanda has two rainy seasons a year and a drier spell from June to mid-September, and its altitude keeps temperatures mild. In Morocco the Sahara is a spring and autumn destination, and the coast is sunny for most of the year. Mauritius is warm in every month, with a cooler, drier winter from May to October.

Most safaris are built around two or three camps in contrasting country, perhaps a delta and a desert, or a crater and the open plains, with time at each to settle in. Many people then finish on a beach, which is why Mozambique, Zanzibar, Mauritius and the Seychelles pair so naturally with the mainland. Gorilla trekking in Rwanda or Uganda adds a few days of a different kind, on foot in the mountain forest. In the north, a journey might move from an imperial city into the mountains and on to a desert camp, or follow the Nile from Cairo to Aswan by boat. Distances are long and the landscapes vary enormously, so I would rather do fewer places properly than try to see everything at once.

Journeys

Botswana Safari and Stellenbosch Wine

Seven nights in the wild reserves of northern Botswana, then four among the vineyards of Stellenbosch.

11 nights · Botswana, South Africa

An aerial view of green floodplain, channels and islands in the Okavango Delta.

Botswana, Four Camps by Air

The Makgadikgadi Pans, Savute and the Okavango Delta, with a helicopter over the Delta.

12 nights · Botswana

An aerial view of buffalo crossing shallow water in the Okavango Delta.

Botswana, Three Private Reserves

The Selinda, Duba Plains and Moremi: three nights in each.

Nine nights · Botswana

An aerial view of green hills, a lagoon and the reef off Mauritius.

Cape Town and Mauritius

Four nights below Table Mountain, three on a lagoon in the Indian Ocean.

Seven nights · South Africa, Mauritius

An aerial view of Cape Town, Table Mountain and Lion's Head above the sea.

Cape Town, the Sabi Sand, the Falls and the Delta

A city on the water, a private reserve beside the Kruger, the Zambezi and the Okavango.

11 nights · South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana

Vineyards below a mountain in the Franschhoek Valley.

Cape Town, the Winelands, Walker Bay and the Kruger

Art above the harbour, a valley of vineyards, the whale coast and the bushveld.

10 nights · South Africa

Palm trees leaning over a white beach and pale turquoise water, with a sailing boat moored offshore.

Delta to the Indian Ocean

Six nights in Botswana's wild north, then five on a Mozambique island.

12 nights · Botswana, South Africa, Mozambique

An avenue of sphinxes at the temples of Luxor.

Egypt, Cairo, the Red Sea and Luxor

A night in Cairo for the pyramids, three by the Red Sea at El Gouna, and three among the temples of Luxor.

Seven nights · Egypt

A female cheetah on the lookout in open grassland.

Madikwe, Johannesburg and Madagascar

Four nights on safari in Madikwe, one in Johannesburg, then a week by the Indian Ocean in Madagascar.

12 nights · South Africa, Madagascar

Close view of a geometric tile mosaic in blue, orange, green and white.

Morocco Through Its Crafts

Tilemakers, tanners, weavers and potters, from Fez through the Atlas to Marrakech.

12 nights · Morocco

Morocco, the Imperial Cities

A week through the old royal capitals of Morocco, from Casablanca and Rabat to Meknès, Fès and Marrakech.

Seven nights · Morocco

Orange sand dunes rising behind a scattering of green trees on a flat desert pan.

Namibia, Savannah and Desert

Two nights near Windhoek, then three on granite boulders in the Namib.

Five nights · Namibia

A mountain gorilla resting among green leaves and bamboo.

Rwanda, Forest and Volcano

Chimpanzees in Nyungwe's rainforest, then the mountain gorillas of Volcanoes National Park.

Six nights · Rwanda

An elephant rubbing against a tree in green woodland in South Luangwa.

South Luangwa and the Lower Zambezi

The home of the walking safari, then the river.

Eight nights · Zambia

Victoria Falls at sunset, with spray rising from the gorge.

