Africa Travel Guide
Everything practical, in one place — visas, malaria, vaccinations, hospitals, money, safety and packing, country by country.
The Guides
Six practical guides covering the decisions and the paperwork. Each one leads with the direct answer.
What it costs
Per-couple price bands for thirteen destinations, where the money goes, and the fees left out of quotes.
Read the guide →
Best time to travel
Month by month across all four climate regions, with the migration and cyclone calendars.
Read the guide →
Visas & entry
Who needs a visa for each of eighteen countries, the regional visas that save money, and the name-change trap.
Read the guide →
Health & safety
Malaria, yellow fever and vaccinations, where the hospitals are, and what your insurance must actually say.
Read the guide →
What to pack
The 15kg soft-bag limit on safari flights, why colour matters, plug types by country, and the full list.
Read the guide →
Planning checklist
What to do when, from fifteen months out to the week you fly, and which deadlines cannot move.
Read the guide →Country-by-Country Reference
Entry, health and practicalities at a glance. Rules change — always confirm on the official government source before you travel.
| Country | Visa (UK / EU / US) | Yellow fever | Malaria | Currency & cards | Driving |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya | eTA required, online in advance (~US$32–35) | Only if arriving from a risk country | Yes — safari areas and coast. Nairobi lower risk | Kenyan shilling; camps price in USD, cards widely taken | Left |
| Tanzania & Zanzibar | Visa required; e-visa in advance recommended. US citizens get multi-entry at higher fee | Required if arriving from a risk country, incl. Kenya | Yes — mainland and Zanzibar | Tanzanian shilling; USD accepted at camps | Left |
| Uganda | E-visa in advance (visa on arrival no longer reliable) | Mandatory — certificate checked | Yes — except highest altitudes | Ugandan shilling; cards at lodges only | Left |
| Rwanda | Visa on arrival or online. East Africa Tourist Visa covers Kenya + Uganda too | Only if arriving from a risk country | Yes at lower altitude; Virungas lower risk | Rwandan franc; cards common in Kigali | Right |
| South Africa | No visa up to 90 days. Two blank facing pages required | Only if arriving from a risk country | Kruger area only. Cape, Garden Route, Eastern Cape malaria-free | Rand; cards accepted almost everywhere | Left |
| Botswana | No visa up to 90 days. Tourism levy on arrival | Only if arriving from a risk country | Yes in the north (Delta, Chobe); Kalahari lower | Pula; USD widely accepted at camps | Left |
| Namibia | Visa-on-arrival fee introduced 2025 for many previously exempt nationalities | Only if arriving from a risk country | Mostly malaria-free. Risk in far north and Caprivi | Namibian dollar (ZAR accepted); cards widely taken | Left |
| Zambia | Visa fees waived for many nationalities since 2023. KAZA UniVisa covers Zimbabwe | Only if arriving from a risk country | Yes — throughout | Kwacha; USD at camps | Left |
| Zimbabwe | Visa on arrival or online. KAZA UniVisa (~US$50) covers Zambia | Only if arriving from a risk country | Yes — Zambezi valley, Hwange, Mana Pools | USD cash — clean small notes. ATMs unreliable | Left |
| Mozambique | Visa abolished 2023 for many nationalities | Only if arriving from a risk country | Yes — including the islands | Metical; USD and rand used; cards limited | Left |
| Malawi | Visa on arrival or e-visa in advance | Only if arriving from a risk country | Yes. Bilharzia in the lake — treatable | Kwacha; cards at lodges only | Left |
| Madagascar | Visa on arrival or online; short stays historically free of charge | Only if arriving from a risk country | Yes — including coasts and islands | Ariary; cash-dominant outside the capital | Right |
| Mauritius | No visa for most nationalities; entry on arrival | Only if arriving from a risk country | None | Mauritian rupee; cards accepted everywhere | Left |
| Seychelles | No visa for any nationality, but Travel Authorisation required online before departure | Only if arriving from a risk country | None | Seychellois rupee; cards accepted | Left |
| Morocco | No visa up to 90 days for most nationalities | Not required | None | Dirham (closed currency); cards in cities | Right |
| Egypt | Visa on arrival or e-visa; some nationalities exempt for Sinai-only stays | Only if arriving from a risk country | Very low; not generally recommended | Egyptian pound; cards in hotels | Right |
| Cape Verde | No visa for EU/UK/US; pre-registration and airport security tax required | Only if arriving from a risk country | Very low; Santiago island only | Cape Verdean escudo; cards at resorts | Right |
| Ethiopia | E-visa in advance | Only if arriving from a risk country | Yes below 2,000m; Addis is above that | Birr; cash-dominant | Right |
Last reviewed August 2026. Entry rules change frequently and without notice — treat this as orientation, then confirm on the destination government’s own immigration site before booking flights. Full detail in the visa guide.
