![El Quseir. Hotel, Egypt](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/2023/09/01/TELEMMGLPICT000347225480_16935648212740_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQf0Rf_Wk3V23H2268P_XkPxc.jpeg?imwidth=680)
Why North Africa is the unexpected winter sun destination making a comeback
Whether you’re looking for warmth, relaxation or historic sites, North Africa delivers plenty of holiday advantages right now
![El Quseir. Hotel, Egypt](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/2023/09/01/TELEMMGLPICT000347225480_16935648212740_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQf0Rf_Wk3V23H2268P_XkPxc.jpeg?imwidth=680)
The search for sunshine – once August has faded into the ether, and the summer has begun its trek to the other side of the equator – tends to involve a glance to the west or the east. The Caribbean is always fun, even if September and October can be at the mercy of hurricane season. The coasts of Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia have their charms. If you can’t stomach flying quite that far, Dubai will certainly sell you a hotel suite.
But what of a glance to the south; to the region that manages to be part of a separate continent, and yet is all but on the doorstep – a short jump across the Mediterranean Sea?
There are various advantages to a holiday in North Africa as Europe turns to autumn. Not only do temperatures linger in the upper 20s while France and Spain are starting to wonder where they left their winter coats, this welcome warmth does not require a journey of unpalatable length. A flight of between three and five hours will have you at your destination, and the time difference will be a maximum of two hours, rather than the five you can expect in Antigua, or the six on the bill if you aim for Phuket.
So where to go? There are five countries on Africa’s top edge, and here we focus on the three most obvious options for relaxation within sight of the waves. Morocco, of course, has shoreline on both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, but has most of its resorts on the former. Egypt, too, faces Mediterranean tides – but most of its sun-seeking holidaymakers head for the Red Sea. Tunisia, by contrast, pays full attention to the Med – and has proved to be a good-value destination in the hotels on its east coast.
Of course, there is more to North Africa than the beach. Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt are all home to cities of enthralling ebb and flow. The same is true of Algeria; a less-considered option, but best for adventurous travellers. If the ancient Roman temples of Leptis Magna and Sabratha are impossible to visit because of ongoing turmoil in Libya, there are alternatives aplenty in Tunis and El Djem, in Algiers and Djemila, and in Luxor, Giza and Cairo. The Egyptian capital is such a draw for wonders of the past that it is now part of the low-cost flight network – easyJet will fly to its new Sphinx Airport (from Luton) from Oct 31.
That’s the “when” and the “where” covered. But what of the “how”? The following 15 holidays, which run the gamut all the way from Agadir to El Gouna, may provide the answers.
Egypt
Part playground of gods, legends and spectacular structures in the desert, part reliable sun-trap with resorts galore, Egypt is a timeless possibility for a post-summer week away.
Sharm El Sheikh
The return of a favourite
The return of Egypt’s most popular resort area to the top tier of autumnal beach breaks will soon be confirmed by the sight of a British Airways Airbus A320 on approach. BA will serve Sharm El Sheikh from Gatwick four times a week as of November 3, bringing to an end an eight-year absence that began with the bombing of a Russian charter plane in October 2015, and was rubber-stamped by the Foreign Office ban on British carriers flying to its airport that was imposed soon after. That moratorium was lifted in 2019, and, Covid aside, tourists from the UK have flocked back in numbers ever since – but BA’s reintroduction of the route is clear proof that all is once more rosy in this Red Sea garden.
Book it: A seven-night stay at the five-star Royal Savoy Sharm el-Sheikh, flying out on November 4, costs from £1,558pp, with breakfast (or from £2,433pp on an all-inclusive basis), through British Airways Holidays (0344 493 0787; ba.com/holidays)
![Egypt, East Coast, El Gouna, Red sea](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/2023/09/01/TELEMMGLPICT000346652880_16935642762090_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq6EJnOfyFp65hQdRLcy_vB0ILJJpwdHwkstMv3u0Srgc.jpeg?imwidth=350)
El Gouna
Excellent-value sun
Sharm el-Sheikh’s appeal needs scant explanation – a broad selection of luxury hotels, and temperatures in the upper 20s as late as October and November. The equation is much the same in the resorts further down the Red Sea – in Hurghada, and in its neighbour El Gouna, which is carving out a reputation as a haven for excellent-value escapes.
