Africa’s all-inclusive market is not spread evenly across the continent. It is concentrated almost entirely on Egypt’s Red Sea coast, where a week of full board, flights included, routinely costs less than four nights in southern Europe. Everywhere else on this list is an exception rather than a pattern, and one of them is not a beach resort at all.
That concentration is worth understanding before you book, because it shapes what you can realistically expect. Six of the ten below are in Egypt. Three more are beach resorts scattered across Mauritius, Zanzibar and Cape Verde, and the tenth is a safari camp in the Serengeti, included because it shows what the word means when there is genuinely nowhere else to spend money.
What all-inclusive actually means here
On the Red Sea it usually means a great deal: three buffet meals, snacks through the afternoon, and local-brand beer, wine and spirits, all included from the moment you arrive. Some properties run an all-inclusive-plus tier that adds the à la carte restaurants and imported drinks, which is where the real quality difference sits at the larger resorts.
Elsewhere the term is looser. On Zanzibar and Mauritius it typically covers meals and soft drinks with alcohol charged separately or limited to house pours, and watersports are frequently split into free non-motorised and paid motorised. At a safari camp, all-inclusive means something else again: meals, drinks, park fees and two game drives a day, because there is nowhere else to buy anything.
The single most useful question to ask before booking anywhere on this list is which restaurants are included and which carry a supplement. That answer, rather than the star rating, is what determines whether you spend much more than the headline price.
Egypt’s Red Sea coast
Three resort areas account for most of the Egyptian options, and they are not interchangeable. Hurghada is the largest and cheapest, with the widest range of properties and the most development. Makadi Bay, about half an hour south, is quieter and more purpose-built, which suits people who want the beach and nothing else. Sharm El Sheikh, on the Sinai side, has the best diving and snorkelling in the country, with Ras Mohammed National Park and the Straits of Tiran within easy reach.
Sunrise Tucana Resort, Makadi Bay
One of the higher-rated all-inclusive properties on the whole Red Sea coast, and the pick of the Makadi Bay options. Makadi suits a particular kind of trip: the bay has a long sheltered beach, the transfer from the airport is short, and there is essentially no town to walk into. If that sounds like a drawback, choose Hurghada instead; if it sounds like the point, this is the better address.
Check rates for Sunrise Tucana Resort
Jaz Makadi Oasis Resort, Makadi Bay
Jaz is one of the large Egyptian hotel groups and runs several neighbouring properties in Makadi, which means shared facilities and a reliably consistent product rather than a boutique one. The Oasis is the mid-tier choice of the cluster and a sensible default if you want the Red Sea cheaply and without surprises.
Check rates for Jaz Makadi Oasis Resort
Steigenberger Aldau Beach Hotel, Hurghada
The upper end of the Hurghada market, and a noticeably more restrained property than the mega-resorts around it. Being in Hurghada rather than a purpose-built bay means you can actually leave: the marina, the dive operators and the old town are all reachable without a tour bus, which matters more than most brochures admit on a week-long stay.
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Sultan Gardens Resort, Sharm El Sheikh
A long-established beachfront property in Sharm, and a reasonable base for the thing Sharm is genuinely world-class at. The reef system here is the reason to choose Sinai over Hurghada, and house reefs reachable from the hotel jetty save you a boat trip every morning. Ask specifically about reef access and jetty depth when you book, because it varies substantially between neighbouring hotels.
Check rates for Sultan Gardens Resort
Jaz Belvedere, Sharm El Sheikh
Directly on the beach and one of the better-regarded Jaz properties in Sinai. Sharm sits on the Gulf of Aqaba, which means the water is calm, exceptionally clear and warm enough to swim in through the European winter. December to March is the season that makes this coast worth the flight.
Sharm Dreams Resort, Sharm El Sheikh
The budget pick on this list, in Naama Bay, which is the oldest and most built-up part of Sharm. That location is the trade-off: you get bars, shops and restaurants on your doorstep and a beach that is busier and less pristine than the properties further out. For a cheap winter sun week with somewhere to walk in the evening, it is a fair deal.
