Luxury lodges offer high levels of comfort, service, and exclusivity, typically in prime wildlife areas or scenic locations. These properties often feature spacious suites, premium facilities, and highly personalised service, along with excellent guiding in safari areas.
What qualifies as "luxury" varies by destination. In South Africa, this may include a wide range of high-end lodges, while in more remote regions like Botswana, most lodges fall into the luxury category due to their location, limited access, and higher operating costs.
As a result, safari pricing is not directly comparable across countries. A luxury lodge in South Africa may cost the same as a mid-range lodge in Botswana, so these categories should be understood relative to each destination rather than as fixed price bands.
Not sure how luxury lodges compare across different destinations? See our Safari Accommodation Price Guide.
Arusha Coffee Lodge is set on a beautiful old coffee plantation outside Arusha, with the old Plantation House housing the restaurant, bar and lounge. It offers 30 Plantation Houses with suites and rooms, spread across the lush grounds, all en-suite and luxuriously decorated, with indoor fireplaces. There are a number of restaurants, boutiques and shops on the property and coffee tours are offered. Day trips to Arusha National Park, Arusha town and Ngorongoro can be arranged.
The Cape Grace is a multi-award winning 5-star hotel, perfectly located on its own private quay in the heart of Cape Town's vibrant V&A Waterfront. Set against the backdrop of iconic Table Mountain, the Cape Grace embodies its name in history, elegance and sophistication. Enjoy all the creature comforts you'd expect from such a world-class luxury hotel and a range of unexpected extras that will pleasantly surprise you.
Tau Game Lodge (Tau meaning 'lion' in Tswana) is in the far north-western corner of the malaria-free, Big 5 Madikwe Game Reserve. The vegetation here is less dense Kalahari-thornveld, easier for game spotting. The main lodge and luxury safari chalets all look out over the vast waterhole where a pageant of wildlife comes to drink at all hours of the day and night.
This luxury safari camp is set at the edge of riverine forest, overlooking the sweeping plains of the Maasai Mara, and it lies within the path of the incredible annual Great Migration. At Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp, you can expect an authentic African safari experience with legendary Kenyan hospitality.
This luxurious boutique hotel offers a relaxed and elegant stay in one of Cape Town's favourite areas. As part of the More group of hotels, you can expect a warm welcome, superb service and personal attention to ensure your every comfort.
Kulala Desert Lodge and the exclusive Little Kulala are set in the private Kulala Wilderness Reserve, close to Namibia's famous Sossusvlei dunes, Dead Vlei and Sesriem Canyon. Local wildlife is remarkably adapted and endemic, from the stately gemsbok to the tiny 'barking' gecko.
Sossusvlei Desert Lodge lies in the heart of Namibia’s ancient Namib Desert, where it offers guests serene silence and romantic luxury in an extraordinary, dramatic landscape. It’s a place of endless space, broad horizons and some of the most fascinating desert-adapted creatures on the planet.
A small, private safari lodge, Rhulani Safari Lodge offers 5-star luxury accommodation and the chance to spot the Big 5 and a wide variety of wildlife, with an unhurried, uncrowded safari experience. Malaria-free Madikwe has incredibly diverse plant life and topography, attracting a wide variety of wild animals.
Situated in the far north of the Kruger National Park on the ancestral land of the Makuleke tribe, The Outpost is a contemporary architectural gem offering exceptional safari lodge accommodation. Overlooking the Luvuhu River Valley, guests are treated to panoramic views of the African bush and the chance to watch wildlife roaming freely between Zimbabwe, Mozambique and South Africa.
Simbavati is a family-orientated safari lodge, situated in the Timbavati Private Game Reserve, which forms part of the Greater Kruger National Park. The lodge offers a choice of six luxury safari tents, two tented pool suites and three luxury, two-bedroom chalets, all air-conditioned, privately situated with en-suite facilities and ideal for those wanting to experience an authentic but affordable African safari experience. Open vehicle game drives afford guests great game viewing opportunities and a chance to see the Big 5, as well as the elusive white lion in its natural environment.
