Africa is easy to overlook for allergy conscious travelers, yet parts of it turn out to be naturally allergy friendly once you know where to look.
Ethiopian cuisine stands out in particular, since injera is made from teff, a grain that is naturally gluten free, making much of the traditional menu safe for people with celiac disease without any substitutions needed. North African cooking leans more heavily on wheat, with couscous and bread as staples, so travelers avoiding gluten need to ask more questions there. South Africa's bigger cities have a growing number of allergy aware restaurants used to handling nut, dairy and shellfish allergies with clear communication. Outside major cities, awareness of cross contamination can vary a lot, so carrying translated allergy cards helps.
The destinations on our list for Africa take these differences into account, favoring places where a serious allergy does not have to mean a limited trip.
