Africa tips

The variety to be found in South Africa is nowhere more apparent than in its two biggest cities. Cape Town has a scenic coastal beauty that brings the Mediterranean to the mind of many first time visitors. By contrast, Johannesburg is landlocked amid the vast plain of the Highveld, but its charms, while hidden deeper, as just as rich – like the mines that made it the “City of Gold”.

South Africa’s giant Northern Cape is a wild and sun-seared landscape of rugged lava mountains, rolling red desert, sandy plains – and acres of solitude, where huge skies explode with stars after sundown. See lions prowl in the Kalahari Desert and wildebeest gather on the plains. Tap into history at a 19th-century diamond mine, paddle the Orange river and hike to South Africa’s largest falls. There are so many things to see and do in South Africa’s largest and least populated region. Here are just 10 reasons to choose the Northern Cape for your South Africa holiday.

Ranked third in the world in terms of biodiversity, South Africa supports all the iconic big game for which Africa is renowned, but it is also home to some of the world’s known plant species. Culturally, South Africa is equally diverse: a unique and engaging blend of European, Asian and indigenous influences. Given all the variety, here's our take on the best things to do in South Africa.

You might think that South Africa, with at least 35 indigenous languages and a large immigrant population speaking many others, would have a wide range of cuisines. And you’d be right. Here’s our guide to the many amazing restaurants in South Africa.

From Kenya's white sands to South Africa's penguin beach, chosen from a selection of our Africa guidebooks, these are some of the best beaches in Africa.

Of the many amazing things to do in this beautiful county — a South African safari is among the most awesome. With game parks and reserves scattered across the country, covering vast areas of the stunning landscape of every description, you are never far away from an encounter with nature and an experience of a lifetime.

Set at the very western tip of the African continent and surrounded by water on three sides, Dakar is quite simply West Africa’s most spectacular city. In centuries past, the Mali Empire (of which Senegal was a part) was known as the Bright Country for its wide-open skies and savannahs – and while wide-open spaces are a rarity in metropolitan Dakar today, the city still shimmers in a crisp oceanic light, bathing all corners of the Lego-block cityscape in a dazzling glare.

While many African reserves are only accessible to those with the thickest wallets, Kruger, South Africa’s first national park, offers the chance for a far more affordable self-guided safari. Here, on the border with Mozambique, you can see giraffes and even rare African wild dogs from a rental car little different to the one you might drive at home. It’s a place to be enjoyed at your own pace, going wherever a road or a water hole draws the eye, stopping to consult a dog-eared map or reach for your supply of biltong.