There’s cautious but genuine optimism in the air. Oil prices have fallen nearly 20% through May as ceasefire negotiations between the US and Iran show tentative signs of progress, and the outlook for international travel is starting to shift. That’s great news for South Africans with long-haul trips currently marinading on a wish list.
But here’s what the improving global picture hasn’t changed: Africa in July is exceptional. And South Africans who turn their attention to exploring the broader continent this winter will find themselves richly rewarded.
“The irony is that while everyone was watching Europe and waiting for the world to settle down, Africa was delivering some of the most extraordinary travel experiences on the planet,” says Antoinette Turner, GM of Flight Centre South Africa. “June–August is genuinely one of the best months to be on this continent. The wildlife viewing is at its peak, the skies are clear, and there are plenty of opportunities to create those cosy forever-memories with those you love most. Our Travel Experts have been saying this for years. The data is finally catching up.”
Regional African travel surged in 2025 and is a confirmed growth trend for 2026, according to Flight Centre’s Year in Travel 2025 report. Two thirds of South Africans travelled specifically for nature last year, 65% travelled to recharge and escape burnout, and 83% say travel is essential for their mental health. Africa, it turns out, is not a compromise destination. For an overwhelming majority of South Africans, it is precisely the kind of travel that matters most.
Where to go – and why winter is the perfect moment
Kafue National Park, Zambia
Kafue is Africa’s second-largest national park (roughly the size of Wales) and, remarkably, one of its least visited. In winter, the Busanga Plains in Kafue’s remote north flood with game, including lion prides, massive eland herds, and the elusive sitatunga.
“Kafue is the destination I find myself recommending more and more to travellers who’ve done the Kruger and who are ready for something that feels truly undiscovered,” comments Turner. “Clients who go invariably say it’s the trip that changed their benchmark for what a safari can be.”
One of the most compelling reasons to base a winter itinerary around Kafue is what becomes possible immediately afterwards. Proflight Zambia currently operates direct flights from both Lusaka and Livingstone to Maun (the primary gateway to Botswana’s Okavango Delta), running on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays through to the end of October, covering the entirety of peak season. In practical terms, that means a seamless two-country wilderness itinerary is not only possible; it’s straightforward.
Josias Walubita, Director of Flight Operations at Proflight Zambia, explains:
“The Lusaka–Maun and Livingstone–Maun routes open up an incredible opportunity for travellers who want to experience the very best of southern and central Africa in a single trip. Zambia and Botswana together offer a wilderness combination that is genuinely world-class, and having a reliable, scheduled connection between the two means travellers no longer have to choose between them. We’re proud to be making that journey easier during what is arguably the finest wildlife season on the continent.”
The Okavango Delta, Botswana
The Delta is at its annual flood peak in winter, transformed by waters that have travelled thousands of kilometres from the Angolan highlands to fan out across the Kalahari in one of nature’s most extraordinary spectacles. Islands emerge, channels multiply, wildlife concentrates on elevated ground, and the game viewing becomes almost implausibly good. A mokoro gliding silently through papyrus-lined waterways at dawn is one of the great travel experiences available anywhere on earth right now.
“There’s something about being that immersed in a functioning wilderness, with no signal and no schedule, that does what no European city break can. We’re seeing strong demand for Delta camps this winter, and for good reason,” Turner says.
Walvis Bay, Namibia
Namibia’s desert-meets-ocean landscape is one of the most visually arresting on the continent, and Walvis Bay places you at the heart of it without the crowds that increasingly follow Swakopmund’s rising profile. The lagoon here is one of Africa’s most important wetland sites, home to vast flocks of flamingos that turn the shallows pink at dusk. Dune 7, among the highest sand dunes in Namibia, looms just outside town, and the seal colony at Cape Cross is close enough for a day trip. This is a destination that rewards the traveller who prefers to discover rather than follow.
Zanzibar, Tanzania
Zanzibar has long deserved a direct connection from South Africa, and Airlink has just delivered one – a twice-weekly year-round service from Johannesburg that removes the layover and the guesswork from what was previously a more complicated journey. The island needs little introduction: turquoise waters, powder-white beaches, Stone Town’s labyrinthine spice-scented streets. With frequency increasing to three weekly flights over the peak December period and a Cape Town route launching in October, access to Zanzibar from South Africa has never been simpler.
The global travel conversation is slowly returning to normal. Long-haul routes are reopening, and the familiar pull of European summers is reasserting itself. All of that is excellent news, but it does raise a question worth pondering: when the rest of the world was grounded, distracted, and recalibrating, Africa never stopped being extraordinary.
The travellers who noticed that first are already booked.
