The Best Beaches in Africa to Combine with Wildlife Safaris.

Many of Africa’s top beaches blend in perfectly with the wildlife safari locations that are commonly associated with African vacation.

After your African adventure, you don’t have to take a plane to Thailand to visit its sunny beaches. Africa is home to several beautiful, sandy beach locations. Affordable beach and bush holidays can be created by combining these excellent beaches with some of Africa’s most popular safari locations.

Africa’s Top 4 Beaches to Include in Your Low-Cost Safari

Mozambique beaches and the Bazaruto Islands (with safaris in Zimbabwe, South Africa, or the Kruger)
Off the coast of Tanzania, Zanzibar Island is home to Tanzania’s Northern Safari Circuit.
Malawi’s Lake Malawi beaches (with Zambia safaris or Malawi parks)
Beaches in Madagascar and Nosy Be (where Southern African and Madagascar lemur safaris are offered)

These beach vacation spots in tropical Africa provide a welcome change of pace. On a safari in Southern and East Africa, visiting one of these beautiful beach locations is a singular cultural experience that combines breathtaking scenery and excellent wildlife watching!
These four African beach spots are known for their warm waters and immaculate, sandy beaches. A closer look at each beach paradise is provided below:

1. Beaches in Mozambique and the Bazaruto Islands

The shore and islands of Mozambique, which is situated on the east coast of Southern Africa, are surrounded by warm Indian Ocean water.

Visit the mainland areas close to the Bazaruto Archipelago, including Praia de Zavorra, Morrungulu, Inhambane, Praia do Tofo, and Vilanculos. Snorkeling, fishing, scuba diving, surfing, kayaking, and dhow sailing excursions are examples of water sports. Known as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean, Bazaruto is well-known for its beautiful reefs and a wealth of marine life, including whale sharks and manta rays, which provide for excellent snorkeling and scuba diving.

Most often, trips to the beaches of Mozambique and the Bazaruto Islands are coupled with visits to South Africa’s Kruger National Park and other popular wildlife parks and sites in the region, such as Lake Malawi and Victoria Falls.

How to Travel to the Bazaruto Islands and Mozambique

Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, is a well-liked place to start a journey. Vilanculos, on the mainland, is usually the starting point for the most reasonably priced excursions to the Bazaruto Islands. Generally speaking, the least expensive way to get from Maputo to Vilanculos is by land.

The South African city of Johannesburg, a major African travel center, is the starting point for many of our most affordable Mozambique tours. Future tours leaving from Johannesburg are listed below.

2. Tanzanian Coast’s Zanzibar Island Beaches

The miles of pristine beaches and rich history of the unique Spice Islands off Tanzania, which are heavily influenced by both Arabic and African culture, are what make them so alluring.

The majority of island trips to Zanzibar visit the beaches on the east and northeastern coast of the main island, known as Unguja, which has white sand beaches lined with palm trees and the ancient Stone Town.

Far from everyday life (and the cold for some), spend your time visiting the island and unwinding on its beautiful beaches. Swimming, snorkeling, diving, deep-sea fishing, kayaking, windsurfing, waterskiing, and traditional dhow sailing excursions to offshore islands are all examples of water sports.

Similar to Bazaruto, Zanzibar Island is well known throughout the world for its excellent diving because of its warm, clear waters, vibrant coral reefs, and abundant marine life.

Game viewing in the renowned Serengeti Park and Ngorongoro Crater (Tanzania) and Masai Mara (Kenya) are also alternatives for Zanzibar Island Trips.

How to Get to the Island of Zanzibar

Flying to Dar es Salaam and then taking the local ferry to Stone Town is one of the cheapest ways to travel to Zanzibar. In addition to offering an optional journey to Zanzibar as an add-on to your Tanzania safari, many of our itineraries that leave from Dar es Salaam also include a stop on Zanzibar Island. Additionally, you can take a direct flight from Nairobi or Johannesburg to Stone Town on the main island of Zanzibar.

3. Beaches of Lake Malawi

Malawi, known as the “Warm Heart of Africa,” is well known for its hospitable citizens. Lake Malawi is renowned for its excellent fish and warm, clear waters. Despite being a freshwater lake, the enormous Lake Malawi is surrounded by sandy beaches and is home to a wide diversity of marine life, including tropical fish.

Small settlements border the beaches of this warm-water lake, which is surrounded by picturesque mountains. Water sports including kayaking, scuba diving, snorkeling, and dhow sailing excursions to neighboring bays and islands are all made possible by the lake.

In addition to touring the busy marketplaces and interacting with the locals, Lake Malawi is a great area to go trekking and horseback riding.

Before or after unwinding on the lake’s tropical beaches, many Lake Malawi Trips also take game-viewing excursions in South Luangwa National Park in Zambia and other neighboring wildlife areas. A great place for kayaking and sailing excursions is Lake Malawi.

Accessing Lake Malawi

Lilongwe in Malawi, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, and Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe are suggested starting sites for journeys to Lake Malawi. You can look through our calendar listings for tours that begin in Lilongwe, Dar es Salaam, or Victoria Falls to find future Lake Malawi Tours.

4. Beaches in Madagascar

About 90% of the animal and plant species in Madagascar are endemic, making it a completely unique tourism destination. Ecologists refer to Madagascar as the “eighth continent” because of its unique flora and wildlife.

Along with the beaches of Morondava, Faux Cap, and St. Marie Island, Nosy Be Island, located off the northwest coast of Madagascar, is one of our most beautiful beach destinations. Particularly during this season, the weather in most of Madagascar, and Nosy Be in particular, is perfect for swimming and tanning. The weather is drier and milder from late August to November, making it ideal for exploring and lounging on the beaches.

The sandy beaches are peaceful and pristine, and the waters are warm and clean. Year-round activities include fishing, diving, snorkeling, and dhow sailing excursions.

Whales can be seen from July to late August, particularly along the east coast of Madagascar, on St. Marie Island, and in the Bay of Antongil. During this season, humpback whales can be spotted with their young. You can also observe newborn lemurs and jacaranda trees in bloom from September to November.

The cultural identity of the Malagasy people is distinct and powerful, setting them apart from other people in Africa and beyond. One of the hotspots for biodiversity in the world, Madagascar is home to a variety of national parks that preserve rainforests and their amazing wildlife.

How to Travel to Madagascar

The capital of Madagascar, Antananarivo, is where the majority of Madagascar tours begin. Johannesburg, South Africa, and Nairobi, Kenya, both have direct flights to Antananarivo’s Ivato International Airport (TNR).

Browse our Antananarivo tour departures to see future Low-Cost Madagascar Tours.

Numerous low-cost African safaris combine wildlife parks with popular beach locations and reasonably priced African islands.