The Delta and Victoria Falls

Three nights in the Okavango, four on the Zambezi.

Seven nights · Botswana, Zimbabwe

The Falls, the Delta, the Cape

Victoria Falls, the Okavango Delta and Cape Town in eight nights.

Eight nights · Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa

A herd of wildebeest crossing the pale, dry Makgadikgadi Pans.

The Kalahari Pans and the Delta

Three nights on the salt pans with the meerkats, three in the waterways of Moremi.

Six nights · Botswana

A dhow under sail at sunset in the Bazaruto Archipelago.

The Sabi Sand, Gorongosa and Benguerra

Leopards on the Sand River, a park brought back to life, and five nights on an island.

12 nights · South Africa, Mozambique

An elephant crossing the Zambezi between wooded banks.

The Upper and Lower Zambezi

Four nights above Victoria Falls, four in the Lower Zambezi National Park.

Eight nights · Zambia

A mountain gorilla looking up through green forest in Bwindi.

Uganda, the Gorillas to the Nile

Bwindi's gorillas, the chimpanzees of Kyambura, and the Nile at Murchison Falls.

Nine nights · Uganda

A dead tree standing in Lake Kariba against the setting sun.

Zimbabwe's Rivers and the Delta

The Zambezi at the Falls, the plains of Hwange, Mana Pools, Lake Kariba, and Botswana to finish.

14 nights · Zimbabwe, Botswana

Stays

The stone columns of an ancient temple hall in Luxor, beneath clouds.

Al Moudira Hotel

Al Moudira stands among farmland on the quiet west bank of the Nile at Luxor, close to the Valley of the Kings and the temples of ancient Thebes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and well away from the crowds on the east bank.

West Bank, Luxor, Egypt

A steel arch bridge over a gorge, with white water and spray below.

Anantara Stanley & Livingstone Victoria Falls Hotel

Anantara Stanley & Livingstone sits on Old Ursula Road, just south of Victoria Falls town, on the edge of a private game reserve, so a safari can begin at the end of the lawn.

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

A view over the ocean from a green hilltop.

Anjajavy le Lodge

Anjajavy le Lodge stands at the tip of a wild peninsula on the north-western coast of Madagascar, inside a nature reserve of nearly 11,000 hectares.

Anjajavy Peninsula, north-western Madagascar

An aerial view of the rocky coast and town of Hermanus above the sea.

Birkenhead House

Birkenhead House is a small hotel on a raised headland between two coves in Hermanus, about 90 minutes from Cape Town, looking out over Walker Bay.

Hermanus, Western Cape, South Africa

Table Mountain seen across the open water of the bay.

Cape Grace, A Fairmont Managed Hotel

Cape Grace stands on its own quay at the V&A Waterfront, between the working harbour and the yacht marina, with Table Mountain rising behind.

V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, South Africa

A villa lounge open on one side to a still waterhole and the trees beyond.

Cheetah Plains

Cheetah Plains sits inside the Sabi Sand, the private reserve that shares an unfenced border with Kruger National Park to the east and is known above all for leopard and Big Five sightings.

Sabi Sand Nature Reserve, Mpumalanga, South Africa

A rainbow over the falls in Murchison Falls National Park.

Chobe Safari Lodge

Chobe Safari Lodge stands above the bank of the Nile on the eastern side of Murchison Falls National Park, in an area of the park that sees few visitors, with the sound of the river's rapids below.

Murchison Falls National Park, north-western Uganda

Birds flying over the mountains of Stellenbosch at sunset.

Delaire Graff Estate

Delaire Graff sits at the top of the Helshoogte Pass above Stellenbosch, looking down the Banhoek Valley towards the Simonsberg and, on a clear day, Table Mountain.

Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa

Waves breaking on a white beach below palm trees and granite boulders in the Seychelles.

Denis Private Island

Denis is a private coral island of 375 acres in the far north of the Seychelles, reached by a scheduled light aircraft from Mahé in about 30 minutes.

