Compare 576 Travel Destinations

West Africa's most welcoming capital — vibrant markets, historic Jamestown, lively beach bars, and world-class jollof rice. Gateway to Cape Coast castles and Kakum rainforest canopy walks.

Addis Ababa is the diplomatic capital of Africa and the birthplace of coffee culture. Sitting at 2,355 m elevation, this high-altitude capital houses the Lucy fossil at the National Museum, the sprawling Merkato market, Holy Trinity Cathedral, and the African Union headquarters. A gateway to Ethiopia's extraordinary historic northern circuit — Lalibela, Gondar, and the Simien Mountains.

Morocco's premier beach resort city — completely rebuilt after the catastrophic 1960 earthquake that killed a third of its population — now stretches along a 10km crescent of soft Atlantic sand backed by promenade hotels, riad-style resorts, and an artificial marina. Less culturally dense than Marrakech or Fez but more relaxed and family-friendly: 300+ days of sunshine, year-round 18-28°C, and consistent surf at nearby Taghazout (45min north) which has become a global longboard pilgrimage. The hilltop Kasbah ruins (rebuilt walls only — interior never restored) overlook the bay; the Souk El Had is North Africa's largest market with 6,000+ stalls; Paradise Valley palm oasis and Crocoparc are easy half-day trips. Population ~600K including greater area.

Egypt's second city and the Mediterranean's great Levantine port - founded in 331 BC by Alexander the Great, capital of the Ptolemies, home of Cleopatra, the Pharos lighthouse, and the original Library that for centuries was the brain of the ancient world. Modern Alexandria is a 5-million-strong waterfront city of crumbling Belle Epoque facades, the 2002 Bibliotheca Alexandrina (a 172-million-euro modernist reincarnation of the lost Library), the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa, the 15th-century Qaitbay Citadel built on the lighthouse foundations, and a humid sea breeze that feels nothing like the Sahara three hours south.

A blue-and-white Atlantic coastal town 45km south of Tangier — the calmest, most artistic corner of the Moroccan north. The Portuguese ramparts still wrap the medina, and every August the Asilah Cultural Moussem repaints the entire old city with murals that stay up all year. Paradise Beach stretches 4km south of town. Spanish is spoken as commonly as French, a hangover from the protectorate years, and seafood is the reason to linger.

Egypt's southernmost city sits at the First Cataract of the Nile, where the river narrows around granite islands and the Sahara meets Nubian sandstone. Once the ancient frontier town of Swenett guarding Pharaonic Egypt's southern border, Aswan today is the launching point for Abu Simbel (280km south), Philae Temple (relocated to Agilkia Island after the High Dam flooded its original home), and felucca cruises around Elephantine Island and Kitchener's Botanical Garden. The Nubian villages on the West Bank — Gharb Soheil and Heisa — preserve the language, music, and indigo-and-ochre architecture of a culture displaced when Lake Nasser drowned 44 villages in the 1960s. Significantly hotter, drier, and quieter than Cairo or Luxor; population ~290K.

The Atlas Mountains run 2,500 km across northwest Africa, with the High Atlas of Morocco as the trekking heart and Toubkal (4,167m) the highest peak in North Africa. Imlil village, 1.5 hours from Marrakech, is the standard launch pad — a cluster of stone Berber villages strung along walnut groves, where mule trails climb into snow-capped peaks and tagine homestays end most days. Aït Ben Haddou, the UNESCO red-clay ksar 3 hours south on the desert edge, doubled for ancient Egypt and Westeros in Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator and Game of Thrones, and anchors the southern road circuit out of the range.

UNESCO 1994 ancient montane forest (25,000+ years continuous) — home to roughly half the world's mountain gorillas (~450 of ~1,000 total). Gorilla trekking permits in Uganda cost $800 per person (vs Rwanda $1,500, DRC $400); book 6–12 months ahead. Four sectors — Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga, Nkuringo — with variable trek difficulty from 1 hr to 8 hr. 350+ bird species including Albertine Rift endemics. Access via Entebbe → charter to Kihihi, or 8–10 hr drive on rough roads. Best June–August + December–February.

Cairo is a megacity that sits at the crossroads of ancient and modern — the Great Pyramids of Giza are literally at the city's edge. The Egyptian Museum holds treasures spanning millennia, Islamic Cairo's mosques and bazaars are a maze of history, and the Nile runs through it all. Chaotic, overwhelming, and absolutely unforgettable.

Cape Town is stunningly beautiful — Table Mountain looming over a city nestled between ocean and vineyards. The food and wine scene is world-class and incredibly affordable. From penguin colonies to the Cape of Good Hope, from vibrant Bo-Kaap to the V&A Waterfront, it's one of the most photogenic cities on earth.