Book it: A seven-night all-inclusive getaway to the four-star Panorama Bungalows Resort, on the El Gouna waterside, flying directly from Glasgow (to Hurghada) on November 15, costs from £467pp through Love Holidays (01234 230 440; loveholidays.com)
Marsa Alam
Dive right in
A further 180 miles to the south, Marsa Alam offers the same splendid alliance of Red Sea location and direct flights from Britain. But it has risen to prominence in the travel world as a first-rate destination for scuba-diving, blessed with an off-shore expanse of coral (the Elphinstone Reef) where tuna, mackerel and hammerheads thrive in the depths.
Book it: Regaldive (01353 659 999; regal-diving.co.uk) offers a range of scuba breaks in the area. For the gentle enthusiast, a one-week all-inclusive stay at the Concorde Moreen Beach Resort – which has a dive centre and a house reef – starts at £1,195pp, with flights. For the sub-aqua expert, catered “liveaboard” breaks on the nine-cabin Freedom III cost from £450pp, including three nights at sea and eight dives (excludes flights)
![Hot air ballooning over the Valley of the Kings](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/2023/09/01/TELEMMGLPICT000346673499_16935642079520_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqRo0U4xU-30oDveS4pXV-Vv4Xpit_DMGvdp2n7FDd82k.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Nile
Set sail for the past
There is, of course, a great deal more to Egypt than the Red Sea. If you want to retreat into its ancient era – the pharaonic magnificence of the Pyramids; the tombs carved into the hard rock of the Valleys of the Kings and the Queens; Kom Ombo and its namesake temple – then it is far easier to do so in the relatively restrained warmth of October and November than amid the heat of the summer. Especially if you let the Nile take the strain.
Book it: Viking (0800 319 6660; vikingrivercruises.co.uk) offers a regular Pharaohs & Pyramids voyage which calls upon each of the above locations over the course of 12 days. From £6,545pp, including return flights from London, and all excursions
![Luxor Temple, famous landmark of Egypt](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/2023/09/01/TELEMMGLPICT000346673524_16935608507260_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqENh0amqpuv8Z5e8_LKlob9HhMh81Y8GqX3ipA8YMo0k.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Cairo and El Quseir
The best of both worlds
The Great Pyramid, or your footprints in the sand? The Sphinx, or a sunset cocktail by the waves? In truth, you don’t have to choose one over the other – simply pick a holiday which combines the treasures of the 26th century BC with a beach resort here in our 21st.
Book it: Audley Travel (01993 460 369; audleytravel.com) offers the Cairo & Beach break – an 11-day adventure that splits its time between the Egyptian capital and a five-star resort at El Quseir. From £3,745pp including flights
Morocco
A closer-to-hand travel option than Egypt – a three- rather than five-hour flight from the UK – Morocco offers thrillingly exotic cities, and a rising number of quality beach zones.
Marrakech
Souks, stalls and spices
Let’s start with the obvious. Because Marrakech is the obvious destination if you want to dip a toe into Morocco. It dominates all outside perspective on the country – its medina stuffed with souks, stalls and the aroma of spices; the melodic call of the muezzin echoing across the broad space of Jemaa el-Fnaa square, even as snake charmers beckon cobras from baskets under a baking sun. And yet, for all the chaos, clamour and occasional cliche these images suggest, Marrakech can be a composed destination for a long weekend, the blank-faced doors along its winding alleyways concealing elegant riads where you can relax in peace – before slipping out for another blast of excitement.
Book it: A five-night stay at Le Farnatchi – a refurbished riad of just 10 chic suites – costs from £1,028pp, including flights, with Scott Dunn (020 8682 5070; scottdunn.com).
![Fez, Morocco](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/2023/09/01/TELEMMGLPICT000347226909_16935644107540_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqgeM9nLqjJU1C6JsEKW4oSjgvk-t9w27mDp57ATZVrwg.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Fez
The less famous alternative
If Marrakech is the Moroccan obvious, Fez is the clear alternative for those who want to experience a city of a similar ambience without feeling that they are wandering through a postcard. Bigger than its “rival” (1.1 million residents to Marrakech’s 900,000), it offers the same labyrinthine vibe in its vast medina, which spreads out around the main drag of Talaa Kbira – and medieval history in the former royal necropolis of the Marinid Tombs. Furthermore, like Marrakech, it is directly connected to the UK (via Ryanair from Stansted).
Book it: Abercrombie & Kent (0333 060 8223; abercrombiekent.co.uk) offers Fez, plus the capital Rabat, in its nine-day Classic Morocco”tour. From £4,175pp including flights.