Denis Island, Seychelles

An elephant standing in shallow water among reeds.

Duba Plains Camp

Duba Plains Camp belongs to Great Plains Conservation and stands in the private Duba Concession, a reserve of 33,000 hectares in the heart of the Okavango Delta.

Duba Concession, Okavango Delta, Botswana

The bow of a wooden mokoro in a narrow channel lined with reeds and water lilies.

Eagle Island Lodge, A Belmond Safari

Eagle Island Lodge sits on Xaxaba, a small island in the Okavango Delta, the UNESCO-listed inland water system of northern Botswana.

Okavango Delta, Botswana

The sun setting behind the pyramids at Cairo.

Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza

Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza is a 30-storey tower on the Corniche El Nil in Garden City, on the edge of the river in central Cairo.

Corniche El Nil, Garden City, Cairo, Egypt

A square stone sea tower above a harbour packed with blue fishing boats.

Heure Bleue Palais

Heure Bleue Palais is a traditional riad inside the old medina of Essaouira, the Atlantic port once known as Mogador.

Essaouira, Morocco

A great white mosque with a green roof beside the ocean in Casablanca.

Hôtel Le Doge

Hôtel Le Doge is a private mansion turned small hotel in the Art Deco district of Casablanca, and a member of Relais & Châteaux.

Art Deco district, Casablanca, Morocco

A lioness standing on pale sand, looking towards the camera.

Jack's Camp

Jack Bousfield founded Jack's Camp in the 1960s on the edge of the Makgadikgadi Pans, one of the largest salt-pan systems on earth, and his son Ralph later gave it the 1940s safari style for which it became known.

Makgadikgadi Pans, Botswana

Turquoise channels and sandbanks from above, a wooded shore and dunes beyond.

Kisawa Sanctuary

Kisawa occupies 300 hectares of forest, beach and dune on the southern tip of Benguerra Island, 14 kilometres off the coast of Mozambique.

Benguerra Island, Bazaruto Archipelago, Mozambique

Calm water with desert mountains in the background.

La Maison Bleue

La Maison Bleue is a pastel-blue house on Egypt's Red Sea coast at El Gouna, built as a dock and guest house where the developer Samih Sawiris could host friends and family.

El Gouna, Red Sea, Egypt

The Koutoubia minaret above the rooftops of Marrakech, with the snow-capped Atlas behind.

La Mamounia

La Mamounia opened in 1923 in gardens that the 18th-century Sultan Mohammed Ben Abdallah gave his son, Prince Al-Mamoun, as a wedding gift.

Medina, Marrakech, Morocco

Franschhoek in its valley, with a mountain range behind.

La Residence

La Residence occupies a 30-acre estate in the Franschhoek Valley, ringed by mountains and planted with vineyards and plum orchards, a few minutes from Franschhoek, a small town known for its restaurants and wine estates.

Franschhoek, Cape Winelands, South Africa

A mosque among palm trees in Marrakech under a blue sky.

La Villa des Orangers

La Villa des Orangers stands behind a heavy carved wooden door on rue Sidi Mimoun, at the edge of the Marrakech medina, with the Royal Palace, the Koutoubia and Jemaa el-Fna square as neighbours.

6 rue Sidi Mimoun, Medina, Marrakech, Morocco

The drawing room, its doors open onto a terrace and the plains beyond.

Laragai House

Laragai House is a family home on the 32,000-acre Borana Conservancy in Laikipia, taken by one group at a time and run by a long-serving resident team.

Borana Conservancy, Laikipia, Kenya

Two elephants on green grassland under a pink evening sky.

Linkwasha Camp

Linkwasha Camp, run by Wilderness, lies in the south-eastern part of Hwange National Park, on the edge of the Ngamo Plains, and its guests also have the use of the adjoining Makalolo Private Wilderness Reserve of about 34,000 hectares.

Ngamo Plains, Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe

A hippopotamus resting in green grass with birds in South Luangwa National Park.