Check rates for Sharm Dreams Resort
The three beach alternatives to Egypt
Le Méridien Île Maurice, Mauritius
At Pointe aux Piments on the north-west coast, which is the sheltered, calmer side of Mauritius and the part with the easiest access to Port Louis and Grand Baie. Mauritius is a genuine step up in price from the Red Sea and a longer flight from Europe, and what you are buying is a lagoon rather than a sea: shallow, warm and ringed by reef.
The island’s seasons run opposite to the northern hemisphere, so the best months are roughly May to November. January to March is cyclone season, which does not mean a ruined holiday but does mean a real risk of several wet days.
Check rates for Le Méridien Île Maurice
Royal Zanzibar Beach Resort, Nungwi
Nungwi, on Zanzibar’s northern tip, is the one part of the island where the tide does not strand you. Elsewhere on the east coast the water retreats several hundred metres twice a day and swimming is only possible around high tide, which catches out a great many first-time visitors. If you want to get in the sea whenever you feel like it, the north is where to book.
Zanzibar also pairs naturally with a mainland safari, and the flight from Zanzibar to Arusha or the Serengeti is short. Note the insurance requirement below before you book anything in Tanzania.
Check rates for Royal Zanzibar Beach Resort
Iberostar Club Boavista, Cape Verde
Boa Vista is the most all-inclusive-oriented of the Cape Verde islands: long Atlantic beaches, almost no rain, and a climate that barely changes from month to month. It is also the closest genuinely reliable winter sun to western Europe, at around six hours from the UK, which is its real advantage over Egypt for anyone who dislikes a long flight.
The trade-off is the Atlantic itself. There is surf and current on these beaches rather than the glassy calm of the Red Sea or a Mauritian lagoon, and the wind that makes Boa Vista and Sal excellent for kitesurfing is a constant presence.
Check rates for Iberostar Club Boavista
The one that is not a beach resort
Aurari Camp, Serengeti National Park
Included here because safari camps are all-inclusive by necessity and because the comparison is instructive. At a camp inside the Serengeti, the rate covers your tent, every meal, drinks, park fees and game drives, for the simple reason that there is nothing within a hundred kilometres to spend money on.
It is a different product at a different price, several times what a Red Sea week costs, and it is not a substitute for one. What it buys is the migration, the predators and the short dry-season window when both are easiest to see. Treat it as the second half of a trip whose first half is Zanzibar, rather than as another entry on a beach shortlist.
What it costs, broadly
Precise rates move constantly with season and demand, but the relative order does not. Egypt’s Red Sea is comfortably the cheapest all-inclusive beach week on the continent and one of the cheapest anywhere, with Hurghada and Makadi below Sharm. Cape Verde sits above Egypt, with the shorter flight from Europe doing much of the work in the price. Zanzibar and Mauritius are higher again and climb steeply at the top end. A Serengeti camp is in a different bracket entirely and should be budgeted per night rather than per week.
Egypt is also where the gap between the headline price and the real one is widest, because the cheapest board basis excludes the à la carte restaurants and imported drinks. Price the upgraded tier before you decide, since it is often a small supplement for a substantially better week.
Entry requirements worth checking before you book
- Tanzania and Zanzibar now require inbound travel insurance. Zanzibar introduced it first, and mainland Tanzania made its own scheme compulsory from 1 October 2026, administered by the National Insurance Corporation at around USD 44 per visitor. It is a separate purchase from your own travel policy and does not replace it.
- Egypt requires a visa for most visitors. Many nationalities can use the official e-visa or buy one on arrival for around USD 25, but confirm your own case on the government portal rather than through a resort or agent.
- Cape Verde charges an airport security tax payable in advance online for most arrivals. It is small, but it is easy to miss and is separate from any visa exemption.
- Mauritius is visa-free for most European and North American visitors for stays of up to 60 days, with an online arrival form to complete before travel.
