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ILUXURYTRAVELS

Africa destination guide

The Africa destination guide.

Africa is not one trip. A riad in Marrakech, a private island in the Seychelles and a tented camp on the Mara are three different holidays with three different seasons, and the most common planning mistake is treating them as one continent with one best month. This guide sets out how the seasons actually work, what a stay involves, and where we send people first. We hold villas in Marrakech and the Seychelles; elsewhere on the continent we point you to the guide rather than pretend otherwise.

Travel tips

Pick one region per trip

Morocco, East Africa and the Indian Ocean islands are long flights apart. A fortnight that tries to combine a safari and the Atlas Mountains spends four days in airports. Two weeks in one region, or a safari paired with an island week on the same side of the continent, works far better.

Safari and beach is the classic pairing

The reason it endures is practical: a safari is early mornings and long drives, and most people want to stop moving afterwards. Kenya or Tanzania into Zanzibar, or South Africa into Mauritius or the Seychelles, are the routings with the shortest connecting legs.

Internal flights are part of the cost

Safari camps are reached by light aircraft with strict soft-bag and weight limits — confirm the current limit directly with the camp before you pack. Budget for those legs and pack in a duffel, not a hard case. Confirm the transfer mode, last departure and baggage rules for the exact island with the operator; no universal daylight-only rule is verified.

Health paperwork needs a month's notice

Malaria prophylaxis, yellow fever certificates for some routings and routine vaccinations all need lead time. Check requirements with your own doctor and foreign office, since rules vary by country and by where you have travelled before arriving.

Check each accommodation’s staff and inclusions

Ask each Marrakech riad directly what staffing its rate includes, and confirm with each safari camp whether full board and game drives are included before comparing prices. Read what the rate covers before comparing two numbers — they rarely mean the same thing.

The best months to go

January to March
Ask each southern Africa camp directly about current game-viewing conditions in this window. Check current Marrakech forecasts for medina walking, and confirm current Seychelles sea and weather conditions with the property.
April to June
Check current Marrakech forecasts before booking this window. Ask East Africa camps directly about current rainfall and road conditions, and confirm current Seychelles sea conditions with the property.
July to September
Ask each East and southern Africa camp directly about current game-viewing conditions and its latest view on migration timing before booking. Check current Marrakech forecasts, and ask the riad whether it has a pool if heat is a concern.
October to December
Ask each safari camp directly about current conditions and availability for October. Check current Marrakech forecasts for November, and enquire with the Seychelles property as early as possible for December dates.

Local culture and etiquette

Dress with the place in mind

Morocco is relaxed with visitors but covered shoulders and knees are appreciated in the medina and expected at religious sites, which non-Muslims generally cannot enter. Safari camps are informal; neutral colours are practical rather than a dress code.

Bargaining is a conversation, not a contest

In Moroccan souks a price is an opening. Take it in good humour, settle at something both sides are content with, and walk away politely if you are not buying. Shouting a number and leaving is read as rude rather than shrewd.

Ask before photographing people

This holds across the continent and particularly in markets and villages. A refusal is not personal, and a small payment is sometimes expected in tourist areas — agree it before, not after.

Tipping is customary and largely in cash

Guides, trackers and camp staff are tipped at the end of a stay, usually in local currency or US dollars, and camps publish guidance. In Morocco small tips for the riad staff and drivers are normal. Carry cash; card acceptance thins quickly outside cities and resorts.

Must-visit places

  • Marrakech

    Riads behind unmarked doors in the medina, the Atlas Mountains an hour away, and the best months either side of summer.

  • North Island, Seychelles

    A private island in the Indian Ocean with granite boulders and a handful of villas — ask the property directly for its current view on the calmest sea conditions.

  • The Masai Mara and Serengeti

    The great migration moves with the grass; ask the camp directly for its current view on crossing timing before booking.

  • The Okavango Delta, Botswana

    Water-based game viewing by mokoro — ask the camp directly for its current view on flood timing before booking.

  • Cape Town and the Winelands

    Table Mountain, Atlantic beaches and Stellenbosch vineyards — check current forecasts before booking a specific window.

  • Zanzibar

    The usual beach week after an East African safari; ask the property directly for its current view on the driest months.

Collections in Africa

Themed pages built on the houses we hold — each with published nightly rates, planning notes and the questions we're asked most.

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