Lion Camp

Lion Camp lies in the remote northern reaches of South Luangwa National Park, the valley where walking safaris began, close to one of the last water sources of the dry season.

Northern sector, South Luangwa National Park, Zambia

Two white rhinos at the edge of green bush.

Londolozi

Londolozi began in 1926, when Charles Boyd-Varty bought worn-out cattle land west of the Kruger, and in 2026 the Varty family marks a century on this bend of the Sand River in the Sabi Sand.

Sabi Sand, Greater Kruger, South Africa

Victoria Falls at sunrise, with water falling into the gorge between green cliffs.

Matetsi Victoria Falls

Matetsi Victoria Falls is a family-owned and family-run safari lodge in the Matetsi Private Game Reserve, a reserve of 136,000 acres, about 55,000 hectares, with close to 10 miles of frontage on the Zambezi River upstream of Victoria Falls town.

Matetsi Private Game Reserve, Kazungula Road, near Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Melote House

Melote House is the private house of Lepogo Lodges in the Lapalala Wilderness Reserve, a stretch of the Waterberg reclaimed from farmland and rewilded.

Lapalala Wilderness Reserve, Waterberg, Limpopo, South Africa

Giraffes gathered at a waterhole in Madikwe.

Morukuru Family Madikwe

Morukuru Family has three houses in the Madikwe Game Reserve, a malaria-free Big Five reserve of 75,000 hectares in South Africa, and each house is taken by one party at a time.

Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa

A giraffe standing among green trees in Mozambique.

Muzimu Lodge

Muzimu Lodge stands on the banks of the Mussicadzi River inside Gorongosa National Park, a wilderness of some 4,000 square kilometres at the southern end of Africa's Great Rift Valley in central Mozambique.

Gorongosa National Park, Sofala, Mozambique

An elephant with birds on its back in tall grass.

Mweya Safari Lodge

Mweya Safari Lodge stands on a peninsula in the heart of Queen Elizabeth National Park in western Uganda, above the Kazinga Channel, which carries water between Lake George and Lake Edward.

Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kasese, Uganda

A lone acacia against the setting sun on the open grassland of the Serengeti.

Namiri Plains

Namiri Plains sits on the Ngare Nanyuki River in the eastern Serengeti, an open stretch of grassland that the camp's operator calls big cat country.

Eastern Serengeti, Tanzania

Calm lake water stretching to the horizon.

No.5 Boutique Hotel

No.5 Boutique Hotel, also called Hotel Number 5, is a small hotel at 5 Edna Road in the leafy suburbs of Entebbe, and its size is the point: guests are welcomed and looked after in an intimate, tranquil setting.

5 Edna Road, Entebbe, Uganda

Aerial view of the island ringed by reef and turquoise water, with a larger island on the horizon.

North Island

North Island was bought in 1997 with an aim that went beyond hospitality: to return a former plantation island to something close to its natural state.

North Island, Seychelles

Timber villas around a clearing in the forest, from above.

Nyungwe Tea Forest Resort by Rare Finds

Nyungwe Tea Forest Resort by Rare Finds, formerly One&Only Nyungwe House, rises from its own working tea plantation at Gisakura, on the edge of Nyungwe National Park, one of Africa's oldest montane rainforests.

Gisakura, Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda

Table Mountain above the city of Cape Town.

One&Only Cape Town

One&Only Cape Town stands at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront, with Table Mountain filling the view from much of the resort.

V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, South Africa

The lagoon and reef of Mauritius seen from a mountain top.

One&Only Le Saint Géran

One&Only Le Saint Géran takes up its own peninsula at Belle Mare on the east coast of Mauritius, with the Indian Ocean on one side and a calm lagoon on the other.

Belle Mare, Mauritius

The Nile forcing through the gorge at Murchison Falls.

Paraa Safari Lodge

Paraa Safari Lodge was established in 1954 in Murchison Falls National Park, in the north west of Uganda, and looks over the Nile on its way from Lake Victoria to Lake Albert.

