Children love Africa – almost as much as their parents do. They love sleeping under canvas in small tented camps or living it up in world-class hotels or hanging out at a family-run beach lodge when their safari is over; they love the many properties that go that extra mile to make things perfect for the whole family – with special activities, flexible meal-times, child-focused game drives, family suites. Most of all, we all love the way that children learn so much from just being in Africa, without even realising it.
So take the kids and head off for an adventure in the bush and combine a safari with a fabulous tropical beach for a perfect African family holiday. Below we've highlighted holidays that are particularly family-friendly, but we have many itineraries that include lodges and beach hotels that make children especially welcome, so do ask us for first-hand advice on the very best family holidays in Africa.
Family holidays to Africa
Mike Unwin is a travel writer, parent and passionate advocate of Africa family holidays. He writes:
“ The African bush is surely the world’s most riveting classroom. And often it is the little things – the dung beetle rolling away its precious cargo; the oxpecker probing the ear of a disgruntled buffalo; the chameleon negotiating the lodge verandah – that captivate younger eyes and minds. While we adults come on safari with a prescribed agenda – Big-Five, Great Migration and so on – children select their own delights from Africa’s spectacular wildlife smorgasbord. Often they open parental eyes a little wider in the process.
For older children, with energy to burn, safaris offer no end of thrills and spills. Today’s adventure-thirsty teenagers can enjoy the likes of white-water rafting the Zambezi, balloon-rides over the Serengeti, rhino tracking in Kenya’s Lewa conservancy or surfing the sand dunes of the Namib Desert. Meanwhile, the older generation may prefer to put their feet up in the comfort of a lodge – or even, in some cases, retrace the steps of an African past. There is surely no better way in which to enjoy the holiday of a lifetime than surrounded by your grandchildren, as they delight in the world’s greatest natural playground. “
Read more about Africa
