Africa

Botswana runs a deliberate low-volume, high-value tourism policy, so its parks see few vehicles and most camps are small. The Okavango delta, the Chobe elephant population and the Kalahari salt pans are the three main landscapes. Costs are high, and most travel between camps is by light aircraft.

Cape Verde is a ten-island Atlantic archipelago 600 km off West Africa, splitting into flat beach islands and steep volcanic hiking islands. Sal and Boa Vista carry the package tourism; Santo Antão and Fogo are the reason independent travellers come. Inter-island ferries and short flights connect the groups.

Egypt concentrates five thousand years of monuments along a narrow strip of the Nile, from the Giza pyramids to the temples of Luxor and Aswan, with Red Sea reefs on the eastern coast. Most itineraries pair Cairo with a Nile cruise. Heat in the south is extreme from June to August.

Kenya is the classic East African safari country, with the Mara plains, Rift Valley lakes, Amboseli's elephants below Kilimanjaro and an Indian Ocean coast of Swahili towns and reefs. Internal flights shorten long drives between parks. Peak season follows the dry months and the wildebeest migration.

Morocco moves from Atlantic surf towns to the medinas of Fes and Marrakech, over the High Atlas and into the Sahara, usually within a single trip. Trains cover the north well; the desert and mountains need a car or a driver. It is well set up for travellers but requires comfort with persistent commerce in the medinas.

Namibia is a self-drive country: vast distances on gravel roads between red dunes, a desert coast, canyons and a salt pan that concentrates wildlife around waterholes. Density of people is among the lowest on earth, and lodges are far apart, so routes need planning. A 4x4 with two spare tyres is standard advice.

Rwanda is small, mountainous and easy to travel, with mountain gorilla trekking in the Virungas, chimpanzees in Nyungwe forest and a clean, safe capital. Gorilla permits are expensive and capped, which shapes most itineraries. Roads are good and distances short, so a week covers a great deal.

South Africa combines big-game reserves, a mountainous Cape coastline, winelands and a difficult, well-documented history within one road trip. Self-driving is normal and the road network is good. Costs are low relative to Europe, which makes safaris and fine dining unusually accessible.

Tanzania holds the Serengeti plains, the Ngorongoro crater, Africa's highest mountain and the Zanzibar archipelago, which makes safari-plus-beach the standard trip. Distances are long and internal flights are common. Park fees are high, so budgets run well above neighbouring countries.

Uganda is green, hilly and compact by East African standards, with mountain gorillas in the south-west, chimpanzees in Kibale forest and savannah parks along the Rift Valley. Gorilla permits are the main cost and must be booked well ahead. Roads are slow, so distances take longer than the map suggests.