Murchison Falls National Park, north-western Uganda

Rows of round stone dye vats in a tannery, surrounded by the pale buildings of Fez.

Riad Fès

Riad Fès stands inside the medina of Fez, in a 14th-century house that once belonged to one of the city's leading families.

Fez, Morocco

Royal Chundu

Royal Chundu lies on a secluded 15-kilometre stretch of the Upper Zambezi, a private waterway shared with local fishermen, between Victoria Falls downstream and the Katombora Rapids upstream.

Katombora, Upper Zambezi, near Livingstone, Zambia

A suite's sitting room opening on to a deck above the bush, armchairs set for two.

Royal Malewane

Royal Malewane is The Royal Portfolio's safari property in the Thornybush Private Nature Reserve, part of the unfenced wilderness of the Greater Kruger.

Thornybush, Greater Kruger, South Africa

Royal Zambezi Lodge

Royal Zambezi Lodge was built by a family with a long love of Africa on a private domain of about 200 hectares in the Chiawa Game Management Area, with three and a half kilometres of frontage on the northern bank of the Zambezi.

Chiawa Game Management Area, Lower Zambezi, Zambia

Elephants and antelope on a sandy riverbank beside a wide, still river.

Savute Elephant Lodge, A Belmond Safari

Savute Elephant Lodge looks out over the Savute Channel in the Chobe National Park, a stretch of northern Botswana known for its elephants.

Savute, Chobe National Park, Botswana

The infinity pool at dusk, a parasol and loungers on a deck among the trees.

Saxon Hotel, Villas & Spa

The Saxon stands behind a high wall in Sandhurst, a leafy suburb of Johannesburg, on ten acres of indigenous gardens.

Sandhurst, Johannesburg, South Africa

A herd of wildebeest running across dry grass near the Mara River.

Sayari Camp

Sayari Camp stands in the northern Serengeti close to the Mara River, which places it on the route of the wildebeest herds when they cross the river between July and October.

Northern Serengeti, Tanzania

Selinda Camp

Selinda Camp belongs to Great Plains Conservation and stands inside the private Selinda Reserve in northern Botswana, on the bank where the Selinda Spillway runs into the Linyanti River, an area the company calls one of the most untouched wildernesses left.

Selinda Reserve, Linyanti, Botswana

Forested mountains in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

Silverback Lodge

Silverback Lodge sits high on a ridge above the forest canopy at Buhoma, on the edge of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in western Uganda, about five minutes' walk from the park, with sweeping views over the valley and the forest.

Buhoma, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda

A leopard looking over its shoulder in soft green bush.

Singita Boulders Lodge

Singita Boulders Lodge stands on the boulder-strewn banks of the Sand River, in Singita's privately owned reserve of 45,000 acres within the Sabi Sand.

Sand River, Singita Sabi Sand, Sabi Sand Game Reserve, South Africa

Singita Kwitonda Lodge

Singita Kwitonda Lodge stands on the edge of Volcanoes National Park in northern Rwanda, sharing a 1.2-kilometre boundary with the park and less than 10 minutes from the headquarters where gorilla treks begin.

Kinigi, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

The V&A Waterfront and its harbour, with Table Mountain behind.

The Silo Hotel

The Silo Hotel occupies six floors of a converted grain silo above the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, which holds Africa's largest collection of contemporary African art, at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town.

V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, South Africa

Trees in silhouette on the bank of the Zambezi at sunset.

Victoria Falls River Lodge

Victoria Falls River Lodge stands on the Zimbabwean bank of the Zambezi, upstream of the Falls, and when it opened in 2012 it was the first private game lodge inside the Zambezi National Park.

Zambezi National Park, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Clear turquoise water over the reef off the coast of Zanzibar, with a few small boats at anchor.

Xanadu Villas & Retreat

Xanadu is nine private villas on a stretch of white sand at Dongwe, on the east coast of Zanzibar near the Michamvi peninsula.

