Africa is a huge continent filled with beautiful places to visit, and some of these are especially friendly for Muslims, and this isn’t just mean Egypt! This guide will highlight some of the areas you can go which will not only be wonderful holidays, but also won’t prevent you for maintaining a halal lifestyle. If you're interested in travelling elsewhere, check out our articles about European and Asian holidays.

As awareness grows, it is quite apparent that there is a lot of money to be made in halal tourism because Muslim travellers make up a vast percentage of tourism. South Africa in particular is now a very popular destination for Muslim travellers despite not being a Muslim country itself.

Before Booking
Before you book a holiday, you need to look into what you want to get out of the holiday, and what your personal circumstances are. For Muslim travellers, there is also the added circumstance of being able to maintain the halal standard of living whilst you enjoy and discover a new place.

Therefore, are you looking for a family-friendly place? If you are perhaps a villa would be best to stay in so that you and your spouse can enjoy time when the children are asleep. It will also give you more privacy and you will be able to bring in food and cook it, or get take away, giving you more control of the food.

Perhaps you are looking for a city break, which would mean that going to stay in a hotel is better. However if you are planning to sightsee then paying a lot for a hotel you simply sleep in is not worth the money. Maybe you should invest more money to see and enjoy attractions, rather than in a fancy hotel. More so, many big branded hotels do not accommodate many of the items Muslims need because they also cater for non-Muslim travellers.

It really depends on the type of holiday you want, action packed, or relaxing, and then it depends on your budget. You can save a lot of money by using rented villas or apartments, or going for a cheaper hotel.

Where to book?
There are a few different ways of booking, but if you are looking for a travel agency that specialises in halal bookings then there are a few different sites you can use. For example, HalalTrip offers tours and in Africa, these start and end with Cape Town – where Islam came into Africa. There is also Stay Halaal and Muslim Breaks that offer advice and different options for your stay.

The thing to remember about South Africa in particular is that as it is not densely Muslim populated, so there will be alcohol, non-halal food places and un-Islamic activities. However, due to the influx of Muslim travellers, it has become a favourite stop for halal holiday makers.

Food in Africa
If you are visiting Egypt for example, then you do not have to worry about food, but nowadays neither is it a worry in South Africa. This is because all big brands and franchises such as Burger King, KFC and McDonalds are halal, with authentic halal certificates. South Africa has ‘Freedom of Religion’ in its constitution, meaning that there is a lot of harmony and tolerance between faiths in these areas, and they support all religious holidays, events and beliefs.

With the HalalGuide App, you can search for the halal food places around your location, meaning that if you are off discovering a new city, you can locate some halal food easily. It also means that you can find Qibla wherever you are to perform Salaah, and if there are mosques around, these will pop up on your app as well.

Where to stay?
There are so many places to stay in Africa, including the following countries and cities:

* Mauritius, Tenerife, Seychelles, Cape Town, Egypt, Casablanca, Morocco.

Within these, there are options on different types of accommodation too:
* Self Catering Apartments or Villas:
As mentioned above, this option can be the best ones for Muslim travellers and are also more cost effective than hotels. In a conscious effort to help people maintain a halal lifestyle whilst on holiday, there are a huge number of self catered apartments and villas available all over the world, and definitely all over Africa. This is so that you can have a private pool and beach, your own house, which means more space, and if you get a rented car, it means that you save on transport and taxis too.

* Resort:
There are all inclusive resorts where you can stay, although many of these will not have segregated pools and beaches. However, here you can get local tourist packages to check out the area, go on boat trips, have spa treatments and enjoy buffet after buffet of delicious halal food.

* Hotels:
Of course, you can also stay in a hotel. There are just so many to choose from, and the bigger brand the hotel, the more likely it is that there will be alcohol on the menu for other holiday makers. Therefore, using Halal Guide to scope these out may be a vital step in your research.

Some of the best Muslim friendly holiday destinations within Africa include the following:
1.Riad Private Rentals, Marrakech
2.Riad Kheirredine, Marrakech
3.Blackheath Lodge, Cape Town
4.Baron Resort Sharm El Sheikh
5.Navani Villas, Mauritius

How HalalGuide Can Help:
When you have decided the next place you want to take your holiday, the HalalGuide App can help you research hotels, restaurants and Islamic businesses in that area with the red, orange and green flags. This means that depending on what level of certification you want, you can find it.

The app allows you to search a huge directory for halal food places, supermarkets, clothes shops, mosques and more. It also highlights local events that may be taking place, updates Salaah times depending on your location, and has a built in Qibla finder. Overall, travelling has never been easier, and maintaining your halal routine is becoming easier as time goes on and awareness rises.