Top African Safari Destinations

The desert safari like nowhere else. Namibia pairs the towering red dunes of Sossusvlei and a wild Atlantic coast with genuine big game in Etosha, and it’s one of Africa’s safest, easiest countries to explore, by guide or self-drive.

Africa’s flagship wilderness. Botswana protects huge, low-impact reserves, the water world of the Okavango Delta, elephant-thronged Chobe and the Kalahari, with a deliberately exclusive, small-camp model.

Thundering Victoria Falls, superb guiding and some of the continent’s best walking safaris. Hwange’s huge elephant herds and the wild Zambezi floodplains of Mana Pools reward those who venture in.

The home of the walking safari. Zambia is wild and quiet, with leopards in South Luangwa, canoe trips on the Lower Zambezi and the Zambian side of Victoria Falls at Livingstone.

One of the least visited countries in Africa. Angola has the Namib Desert meeting the sea in Iona National Park, the cliffs of Tundavala and the Kalandula Falls.

South Africa puts Big Five reserves such as Kruger and the malaria-free Eastern Cape together with Cape Town, the Garden Route and the Winelands. A good choice for first-timers and families.

The classic safari. Kenya and Tanzania have the Great Migration across the Serengeti and Masai Mara and the Ngorongoro Crater. Uganda and Rwanda have the mountain gorillas.