Dongwe, Michamvi, Zanzibar

Two lions climbing a fallen tree trunk in green grassland.

Xigera Safari Lodge

Xigera, said 'Kee-jera', stands under a canopy of indigenous trees in the Moremi Game Reserve, deep in Botswana's Okavango Delta.

Moremi Game Reserve, Okavango Delta, Botswana

A long pool beside a deck of loungers, with thatched huts and distant mountains.

Zannier Omaanda

Zannier Omaanda lies about 30 minutes' drive from Windhoek, inside a private reserve of 22,000 acres of bushveld, open plains and acacia.

Near Windhoek, Namibia

Lit tents on stilts among granite boulders above the desert at dusk.

Zannier Sonop

Zannier Sonop stands on granite boulders in the remote Hardap region of southern Namibia, on the edge of the NamibRand Nature Reserve, one of the largest private conservation areas in southern Africa, within 13,800 acres of its own desert.

Hardap, Namib Desert, Namibia

An antelope beside a termite mound, reflected in still water in Botswana.

Zarafa Camp

Zarafa Camp, run by Great Plains Conservation, overlooks the Zibadianja Lagoon in the Selinda Reserve, which links the Okavango Delta with the Linyanti waterways; the lagoon is the source of the Savuti Channel.

Zibadianja Lagoon, Selinda Reserve, Botswana

Elephants and impala at the edge of the Chobe River.

andBeyond Chobe Under Canvas

andBeyond Chobe Under Canvas is a semi-permanent camp in the north of Chobe National Park, Botswana's first national park, near the Chobe River and home to some of the largest elephant herds in Africa.

Chobe National Park, Botswana

A tented suite lit from within at dusk, its deck facing the floodplain.

andBeyond Nxabega Okavango Tented Camp

andBeyond Nxabega Okavango Tented Camp lies in a private concession of 25,000 hectares (61,775 acres) on the edge of the Moremi Game Reserve, and it shows guests the Delta by water as well as by land.

Okavango Delta, Botswana

andBeyond Sandibe & Nxabega Under Canvas

Opened in March 2026, andBeyond Sandibe Under Canvas and andBeyond Nxabega Under Canvas bring the closeness of a small canvas camp to two of the company's private Okavango concessions: Sandibe, at 22,500 hectares, and Nxabega, at 25,000 hectares, both bordering the Moremi Game Reserve.

Okavango Delta, Botswana

Elephants walking past the lodge's curved timber deck.

andBeyond Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge

andBeyond Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge stands in a private concession of 22,500 hectares (55,600 acres) on the edge of the Moremi Game Reserve, with sole traversing rights across it.

Okavango Delta, Botswana

andBeyond Xaranna Okavango Delta Lodge

andBeyond Xaranna Okavango Delta Lodge, formerly a tented camp, is closed for a major refurbishment, and as of September 2026 andBeyond had not published a reopening date.

Okavango Delta, Botswana

The countries

Botswana

Best time: Apr to Oct

Botswana is safari on a grand scale, and much of it is water and sand. The Okavango Delta spreads across the north, explored by mokoro along its shallow channels or on foot, with Moremi, Selinda and the Chobe riverfront close by. Further south and east lie the Kalahari, the salt flats of the Makgadikgadi Pans and the Mashatu reserve, and the Tsodilo Hills and other heritage sites reach back to the Stone Age. Maun and Kasane are the usual gateways. The dry winter brings cool, sunny days and cold nights, and the animals gather at whatever water remains.

Egypt

Egypt still turns on the Nile. Cairo and Giza hold the pyramids, Old Cairo and the museums, and the Pyramids Plateau can be seen from horseback. Along the river, Luxor, Esna, Edfu, Kom Ombo and Aswan are joined by boat, with Abu Simbel further south and the temple at Dendera also on the map. Alexandria and El Alamein face the Mediterranean, while Hurghada, Sharm El Sheikh and Dahab look onto the Red Sea, with dive sites such as the Eel Garden at Dahab and the Coloured Canyon near Nuweiba. Fayoum is the place for a country breakfast of feteer.

