The Best Places to Go in Africa in 2025

23.11.2024 - 07:35 / cntraveler.com / Nelson Mandela

If you were looking to this list to help you narrow down your options for the best places to go in Africa in 2025, we’re going to apologize right now: Given the abundance of thrilling new openings to choose from, chances are, when you finish reading, your travel wish list will be longer than ever. But before you blow your budget entirely, a good place to start could be figuring out your “why”—what is it that excites you most about your next trip, and why do you travel?

There are myriad compelling reasons dotting the continent in the year ahead. Do arts and culture appeal to your creative side? Then a landmark museum in Nigeria beckons. If a leisurely sailing journey is your vibe, might we suggest one of several Nile river cruises? There’s something for every kind of beach lover, too—unwind on a secluded Zanzibari strand, cheer on your team at the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Seychelles, or savor under-the-radar culinary discoveries in Djerba, a beguiling Tunisian island that’s been anointed the World Capital of Island Cuisine. Maybe you’re looking for fresh reasons to revisit an old favorite—then look no further than Cape Town and the Winelands, a long-beloved region in the throes of an exciting hotel and restaurant boom. And for anyone plotting out their next big safari, the choices are endless: classics like Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Crater and Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park are brimming with stunning new camps, while ambitious openings bring attention to lesser-visited stretches of Zambia and Kenya. Hmmm—we haven’t made your planning any easier, have we? —Sarah Khan

This is part of our global guide to the Best Places to Go in 2025—find more travel inspiration here.

Go for: a hotel boom and a dizzying array of additions to an already vibrant dining scene

There’s a hotel boom afoot in Cape Town, as a host of global brands will arrive in the Mother City in the year ahead. The fun-loving Mama Shelter, with rooftop dining and a bowling arcade, will open its doors on the foodie mile of Bree Street, and in Camps Bay, guests can stay at a 92-key ocean-view Autograph Collection by Marriott. Come 2025, at the V&A Waterfront, the beloved Table Bay Hotel first opened by the late Nelson Mandela, is returning as an Intercontinental after a $55 million makeover. But the most exciting openings are from proudly South African brands: Newmark Hotels is pioneering the 21-suite Apostle Battery Mountain Lodge in the Table Mountain National Park above Llandudno beach, an ambitious restoration of a historic military site. Kove Collection’s new, full-service boutique hotel in Sea Point will have 60 luxe sea-view suites, a spa, and a street-side cocktail lounge. And Noah Hotels’ second property, Amé by