What’s more exciting than planning a wedding in Cinque Terre Italy? For us, it’s planning a honeymoon to the ultimate continent – Africa. Okay, Africa may not be what comes to mind for most when picking a romantic exotic destination to start a married life. But I think it’s clear we’re not every couple.
As amazing as they sound, the more honeymoon-friendly places like Bora Bora, Maldives, or Santorini just aren’t what we’re after.
As a couple, we’ve visited a lot of countries. So, for our honeymoon, we want that once-in-a-lifetime trip that we’ll be talking about for decades to come. We’ve planned an African safari, a relaxing stay on Zanzibar as well as gorilla trekking in Uganda.
We’re not going to do it luxuriously, we’ll do it in typical “us” style. By staying at smaller hotels and B&B’s, eating at cheap local restaurants and getting the bus when we can. But of course, on occasion we’ll splurge – it is our honeymoon after all.
So, here’s a little peek at what destinations we’re looking at for planning a honeymoon in Africa. We have 2 months to spend in Africa for our honeymoon – lucky buggers we are.
1. Gorilla-trekking in Uganda
Gorilla-trekking in Uganda is at the very tippy-top of my bucket list. Trekking for mountain gorillas in the remote misty cloud forest region of Africa. Mountain gorillas are only found in this small part of the world. And that’s in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and along the dormant volcanic Virunga mountain range that stretches across Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, Uganda’s Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, and Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
There are only about 800 mountain gorillas left. Some experts believe they will be extinct soon. I won’t go into too much detail on this here but watch the Netflix documentary Virunga for a better insight. Warning – you will be horrified.
Gorilla trekking is super expensive, so that’s a big chunk of our budget gone. It’s the permits that are the most costly part of the experience. But it will all be worth it to see these magnificent creatures in the wild. The effort you have to go to to get to them will make it all the more worthwhile.
You can check out the best gorilla trekking tours here!
2. Witness the great wildebeest migration
You may have seen this on National Geographic or the like. Imagine witnessing over two million wildebeest, zebras, and gazelles racing through Serengeti National Park and Masai Mara National Park in search of green pasture. It’s like that scene from The Lion King (after Mufasa dies). Just imagine witnessing this in real life. The great wildebeest migration happens once a year from late October to December.
We were lucky enough to witness this in late September on the Mara River. For the best chance of seeing this phenomenon stay at Mbalageti Serengeti which looks onto the Mara River.
3. Safari in the Serengeti
One of the most sought-after safari destinations on the planet, the remote Serengeti National Park in Tanzania has an abundance of wildlife. It’s home to the famous Big Five as well as cheetahs, giraffe’s and zebras.
I recommend booking at minimum a 4-day, 3-night safari in the Serengeti. That’s how long we had, and it enabled us to visit not only the Serengeti but the Mara River (where the great migration occurs) and the otherworldly Ngorongoro Crater.
Everyday on safari in the Serengeti is different. And your driver will adapt each day depending on what animals you want to see. Also, depending on the time of the year – seeing the great migration will likely be a big priority to you. FYI, this 3-day 2-night tour is very similar to the tour we did in Serengeti!
Related Read: We also loved our safari in Amboseli National Park in Kenya.
4. Stay at the Hotel Rwanda
Many of you have probably watched the famous movie Hotel Rwanda. This movie was based on the true story of the Rwandan Genocide and the efforts of hotelier Paul Rusesabagina to save the lives of thousands of refugees.
Well, despite its awful past Rwanda has well and truly come out the other side and is now considered one of the safest destinations in Africa. You can stay at the beautiful Hotel des Milles Collines (the real Hotel Rwanda). It offers a true sense of the history of Rwanda (both good and bad)
Related Read: We also had so much fun exploring Zanzibar!
5. Visit the Okavango Delta in Botswana
Some very well-traveled people we know have listed Botswana as one of their favorite countries in the world. So, we are excited to visit and see why. Like Rwanda, it is considered one of the safest destinations in Africa. 17% of this country is devoted to National Parks or Game Reserves.
The Okavango Delta is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as well as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa. It is teeming with African wildlife and is considered one of the ‘easiest’ places in the world to spot amazing animals like elephants and black and white rhinos.
6. Experience the unique Sossusvlei and dunes in Namibia
The unique Sossusvlei is characterized by its famous red, pink & orange sand dunes and white salt pans. Despite being the most popular tourist attraction in Namibia, many travelers describe Sossusvlei as being remote and “not seeing a soul” which I love. Plus, just look at the photos – the photo opportunities here are endless.
7. Visit one of the coolest cities in the world – Capetown in South Africa
Did you know – we actually planned to move to Capetown after living in Whistler but instead we opted to move to New Zealand due to visa issues. So obviously, we are very excited to visit this beyond-cool city. Whilst in Capetown we plan to hike up Table Mountain, visit the penguins at Boulders Beach, and visit the very colorful neighborhood of Bo Kaap.
Thanks for Reading!
So there you have it, obviously, we intend to visit a lot of other places in Africa but these are the destinations that are top of our list when planning a honeymoon in Africa. We are beyond excited to explore this unique area of the world on our first trip as husband and wife.
Once we have our itinerary planned I’ll be certain to put a detailed post on here – would you be interested in seeing that?
P.S. You may be interested in reading more about our Wedding in the Cinque Terre here!
Last Updated on September 3, 2024 by snaphappytravel