Sunset on The Gambia River

Lets face it, travelling to Africa, especially if you are looking to go on Safari is never ever going to be as cheap as popping over to Spain, but there are a few deals out there and depending on what you are looking for and how far down the African continent you are willing to fly you can grab yourself a pretty cheap safari holiday and at this time of the year enjoy a winter sun holiday as well.

The further you travel down Africa, the more wildlife you tend to find, the only problem is the more the cost of the flights, so i have found a couple of destinations, that are cheapish where you can enjoy the beach as well as some of Africa’s wildlife.

The Gambia

As a Safari Holiday Destination, don’t expect to see the Big Five in The Gambia, but that is not to say you cannot see some fantastic African wildlife. Most people who travel to the Gambia, sadly only go to spend their whole time on the beaches. Whilst the beaches in the main resort district of Kombo west of Banjul are great, I do feel that there is much more than sand sea and sun to The Gambia.

You can take advantage of the all inclusive cheap holiday packages to The Gambia and then go and do some sightseeing once you get there.

www.lastminute.com offer some excellent package deals to The Gambia, I have just noticed a 2 star seven night stay including flights for only £289 or if you are looking for a little more comfort, a seven night stay at a 4 star hotel located on the beach near Banjul, including flights for only £379.

You could also try this link to Thomas Cook Gambia Holidays as I have just checked and they have a bunch of all inclusive holidays to The Gambia starting from £303 this January.

I did this a few years ago and I would highly recommend a Gambia river boat safari, that can either be taken as a day long excursion or turned into a week long adventure, where we saw a fantastic culture and variety of both bird and animal life, including hippos, chimpanzees at the Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Association project, baboons, western red colobus and vervet (callithrix) monkeys and believe it or not dolphins in the Gambia river estuary!

Gambia positives

• Cheap flights and holiday packages available
• Stunning birds makes an excellent birding holiday destination
• Fantastic winter sun holiday destination – sunny and war during our long cold winter
• Great beaches
• Friendly people, if not sometimes a little too friendly

Gambia Negatives

• Not a safari destination if you want to see animals like elephants and lions
• This is real Africa, don’t expect all the creature comforts of the West, that is not to say that it has to be uncomfortable, just lower your sights a little. For some this is a negative – some a positive!

Kenya - Mombasa

My second tip as an excellent place to escape and find some winter sun without breaking the bank is Mombasa in Kenya. Kenya is famous for it’s African wildlife safaris and has one of the greatest wildlife specticles on earth in the Great Wildebeest Migration on the Masai Mara.

You have to travel a little further down the African continent, right up to the equator and so the flights to Kenya tend to be a little more expensive than travelling to The Gambia, but unlike the Gambia, you will find all of the Big 5 animals and much more here.

Similar to The Gambia my tip is to take advantage of the cheap beach holiday packages in Mombasa and then go on an excursion to one of the many fantastic national parks that Kenya has to offer including the  Amboseli National Park and Tsavo National Parks which are not too far from where you will be staying in or around Mombasa on you “beach holiday in Kenya.” If you wish you can quite easily also organise a trip to the Masai Mara, which is a little further away.

Again I found some pretty good holiday deals on www.lastminute.com where you can stay for a full 14 nights at a 3 star hotel on the beach in Kilifi for only £449, including flights, I think this is an excellent deal.

Again another great place to have a look for an all inclusive holiday is Thomas Cook Holidays to Kenya

On a 14 night stay in Kenya, you can quite easily combine a beach and Safari holiday together, I have done exactly this and I would say that not only are the beaches fantastic around Mombasa, there is also plenty else to keep you entertained.

Scuba Diving in Mombasa
I took my PADI scuba diving licence during my stay in Mombasa in Kenya. I would say that it has to be one of the cheapest places in the world to do it and they have some excellent reefs and plenty of fish for both scuba diving and snorkelling.

Kenya Posetives

• World famous wildlife destination
• Beautiful beaches around Mombasa
• Mombasa is an excellent Scuba Diving location
• Beach hotels are great value for money

Kenya Negatives

• Further away than the Gambia and so a little more expensive

So there you have it: My tip on two excellent, but different African winter sun holiday destinations that wont break the bank.