Africa Cruise: Canary Islands & Nambia

Tucked beneath the storied Cape of Good Hope, South Africa’s capital is awash in contrasts. Mountains meet oceans. Warm trade winds intermingle with icy waters. A decidedly European climate in Africa’s most southernmost city.

A world-focus during the 20th century, South Africa’s struggles with colonialism and apartheid have defined Cape Town. A global, multicultural metropolis with a thriving LGBTQ community, today the port city has emerged as a beacon of change. Get a local perspective as you learn about Cape Town’s segregation-era at the District Six Museum. See its past history of artistic censorship at the South African National Gallery. Understand the remaining effects of Apartheid with a township tour.

Between the windswept shores of the South Atlantic and the vast Namib Desert, discover a quaint fishing village with a distinct German vibe and a rich history rooted in the diamond rush.

Aside from the sandy streets and surrounding desert, much of Luderitz wouldn’t seem out of place in Munich or Berlin. Colourful colonial architecture remains from the scramble for Africa and the diamond rush in the early 1900s, when the town was German-controlled. The Deutsche Afrika Bank, Old Post Office, and Lutheran church overlooking the town and harbor are a few of many impressive buildings that echo this bygone era.

Under crystal clear skies and surrounded by huge, golden dunes, discover an adventurous culture in Walvis Bay. Perched across from Pelican Point, the city is sheltered from the rugged surf that stretches north up Namibia’s rocky, fog-bound Skeleton Coast.

Venture inland to the rolling sands of the vast Namib Desert for an exotic African safari to spot lions, elephants, giraffes, cheetahs, rhinos, and more, or kayak in the calm waters of the city’s huge natural lagoon.

Under crystal clear skies and surrounded by huge, golden dunes, discover an adventurous culture in Walvis Bay. Perched across from Pelican Point, the city is sheltered from the rugged surf that stretches north up Namibia’s rocky, fog-bound Skeleton Coast.

Venture inland to the rolling sands of the vast Namib Desert for an exotic African safari to spot lions, elephants, giraffes, cheetahs, rhinos, and more, or kayak in the calm waters of the city’s huge natural lagoon.

A tiny slice of Africa surrounded by Senegal, the country’s borders hug the shores of The Gambia River, and the capital city of Banjul is perched right at the river’s mouth on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. The city is often overlooked by tourists to Africa—and that’s just fine with us, because it gives you ample opportunity to explore beyond the surface.

Enigmatic, electric, and endlessly explorable, Dakar dazzles on the West African coast. Jutting out on the Cape Verde Peninsula, the city is the westernmost point of the African continent, and was an important trading point for European colonial powers.

From its more notorious incarnations, Dakar has evolved into a vibrant city that’s a blend of historic French je ne sais quois, modern architecture, and amazing, authentic open-air markets. A shining example of 21st-century Africa, start at Medina, a neighborhood that will give you a real taste of local life with street markets, tiny shops, and restaurants where you’ll want to try bissap, the local tea made with hibiscus, sugar and water.

The aptly nicknamed “pretty island”, La Palma is one of Spain’s Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. Walk along the rim of the crater at Volcán San Antonio then set out to one of the viewpoints at the Caldera de Taburiente, an enormous crater-like depression at the center of Caldera del Taburiente National Park. At the highest point of La Palma sits El Roque de los Muchachos, an important observatory as the clear and cloudless skies above the island make it one of the best places in the world to see the stars.