All direct flights to Angola from the UK & Ireland

Destination summary

Here lies the bruised yet still beating heart of the African continent. Angola has undergone more than its fair share of turmoil over recent decades: famine, civil war and the illegal trade in diamonds have taken their toll on a people already suffering from the continued failure of humanitarian aid to reach those most in need of it. Hard, really, to put the glossy travel guide spin on a destination where official Government advice recommends not travelling alone, and to carry a satellite telephone at all times; where the northern enclave of Cabinda remains a strictly no-go area for foreign visitors.

While oil supplies grace Angola with the fastest growing economy in Africa, its schools and hospitals remain hopelessly under-funded. Faced with such stark contrasts in the present day, most travellers turn to the past, hoping to make sense of the suffering. In the capital city Luanda, situated on the Atlantic coast, the National Anthropology Museum and National Slavery Museum offer some perspective, though the latter is prone to erratic opening hours and closed for refurbishment more often than not. The city's striking cathedral is a remnant of Angola's time as a Portuguese colony.

Two of the most popular destinations elsewhere are Mussulo Island (Ilha do Massula) and the Kissama National Park. It's not hard to see why Mussulo is so beloved amongst travellers from the West: with chalets dotting its glorious sandy beaches, and barbeques at sundown, it couldn't be any further removed from the chaos of the mainland, though the rhythms of capoeira - the dance-like martial art derived from the days of slavery - continue to play out on these shores. Kissama is a former game reserve that now lies under state protection: a few rhinos, elephants and buffalo remain, inspiring survivors of Angola's violent past.