Knowing what to expect from your destination will make all aspects of trip planning easier and help you get more out of your time on the ground.
Climate, crowding, and seasonal pricing are all important factors in your decision about when to go. Especially for adventure travel, bad weather or weather you’re not prepared for can ruin the trip
Bloomberg, however, has listed the top African destinations one can visit in the year 2020 with Mozambique topping the list.
The listing was based on views of a “network of in-the-know editors and global correspondents” with regards to inspiring spots that will be particularly enticing this year.
- Mozambique
With dozens of white-sand islets ringed by vibrant marine life, Mozambique is Africa’s under-the-radar answer to the Maldives.
Despite weathering back-to-back cyclones last year, the Bloomberg report indicates that the country is more enchanting than ever. Its most impressive newcomer, Kisawa Sanctuary, will command rates of $5,500 a night when it opens this summer; each of its 12 rooms sits on a full acre of sand on Benguerra Island.
2. Cairo
The resort is purportedly the first in the world to (at least partly) 3D-print its structures, combining sand and seawater to make mortar.
When the Grand Egyptian Museum finally opens in the fall, it will be one of several improvements that will help the Egyptian government continue the upward trend of post-revolution tourism, which grossed an all-time-high of $12.5 billion in the year ending in June 2019.
More forthcoming draws include renovated historic Jewish synagogues such as the 116-year-old Sha’ar Hashamayim and a sumptuous St. Regis by Michael Graves Architecture & Design.
3. Ethiopia
In 2015 Ethiopia set out to make the country a top-five African destination by 2020; in 2018 tourism grew 48.6% from the previous year, faster than any other country. Its formula is a mix of history (the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela), cultural experiences with the tribes of the Omo Valley, and wildlife viewing in the Bale and Simien mountains.
Ethiopian Airlines is also offering new routes from Houston and Chicago, and Journeys by Design has added helicopter safaris in the north with an anthropological twist.
4. Zimbabwe
It’s a wonder so many travellers never make it past Victoria Falls when some of Africa’s biggest concentrations of wildlife, most qualified guides, and best all-around values are just beyond its roaring depths.
Even after the end of Robert Mugabe era, Zimbabwe remains a better bet and laws that encourage hunting in next-door Botswana are driving some adventurers here instead.
An hour from the falls, you’ll find newly thriving packs of wild dogs in Mana Pools National Park, where Wilderness Safaris’ Chikwenya Camp has seven tents at the confluence of the Sapi and Zambezi rivers. Nearby, the Nyamatusi Camp by the Zimbabwean-owned African Bush Camps team offers canoeing, walking safaris, and the chance to catch the famously ferocious tigerfish.
