Africa probably doesn’t come to mind as the first destination you’d choose when planning a beach vacation, but there are plenty of good reasons to give it a try. Cape Town in South Africa until recently has always been “the” destination to go to if you wanted to go to Africa and enjoy the beach, as well as all the other wonderful things that only this great continent has to offer. There are new kids on the block now and places like Zanzibar on the Tanzanian coast, Mombasa in Kenya and the Gambia have really come into their own, each offering their own unique outlets and flavor of Africa, but all they are excellent beach vacation destinations.
One of the most obvious reasons to choose a place on the African continent is to enjoy the beach during the European winter, to break away from winter and escape the hustle and bustle of summer vacations. How often do we hear these days about airport strikes during the peak summer holiday period, delaying millions of tourists and destroying their few weeks off work? Escape the rush and travel outside of the peak season.
Beach holiday in Cape Town, South Africa
Cape Town in South Africa remains Africa’s most sophisticated beach holiday destination, with the incredible backdrop of Table Mountain, great accommodation options and some of the best restaurants in the world, it would be a great place to visit even without the beach . On top of that, you can also enjoy South Africa’s best wines and scenery on the Garden Route, which runs from Mossel Bay to Storms River in the Western Cape. There are ten nature reserves in the area, as well as unique marine reserves, home to soft coral reefs, dolphins, seals, and an abundance of marine life.
Combining golf with a beach holiday has always been popular in places like Spain and Portugal, South Africa and the Cape Region have some of the best golf courses in the world, now you can combine a beach holiday, golf and a safari, there is no place in Europe that can boast of that!
What about the beaches? Cape Town has excellent beaches, False Bay with the long sandy beach that stretches from Gordon’s Bay to Muizenberg and includes Boulders Beach and Simon’s Town. The Atlantic coast along the west (Atlantic) side of the Cape Peninsula with well-known beaches such as Sandy Bay, Clifton Camps Bay, Scarborough and Kommetjie. The west coast, running north from Cape Town with windy conditions, makes these beaches popular for surfing and kitesurfing.
An important point to keep in mind is that the sea in False Bay is about 6 degrees warmer than the Atlantic coast and the West coast!
On the downside, Cape Town is the furthest point in Africa you can travel to from Europe so expect a long flight as mentioned above, the water can be a little cold and it’s probably one of the most expensive destinations in Africa.
Beach holiday in Mombasa, Kenya
Kenya, probably best known for its wildlife safaris in the Masai Mara, but also has a lot to offer in the way of beach holidays on the coast near Mombasa. The city of Mombasa is a bustling ‘real’ African city and is in stark contrast to the sophistication of Cape Town. However, there are plenty of good eating places to try more traditional African food, as well as cater to Western palates. Also worth visiting is the old town and Fort Jesus, a Portuguese fort built in 1593 by order of King Philip II of Spain, to protect the Old Port of Mombasa, Kenya. It was built in the shape of a man and was given the name of Jesus as a religious reference.
Along the coast there are many places to stay with some of the most luxurious hotels you will find anywhere in Africa, a few small beach huts as well as basic beachside camps, something for everyone.
The snorkelling and diving in Mombasa and the surrounding areas are also excellent and it is a great place to learn to dive as prices here are substantially cheaper than many other well known diving spots. Bamburi beach is a great location for your beach holiday in Kenya, about half an hour from Nairobi there are some great hotels and beach huts as well as an excellent PADI Dive Center located in the well known Travelers Beach Hotel.
Of course, no trip to Kenya would be complete without some form of Safari and they can be arranged from Mombasa with a popular destination being Tsavo National Park, less well known than the Masai Mara but at just over 21,000 square km, Tsavo is the park Kenya’s largest national park and one of the largest in the world with large herds of elephants and many lions, well worth considering if you want to take a break from relaxing on the beach!
With these two very different African beach holiday options, I hope I have given you an idea of what Africa has to offer in the way of your next holiday by the sea.
