Capetown in South Africa is still the most sophisticated beach holiday destination in Africa, with the incredible backdrop of Table Mountain, excellent accommodation options and some of the best restaurants in the world it would be an excellent place to visit even without the beach. On top of that you can also enjoy the best wines and scenery of South Africa on the Garden Route, which stretches from Mossel Bay to the Storms River in the Western Cape. There are ten nature reserves in the area as well as unique marine reserves, home to soft coral reefs, dolphins, seals and a host of other marine life.

Combing golf with a beach holiday has always been popular in places like Spain and Portugal, South Africa and the Cape Region have some of the best Golf courses in the world, now you can combine a beach, golf and safari holiday, there is nowhere in Europe that can boast that!

What about the beaches? Cape Town has some excellent beaches, False Bay with the long sandy beach which extends from Gordon's Bay to Muizenberg and includes Boulders Beach and Simon's Town. The Atlantic Seaboard along the West (Atlantic) side of the Cape Peninsula with well known beaches including Sandy Bay, Clifton Camps Bay, Scarborough and Kommetjie. The West Coast, running Northwards from Cape Town with the windy conditions make these beaches popular for surfing and kite-surfing.

An important point to note is the sea in False Bay is about 6 degrees warmer than the Atlantic Seaboard and the West Coast!

On the down side, Cape Town is the furthest point in Africa you can travel to from Europe, so expect a long flight as mentioned above the water can be a little chilly and then it is probably one of the more expensive destinations in Africa.

Kenya, probably best known for it's wildlife safaris on the Masai Mara but also has plenty to offer in the way of beach holidays on the coastline near Mombasa. The city of Mombasa is a "real" bustling African city and there is in stark contrast to the sophistication of Cape Town. There are however many fine places to eat to sample some more traditional African food as well as those catering to western palates. The Old town is also well worth visiting and Fort Jesus, a Portuguese fort built in 1593 by order of King Philip II of Spain, to guard the Old Port of Mombasa, Kenya. It was built in the shape of a man and was given the name of Jesus as a religious reference.

Along the coast there are plenty of places to stay with some of the most luxurious hotels you'll find anywhere in Africa, some great little beach cottages as well as basic beach side campsites, something for everyone.

The snorkeling and diving in Mombasa and the surrounding areas is also excellent and it is a great place to learn to dive with the prices here are substantially cheaper than many other well know diving locations. Bamburi beach is a great location to base your beach holiday in Kenya, about half an hour from Nairobi, there are some great hotels and beach cottages as well as an excellent PADI dive center located at the well know Travellers Beach Hotel.

Of course no trip to Kenya would be complete without some sort of Safari and they can be organised from Mombasa with a popular destination being the Tsavo National Park, less well known than the Masai mara, but at just over 21,000km sq, Tsavo is the largest national park in Kenya and one of the largest in the world with large herds of Elephant and plenty of lions, it is well worth considering if you want to take a break from relaxing on the beach!

Check out more beach holiday ideas on the beach holiday guide

I had a few holidays due to me in March and decided that I needed to find a place that was not too far from the UK, with cheap flights, warm enough to enjoy the beaches and have a few locations where I could go scuba diving!

Holidays in Malta
Malta was the perfect location, not to far from the UK and because I was traveling out of season I got some really cheap flights to Malta and a great deal on my Hotel.

for some more info check out the Beach Holiday Guide and their guide to Holidays in Malta

Diving in Malta
Too my great surprise there are many companies offering scuba diving in Malta, I decided to go with Paradise Diving Malta located right on the northern tip of the island at Cirkewwa by the Malta - Gozo ferry departure point. As a P.A.D.I. Gold Palm Resort they offer a range of diving courses, including Open Water Diver and Advanced Open Water Diver.

So Where is Malta
Malta is located south of Italy, about thirty seven miles south of the island of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea.

If you were to continue to travel further south you would reach North Africa. Because of this the weather in Malta is generally warm for most of the year.

Ok here is a beach holiday location that is a little different and one that you may not have even heard of before, The Cape Verde islands.

For those of you who don't know, The Cape Verde Islands are a tiny group of tropical islands just off the West coast of Africa in the Atlantic Ocean. Because of their location their temperature does not really drop below 24 degrees Celsius all year round. So for us here in Europe, it can make the ideal winter sun holiday location for a beach holiday.

Talking about the beaches, they are stunning, if you are looking for uncrowded, unspoilt beaches, Cape Verde has what you are looking for and for me makes a great place to visit as a honey moon or romantic beach vacation as all of the islands that we visited had a real laid back feel to them where the days just drift slowly by.

So if you are after a beach holiday a little off the beaten track, why not look into Cape Verde, I did, and I would definitely recommend it.