Making Early Africa Travel Plans

By Gregory Simpkins

Making arrangements to travel often begins early in the year, especially if it involves international travel. The Business Insider Africa website has rated the top 10 most attractive African destinations for 2025, and The Africa Report and Jeune Afrique magazine, have unveiled their inaugural ranking of Africa’s most attractive cities based on quality of life, infrastructure and housing, employment, and economic opportunities, essential, services and foreign direct investment. Some of these criteria are more important to residents than visitors, but together, they create a welcoming atmosphere for anyone in the country for whatever reason.

Here are the 10 top African destinations (I have visited seven of them):

South Africa

As perhaps Africa’s most modern country, South Africa has two of the top 10 attractive African cities: Cape Town and Johannesburg. Table Mountain in Cape Town is an impressive sight, especially when viewed through the massive window at the Table Mountain Resort. Kruger National Park features abundant wildlife. Robben Island, where the late Nelson Mandela spent decades in prison, is a key historical site. The wine country tour is more than worth taking.

Mauritius

When I visited this country to manage the 2003 African Growth and Opportunity Act conference, I found its beaches and general atmosphere so beautiful that I briefly considered faking an illness at the airport on the way home so I could stay longer. Garment factories there are the source of much of the designer wear we buy globally. Other attractions include Le Morne Brabant, Chamarel Seven Colored Earths and Black River Gorges National Park.

Egypt

When I rode a camel onto the grounds of the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx, I turned a corner and was confronted with a scene so stunning it was as if it were a movie set. These structures are perhaps the most impressive on Earth because of their ancient origin. Other attractions include the Valley of the Kings, with its monuments to long-dead pharaohs; Luxor, and the Abu Simbel Temples. Egypt has two of the top 10 attractive cities: Alexandria and Cairo.

Botswana

The government has cautiously guarded the environment and wildlife in the Okavango Delta.  Chobe National Park is a popular site for safaris. There is also Makgadikgadi Pans with its resorts and campsites where you can lie under the southern stars. While Gaborone didn’t make it onto the list of the top most attractive African cities, I found that the market just outside the city offers perhaps the most diverse offering of masks, statuettes, and other artifacts on the continent.

Kenya

Nairobi is one of the top 10 attractive African cities and one of my favorites, offering markets with numerous artifacts and indigenous jewelry. Kenya offers numerous wildlife observation areas, including Maasai Mara National Reserve, Amboseli National Park, and more. Diani Beach offers glass-bottom boat tours where you can view sea life beneath your feet. The impressive marble Whitesands Resort, between the Bamburi and Sai Rock beaches, also offers glass-bottom boat rides.

Tanzania

Kenya’s neighbor Tanzania features Serengeti National Park, a staging ground for safaris. The  Ngorongoro Crater offers close-up viewing of numerous animals – from lions to flamingoes. Zanzibar is an absolutely beautiful location, rivaling Mauritius. Its Stone Town is an attraction especially for fans of the musical group Queen’s Freddy Mercury as it is his birthplace. Despite what Kenyan tour operators may tell you, Mount Kilimanjaro is located in Tanzania.

Morocco

Two of the top 10 attractive African cities are Rabat and Casablanca, and for fans of the movie of the same name, there really is a Rick’s Café. The Atlas Mountains and the Sahara Desert are among Africa’s natural wonders. Chefchaouen is a hard town to leave. When you head to Meknes, along the way, you’ll stop at the 2,000-year-old Roman ruins of Volubillis. Meknes is an imperial city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Tunisia

The Carthage Ruins relay the history of the city from which the great general Hannibal launched his attempted conquest of Rome There also is the El Jem Amphitheater, another archaeological site offering vital clues to the past. Hammamet is a much-visited city in Tunisia, largely due to its attractive beaches. It offers sand, sun, and sea, but in addition to walking along the beach, you can stroll the Medina or have a coffee or tea on the roof of the Kasbah.

Namibia

This is another of Africa’s least talked about destinations, which is a mistake. Sossusvlei offers attractions in the largest conservation area in Namibia. The top attraction of the park and the second most popular attraction in Namibia, Sossusvlei is renowned for its majestic, warm red, star-shaped dunes contrasting against the stark white floors of the pans. Other attractions include Etosha National Park and Skeleton Coast, with the world’s largest ship cemetery.

Rwanda

Kigali is one of the top 10 attractive African cities and perhaps the cleanest in Africa. If you want to view mountain gorillas in a protected area, there is Volcanoes National Park. Rwanda contains more than 600 of the greater than 1,000 mountain gorillas in the wild. The Kigali Genocide Memorial provides an illuminating insight into the 1994 genocide. Lake Kivu is one of East Africa’s Great Lakes, located between the DRC and Rwanda.

Conquering Jet Lag

When traveling long distances, you experience “jet lag”, which is the specific, temporary condition that occurs when you travel across several time zones in a brief time span. Our individual circadian rhythm—the mental, physical, and behavioral changes we go through within a 24-hour cycle—usually aligns with the natural light-and-dark cycle of our environment. When we travel to new locales, we confront a mismatch between what time our body thinks it is at the time that it actually is.

Medical experts generally agree that flying eastward may cause more severe jet lag symptoms than flying toward the west. Researchers say that’s because your body can adapt more quickly to staying up late than going to bed earlier than usual.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, jet lag affects people differently. Overall, you can expect the condition to be more severe when you fly farther. That’s because greater distances require your body to make a bigger adjustment. If you “lost” several hours during travel, you may have difficulty falling asleep as your body adjusts to a new nighttime schedule (when it’s used to being alert and awake).

On the other hand, if you “gain” several hours during travel, you may get sleepy during daylight hours (when your body would typically be asleep back home).

Researchers have yet to uncover a jet lag cure. Still, you can recover from most symptoms on your own. There’s a good chance your symptoms will go away in a few days without any jet lag treatment.

The Cleveland Clinic recommends making healthy choices may help jet lag symptoms go away sooner. After you arrive at your destination:

• Get some sun: Getting outside during daylight hours can jump-start alertness. Light helps your body recognize it’s time to be awake. Artificial light sources (like a lamp) can offer similar benefits if you can’t get outside.
• Adjust your sleep-wake schedule: Getting on the sleep-wake schedule at your destination quickly may help with your symptoms.
• Focus on getting quality sleep: Sleeping on the plane, if you can, may help your body adjust faster to a new time zone. You may want to ask a provider about the benefits and risks of over-the-counter sleep aids, like melatonin. Prescription-strength sleeping pills may have more downsides than benefits when it comes to treating jet lag. Talk with a provider about your needs.
• Avoid new foods: Choosing foods your body knows how to digest (for a day or two) may help ease any digestive symptoms of jet lag.
• Drink lots of water: Drinking plenty of water can combat the effects of dehydration after a long flight. Choose bottled water if you have any questions about water safety. Avoid caffeine and alcohol, which can make you more dehydrated.

However, you choose to deal with jet lag, enjoy the attractions of the varied African continent. There are historic sights and wildlife like nowhere else in the world.

Gregory Simpkins, a longtime specialist in African policy development, is the Principal of 21st Century Solutions. He consults with organizations on African policy issues generally, especially in relation to the U.S. Government. He further acts as a consultant to the African Merchants Association, where he advises the Association in its efforts to stimulate an increase in trade between several hundred African Diaspora small and medium enterprises and their African partners.