By Helen Truszkowski
The best education for the wild-at-heart, Africa offers families a genuinely intimate encounter with the bush that compromises neither your level of comfort nor a feeling that your kids are safe and welcome.
Best for older kids
Zambia is an oasis for explorers: this is action-packed, untamed Africa at its best. Take a helicopter ride over the famed Victoria Falls, venture out on horseback or even elephant-back safari, book a canoe ride down the mighty Zambezi, stay in a luxury tree-house built into the living canopy of giant ebony trees or even a private, half-open cottage that allows you to fully absorb the sights and sounds of the African bush.
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Best for culture (as well as creatures)
Touring East Africa by plane offers families the best way to combine some of the world’s best game-viewing with local community tourism. Let expert, tribal guides lead you deep into the bush, take a balloon safari and get truly in touch touring local villages. A flying safari allows you to venture from the Samburu National Reserve to the Great Rift Valley lakes, from a safari on the Masai Mara to the ancient Arab island of Lamu: a UNESCO world Heritage Site, and one of Africa's most remote coastal hideaways.
Best for safari and surf
South Africa has so much to offer: magnificent game reserves, the staggering beauty of its natural landscape, historical sites and vibrant modern cities. Twin beach-studded Cape Town - where you can swim with penguins, visit the aquarium, surf off the Cape beaches, experience the townships, and ride a cable car to the top of Table Mountain - with a family-friendly, safari in the renowned Kruger Park.
Best for Fly Drive
There is no better way to really get under the skin of Africa and nowhere better to do it than Namibia. An excellent network of roads makes self-drive here entirely manageable. Namibia’s uniqueness and diversity spans the magnificent wildlife of Etosha National Park, the breathtaking scenery of Damaraland and the incredible heights of the Namib Desert sand dunes. Spend the day with the Nomadic Himba People, getting an insight into a fascinating culture and putting some money back where it's needed most, into the pockets of local families.
Best for Finding the Big Five
Kenya - one of the first countries to establish game reserves - has arguably the best wildlife viewing on the continent, especially from June to September, when zebras and wildebeest migrate here. Take a 4WD onto the Tsavo plains to search for the Big Five: black rhinos, cape buffalo, elephants, leopards and lions. The kids will get a chance to get up close and personal at their own dedicated kids’ bush-school Adventurers’ Club. While the weather is temperate year-round, do consider November and December: light rains mean the parks are less crowded. Kruger Park in South Africa is also another strong contender for successful sightings of the Big Five.
If a family safari to Africa sounds like the holiday for you and your family, find out more about the latest VHOT DEALS to Africa.
Helen Truszkowski is a freelance travel journalist and broadcaster. She regularly writes for The Independent on Sunday, The Times, The Daily Express and The Sunday Express.