Health, in short
Nothing on this page is medical advice. Vaccination and antimalarial decisions depend on your health, your route and the season, and they should come from a travel clinic six to eight weeks before you fly.
Most African safari areas carry malaria risk, and bite avoidance from dusk to dawn matters as much as the tablets. Genuinely good malaria-free alternatives exist if you would rather not take them: the Eastern Cape and Waterberg in South Africa, most of Namibia, plus Seychelles, Mauritius and Morocco. Yellow fever certificates are required based on where you have been, not where you are going — which is what catches out couples on multi-country trips. And because safari camps sit three to six hours from a hospital by road, travel insurance must explicitly include medical evacuation with a limit of at least US$250,000, with your specific activities named.
Full guide: health and safety in Africa → — malaria, yellow fever, vaccinations, bilharzia, altitude, hospitals, evacuation and insurance.
Visas, in short
South Africa, Botswana, Mauritius, Morocco and Mozambique need no visa for UK, EU and US passport holders. Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia and Seychelles require an online application before departure. Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Madagascar still issue on arrival, though applying online first is faster every time.
Three rules apply almost everywhere: six months of passport validity beyond your return date, at least two — often four — blank pages, and official government sites only, because search results are dominated by agents charging three times the real fee. If you are changing your surname, your passport, visa and flight booking must all match; couples are refused boarding over this every year.
Full guide: Africa visa requirements → — all eighteen countries, regional visas, and the name-change trap in detail.
Money and tipping
This one has no separate guide, because it fits here.
- US dollars are the safari currency. Camps and lodges across East and Southern Africa price in USD and accept cards, but tips, curios and small purchases need cash.
- Bring clean, undamaged notes in small denominations. Worn or torn dollars are frequently refused, and pre-2013 US notes are rejected in several countries.
- Zimbabwe is cash-first. Bring more USD cash than you think you need; ATMs are unreliable.
- Morocco has a closed currency — dirham cannot legally be taken in or out in quantity. Change on arrival.
- Tell your bank you are travelling and carry two cards from different networks, stored separately.
- Tipping on safari: budget US$30–45 per couple per day in total — roughly US$20–30 for your guide and US$10–15 into the communal staff box. Over ten days that is US$300–450, and it is almost never in the quote.
- Beach and city tipping is lower: 10% in restaurants where service is not included, and small notes for porters and drivers.
Safety, in short
The established honeymoon destinations are visited safely by hundreds of thousands of couples a year, and safari camps and island resorts are well run and remote from the situations that generate headlines. The useful approach is specific rather than general: check your own government’s advice for the exact regions on your itinerary, not the country as a whole. Advisories are frequently regional — northern Mozambique, Kenya’s Somali border area, parts of the Sahel — while the tourism areas are unaffected. This matters practically, because travelling against official advice can void your insurance.
Around wildlife, do what your guide says immediately and without debating it. Almost every safari incident involves someone who did not.
Full guide: safety on the ground →
Packing, in short
Internal safari flights across East and Southern Africa restrict you to roughly 15kg per person in soft-sided bags (20kg in Botswana), with wheels and rigid frames counted in that weight. Hard suitcases are frequently refused outright. This catches honeymooners more than any other group, because people travel with more and better luggage after a wedding. Leave a case at your first city hotel — every decent hotel stores luggage free.
Wear neutrals on safari and avoid dark blue and black, which attract tsetse flies. Take genuinely warm layers for dawn game drives, binoculars one pair each, and check the plug type — South Africa uses its own standard that most universal adaptors do not fit.
