Top 8 places to go in Southern Africa as a tourist

Southern Africa is exceptionally diverse in so many ways.

Hundreds of languages are spoken here, for instance. And then there’s the scenery. We have a hyper-arid desert as well as sky island rainforests. And of course there are the animals. You can find penguins and seals as well as hyenas and ostriches.

With that in mind, how do you choose just eight places to mention? It’s tough indeed, and the list naturally ends up being highly subjective.

So here’s my caveated personal list of the top eight places to go to in Southern Africa as a tourist (with deepest apologies to all the highly worthy places not mentioned). And because it was hard enough already to whittle things down, I haven’t included any islands, even though countries like Madagascar and Mauritius would otherwise be shoo-ins.

1. Victoria Falls – for the unmatched spectacle

A destination that would undoubtedly make it onto anyone’s list of the best places to go in Southern Africa is Victoria Falls. Its more descriptive local name is Mosi-oa-Tunya, which means ‘the smoke that thunders’ in Lozi. Indeed, the spray (‘smoke’) sent up by this mile-wide waterfall when in flood is legendary, drenching anyone standing on Knife Edge Bridge, and the sound of the crashing water could be called thunderous.

Victoria Falls is part of the Zambezi River, and shared by Zambia and Zimbabwe. You can admire it from both sides, which I recommend. You can also explore the unique rainforest on the Zimbabwean side that gets 365 days of ‘rain’, swim in Devil’s Pool by the waterfall’s lip on the Zambian side, take sunset cruises on the Zambezi, bungee jump off the historic Victoria Falls Bridge, and more.

Related reading: Victoria Falls vs Livingstone: What’s the difference?

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2. Bazaruto Archipelago – for the beaches, corals, and marine life

The east coast of Africa is renowned for its beautiful coral reefs and diverse marine life. It’s also blessed with many soft-sand beaches that meet warm, calm, translucent waters. The Bazaruto Archipelago in Mozambique is a standout option, not least because it’s a lesser-visited destination and so gifts you a truly serene and uncrowded experience.

Head to Bazaruto if you’re keen to snorkel or dive among pristine coral reefs. You can also do boat tours to spot whales, sharks, dugongs, and whale sharks, among other species. And did you know that Bazaruto is reportedly the only place in the western Indian Ocean to have seen nesting sites for five sea turtle species? Of course, the archipelago is also a heavenly destination even if your only wish is to read your book, sip delicious drinks under palm trees, and bury your toes in the sand.

Related reading: Explore Mozambique’s best beaches and islands for swimming and diving

3. Cape Town – for history, scenery, flowers, and marine wildlife

Only one city has made it onto this list, but it’s a no-brainer. Cape Town is a city like no other. It has a truly rich and multicultural history, a massive and beautiful flat-topped mountain, a sublimely rugged coastline, floral wonders, and exceptional bird and marine diversity. There are also world-class vineyards within an hour’s drive.

While in Cape Town, I suggest going on a walking heritage tour or two, perhaps through District Six or the Castle of Good Hope. Visit Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens and climb Table Mountain. Visit Robben Island where Mandela was held. Go on a whale-watching tour. Drive to the Cape Peninsula lighthouse and visit African penguins at Boulders Beach en route. Enjoy sundowners in Camps Bay. And then do far more than that, because I’ve only scratched the surface of what this special city has to offer.

Related reading: Cape Town is one of the world’s most beloved cities

4. The Amphitheatre and Tugela Falls – for the sheer drama of it all

Everyone knows Table Mountain, but there’s another flat-topped mountain shared by South Africa and Lesotho that’s far grander in scale: Mont aux Sources. Rising to 3,282 m, it’s part of the greater Drakensberg, an escarpment mountain range that’s decked in greenery much of the year, but also sees regular winter snow.

Mont aux Sources has an imposing convex rock wall that’s a captivating sight when seen from the foothills in South Africa. Called the Amphitheatre, avid hikers will enjoy the challenge of hiking up it to sleep on the plateau for the night before climbing back down, making use of chain ladders in places. You can also visit the source of Tugela Falls while atop the mountain. This five-stage waterfall is the second-tallest in the world, and a spellbinding sight.

