Family Beach Holidays in Africa | Best Destinations & Safaris

Overview

Children and beaches are a natural match, which is why most of our featured beach destinations work brilliantly for families. South Africa’s coastline offers rolling breakers ideal for body boarding and surfing. Great fun, though waves do add a layer of caution for younger and newer swimmers. By contrast, most Mauritius and Zanzibar beaches sit behind protective coral reefs, creating gentle lagoon waters that suit paddle-happy toddlers and those keen on a wider range of water sports.

Safari & Beach Family Holidays - Other factors to consider:

A few practical questions help shape the right itinerary:

Do you want to avoid extra flights?
South Africa is the easiest option: KwaZulu-Natal or a combination of the Garden Route and Eastern Cape offer seamless safari-to-beach travel by road.
How far do you want to fly?
Mauritius (and the Seychelles) have glorious family-friendly beaches, but usually require a longer flight plus an overnight stay en route.

What kind of beach do you prefer?
Surfable waves or calm lagoon waters?

When are you travelling?
Northern Hemisphere summer means winter in the Cape — lovely for coastal walks, less ideal for sunbathing. For warm beach weather in July/August, look to northern South Africa, Mozambique, Mauritius or Zanzibar.

Family-friendly combinations include:

A South Africa beach, safari and sightseeing holiday
South Africa plus Mozambique or Mauritius
Tanzania safari plus Zanzibar, or Kenya with its idyllic coastline

Ready to build new family memories? Let’s design a beach-and-safari journey that everyone will love, from toddlers to teens.

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Popular tours & safaris

Camps Bay Retreat Private Nature Reserve

Benguerra Island Fly-In

This short fly-in beach holiday to Benguerra Island in Mozambique is the perfect end to an exciting African safari or honeymoon. With its white, palm-fringed beaches and coral reefs, the easy vibe...

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Bush, Beach & Cape Town Family Breakaway

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Lake Malawi Beach Retreats including Kaya Mawa

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Family-friendly Destinations, types of Family accommodation, sample tours & useful tips & tricks Get our Free Family Safari guide

Accommodation

Thonga Beach Lodge

Thonga Beach Lodge is a stylish and relaxed beach lodge on the shores of the secluded Mabibi bay in Coastal Maputaland. Mabibi Bay is a magical place with a long sandy beach, snorkelling reefs,...

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Kaya Mawa

Exclusive lodge on Likoma Island , remote island retreat in the middle of Lake Malawi. Kaya Mawa is both full of character & architecturally innovative, as befits this unique and unspoilt...

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Azura Marlin Beach

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Outstanding & First class

"We are back from our trip to SA and having had just the best time ever. Everything slotted into place perfectly and all the accommodation and activities you booked for us were outstanding. Couldn’t have been bettered, you chose very well! Stands out as one of the best trips we’ve ever had. Virtually everything went like clockwork and we had a fantastic time. You did a brilliant job ..." - Mr& Mrs Cott, UK

Namibia was as wonderful as ever and didn't fail to impress third time around !

"Namibia was as wonderful as ever and didn’t fail to impress third time around ! Thank you for arranging it and for your patience and understanding. It can’t have been easy to keep going and retain the confidence of the suppliers involved in the chain and the customers. We really appreciated it that we were able to have the itinerary we wanted more than 2 years after we planne ..." - Mr Andy

Thank you for arranging such an excellent trip!!

"I would like to thank you for arranging such an excellent trip to see the wildflowers in the Cape, and especially for selecting our guide. He was perfect in all respects. He knew where to take us, knew the identities of most of the flowers and plants, and was a font of knowledge about southern Africa. As for the flowers, we couldn’t have picked a better year or a better time, and your ..." - Mr Bell

All your arrangements/transfers worked like clockwork

"We have had the most fantastic holiday and that all your arrangements / transfers etc worked like clockwork. The accommodation and food was excellent everywhere we stayed. It has left us hungry for more (especially Victoria Falls) so we had better get saving for a return trip! This was our first trip to South Africa and we had no idea how stunningly beautiful your country is. " - Laughton Family, UK

Excellent bespoke itineraries

"Milandi puts together excellent bespoke itineraries, is proactive and provides excellent customer service " - Mrs Jessie, UK

Frequently asked questions

It depends on your time of travel. Winter in the Cape (June–August) is better for beach walks than swimming, while Mauritius, Mozambique and Zanzibar all offer reliably warm conditions for summer-holiday travel from Europe or North America.

Mauritius and Zanzibar are excellent choices thanks to their protective coral reefs, which create warm, gentle lagoon waters ideal for cautious swimmers and toddlers with buckets and masks. Machangulo in Mozambique also has access to calmer lagoon waters.

Yes. Mauritius excels here, with many resorts offering well-run kids’ clubs and trusted babysitting. Several Seychelles resorts also provide child-friendly programmes, though offerings vary by hotel.

Family Beach Holidays | A deeper dive

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Want to go to the Beach? All can agree that Mauritius makes for a great beach holiday destination. With miles of powder-white beaches, turquoise lagoons that reflect every shade of blue in the...

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Cape Vidal – Bush & Beach in a day?

Cape Vidal, on South Africa’s KwaZulu Natal coast, offers a rare combination: a wildlife safari and a beach day all rolled into one. Only in KwaZulu-Natal can you spot a white rhino before...

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Southern Africa Beach Resorts - Thonga vs White Pearl

Executive Summary (TL;DR ) Both Thonga Beach Lodge (South Africa) and White Pearl Resorts (Mozambique) offer idyllic Indian Ocean escapes, but they’re designed for slightly different travellers....

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