Casablanca
Here’s looking at the real you
Some 300 miles up the Atlantic coast from Agadir, Casablanca lives under a weight of misconception – forever tied to a Humphrey Bogart quote, an Ingrid Bergman glance, and a black-and-white cocktail hour. But in fact, for all its undying connection to 1942’s most celebrated film, Casablanca is Morocco’s biggest city; a major port with a population of four million, a crucial cog in the country’s life. It merits a mini-break in the grand arc of its waterside Corniche, the hubbub of its medina and the shadowplay of Rick’s Cafe (rickscafe.ma). In fact, not a moment of the movie was crafted outside Los Angeles, but this lounge-bar has a solid stab at being the “real thing”.
Book it: A three-night stay at the Hotel Art Palace Suites, flying directly from Gatwick on October 26, costs from £487pp through Expedia (020 3024 8211; expedia.co.uk).
![Casablanca Morocco](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/2023/09/01/TELEMMGLPICT000347225894_16935644338380_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqNr7buqbkV04AEATLFYLNjP4Xpit_DMGvdp2n7FDd82k.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Agadir
Reliable sun and sand
While Essaouira, a little further up the Atlantic coast, has popped onto the holiday map in the past few years, the rise of Morocco as a beach destination is largely down to Agadir. Its ascent is visible in its airport’s arrivals hall – it greeted 900,000 passengers a year at the turn of the millennium, but now welcomes more than two million. Tui, easyJet, Ryanair and Wizz all fly in, from a combined five UK airports, to a city equipped with wide beaches, resort hotels and autumn temperatures in the mid 20s.
Book it: A seven-night all-inclusive stay at the five-star Riu Palace Tikida, flying from Birmingham on Oct 5, starts at £1,002pp via Tui (020 3451 2688; tui.co.uk).
Atlas Mountains
Escape the souk
If you prefer the calm of upper elevations to the roar of the city, the Atlas Mountains are your escape from the souk – stretching out across Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco for 1,600 miles, while saving their pinnacle for the latter. You don’t need to go quite as high as Mount Toubkal – which hits its peak at 13,671ft (4,167m) – to enjoy the clean air and panoramic serenity of a range that often wears a coat of snow. A 17-room retreat, Kasbah du Toubkal perches at this giant’s mighty foot, within the national park which frames it – and yet, not so far from “civilisation” as to be unreachable. Marrakech is a mere 45 miles to the north.
Book it: This British-owned property (01883 744 677; kasbahdutoubkal.com) offers rooms from £150 a night, and a week-long Trekking in Style itinerary that splices five days on mountain trails to two nights in the city. From £1,150pp, with transfers; excludes flights.
![Morocco africa town](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/2023/09/01/TELEMMGLPICT000347541665_16935677085860_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqRo0U4xU-30oDveS4pXV-Vv4Xpit_DMGvdp2n7FDd82k.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Marrakech, Essaouira, Atlas Mountains
Take the kids
For all its noise and heat, Morocco can be a superb destination for travels with children, offering the excitement of adventures on another continent – without the long-haul jetlag.
Book it: Family-travel specialist Stubborn Mule (01728 752 751; stubbornmuletravel.com) serves up an eight-day Morocco Family Short Break which pairs the souks of Marrakech and Essaouira with hikes in the Atlas Mountains, dinner with a Berber family, and camel rides and camping in the desert. From £1,400pp, including flights.
Tunisia
The smallest piece of the North African coastal jigsaw is also its most underrated – serving up lovely beaches, dramatic history and low prices to comparatively few tourists.
Hammamet
Luxury at a lower price
The vast majority of the 145,000 British holidaymakers who visited Tunisia in 2022 aimed for the east coast – the long arc of shoreline along the Gulf of Hammamet where resort zones such as Monastir, Sousse and Mahdia – plus Hammamet itself – hold court. All four places have their own story to tell (Sousse, for example, is Tunisia’s third largest city, and has a sprawling medina) but the tourism set-up is much the same in each case – large all-inclusive hotels with multiple swimming pools and soft beaches beyond. If you are craving easy sunshine at a reasonable cost, any or all of these destinations will suffice.