Morocco's largest city (~4 million) and economic capital — the Hassan II Mosque rising from the Atlantic with its 210-metre minaret (one of only two mosques in Morocco open to non-Muslims), the Art Deco legacy of the French Protectorate along Boulevard Mohammed V, the 1930s Quartier Habous new medina, the Corniche oceanfront bar scene, and a nightlife reputation that rivals Marrakech. The city that the Bogart film was entirely NOT shot in.

Morocco's famous Blue City nestled in the Rif Mountains — every wall, stairway, and doorway painted in shades of blue. A photogenic haven with mountain hikes, artisan crafts, and a peaceful medina.

Senegal's vibrant Atlantic capital pulses with Wolof culture, colorful markets, world-class music venues, fresh seafood, and the spirit of Teranga (hospitality) that defines West Africa.

Tanzania's bustling port city and commercial capital is a gateway to Zanzibar, the Serengeti, and Kilimanjaro. A vibrant mix of Swahili culture, Indian Ocean seafood, busy markets, and a growing arts scene along the Coco Beach waterfront.

The 'Dragon Mountain' is a 1,000 km basalt escarpment along the Lesotho border — the tallest range in southern Africa, with Thabana Ntlenyana on the Lesotho side topping out at 3,482 m. The UNESCO Maloti-Drakensberg Park protects the highest reaches plus 600+ San rock-art sites, the largest concentration of rock paintings in Africa, and Tugela Falls (948 m, second-tallest in the world) plunges off the Amphitheatre cliff in the Royal Natal section. Hiking, horseback riding, zip-lining and trout streams cluster around mountain lodges roughly four hours from both Johannesburg and Durban.

Morocco's windswept Atlantic coast gem is a laid-back blue-and-white medina town famous for its fortified harbor, fresh seafood grills, windsurfing, and the annual Gnaoua World Music Festival. A perfect counterpoint to Marrakech's intensity, just 3 hours away.

Fez is Morocco's spiritual and intellectual capital — home to the world's oldest university and a medieval medina so vast and labyrinthine that GPS is useless. The tanneries are iconic (and pungent), the mosaic workshops are mesmerizing, and getting lost in the 9,000+ alleyways is half the point. More authentic and less touristy than Marrakech.

300km of South Africa's southern Cape coast between Mossel Bay and Storms River — a forested, lake-stitched, lagoon-laced ribbon between the Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma mountain ranges and the Indian Ocean. The drive itself (the N2 highway) is the trip: Wilderness National Park's beaches and lakes, Knysna's spectacular Heads (cliff-bound estuary mouth), Plettenberg Bay's white-sand resort beaches and dolphin spotting, Tsitsikamma's ancient yellowwood forests and Storms River suspension bridge, and Bloukrans Bridge's 216m bungee jump (world's highest from a bridge). Garden Route National Park spans three sections (Wilderness, Knysna, Tsitsikamma); Mediterranean climate makes November-April peak with no malaria. Most travellers self-drive over 4-7 days; George Airport (GRJ) is the western anchor.

Egypt's Red Sea Riviera, strung along 40 km of mainland coast facing the Sinai across the Gulf of Suez. Once a quiet fishing village, Hurghada exploded into the country's largest beach-resort cluster from the 1980s onward and now functions as the lower-cost mainland counterpart to Sharm El Sheikh. The Giftun Islands sit a 30-minute snorkel-boat ride offshore, El Gouna (the upscale planned town with its lagoons, marina and golf course) is 25 km north, and Hurghada International handles direct charters from across Europe and the former USSR.

South Africa's economic powerhouse is reinventing itself with vibrant arts districts in Maboneng and Braamfontein, the sobering Apartheid Museum, and Constitution Hill. Gateway to Kruger National Park safaris and the Cradle of Humankind.

Africa's cleanest capital spread across lush hills — a city of remarkable transformation, powerful genocide memorials, thriving coffee culture, and the gateway to mountain gorilla trekking.

South Africa's flagship safari park and one of Africa's largest game reserves — home to the Big Five and an incredible diversity of wildlife across nearly 2 million hectares.

Africa's largest city is the continent's cultural powerhouse — Afrobeats, Nollywood, contemporary art, and an unstoppable entrepreneurial energy alongside beaches and legendary nightlife.

Africa's third-largest lake stretches 560 km along Malawi's eastern flank — a freshwater inland sea so clear that the UNESCO Lake Malawi National Park around Cape Maclear is the cichlid biodiversity capital of the world, with 1,000+ endemic species. Beach lodges hug the southern shores at Cape Maclear and Senga Bay, the historic MV Ilala steamer still threads weekly up the lake, and Likoma Island's Anglican cathedral sits improbably mid-water. Snorkel and dive in bilharzia-safe deep water; the lake replaces the ocean most travellers expect from a southern African trip.