When most people think of Africa, they picture safaris in Kenya, luxury lodges in South Africa, or the Serengeti in Tanzania. But the continent is far more diverse than the usual highlights. Some of its most fascinating countries see only a fraction of the tourists, even though they offer rare wildlife, pristine landscapes, and vibrant cultures.
I’ve been fortunate enough to explore parts of Africa myself: Malawi and Madagascar were unforgettable, while other countries on this list remain high on my personal “one day” list. Some I’ve come close to, some I’ve read endless stories about, and others I still dream of seeing for myself.
A Quick overview!
In the quick table below, you can see a straight-up comparison of the top underrated countries of Africa at a glance.
Special: Whale sharks, Lake Assal salt flats, Lake Abbe chimneys
Tourist volume: Low (tens of thousands)
Cost: High
Safety: Generally safe; pricey logistics
Special: Lemurs, baobabs, endemic wildlife, spiny forests
Tourist volume: Low (~132k/year)
Cost: Low
Safety: Rural areas calm; city caution
Equatorial Guinea
I once crossed the border into Cameroon, but didn’t take the step into Equatorial Guinea. Looking back, I wish I had. This small Spanish-speaking country is unlike any other on the continent. On Bioko Island, beaches like Ureka are famous for sea turtles that come ashore at night to lay their eggs: green, hawksbill, olive ridley, and even leatherback turtles. The island’s rainforest also shelters monkeys and endemic birds.
The capital, Malabo, has Spanish colonial architecture that makes it look more Mediterranean than African, and inland villages of the Bubi people preserve traditions that feel untouched by mass tourism. Very few travelers make it here, but if you do, you’ll likely have beaches and trails to yourself.
👉 You can find a few places to stay in Malabo and Luba on Booking.com.
São Tomé & Príncipe
São Tomé & Príncipe often feels like a secret whispered among travelers. These volcanic islands in the Gulf of Guinea are covered with rainforest, cocoa plantations, and dramatic black-sand beaches. The one image that always stays with me is Pico Cão Grande, a giant volcanic spire jutting out of the jungle.
Obô Natural Park has trails leading through dense jungle filled with endemic birds and orchids. On the coasts, remote beaches like Praia Jalé are nesting grounds for sea turtles. With only around 30,000 visitors a year, I can imagine walking these beaches and feeling like you have them entirely to yourself.
Somewhere between Madagascar and Mozambique, the Comoros islands sit quietly in the Indian Ocean, rarely mentioned in travel plans. Grande Comore has the active Mount Karthala volcano, while Mohéli is the place I’d most like to see — it’s home to a marine park where humpback whales and dolphins are a common sight.
The islands are also home to Livingstone’s fruit bat, a species with a wingspan of nearly two meters. On land, you can trek through rainforest, while underwater, the coral reefs are pristine. Only a tiny number of tourists visit each year, so I imagine it must feel like stepping back in time.
Djibouti might be one of the smallest countries in Africa, but its landscapes look like they belong on another planet. Lake Assal, the lowest point in Africa, is a salt lake with dazzling turquoise water and blinding white shores. Lake Abbe, on the Ethiopia border, is dotted with strange limestone chimneys that sometimes steam like chimneys.
The Gulf of Tadjoura is one of the best places in the world to swim with whale sharks, which gather in its warm waters. Offshore, coral reefs around Moucha and Maskali islands are excellent for snorkeling. It’s not the cheapest destination, but the chance to see whale sharks up close in such an uncrowded setting is what keeps Djibouti on my dream list.
When I traveled in northern Ethiopia, I was close to the Eritrean border but never crossed it. Eritrea remains one of the least-visited countries on the continent. Asmara, the capital, is a UNESCO World Heritage site filled with Art Deco architecture — from cinemas to cafés to the famous Fiat Tagliero building that looks like an airplane about to take off.
Along the Red Sea, the Dahlak Archipelago has more than 200 islands with untouched coral reefs, sea turtles, and dolphins. Inland, the Semenawi Bahri green belt is home to baboons and bushbuck. Eritrea isn’t the easiest country to visit due to permits and restrictions, but everything I’ve read suggests it offers a glimpse into a world frozen in time.
👉 Hotels in Asmara are limited, but you can find some options on Tripadvisor.
Malawi
Malawi holds a special place in my own travels. I camped by Lake Malawi for several days, and the mornings there are etched into my memory — fishermen paddling dugout canoes across still water as the sun rose. The lake is full of colorful cichlid fish found nowhere else, and snorkeling there feels like stepping into an aquarium.
Further inland, the Nyika Plateau is a highland savanna where I saw zebra and roan antelope grazing in the mist. Wildlife reserves like Majete and Liwonde have made big strides in conservation, reintroducing rhinos and lions, and it’s now possible to see the Big Five in Malawi.
Madagascar is one of the most remarkable places I’ve ever been. Lemurs leaping through the rainforest, baobabs rising like giants on dusty plains, and spiny forests filled with plants that look like they came from another planet. More than 90% of the wildlife is found nowhere else, from the tiny mouse lemur to the elusive fossa.
I visited Andasibe-Mantadia National Park, where Indri lemurs call at dawn, and also the Avenue of the Baobabs, where sunsets turn the whole landscape golden. Travel in Madagascar can be rough — long drives, bad roads — but that’s part of the adventure. And because relatively few people go, you often have an entire trail or beach to yourself.
These destinations are reminders that Africa’s diversity goes far beyond the well-known safari circuits. Some I’ve seen with my own eyes, others I can only imagine — but each offers something rare, whether it’s turtle nesting beaches, whale sharks, ancient architecture, or landscapes that feel untouched.
Have you visited any of these places, or would you like to? Which one would be first on your list? Let me know in the comments — I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Who am I? Well, the least you can say is that I am quite crazy about Africa, its nature, its climate, its culture, and more.
As a young woman in my twenties, I had already traveled to several African countries by traveling along in an overlander on my own and mostly camping ( or glamping ) and just fell in love with the diversity of it all.
So much, so that at the age of 26, I went back to university to study biology, which, unfortunately, I couldn’t finish because of health reasons (yes, I got sick from a tropical disease, oh cynicism). But this did not stop my dream of traveling back to Africa several times, and I still do.
My dream was back then to leave Europe and go study animal behavior, especially the elephants (sure, that’s every girl’s dream haha), but I am also very much intrigued by hyenas and other “ugly African animals“.
So, I “kind of” have a little bit of a scientific approach to my articles, when I write about African birds, for example. And most of all: the passion.
But life goes on, you move from one side of the country to the other, you get sick again and top it off with lower back problems, and before you know it, you are over 50 hahaha!
Now, I still travel to Africa, but take it a bit “easier” than the good old camping days, and stay in comfortable, yet affordable accommodations, together with my husband Wouter.
These are some of the countries I have traveled to: Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Tunisia, and a little bit of Lesotho LOL .
While clearly not being African territory, but Spanish, I also visited Gran Canaria and Tenerife, and location-wise, I consider them “African”, because of their climate and nature, sue me :-p
The last trip I took was to South Africa in the year 2023, and it sure got the fevers for Africa back! From the Barberton mountains to the Drakensberg and the Southcoast, one month wasn’t enough at all to see the whole country, so we’ll be back! At ease and with a little bit more luxury than in my younger days haha!