Book it: EasyJet flies to Enfidha-Hammamet from five British airports. A seven-night all-inclusive stay at the four-star Iberostar Averroes resort in Hammamet, departing from Bristol on October 20, costs from £910pp (0330 5515165; easyjet.com/holidays)
![Monastir, Tunisia](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/2023/09/01/TELEMMGLPICT000347230547_16935647343180_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqcFbVwrldgDqLr44SrdFj-pjiYJg1F3Rk-pkgTvIwLgs.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Tunis
A left-field long weekend
The capital city and main metropolis is as fascinating a place in its modern guise as in its ancient roots – something of a hangover from French colonial rule in its broad avenues, but every bit a North African city in a medina that rivals those in Morocco for swirl and sensation. And with a slew of excellent hotels, it is also a viable possibility for a left-field long weekend.
Book it: Kirker Holidays (020 7593 2288; kirkerholidays.com) offers three-night getaways to the five-star Residence Tunis. Prices start at £798pp, including flights and transfers
![Tunis Sidi Bou Said](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/2023/09/01/TELEMMGLPICT000145358353_16935646526840_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQf0Rf_Wk3V23H2268P_XkPxc.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Carthage
History to rival Egypt
Tunisia’s story recedes into the distant past in almost as dramatic a fashion as Egypt’s. Its capital is the successor to Carthage – the rival city-state which Rome ruthlessly destroyed, then rebuilt in its own image, in the second century BC. The ruins lie on the east side of Tunis, and are a key part of any history-focused tour of the country – though not quite the money shot. The moment of awe is supplied by the amphitheatre at El Djem – another Roman relic, as impressive as the Colosseum in its state of preservation.
Book it: Corinthian Travel (020 3583 6089; corinthiantravel.co.uk) offers a Grand Tour of Tunisia which calls upon both locations – as well as the likes of Sidi Bou Said, Sfax, Sousse and Tozeur – as part of a 15-day itinerary. From £3,850pp; excludes flights
Sahara
Desert delights
Tunisia is small but its territory is still big enough to push south into the golden vastness of the Sahara Desert. Here is a different sort of sand, where travellers can gaze at things more elusive than waves and sunsets – not least the wildlife that scratches a living in this harsh environment. Jebil National Park is a case in point; 580 square miles of scrub and shrubs where gazelles and hares dash, as larks and wheatears soar overhead.
Book it: Naturetrek (01962 733 051; naturetrek.co.uk) runs a 10-day guided birdwatching break to Tunisia which dips into Jebil National Park – and also visits the more northerly Bou-Hedma National Park for glimpses of the desert sparrow (as well as the addax and the scimitar-horned oryx). From £2,595pp, including flights. Departs March 30
Why does no one go to Algeria?
It is surely fair to argue that, as far as most holidaymakers are concerned, Algeria stands hidden behind a wall of secrecy. Even its greatest geographical claim to fame – that it is Africa’s biggest country – is a fact that seems to elude the majority of people. For all its size (it is also the 10th largest country on the planet, adding up to almost 920,000 square miles), Morocco’s colossal neighbour receives fewer than three million tourists per year.
And scarcely any of them are from the UK. In its advice to those who may be considering a trip, the Foreign Office, normally so clear on the finer details, remarks simply that “currently, there are few British visitors to Algeria” (see gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/algeria).
There are various reasons for this. One is that, unlike those heading to Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt, British citizens must obtain an entry visa in person, prior to travel – and they have to obtain it from the Algerian Consulate in London. Inaccessibility is also an issue – the only direct air links are between London and the capital Algiers (with British Airways or Air Algerie).
Nonetheless, if you are intrigued at the thought of getting to know this enormous mystery package, there are actually very few significant barriers to paying it a visit. Unlike Libya, which has been deemed a categorical no-go area since 2014, the Foreign Office offers little objection to British citizens spending time in Algeria – colouring almost the whole map of it in green.
![Algeria, Ahaggar Mountains, Hoggar, Sahara Desert](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/travel/2023/09/01/TELEMMGLPICT000347436172_16935623295000_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqqVzuuqpFlyLIwiB6NTmJwSX5rhseiWKOo9p9OQ-ymek.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Attractions are myriad. The casbah of Algiers has all the thrum and noise of Marrakech – but, inevitably, fewer European voices. Oran, the second city – also on the Mediterranean – repeats the trick. Then there is Djemila, another spectacular echo of the Roman Empire on African soil. And the Sahara cannot be missed – it covers 80 per cent of the landmass.
Adventure-travel experts Wild Frontiers (020 3925 9391; wildfrontierstravel.com) offer Algerian Colours – an 11-day itinerary which explores the country in the safety net of a group. Three further editions of the holiday are scheduled for this year, the first on September 28; from £3,350pp, excluding flights. Six trips are planned for 2024.