Related reading: Africa’s best epic hikes to put on your bucket list

5. A bush reserve – for a classic big-game safari

Southern Africa has many of the continent’s most beautiful and biodiverse wildlife reserves. For a classic sort of safari, where you trundle in a 4×4 under a big sky, you want to visit a reserve with plenty of bushland and savannah (grassland). Here you’ll find the most iconic of Africa’s wildlife species, like lions, leopards, elephants, giraffes, rhinos, wildebeests, zebras, elands, and impalas.

Some of the best bush parks are Kruger and Addo in South Africa, Gorongosa in Mozambique, Majete in Malawi, North and South Luangwa in Zambia, and Hwange in Zimbabwe. Of course, such parks invariably have other ecosystems too, like woodland and wetlands, all the better to spot even further species such as hippos and crocs.

Related reading: How to choose the best African safari destination for you

6. The Okavango Delta – for the best water-based safari

Another of the top places to go in Southern Africa as a tourist is the Okavango. This enormous inland delta sits within the Kalahari Basin in northern Botswana. Every autumn it receives a much-needed influx of water from the north, which then fans out to feed a network of winding rivers, reed-lined channels, and lagoons.

Visitors delight in going on wildlife-spotting canoe trips, sunset boat cruises, hot air balloon rides, and overland safaris in the surrounding savannah and woodland. You can find the Big Five here, among other large mammals like the cheetah and endangered African wild dog. Of course, water-loving species are some of the most exciting finds when in the delta; think submerged hippos and waterbucks and red lechwes standing in the shallows. Know that the Okavango Delta is also a thrilling birding destination, having over 400 species in the migratory season, including rare Pel’s fishing owls and slaty egrets.

Related reading: A beginner’s guide to exploring the Okavango Delta

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7. A Kalahari Desert reserve – for different wildlife

The Kalahari Desert is a semi-arid savannah that hosts many of the same animals as regular savannah, but also many desert-adapted species that are rare elsewhere. These include oryxes (gemsboks), springboks, meerkats, and Cape and bat-eared foxes. Also, the Kalahari lion is a special population that looks and acts a little differently from regular lions.

I encourage you to plan a Kalahari safari in addition to a savannah safari. Arguably the best public parks to visit are Kgalagadi, shared by Botswana and South Africa, and Botswana’s Central Kalahari Game Reserve and Makgadikgadi Pans. Note that the Makgadikgadi Pans fill with water after summer rains and host many migratory birds like flamingoes, pelicans, storks, and teals. The surrounding grasses also spring to life, triggering one of Africa’s largest zebra migrations.

Related reading: 8 facts that tell the story of the Kalahari Desert

8. The Namib Desert – for its sand dunes and coastal wetlands

Finally, the last item on my list of the top places to go in Southern Africa as a tourist is the Namib Desert in western Namibia. One of the driest deserts in the world, it’s famous for its sand dunes, some of which rise to 300 m (980 ft) or higher! Enjoy thrilling 4×4 drives and quad biking through the dunes, challenge yourself to climb to the top of one, and visit the centuries-old tree skeletons of Deadvlei, a white-clay pan surrounded by red dunes.

The Namib Desert’s western boundary is the cold and stormy Atlantic Ocean, which frequently sends early morning mist climbing up its valley floors. Not very well-known is the fact that there are some important wetlands to be found along this coastline, like those of Walvis Bay and Sandwich Harbour. Here, you can find flamingoes, pelicans, cormorants, sandpipers, and many more wonderful migrant waterbirds in showstopping numbers. And there are tens of thousands of Cape fur seals in Walvis Bay too!

Related reading: All about Namib-Naukluft National Park, Namibia

If you’d like to do a grand tour of all or some of these Southern African destinations, the best and most affordable way is on an overlanding trip. Check out the itineraries below for inspiration or to book a trip.

Note: This blog post was created by Andrew Walton on 21 September 2021. It was completely rewritten by Megan Abigail White on 28 May 2026.