- Check the specific airport, not just the country. Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada and Marsa Alam serve quite different stretches of coast, and a cheap flight into the wrong one adds hours of transfer.
Who should skip an African all-inclusive
If you want to see Egypt, a Red Sea resort is the wrong purchase. The Pyramids, the Grand Egyptian Museum and Luxor are a long way from Hurghada, and the day trips sold at resort desks involve punishing coach journeys that compress the best archaeological sites on earth into a few rushed hours. Fly to Cairo, spend several nights there and in Luxor, and add the beach afterwards if you still want it.
The same applies, more strongly, to Zanzibar and Mauritius. Both have genuinely interesting interiors, and Stone Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site about an hour down the island from the Nungwi resorts that most visitors never leave. If your idea of a holiday is a week without decisions, all of this is irrelevant and the Red Sea does it better and cheaper than almost anywhere. If it is not, book a hotel instead and eat out.
For more on these destinations, see our guides to Zanzibar, Cairo and the Pyramids, Morocco and Cape Town.
Frequently asked questions
Why are most all-inclusive resorts in Africa in Egypt?
Because Egypt’s Red Sea coast was developed specifically for European package tourism from the 1980s onwards, with large purpose-built resorts, cheap charter flights and winter sea temperatures warm enough to swim in. Most of the rest of the continent either developed around safari lodges, which work differently, or has no mass beach tourism at all.
When is the best time to visit Egypt’s Red Sea?
October to April is the comfortable window, and December to March is when the coast is most worth the flight from Europe, since the sea stays warm while the air is pleasant rather than punishing. July and August are genuinely very hot, often above 40°C, and are best avoided unless you intend to stay in the water.
Do I need travel insurance to enter Tanzania or Zanzibar?
Yes. Zanzibar introduced a compulsory inbound insurance scheme first, and mainland Tanzania made its own mandatory from 1 October 2026, administered by the National Insurance Corporation at around USD 44 per visitor. It is bought separately from your own travel policy and does not replace it, so check the current requirement before booking flights.
Which resort on this list is best for diving?
Anything in Sharm El Sheikh. The Gulf of Aqaba reefs, Ras Mohammed National Park and the Straits of Tiran are the best diving and snorkelling in Egypt and among the best accessible from a resort anywhere. Ask specifically about house reef access from the hotel jetty, which varies a great deal between neighbouring properties.
Is Zanzibar good for swimming?
It depends entirely where on the island you stay. Much of the east coast has an extreme tidal range, with the water retreating several hundred metres twice a day, so swimming is restricted to the hours around high tide. Nungwi and the northern tip are deep enough to swim at any time, which is why most all-inclusive resorts are there.
What is not included in an all-inclusive in Africa?
Typically the à la carte restaurants, imported spirits and wine, motorised watersports, spa treatments, excursions and airport transfers if booked separately. On the Red Sea the upgraded board basis usually adds the restaurants and better drinks for a modest supplement, and it is normally worth pricing.
Can I combine a beach resort with a safari?
Zanzibar and mainland Tanzania are the natural pairing, with short flights between Zanzibar and the Serengeti or Arusha. The usual order is safari first and beach second, since a few days of early starts and long drives leave most people wanting a week of doing nothing afterwards.
Is an all-inclusive a good way to see Egypt’s ancient sites?
No. Hurghada and Sharm are a long way from Cairo and Luxor, and the excursions sold at resort desks mean many hours on a coach for a rushed few hours at the sites. If the Pyramids, the Grand Egyptian Museum or the Valley of the Kings are the reason you are going, build the trip around Cairo and Luxor and treat the beach as an add-on.
Which of these resorts suits families best?
The large Red Sea properties are the strongest choice, since meals, drinks and children’s activities are bundled and the sea is calm and shallow. Cape Verde is a reasonable alternative with a shorter flight from Europe, though the Atlantic surf makes it less suitable for small children. A Serengeti camp is the wrong choice entirely, and many camps set minimum ages.