Kenya

Best time: Year round

Kenya is the classic safari country, and it offers far more than the Maasai Mara. Amboseli, Samburu, Tsavo West, Lake Nakuru and the Laikipia Plateau, with conservancies such as Ol Pejeta, Lewa and Loisaba, each have their own landscape and wildlife, from rhino and elephant to lion and leopard. Mount Kenya and the lakes of the Great Rift Valley, Naivasha among them, shape the interior, and the coast includes Mombasa and Diani Beach. Hot air ballooning, horseback riding and time with Maasai communities add variety to the days.

Madagascar

Madagascar is a large island of sharp contrasts, where a single journey can move from dry desert to rainforest and on to the sea. Antananarivo, the capital, is the usual point of arrival. From there, journeys reach Andasibe, Morondava, Ifotaka, Anjajavy and Antsiranana, or head out to the islands of Nosy Be and Nosy Anko. The island is big and its regions are very different from one another, so I usually build a journey around two or three areas rather than trying to cover the whole of it.

Mauritius

Best time: Year round; May to Oct is cooler

Mauritius is small enough to see in one stay and varied enough to fill it. Away from the beaches at Belle Mare, Trou d'Eau Douce, Poste de Flacq and Grand Baie, there are national parks to walk with a local guide, mountains to climb and sunrise yoga. The food carries the influence of every community on the island, and Port Louis, the capital, is worth a morning. The island is warm all year, with summer from November to April and a cooler winter from May to October, when coastal days sit between 22 and 28 degrees.

Morocco

Best time: Mar to May, Sep to Nov

Morocco packs mountains, desert, two coastlines and old cities into one country. The imperial cities of Fez, Marrakech, Meknes and Rabat hold the old medinas, craft workshops and markets, and the ruins of Volubilis lie near Moulay Idriss. The Atlas Mountains, Imlil and the Ourika Valley offer walking, Chefchaouen sits in the mountains, and the coast takes in Tangier, Casablanca, Essaouira and Taghazout, with surfing on the Atlantic. In the south, Ouarzazate, Skoura, the Dades Gorges, Zagora and the dunes of Merzouga lead into the Sahara, which is a spring and autumn journey.

Mozambique

Mozambique has more than 1,500 miles of Indian Ocean coastline, and it suits the end of a safari in southern Africa. Islands such as Bazaruto, Benguerra and Magaruque have reefs with coral gardens, turtles, dolphins, manta rays and whales. Vilankulo, Maputo and Mozambique Island show a long mix of African, Chinese, Indian and Portuguese influence, and it comes through in the cooking, built on prawns, fish and fire-grilled chicken. Gorongosa National Park adds a safari of its own.

Namibia

Best time: Year round; May to Sep for cooler days

Namibia is a country of open distances and very dark, clear night skies. The Namib is the only desert where large mammals, elephant, rhino, lion and giraffe among them, live among the dunes. Sossusvlei and the NamibRand reserve have some of the highest dunes on earth, Damaraland and the Kunene region add rugged country, and Etosha National Park is known for its game. Swakopmund, Walvis Bay and Lüderitz sit on a cool, often misty coast, and Fish River Canyon is said to be the second largest canyon in the world. Hot air ballooning and scenic flights show the scale of it.

Réunion

Réunion is a French overseas department in the Mascarene Islands of the Indian Ocean, and it feels like a change of world as much as of scenery. Its culture draws on Africa, Asia and Europe, and its landscape is volcanic. The Piton de la Fournaise last erupted in September and October 2022, and old lava tunnels can be explored on foot. La Possession and Port des Galets are the ports of call. It suits travellers who want walking and mountain scenery more than a beach.

