Blessed with some of the world’s most extraordinary beaches, the African coastline – the stretch between Kenya and Mozambique in particular – offers beaches like nowhere else in the world, including the exquisite Lake Malawi.
Wild coves, warm, reef-protected seas and a luxurious range of African beach camps, hotels and private beach houses are the norm. The food, local or otherwise, is exquisite. The host communities – old, multifarious and very much used to the business of entertaining – are extremely welcoming.
The list of great African beaches is extremely long, and changes according to individual taste. Kenya is a case in point: its Mainland Coast, including the Lamu Archipelago, possesses fantastic sweeps of untouched beach, while, further south, Malindi is renowned for its fishing, Mombasa for its history and culture, the south coast for its family friendliness, Kisite Marine Reserve for the quality of its diving, and the Funzi Keys for its intimacy. All are beautiful, and all offer something different.
For a luxury beach holiday or honeymoon in Africa there is more than just Kenya. Tanzania is wilder, and just as beautiful. The Seychelles is luxurious and magnificent, with North island beaches in a competition all of its own. Mozambique offers a multitude of luxury African beach holidays and experiences in the Quirimbus Archipelago. And if the sea is colder, South Africa and Namibia more than make up for it by way of a very southern African take on the beach holiday and safari.
The majority of our clients like to combine their holiday time on safari with a few days relaxing on a pristine African beach. How this is done depends very much on time and priorities. Often journeys to countries without coastlines (Botswana, Zambia, Uganda, Malawi, Rwanda) include cross border flights to those with, while, for some, the emphasis on a classically warm sea beach experience means, for example, taking a break from the Kruger National Park in South Africa, and flying direct to Mozambique‘s Bazaruto Archipelago. Either way, the beach and everything it offers adds something very different to an itinerary otherwise based on safari.