Scroll through the webpages of tour operators offering safaris, and there’s a decent chance you’ll baulk at the prices being quoted. Add to that the recently-inflated cost of international flights, and an African safari can seem prohibitively expensive. However, there are ways you can take an African safari on the… Continue reading
While known primarily as a beach destination, Zanzibar offers everything from an enthralling medieval capital to forests inhabited by rare monkeys. A popular add-on to safaris in Tanzania a short flight or ferry ride away, the archipelago is also renowned for its scuba diving. Whether you choose it for its… Continue reading
Anyone with a passion for history and culture should consider including visits to historic sites of the slave trade in Africa on any itinerary. It’s a history which hangs over much of Africa, and has everything to do with many contemporary issues the continent faces. As a visitor from the… Continue reading
Spend a week in each of Tanzania’s national parks and you’ll be away from home for almost half a year. There are no less than 22 national parks in Tanzania, plus a further 32 game reserves. From a traveller’s point of view, the distinction is minimal. Together the country’s national… Continue reading
The Great Wildebeest Migration, also known simply as the Great Migration, is one of the largest annual migrations on planet Earth. Around 1.2 million wildebeest, alongside 300,000 zebra and 400,000 gazelle make the journey across east Africa’s Serengeti-Maasai Mara ecosystem. They are shadowed all the way by lion, cheetah and… Continue reading
So good the Sultan of Oman swapped his homeland for it, Zanzibar is perhaps the original Indian Ocean escape. Long before the Seychelles or Mauritius had even been visited by outsiders, Zanzibar was shaping the world with its trade in spices. Today this archipelago off the coast of Tanzania has… Continue reading
Ghost towns are always beguiling places. They seem to call to our sense of what it means to be human. There are some very well-known ghost towns round the world, not least Chernobyl in modern-day Ukraine and Oradour-sur-Glane in France. Given its size, it’s hardly surprising Africa has its fair… Continue reading
The Big Five are synonymous with safaris, and safaris with the Big Five. While the great plains of Africa are teeming with wildlife, it’s these five animals that get much of the attention. So much so, that lion, elephant, rhino, leopard and Cape buffalo have become emblematic of the best… Continue reading
While you can now go on safari in India and South America, safaris began in Africa. The word itself comes from Kiswahili, spoken widely on the eastern side of the continent. Initially meaning a journey, it now specifically refers to wildlife encounters. The word’s Kiswahili origins also hint at the… Continue reading
While welcoming less visitors than Kenya, its northern neighbour, Tanzania has some of the best safari possibilities in Africa. So, when is the best time to visit Tanzania? Reasons for heading to Tanzania It’s in Tanzania that you’ll find the Serengeti, perhaps the most famous and important of national parks… Continue reading
