Whatever might be said about Malawi's often underrated network of national parks and forest reserves, there's no doubting the fact that the country's premier tourist attraction is the lake after which it is named. The third-largest body of water in Africa, Lake Malawi measures almost 600km from north to south, up to 100km from east to west and accounts for some 15% of Malawi's surface area.

Lake Malawi is also scintillatingly beautiful. Deep aquamarine waters, enclosed by the towering Rift Valley escarpment, verge on a string of sandy beaches lined with ghostly baobabs. Fish eagles cry their eerie, evocative call. Below the surface, an array of outrageously decorative cichlids offers perhaps the most alluring freshwater snorkelling and diving in the world. Add to this an almost perfect climate and the easygoing hospitality for which Malawians are renowned, and it's pretty clear why Lake Malawi has long been regarded as one of the top chill-out venues in the African interior.

While the lake is an essential fixture on any trip through the country, it can be difficult to decide exactly which of the profusion of shore-side hotels and resorts to book into. Half a dozen top-notch tourist-class hotels line the littoral, as do some of Africa's most popular backpacker hostels. Equally prolific, however, are a ceaselessly mutating number of second stringers that open, close and change ownership with bemusing frequency. For first-time visitors to Malawi, the choice can be daunting.

If it's unadulterated colonial-style decadence you're after - and hang the expense - look no further than the exclusive Livingstonia Beach Hotel on Senga Bay, a convenient hour-and-a-bit drive from the capital city of Lilongwe. Founded in the 1930s, this serene and relatively small hotel (family-run until it was recently acquired by the French Le Meridien Group) retains a mellow old-world ambience, with its whitewashed and creosoted neo-Cape Dutch architecture, compact gardens draped with bougainvillaea and teeming with colourful sunbirds and sumptuous continental cuisine. Activities include carrying a towel along the hundred-metre path connecting the sandy beach to the swimming pool, snorkelling, diving and various water sports, as well as boating to Lizard Island, guided bird walks through Mpatsanjoka Marsh and day visits to the superb ethnographic museum at Mua Mission.

As is so often the case in Africa, few lodges on Lake Malawi bridge the gap between pricey luxury and low-budget hostels. One notable exception is Chintheche Inn, a recently renovated former government hotel consisting of about a dozen spacious, comfortable rooms with en suite facilities and views through lushly wooded grounds to the sandy lakeside. Birders will be in their element here, while a nearby stretch of rocky shore offers excellent snorkelling and diving. It is also here at the widest part of the lake that its status as an inland sea is most evident: the distant Mozambican shore is invisible except in very clear weather, creating the mildly disorientating sensation of being at the seaside, not hundreds of miles inland.

Malawi and its lake have never entirely caught on as a major fly-in tourist destination, but they have long formed an important pit stop for backpackers and overlanders crossing between eastern and southern Africa. Little wonder, then, that for every vaguely upmarket retreat on the lakeshore, you'll find a dozen low-key establishments catering to budget travellers. In this category, top nomination for the non-stop beach party award goes to Kande Beach Campsite, which is centred on a tall thatch-and-wood bar on an isolated shore about 20km south of Chintheche. Geared more towards overland trucks than individual backpackers, Kande is one of the few stand-alone budget resorts to offer full diving courses and a wide range of water sports. It also claims - credibly - to be the national brewery's biggest customer anywhere in northern Malawi.

Backpackers won't spend long in Africa before they hear word of Nkhata Bay, a small lakeside town in the north that first acquired travel legend status at the height of hippiedom - and which has arguably never quite recovered from the phenomenon. The atmosphere in Nkhata Bay is highly conducive to interaction between locals and travellers, while a selection of restaurants and bars serve backpacker staples such as pizzas and banana pancakes (not to mention the notorious space cakes that regularly land overindulgent travellers in hospital). Inevitable comparisons to Kathmandu aside, Nkhata Bay has a fabulous location overlooking twin bays divided by a wooded peninsula and is known locally for offering the world's most inexpensivediving courses. More than anywhere else in Malawi, Nkhata Bay is notorious for the rapid pace of change in its accommodation options. A long-serving standout is Njaya Lodge, a lively and incongruously well-organised outfit (credit cards accepted - enough said), offering camping or rustic reed huts on an idyllic beach 20 minutes' walk from town.

For those travellers with sufficient time - and an aversion to established backpacker haunts - an excellent alternative to Nkhata Bay is Likoma Island, a small chunk of Malawian territory set entirely within Mozambican waters. Linked to the Malawian mainland by one weekly ferry service, Likoma is quite possibly the most laid-back place in the world, with perfect beaches, a baobab-studded interior, fabulous views to the mountainous Mozambican shore - and, bizarrely, a late 19th century church built to the design of Winchester Cathedral. In addition to a number of cheap local guesthouses, the island boasts one superb and underutilised backpacker resort (aptly called Kaya Mawa - "maybe tomorrow"), recently expanded to incorporate a number of smart en suite stone chalets built into the rocks above the beach.

Each of the five establishments I've mentioned is a personal favourite, and would in its own way rank with the best that Malawi offers. But of course there are many other excellent resorts to choose from. At the upper end of the comfort scale, Nkopola Lodge and Club Makolola near the southern end of the lake are both highly reputable, with several years' standing, and are ideally visited in tandem with a safari to nearby Liwonde National Park. Residents of southern Malawi's Cape Maclear - a travel legend every bit as enduring as Nkhata Bay - might justifiably feel slighted that I've dwelt exclusively on the merits of its northern counterpart.

When it comes to making an informed decision about lakeshore accommodation, the value of a comprehensive guidebook or knowledgeable tour operator, as well as word of mouth recommendations, cannot be overstated. But wherever you end up, and whatever your budget, you'll be treated to some of Africa's most enduringly beautiful scenery, spectacular sunrises, liveliest birdlife and welcoming people.

Based in Johannesburg, Philip Briggs spends about half his time travelling the highways and byways of Africa.

Published in Travel Africa Edition Nineteen: Spring 2002.Text is subject to Worldwide Copyright (c)