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9 grand journeys to have across the African continent

From sleeper trains winding through Tanzania to a culinary journey through Cape Town, discover Africa like you’ve never seen it before. Here are the top incredible journeys to take across the African continent.

1. Cross Africa by rail

Travelling with: Carla Grossetti

the Rovos Rail Train, Africa
Cross the continent by luxury rail. (Image: Jos Beltman)

Africa is not the first continent that springs to mind when it comes to luxurious rail travel. But family-run Rovos Rail has been quietly redefining rail journeys across Africa for more than three decades. The opulent Edwardian-style sleeper trains wind through landscapes as diverse as Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola and Namibia. While fine dining is all part of the service, it’s the ease of access to off-train excursions that is the real luxury.

a look inside the Royal Suite, Rovos Rail Train, Africa
Journey through Africa on a vintage carriage. (Image: Jos Beltman)

2. The Great Migration

Travelling with: Carla Grossetti

zebra and wildebeest leaping into the Mara River in Kenya, Africa during the Great Migration
Zebras in the Mara River during the migration season. (Image: Getty/A Dogs Life Photo)

The best time of year to see the spectacle described by David Attenborough as ‘the greatest show on Earth’ is September and October. Witness this unforgettable wildlife encounter on Abercrombie & Kent’s Kenya & Tanzania: A Great Migration Safari Adventure. This most memorable safari experience follows more than 2 million wildebeest, zebra and other herbivores being hunted by predators like lions and crocodiles as they trek from the southern Serengeti to the lush green grasses of the Masai Mara.

3. Cruise West Africa

Travelling with: Sarah Reid

the Namib Desert tour from Angola to Luanda
Embark on a Namib Desert tour. (Image: G Adventures Inc.)

Cultures, cuisines, customs and colours collide along the coastline of tropical West Africa. With a lack of tourism infrastructure and safety concerns in some areas adding to the challenges of a multi-country adventure here, a cruise along Africa’s Atlantic coast offers an opportunity to experience the region in a different way. Swan Hellenic is among several small-ship expedition cruise lines that operate in West Africa. Hugging the coast from Dakar, Senegal to Accra, Ghana, its Cruise West Africa: The Slavery Coast itinerary visits seven nations brimming with historical sites, rich arts scenes, incredible wildlife and untold stories, combining to deliver an unforgettable snapshot of this dynamic region.

4. Africa by overland

Travelling with: Sarah Reid

Cape Town in South Africa on a tour with G Adventures Inc.
Explore Cape Town with G Adventures. (Image: Supplied)

Offering a broader taste of the incredible diversity of Africa than a safari camp stay, an overland vehicle adventure is the ultimate way to explore the continent. Leave the logistics to the experts and book a group tour with G Adventures, which operates tours on its purpose-built ‘Lando’. Revel in the continent’s ever-changing landscapes as you traverse a classic route such as Victoria Falls to Cape Town. Embark on game drives in a variety of parks, engage with a rich array of cultures and lean into the thrill of camping in wild and remote places on this rustic journey.

cheetahs in South Africa
See wild Africa. (Image: Supplied)

5. An accessible safari

Travelling with: Carla Grossetti

the deck of Ximuwu five-star lodge in southern Africa
The luxury five-star lodge in southern Africa, Ximuwu, offers an intimate game drive experience.

Ximuwu Safari Lodge offers a luxury safari experience designed specifically – but not exclusively – for guests with mobility challenges. As the only luxury wheelchair-accessible safari lodge in southern Africa, Ximuwu also accommodates small groups and couples looking for an intimate game drive experience. The five-star lodge caters to the needs of wheelchair users with specially designed game-viewing vehicles, photographic hides and even helicopter flights that ensure every guest can participate.

the accommodation at Ximuwu Safari Lodge
Bed down at Ximuwu Safari Lodge.

6. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

Travelling with: Carla Grossetti

adult female gorilla with baby in Uganda
A mother gorilla with her baby in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda. (Image: Getty/Rixipix)

Uganda is emerging as a popular choice for travellers seeking a safari experience with far fewer crowds. And encountering a mountain gorilla in the darkening green of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda is bucket-list stuff. Join operators such as Bench Africa on a four-day safari that includes entry to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Part of the joy of such small-group safaris is the deep conversations that come around the campfire after days spent spotting gorillas and chimpanzees.

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7. Africa’s islands

Travelling with: Elizabeth Whitehead

a scenic landscape in Mafate Cirque, Reunion Island
Réunion Island is one of three incredible islands to explore off the coast of East Africa. (Image: Getty/Simeon)

These three islands off the coast of East Africa inspire daydreams of silky white-sand beaches lined with luxury resorts. And while that’s part of the story, these islands – each completely uninhabited prior to the 16th century – possess an extraordinary assemblage of flora, fauna and diverse landscapes. Add to that a vibrant melting pot of French-Creole, Indian and Southeast Asian cultures, and you have plenty of reasons to venture out of the resorts.

