Experience a safari vacation in Kenya, the place where safari travel originated. The best Kenya tours and safaris include Big 5 game viewing, incredible natural beauty and cultural encounters, often combining Kenya’s top attractions with Tanzania and the tropical beaches of the Kenyan coast.
Few destinations in Africa can rival Tanzania’s diversity of wildlife, cultures and landscapes. From the classic savannah destinations of the Serengeti, Tarangire and Ngorongoro Crater to the beaches and coral reefs of Zanzibar and the tropical coast, a Tanzania safari holiday delivers one massive experience after another. And that’s before you discover the off-the-beaten-track experiences such as chimpanzee trekking in the magisterial rainforests of Mahale and Gombe or game viewing in the super-remote Selous Game Reserve.
Even fewer destinations however can offer an experience to match the Serengeti Migration. Forming the centrepiece of most Tanzania safaris, the migration is regarded as Nature at her most extravagant and involves hundreds of thousands of wildebeest, zebra and antelope running the gauntlet of predators as they migrate around the Masai Mara/Serengeti ecosystem.
More affordable than the Seychelles and less built-up than Mauritius, Mozambique is fast becoming the place to go for classic tropical island holidays. Its wide mainland beaches are lapped by the warm Indian Ocean but the most appealing destinations lie just offshore: two clusters of postcard-perfect islands dot the blue horizon – the Bazaruto Archipelago in the south and the exclusive private islands of the Quirimbas Archipelago near the Tanzanian border in the far north.
A Mozambique holiday is the perfect excuse to kick off your shoes, take off your watch and gear down to the slow pace of island life: swim, snorkel, laze in the sunshine or set sail on a sunset dhow cruise. When the mood takes you there are richly coloured coral reefs waiting to be explored on scuba diving trips, and the clear waters are world-renowned for big game fishing.
Set against the soothing blue of the Indian Ocean and with only granite boulders or the occasional cluster of palm trees breaking the long runs of powder-soft beaches, the islands of the Seychelles Archipelago are hard to beat as a beach holiday destination. And it’s not just the postcard-perfect beaches that sit among the world’s finest; with a scattering of award-winning resorts and super-stylish villas, a Seychelles holiday affords you the chance to live out your tropical island fantasy in pure, world-class luxury.
Imagine waking up in your magnificent suite and contemplating the day ahead: breakfast served on your private sundeck, a stroll along the beach, a massage at the spa, and then head off for some snorkelling or diving – the chances are you won’t even have to swim far as most of the islands are ringed by shallow reefs, so in a couple of fin flicks you’ll be surrounded by clouds of colourful fish and possibly a turtle or two. And to finish off the day, what better than sunset cocktails and dinner at the ocean’s edge.
Africa’s easiest and most accessible gorilla trekking is the main draw card of a Rwandan safari. After arriving at the capital city of Kigali, you are only a few hours’ drive away from the legendary Volcanoes National Park and its habituated but still wild gorilla families.
It was on the bamboo-covered slopes of Rwanda’s Virunga Volcanoes that the late Dian Fossey studied the behaviour of the endangered mountain gorilla for 20 years, followed by the filmmakers who shot Gorillas in the Mist. Now small groups of privileged visitors can experience one of the most memorable wildlife encounters on earth – gorilla trekking through the pristine Virungas rainforest.