Rwanda

Best time: Jun to mid-Sep

Rwanda, the land of a thousand hills, is one of very few places in the world to see mountain gorillas in their natural habitat, in Volcanoes National Park. Its four national parks also hold chimpanzees, golden monkeys, lions and hundreds of bird species, with volcanoes, montane rainforest and open plains along the Albertine Rift in the west. In Kigali, the capital, and at the King's Palace, traditional dance, architecture and craft tell the story of the old kingdom. Plastic bags have been banned since 2008. The dry season brings easier trails.

Seychelles

The Seychelles are an archipelago of 115 islands, known for granite boulders along the shore and white sand beaches. Mahé, home to Victoria, Praslin and La Digue are the main inhabited islands, and Silhouette, Félicité, Cousin, Aride and Curieuse lie among them. Further out are Desroches, D'Arros, Farquhar, Astove, Cosmoledo, Providence and Aldabra. Days are spent diving, snorkelling, fishing, walking mountain trails or riding, and many people simply settle on one island and stay.

South Africa

Best time: Year round; Nov to Feb for summer

South Africa fits a great deal of variety into one country. Cape Town, Cape Point and Boulders Beach make an easy start, with the winelands of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek close by and Hermanus, Mossel Bay and Knysna along the coast. The Cederberg, Matjiesfontein and Kimberley show other sides of the country. For safari there is the Kruger National Park, the Sabi Sand and Thornybush reserves, and Tswalu. Zulu, Xhosa and Ndebele cultures add depth, and the country has eight World Heritage Sites. Summer runs from November to February.

Tanzania

Tanzania holds some of the most celebrated safari country in Africa. The Serengeti and the Grumeti reserves, the Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire, Lake Manyara and Arusha National Park are the names most people know, with Arusha and Karatu as bases, and Ruaha offers a different kind of country. Kilimanjaro is there for those who want to climb. On the coast, Zanzibar City, Bagamoyo, Kilwa Kisiwani and the reefs around Mafia Island and Chole Bay make a natural end to a journey.

Tunisia

Tunisia changes a good deal from north to south. The north and the east coast have a Mediterranean climate, the interior and the south are semi-arid, and there is sunshine for almost the whole year. Tunis, La Goulette and Gammarth make a good base for the capital, Hammamet and Sousse are on the coast, and Kairouan adds an older, religious city. On Djerba, the Djerbahood project of 2014 turned a village into a canvas for street artists. Tunisian artists, calligraphers and cooks are a big part of what makes a visit rewarding.

Uganda

Uganda is compact but very varied. Mountain gorillas live in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, and Queen Elizabeth National Park and Murchison Falls add the wider wildlife of the country, lions among it. The Rwenzori peaks in the west give serious walkers a real challenge, and Fort Portal and Mbarara open up the west of the country. Entebbe and Kampala are the usual arrival points. Ugandans are known for their warmth, and a few days here combine well with time in Rwanda.

Zambia

Best time: Apr to Oct

Zambia draws people for Victoria Falls and the town of Livingstone, and keeps them for its wildlife. South Luangwa, North Luangwa, the Lower Zambezi, Kafue and Kasanka are the main national parks, and the safaris here can be built around canoeing, birding or photography as well as game drives, with elephant, lion, leopard, wild dog and buffalo among the animals. The plateau keeps the climate milder than its latitude suggests. The rains fall between November and March, when some roads and rivers become impassable, and the dry months that follow are the time for game viewing.

Zimbabwe

Best time: Dry season for game; Nov to Apr for birds

Zimbabwe sits on a high plateau with plenty of sunshine through the year. Victoria Falls, the Smoke that Thunders, is the largest single curtain of falling water in the world, and much of the view is from the Zimbabwe side, through a rainforest fed by its spray. Hwange, the largest national park, is known for the elephants that gather at its waterholes in the dry season. Mana Pools, Matobo, Malilangwe and Lake Kariba add further range, and Great Zimbabwe and the Eastern Highlands bring history and cooler hills. Birdlife peaks from November to April.

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