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updated 26.04.2023
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written by Rough Guides Editors
updated 26.04.2023
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.
The information in this article is inspired by The Rough Guides guidebooks — your essential guides for visiting the world.
If you’ve come to surf, head for the break at Super Tubes, east of the main bathing beach, which produces an impressive and consistent swirling tube of whitewater, attracting surfers from all over the world throughout the year. Riding inside the vortex of a wave is considered the ultimate experience by surf buffs, but should only be attempted if you’re an expert.
To make sure you're one of the very few people on a beach in Seychelles, head to Anse Georgette. This secluded stretch of sand is only accessible by water taxi or through the one resort nearby. The bright white sand leads into a turquoise ocean – hire a snorkel to explore the underwater colours.
Even adults are advised not to go out swimming alone. The northern end of the beach has lifeguards on duty from June 15 to September 15 8 am to 7 pm daily, and a system of flags to tell you how dangerous it is to swim.
Explore Kenya's vast national parks with our tailor-made trip to Bush To Beach Safari. After a few days of waking up early to spot wildlife, relax on the fine sandy beaches of Diani in the Mombasa area.
Surfing can be good but you have to pick the right spots. Quite a few Moroccans come down in summer, with a trickle of Europeans in winter. Between times, the place is very quiet. There are a couple of marabout tombs on the beach and, about 1.5km to the north, a tiny (and rather pretty) troglodyte fishing village, with a hundred or so primitive cave huts, dug into the rocks.
Spend 14 days in Tanzania with the perfect tailor-made Safari and Beach Holiday: arriving at Kilimanjaro airport, spend the first 7 days finding the Big 5 and enjoying national parks and Maasai villages. The remaining 7 days can be spent lazing on the beautiful beaches of Zanzibar.
On this tailor-made trip to Cape Town, you will visit South Africa's most breathtaking city, as you follow the circular route around the stunning peninsula. Make the most of deserted sandy beaches, quaint towns and rich wine lands before you fly to Kapama Private Game Reserve for an encounter with the Big Five.
The beach is very popular with both locals and tourists, and it is a great spot for swimming, sunbathing, and socializing. Camps Bay Beach is also famous for its stunning views of the Twelve Apostles mountain range and its white sand.
In the 1960s, Lamu’s unique blend of beaches, gentle Islamic ambience, funky old town and a host population well used to strangers was a recipe which took over where Marrakesh left off, and it acquired a reputation as Kenya’s Kathmandu. The end of the African hippie trail and a stopover on the way to India. Shaggy foreigners were only allowed to visit on condition they stayed in lodgings and didn’t camp on the beach.
Second Beach, 5km west along a tarred road off a right turn past the post office, is a fabulous swimming beach with a lagoon; it has a couple of nice places to stay close by. The area along the river around the Pondoland Bridge has some accommodation popular with anglers.
Port St Johns also has good fishing and swimming beaches, a wider choice of accommodation than anywhere else on the Wild Coast, and a good tarred road all the way into town.
This part of the coast is so windy it is often overlooked by travellers who seek the calmer reef-fringed shores of Sharm el-Sheikh, although the year-round cross-shore gusts make it a haven for kiteboarders and windsurfers.
Experience Cairo with our tailor-made Nile cruise. Highlights include Karnak temple, Valley of Kings, Hatshepsut temple and an optional visit to Abu Simbel. Spend your last night in fascinating Cairo.
Find accommodation options to stay in Ras Sudr
Stay in four different areas on this tailor-made trip to Delightful Mauritius - first the South Coast, then the West Coast, then Chamarel in the centre of the island, before spending the last few days relaxing on the beach of the popular North Coast. Mauritius has so much more to offer than just gorgeous beaches!
It only takes an hour or so to walk to Kassa village from Soro Beach and you’re likely to see monkeys and birds along the way.
Tropical island beaches, lush rainforest, stunning wildlife, and the bright red clay houses of Antananarivo await you on this tailor-made trip to Madagascar. Get your fill of culture in the capital Tana, snap beguiling wildlife, and revive and reboot on stunning white-sand beaches.
A scalloped sea of huge “roaring” dunes; the moonscape and “clay castles” of the Hoarusib River Valley; and the endless bleak coastline pounded by surf and sprinkled with bleached whalebones, rusting shipwrecks and scuttling ghost crabs.
The island is encircled by coral reefs, which makes it a popular diving and snorkelling site. You can explore the colourful coral gardens and encounter a diverse range of sea creatures, such as dolphins, whales and sea turtles.
For more inspirational travel tips for your future trips check our Rough Guide books.
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written by Rough Guides Editors
updated 26.04.2023
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