Best African Safari Lodges & Hotels

Sand Rivers was exceptional because we had a private guide for just the two of us, the opportunity to take a boat trip upriver and do some fishing in addition to the standard game drives was also a nice change.

- D Shafer

We loved all the places you recommended, particularly Sayari Camp. The timing was incredible-- there were hardly any tourists and we got to see everything from rhinos to river crossings.


- S. Draper

Serena was a really great Camp! We loved it… we went to the Serengeti last year to see the migration and the game here in Selous doesn’t have the same numbers but it feels really wild and like you really are in the middle of nowhere. We saw no other vehicles at all on our second day which was amazing, it was just us and the wilderness. We stalked a group of 4 lions all afternoon as they prowled around. The sundowners out on the boat are amazing too, one of the most romantic things I think we did on our honeymoon. 
- B. Davies

This is a beautiful hotel that has a very personal feel to it (as good as a big hotel can go) and a great location in the park.  It has the edge on other hotels of its size, as the small huts allow for a real sense of privacy and feeling of being out in the bush.  It is a perfect place to spend a few days year round, but particularly during the migration months of May through to July.  If the more authentic option is something you are looking for we would recommend the mobile tented camps first, such as Dunia, but for the those wanting pools and for groups of children it is a good choice. 

Serengeti - Serengeti Under Canvas. They have a great reputation and their service lived up to it. Our butler, Alex, was quick to prepare a shower and quick to offer a drink (we loved Amarula and Afrikoko liqueurs). Their chef was great.... we especially liked his soup recipes. They varied our eating arrangements to sometimes be at single tables on the lawn to sometimes having all the tables being under the dining fly. There's nothing that can compare to the romantic atmosphere of a gourmet dinner by candlelight in the wilds of the Serengeti. On the downside of Under Canvas.... they are not on top of their maintenance issues. The tent had missing zipper pulls, including the inside pull on the main door/flap, and had zippers that had ripped away from the canvas. The safari vehicles had plastic floor covering that was worn though and cracked. It didn't make the vehicles any less useful, but for the premium price paid for Under Canvas, it would seem they could afford to keep things close to 5-star quality. It also seemed odd that the staff was not as concerned regarding safety issues .... At our other camps, when we were escorted to/from our tents at night, the camp personnel would be shining flashlights / torches into the woods and grass to see if there were any animals and it was obvious that they were watching out for our (and their) safety. At Under Canvas, there did not seem to be any care taken when moving through the camp at night. The butler walked with us with a flashlight, but did not shine it anywhere but on the path, then he walked back to the staff area with no flashlight for himself. We probably wouldn't have noticed, so much, except that at Oliver's, when we were escorted to our tent, when the flashlight was shown through the grass, many eyes were looking back at us. All benign eyes, luckily. Under Canvas had all sorts of animal sounds at night, but the personnel didn't take any extra care to assure anything near our path was benign. Now to the wildlife. You suggested we stay 4 nights in Serengeti to increase the chances of seeing a crossing. Well we got to see wildebeest crossing the Mara River (our guide said 5000 or more) within 2 hours of landing at Kogatende!!!!!! It took our breath away. We had just landed at Kogatende and the guide picking us up said that we should hurry because the wildebeest looked like they were ready to cross, and he asked them to wait for us :) It was awesome. We watched them for a couple of hours gathering to the left, then turning and running to the right bank of the river, going down to the river's edge and then back again. And then all of a sudden one leaped into the river.......and we had a crossing. The vehicles all made a mad dash for the river's edge and for 19 minutes there were wildebeest leaping into the river, being swept downstream against the current, toward hippos and crocs, but from our vantage point able to make it safely to our side of the river. The only sounds were that of wildebeest gruntings and their hoofs pounding along the riverbanks. After 19 minutes all that were going to cross had and there was silence. It was so surreal - we were totally overcome by the moment! Our guide, David was with us for this and all our drives. He was very knowledgeable and really worked hard to find wildlife for us such as lions including cubs, leopard, zebra, impala, buffalo, giraffe, ostrich including nest with eggs, buzzards, kites, eagles, klipspringer, eland, waterbuck, topi, oribi, baby hyena, rock hyrax, grants and thomsons gazelles, even a dung beetle, and on and on and on.

J Brewe - J Brewe