Africa is an outstanding honeymoon destination. There is nowhere else in the world where you can experience such phenomenal game-viewing and beautiful African wilderness, just a short hop away from a glorious Indian Ocean beach where a sunlounger with your name on it awaits you... This combination of adventure and relaxation is a perfect antidote to all the stress of a wedding, and an unforgettable shared experience to kick off married life.
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Africa Honeymoons, Safari Honeymoons
East Africa Honeymoon Vs Southern Africa Honeymoon
Africa is a vast continent with a huge variety of options to consider for your honeymoon. In the first instance, there is a broad distinction between East and Southern Africa.
East Africa includes Uganda and Rwanda (both of which offer gorilla trekking) and also Kenya and Tanzania. Kenya and Tanzania are home to the phenomenal Great Migration, and each has their own Indian Ocean coastline and islands, notably Zanzibar. There are also some fabulous beaches in neighbouring Mozambique which are worth considering. It is very easy to combine a fantastic East African safari adventure followed by some chillout time relaxing on a beach – we even do a few beach-safari-beach itineraries where time and budget permit. For more detailed information on Tanzania honeymoons please see Tanzania Odyssey.
Southern Africa includes Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Namibia, all of which have excellent safari options and beautiful African landscapes. These destinations combine well with Victoria Falls and/or Cape Town. It is also possible to add on beach extensions to Mozambique, Mauritius, Madagascar, although logistically this is slightly trickier than East Africa, and can be expensive.
Some honeymooners are keen on the idea of the Seychelles. It is possible to add on a beach extension here following an African safari, and the Seychelles are absolutely beautiful, however you need to have very deep pockets and plenty of time available as rates are astronomical and travel logistics are time-consuming!
How much does an African Honeymoon Cost?
Africa offers a wide range of accommodation options of various styles, so to some degree an itinerary can be crafted to fit your budget whatever it may be - although of course the bigger your budget the more options you will have.
The most expensive element of an African honeymoon is the safari part; a night on safari is much more expensive than a night at a beach. Therefore it’s a matter of balancing your time and budget between safari and the beach in the way that works best for you. We recommend at least three nights on safari, as we feel that any less is too little to really ‘get’ the experience. Four to six nights on safari is absolutely perfect in our opinion – much longer than this will be astronomically expensive and you’ll probably get safari’ed out.
The good news is that we have long-standing, excellent relationships with all our suppliers, so our clients often get special treatment and little extras (the best room in the lodge, a private dinner in the savannah, a surprise bush breakfast, rose petal filled baths…) which means you get the best possible value for your money.
Top 5 tips for your Safari Honeymoon
1. When planning your itinerary don’t try to fit too much in, or you will get exhausted and won’t enjoy yourselves. Give yourselves plenty of time to relax!
2. Consider travelling in the off-season – you will pay less and could still get an incredible safari experience.
3. Don’t head off on safari immediately after the wedding, give yourselves a little time to decompress first so you can make the most of the experience once you get there.
4. Consider adding optional extras (such as a private vehicle while on safari, a night fly camping in the bush, or bungee jumping at Vic Falls…) for some very special memories.
5. We have some excellent honeymoon special offers, including 50% off for the bride at some lodges – ask us for further information!
Luxury vs Adventure for your Safari Honeymoon?
Every honeymoon couple has one thing in common – the requirement that their honeymoon should be absolutely perfect. However, this obviously means different things to different people! Some want a rustic, authentic wilderness experience (bucket showers and no electricity), while others want chic, stylish, sophisticated luxury (fine dining and spa treatments).
Large resort hotel or small boutique guesthouse? Pure chillout relaxation or adrenaline-pumping adventure? …or both! This is where our skill and experience in tailor-making itineraries becomes incredibly important. We don’t sell ‘off the shelf’ honeymoons; every single trip we arrange is tailored very specifically to your requirements and tastes (and budget!). We will help you understand all the various options and permutations, and we will keep tweaking until we have an itinerary that is perfect for you.
When is the best time of year for a Honeymoon in Africa?
Africa is enormous and each country’s climate depends on its own particular factors including latitude, altitude, distance from the sea etc. For further information please see our individual country pages.
In general terms, East Africa has an equatorial climate, with little seasonal temperature variation across the year, and it is dry in our summer. Southern Africa has different climate zones, but bear in mind that as it is south of the equator, their summer is December to March and our summer is their winter!
How to combine an African safari with the beach?
Wherever you go for your African safari, it can be combined with some time on a beach – whether it’s the Kenyan or Tanzanian coastline, or further afield. Mozambique is renowned for its gorgeous white sand beaches - look at the Quirimbas and Bazaruto Archipelago chains, both of which have fabulous lodges and stunning beaches. It is also worth considering Mauritius, Madagascar and the Seychelles although you will need to factor in considerable extra travel time.
Bear in mind that East Africa is easier to combine with a beach extension than Southern Africa, although where your time and budget permit, anything is possible.
Our experience in arranging Africa Honeymoons
We really love organising African Honeymoons! We’ve done thousands of them and we’re very good at them. Our in-depth knowledge and experience of all the different lodges and suppliers (both on safari and at the beach) enable us to work with you to create a honeymoon itinerary that is absolutely perfect for you, whether it be remote and rustic or chic and luxurious, and whatever your preferences and budget… There is a bit more to itinerary planning than you might think; the ‘shape’ of the itinerary is very important. We like to arrange things such that each place you stay is a little better than the last, so you never suffer that nagging feeling that the last place you visited was better than the current one.
Between us here in the office we have visited almost every lodge or hotel in Botswana that is worth talking about, and we frequently revisit them to see what's changed. Therefore, the best way to book a Botswana Honeymoon is to get in touch and have a chat with us. Email us on [email protected] or call through on 1866 356 4691 or the UK on 020 8704 1216.
Other Honeymoon locations
Our sister company South America Odyssey offers honeymoons in South America including Peru Honeymoons.
Client Reviews
[100% based on 6 reviews]
We cannot express what an incredible honeymoon yuo planned for us to Africa. We can not thank you enough. As you predicted, we will be back
- G Parker
We cannot express what an incredible honeymoon yuo planned for us to Africa. We can not thank you enough. As you predicted, we will be back- G Parker
itineraries
Although we tailor-make all our trips we have reproduced a number of popular itineraries here
Map of Africa