Arathusa Safari Lodge is a reasonably affordable game lodge situated in the northern Sabi Sand Game Reserve, which forms part of the greater Kruger National Park. The lodge looks out over a waterhole and the African bush.
Situated on a rocky ridge in malaria-free, Big 5 Madikwe Game Reserve, family-friendly Impodimo Game Lodge offers fabulous views and good value for money. Qualified safari guides, Shangaan trackers and 7-seater game-viewing vehicles give you a personalised safari experience. The lodge has tailored child-friendly programmes for kids, including 'bush bumble' game drives.
A 45-minute drive from Nairobi's main city airports, The Emakoko is a lodge built into the steep slopes of the Mbagathi River valley. All 10 rooms face the river and the Nairobi National Park which is home to the Big 5 and a great variety of wildlife and birds.
Chobe Savanna Lodge is a luxury establishment overlooking the Chobe River in Namibia's Eastern Caprivi. The lodge offers spectacular views of the Chobe River and the vast floodplains of the Chobe National Park's Puku Flats, with its abundance of wildlife.
Ngala, meaning 'lion' in Shangaan, is situated at the junction of the Mopane forests and the Timbavati flood plains, sharing unfenced borders with the Kruger National Park. This gracious, colonial-style safari lodge provides an unbeatable family safari experience.
Well-located in Madikwe's western sector, Tuningi Safari Lodge overlooks a small waterhole which attracts a large variety of wildlife – by day and by night. Exclusive luxury, excellent cuisine and superb hospitality will make your safari an experience to remember.
Named for Joy Adamson's famous lioness, Elsa's Kopje in Meru National Park reflects Joy's "Born Free" legacy and era. The park is wild, remote and wonderfully uncrowded. Situated in a very scenic part of Kenya, just 10 km north of the equator, between Mount Kenya and the Nyambeni Mountains, its landscape is incredibly diverse, ranging from open plains to dense thickets and wooded grasslands, which also attracts a surprising variety of game.
Inyati Private Game Lodge is situated in the western sector of the Sabi Sand Game Reserve, one of the largest and most prestigious conservancies of Greater Kruger National Park. Its superb river frontage attracts a great diversity of wildlife. Guests are accommodated in 11 luxury thatched chalets with spectacular views of the surrounding, unspoilt bush.
With beautiful panoramic views of the towering column of spray rising from the Victoria Falls, The Elephant Camp is the ideal intimate, peaceful retreat. Situated 10 km from the Falls on its Zimbabwean side, The Elephant Camp offers 12 exclusive, luxury tented suites and plenty of opportunities to get up close with the Wild Horizons elephants.
Hamiltons Tented Camp in the Kruger National Park offers luxury accommodation in six luxurious, fully-equipped safari tents. Styled according to an African safari of the early 19th century, Hamiltons captures the romance and elegance of a bygone era. The lodge is in an excellent game viewing area within a private concession in the Kruger National Park.
Nestled on the banks of a perennial river, Kambaku River Sands offers an affordable yet luxurious safari experience in the Timbavati Private Game Reserve. Unfenced and sharing borders with Kruger National Park, the camp allows wildlife to roam freely, bringing safari enthusiasts right into the heart of nature.
Aptly named, Desert Rhino Camp has the largest number of free-ranging black rhino in Africa. Set in the sprawling, rocky Palmwag Concession, Desert Rhino Camp enjoys spectacular scenery and a surprising abundance of desert-adapted wildlife.
Simbavati Hilltop Lodge is an exclusive, river-facing luxury lodge set in the private Timbavati Game Reserve which shares unfenced borders with the Kruger National Park. This allows the Big Five and many other animals to move freely over more than 20,000 km² of pure wilderness.
Set on the banks of the Mara River in Kenya's Mara North Conservancy, Karen Blixen Camp is a luxury tented safari camp that echoes back to the bygone days of the original safari adventurer. From the comfort of their private veranda, guests can watch elephant, giraffe, zebra and impala gather at the Mara River to drink.
Why not chat to one of our safari experts who can answer all your questions and help you design your dream trip to Africa.
