Africa Travel Guide
Overview of popular African destinations
So you want to visit Africa, but you are not sure where to start. Where should you go? Which game reserves? What is Cape Town like? What is the Garden Route and is it worth visiting? Should we go to Kruger Park or Okavango Delta? Or both? This destination guide is designed to help you with these kind of questions, by giving an overview of top African travel destinations, tourist regions and game reserves. For now, our focus will be on destinations in Southern Africa.
Some of the most popular destinations in Southern Africa include Cape Town, the Kruger National Park, and Victoria Falls. Other regions you may want to include in your itinerary are the Okavango Delta, Garden Route, the Panorama Route, Chobe National Park and various other game reserves. You will not be able to see it all in one trip, so read through our travel guides below, which give you a summary of each region and destination, to help you decide where you want to go.
Happy planning!
Overview of Countries
South Africa
South Africa is Africa's most visited country, and is known as the "world in one country". If you travel to South Africa, you have the opportunity to see Africa's magnificent wildlife, sunny beaches, vibrant cities, rich culture and history, and breathtaking nature. From deserts to forests, from mountains to beaches, from grasslands and wetlands to the dry savanna of the Kruger National Park, South Africa is known for its natural beauty and scenic splendour.
More in the South Africa travel guide.
Botswana
Botswana is arguably the world's best safari destination. Here you will find some of Africa's largest and wildest game reserves, and landscapes ranging from semi-desert to forests, and from dry savannas to watery swamps, all teeming with wildlife.
Botswana is known for its huge herds of animals, especially elephants, congregating at the main water sources in the dry season. There are hundreds of safari lodges in Botswana, most of them situated in prime safari areas and priced in USD.
The top game reserves and wildlife areas in Botswana include the Okavango Delta, Moremi Game Reserve, Chobe Game Reserve (including Savute), the Kwando and Linyanti regions, the Makgadikgadi Pans, and the Kalahari.
More in the Botswana travel guide.
Overview of Game Reserves
Kruger National Park
The Kruger National Park is South Africa's premier safari destination. At over 2 million hectares in size it is the largest national park in South Africa, and one of the most accessible yet unspoilt wilderness areas in Africa. Adjacent to the Kruger National Park are a number of private game reserves which share unfenced boundaries with the park. Examples of these are the Timbavati and Sabi Sand Game Reserves, which are home to a variety of private game lodges. The whole conservation area is known as the greater Kruger National Park.
More in the Kruger National Park travel guide.
Sabi Sand Game Reserve
The Sabi Sand Game Reserve is adjacent to the Kruger National Park. It is a collection of privately owned game reserves which have dropped their fences by mutual agreement. There is also no fence between the Sabi Sand Game Reserve and the Kruger National Park, allowing the free movement of animals through the reserve. It is known as South Africa's top luxury safari destination, and the best place in the world for viewing leopards in the wild.
More in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve travel guide.
Chobe National Park
The Chobe National Park is one of the most popular and most accessible game reserves in Botswana. Situated in the far north of Botswana, Chobe includes the Savute area which is known for high concentrations of lions and elephants, and of course the Chobe River floodplain, where herds upon herds of animals gather in the dry season between May and October. The game reserve is most easily accessed from Kasane, a town just to the east of the park on the banks of the Chobe River, close to the border with Zimbabwe.
More in the Chobe National Park travel guide.
Moremi Game Reserve
The Moremi Game Reserve is one of Botswana's best wildlife destinations. The lodges in the Moremi Game Reserve typically offer a combination of 4x4 game drives as well as boat trips on the waterways of the Okavango Delta. Moremi is a Big Five reserve, although currently only Chief's Island deep in the delta has rhinos, after a successful rhino reintroduction program. In other parts of Moremi, you can expect to see elephants, buffalo, lions and possibly leopards and wild dogs as well. Cheetahs are rare but they do occur here. General game includes giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, kudu, lechwe, puku, hartebeest, sable antelope, impala, waterbuck, baboons and monkeys, warthogs and of course hippos and crocodiles, to name just a few.
More in the Moremi Game Reserve travel guide.
Timbavati Game Reserve
The Timbavati Game Reserve is most famous for its white lions, which are still spotted in this area from time to time. The Timbavati is a collection of privately owned game reserves which share an unfenced boundary with the Kruger National Park. It is a vast Big Five game reserve situated to the west of Kruger, and to the north of the Sabi Sand Game Reserve. The bush and game viewing in the Timbavati is similar to what you will find in the Kruger National Park.
More in the Timbavati Game Reserve travel guide.
Overview of Travel Regions
Garden Route
The Garden Route is the coastal area between Mosselbay and Port Elizabeth along the southern Cape coast of South Africa. It is known for its beautiful scenery, mountains, rivers, lakes, forests and beaches. A number of interesting, laid-back coastal towns add character to the Garden Route, including Knysna, Wilderness, Plettenberg Bay, Nature's Valley, Sedgefield, and of course George with its regional airport.
More in the Garden Route travel guide.
Panorama Route
The Panorama Route is one of the most scenic areas in South Africa, and refers to the escarpment in Mpumalanga Province, where the Drakensberg mountains separate the highveld to the west from the lowveld to the east. This beautiful region is a popular tourist destination and is well known for its spectacular views and waterfalls.
More in the Panorama Route travel guide.
Related Trip Ideas12-Day Victoria Falls, Cape Town and Kruger Park
Combine the three top destinations in Southern Africa on this popular 12-day trip idea. You can swop the order of destinations around, change the duration and choose accommodation according to your budget and preference.
