Benin

A little known destination as far as tourists are concerned… and that is its beauty. It's fascinating, bizarre, and with a wealth of adorable beaches along the coast, and rich wildlife in the north. It built an amazing fortune on the back of the slave trade, and there is a memorial to them on the darkly named ‘Point of No Return'. Take a trip to Lake Nokoue , and see the villagers of Ganvie who live in small huts built on stilts way out in the lake, or head to the stunning scenery of the north to swim in the pool at the bottom of the Kota waterfall. Set aside a day for the Pendjari National Park , which has elephants, hippo's, big cats, and baboons.

Benin was the home of voodoo, which is still practised today. Not the stuff of novels and movies, but the real – if bizarre – religion. The Fetish Markets are full of animal heads, bats wings, and the like… a perfect souvenir for the mother-in-law.