Full guide: what to pack → — the complete list, plug types by country, and what is banned in luggage.
How far ahead to book
| Travelling in… | Start planning | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Jul – Oct (peak safari) | 12 – 15 months ahead | The best small camps have 8 to 20 rooms in total. They fill a year out and cannot add capacity. |
| Christmas / New Year | 12 – 18 months ahead | Shortest supply and highest rates of the year, everywhere. |
| Jan – Mar | 8 – 10 months ahead | Good availability, but standout properties still go early. |
| Apr – Jun, Nov | 5 – 8 months ahead | Green and shoulder season. More flexibility, better rates. |
| Gorilla permits | 9 – 12 months ahead | Capped at 96 per day in Rwanda. Book permits before flights. |
Full guide: the planning checklist → — month by month from fifteen months out, including when to buy insurance and see a travel clinic.
Send us a brief with your dates and rough budget. We will tell you honestly what is realistic, and have specialists come back with detailed itineraries and firm quotes.
Get proposalsPractical Questions
Questions about money, tipping and safety. Health, visas, packing and timing are answered in full on the guides above.
What currency should we take to Africa?
US dollars in cash for tips and small purchases, plus two bank cards from different networks. Camps and lodges across East and Southern Africa price in USD and take cards. Bring clean, undamaged notes in small denominations — worn or torn dollars are frequently refused, and pre-2013 US notes are rejected in several countries. Zimbabwe is effectively cash-first, so take more than you think. Morocco has a closed currency, so change on arrival rather than beforehand.
How much should we tip on safari?
Budget US$30 to US$45 per couple per day in total — roughly US$20 to US$30 for your guide and US$10 to US$15 into the communal camp staff box, which is shared among everyone you do not see. Over a ten-day trip that is US$300 to US$450, and it is almost never included in the quote. Bring it in small US dollar bills, because most camps cannot process tips by card.
How much cash should we bring?
Work it out rather than guessing: tips at US$30 to US$45 per couple per day on safari, plus any visa or tourism levy fees payable on arrival, plus roughly US$100 to US$200 for curios, drinks outside camps and airport transfers. For a ten-night safari-and-beach trip that is usually US$600 to US$900 per couple in cash. Zimbabwe needs considerably more because it is cash-first and ATMs are unreliable.
Is Africa safe for a honeymoon?
The established honeymoon destinations are visited safely by hundreds of thousands of couples every year, and safari camps and island resorts are well run and geographically remote from the situations that make the news. The useful discipline is to check your own government’s advice for the exact regions on your itinerary rather than for the country as a whole — advisories are usually regional, covering places like northern Mozambique or Kenya’s Somali border area while the tourism areas are unaffected. This also matters financially, because travelling to a region your government advises against will normally void your travel insurance.
Can we use credit cards in Africa?
Widely in South Africa, Mauritius, Seychelles and the main cities, and at almost all safari camps and lodges for your bill. Not for tips, small purchases, curio stalls, most land-border fees or anything in rural areas. Card machines at camps depend on satellite connections and fail routinely, so cash is a necessary backup rather than an optional one. Take two cards on different networks and store them separately, and tell both banks you are travelling.
Where should we start planning?
Agree your total budget per couple and how many nights you have, then pick the month, then the country — in that order. The same country is a completely different trip in February and August, so choosing the destination first is what leads most couples astray. Once budget and month are fixed the shortlist is usually short. The cost guide gives realistic per-couple bands and the best-time guide covers all four climate regions month by month.
How these guides are written
Written and reviewed by the honeymoons.africa editorial team. Entry, health and safety information on this site is checked against the official government and health-authority sources linked on each page — UK FCDO, US State Department, CDC, WHO and NaTHNaC — and every page carries the date it was last reviewed.
We are a planning guide and introduction service, not a tour operator, and no destination, camp or operator pays to appear on this site or to be recommended. That is why these pages carry the things a sales page will not: park fees left out of quotes, the Zanzibar tide, the luggage limit, and the countries where a honeymoon is a poor idea in a given month.
This is not medical, legal or financial advice. Health decisions belong with a travel clinic or your doctor, and entry rules must be confirmed with the destination government before you book. More about how we work →
Last reviewed 6 August 2026.
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