South Africa

South Africa packs more variety into one itinerary than anywhere else on the continent. Start in Cape Town, one of the world's great cities, where Table Mountain looms over beaches, vineyards and a food scene that keeps surprising you. Drive the winelands for a few days of long lunches among Cape Dutch farmhouses. Then fly north and the mood changes completely: private game reserves around Kruger where leopards drape themselves over branches and your ranger reads tracks like a newspaper. Add the Garden Route if you have time, whales at Hermanus in season, or the wild Drakensberg. It is friendly, brilliant value, and easy to travel with kids or grandparents in tow. A first trip barely scratches it. Most people come back.