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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 houses 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, often 15kg per person. Budget for those legs and pack in a duffel, not a hard case. Island transfers in the Seychelles are by domestic flight or boat, and both run in daylight only.

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.

Houses and lodges are staffed, and rates are often all-in

A Marrakech riad typically comes with a cook, housekeeping and a caretaker in the rate. Safari camps usually quote full board with game drives included. Read what the rate covers before comparing two numbers — they rarely mean the same thing.

The best months to go

January to March
High summer in southern Africa with green landscapes and newborn game, though thicker bush makes spotting harder. Marrakech is cool and clear, ideal for walking the medina. The Seychelles sits in its wetter, humid season with warm seas and short heavy showers.
April to June
Morocco's best stretch: warm days, cool evenings, gardens in flower and before the summer heat. East Africa's long rains fall through April and into May, with June opening the dry season. The Seychelles turns calm and clear around the May changeover.
July to September
Peak safari across East and southern Africa: dry, sparse bush and game gathered at water. The Mara river crossings usually fall between late July and September. Marrakech is very hot — 40°C is common — and a pool becomes essential rather than pleasant.
October to December
October is the last of the dry safari season and quieter than August. Morocco returns to comfortable walking weather through November. The Seychelles is calm and clear from October before the December holidays, which book earliest of any week on the islands.

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 — the calmest sea is April to May and October to November.

  • The Masai Mara and Serengeti

    The great migration moves with the grass; river crossings usually fall between late July and September.

  • The Okavango Delta, Botswana

    Water-based game viewing by mokoro, at its best from June to October when the floodwaters arrive.

  • Cape Town and the Winelands

    Table Mountain, Atlantic beaches and Stellenbosch vineyards, at their best from November to March.

  • Zanzibar

    The usual beach week after an East African safari; June to October is dry and clear.

Collections in Africa

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

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