8. A woman-led tour of Mt Kilimanjaro

Travelling with: Sarah Reid

Sarah Reid at summit of Mt Kilimanjaro
Sarah Reid at the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro. (Image: Sarah Reid)

Hiking Africa’s tallest mountain (6895 metres) is not for the faint-hearted, and battling crowds is almost inevitable on this popular expedition. But bagging one of the original Seven Summits (only two of which are non-technical climbs) is a seriously satisfying accomplishment for the everyday hiker. The longest routes to the top (at least six days) have the highest success rates. World Expeditions encourages women to break into the male-dominated guiding world, with several women now leading its three different route options. With porters known to break into song at any time, there’s never a dull moment on this Tanzanian journey.

9. A foodie tour of South Africa

Travelling with: Imogen Eveson

Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel, Cape Town
The 125-year-old Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel, Cape Town. (Image: Inge Prins)

Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel, Cape Town, is an icon of the South African capital for its beloved high tea, but it’s also a touchstone to the city’s contemporary pulse, serving its creative community and dining scene through a diverse program of events, including its half-day urban culinary journey. Led by local foodies, the tour takes guests of the five-star hotel to coffee shops, fast-food joints and restaurants around the city that demonstrate Cape Town’s diverse heritage. A highlight is Seven Colours Eatery, which serves traditional South African soul food led by passionate chef and cultural ambassador Nolukhanyo Dube-Cele.

high tea at Mount Nelson, A Belmond Hotel, Cape Town
High tea is a tradition here. (Image: Imogen Eveson)

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At the foot of the pyramids, Egypt finally tells its own story

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    Ancient Egyptian history has been scattered across the globe for decades, admired, preserved, and studied, but it’s rarely seen where it actually belongs. The newly opened Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) brings it home.

    From a viewing platform inside the Grand Egyptian Museum, the Great Pyramids of Giza rise from the desert, and for a moment, it feels like modern Egypt and ancient Egypt are shaking hands. The museum, grand in name and reality, has been a long time coming—since 1992, to be exact. Towering pharaohs, relics, and entire chapters of civilisation are on display here, all in full view of the pyramids. And because the GEM is the largest archaeological museum in the world dedicated to a single civilisation, it gets to tell Egypt’s story through its own voice, something many overseas institutions, understandably, haven’t quite managed.

    Reshaping Giza

    GEM entrance and gardens
    The GEM holds its own commanding position. (Image: Natasha Bazika)

    You might expect any building beside the Great Pyramids of Giza to fade into the background, but the GEM doesn’t bow to its famous neighbours. Perfectly aligned on the same axis and vast enough to span 70 football fields, the museum is less of an addition to Giza and more of a marker of the shift from a gateway to a cultural district.

    Inside, hieroglyphs carved from alabaster sweep across the walls and triangles appear everywhere, yet it’s a 3,200-year-old, 11-metre-tall, statue of Ramesses II who commands the room. His scale dictated the soaring atrium ceilings, which pour in natural light, unusual in museums but safe for the stone artefacts displayed.

    Hieroglyphs line the walls of the main entrance of the GEM
    Hieroglyphs line the walls of the main entrance. (Image: Natasha Bazika)

    Unlike many museums, the GEM has really considered how visitors move through it. The six-storey grand staircase leads you chronologically through Egypt’s history, from the Predynastic era to the Coptic period, flanked by statues that grow in scale and complexity as you climb. Elevators and lifts run alongside, keeping the journey accessible to everyone.

    At the top, a viewing wall frames the pyramids before you enter the main gallery to see artefacts rarely seen outside tombs, including the complete contents of Tutankhamun’s tomb, a highlight for many visitors.

    Pharaohs, artefacts and everything in between

    The GEM's showpiece Ramesses II
    The GEM’s showpiece Ramesses II. (Image: Natasha Bazika)

    The GEM holds around 100,000 artefacts across seven millennia, but the experience is entirely modern. Digital panels, QR navigation and clear bilingual signage make self-guided wandering easy, while short, glare-free labels in English, Arabic and braille are colour-coded to move you from broad themes to object-level detail.

    That said, a guide adds context you don’t get from a panel. I was lucky to have Essam Al Ebd Aziz, an Egyptologist, on board a 12-day Uniworld Nile cruise, walk me through some of the museum’s standout pieces.

    Top of the list is, of course, the Tutankhamun exhibit. Almost everything from his tomb, much of it never shown outside the Valley of the Kings, is here, from his golden funerary mask to delicate jewellery and ceremonial objects. But the GEM isn’t just about one boy king.

    GEM entrance is guarded by an 11-metre-tall Ramesses II statue.
    An 11-metre-tall Ramesses II statue guards the entrance. (Image: Natasha Bazika)

    Essam points out the canopic chest of Hetepheres, mother of Khufu, where her organs were stored in alabaster. I loved the forty little marching soldier figurines from the tomb of Mesehti, all lined up and hanging on a wall. And then there’s the statue of Metri, a scribe, with piercing blue eyes carved from lapis lazuli. All these pieces, and thousands more, now sit under one roof. And for the first time, people can see Egypt’s history in one place, told in its own voice, without leaving the shadow of the pyramids. That alone changes everything.