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.
Xugana Island Lodge is a luxury game lodge situated on Xugana Island, overlooking the Xugana Lagoon. Set in the heart of the Okavago Delta in Botswana, the lodge neighbours the diverse Moremi Game Reserve. Xugana Lagoon is renowned as one of the most magnificent permanent water sites in the delta, offering spectacular game viewing and birding opportunities.
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.
Perched on a rocky hillside inside Pilanesberg National Park, Tshukudu Bush Lodge is a small and intimate safari lodge offering a quieter, more secluded bush experience close to Johannesburg. With just a handful of chalets and sweeping views over the reserve, it is particularly well-suited to couples looking for a romantic safari getaway in a malaria-free reserve.
About 140 km south of Nairobi, Amboseli National Park is second only to the Maasai Mara as the most popular safari area in Kenya. Tortilis Camp is recognised as the only boutique safari camp in the area, famous for its huge elephant population and scenic beauty with the iconic snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro acting as a backdrop.
The unique Tongabezi Lodge is tucked away in ebony trees on the banks of the Zambezi River, just upstream of Victoria Falls in Zambia. This exclusive lodge is ideal for an intimate romantic getaway. It offers warm Zambian hospitality, sweeping views over the Zambezi and luxury safari trips.
Tintswalo Safari Lodge is a nostalgic, luxury safari lodge situated in the Greater Kruger's Manyeleti Private Game Reserve. Nestled between the trees on the banks of the seasonal Nwaswitsontso River, Tintswalo Safari Lodge has six suites, a family suite and a fully-inclusive presidential suite, all aptly named after intrepid 19th-century explorers. Attention to detail, excellent guides and superb Big Five game viewing make Tintswalo the top choice for luxury safari accommodation in the Manyeleti.
Tintswalo Atlantic is a secluded, award-winning, 5-star boutique lodge in Cape Town located on the Atlantic Ocean shoreline at the base of Table Mountain National Park. Surrounded by nature, guests can enjoy panoramic mountain and ocean views that include Sentinel mountain peak and Hout Bay Harbour. Tintswalo Atlantic's nine luxury suites are beautifully decorated, each one taking inspiration from a different island.
Thorntree River Lodge, situated in the Mosi Oa Tunya (Smoke That Thunders) National Park in Zambia, provides luxury accommodation in an area known for its abundant wildlife. Each modern tented suite sits right on the river bank with uninterrupted views over the Zambezi. The lodge is about 15 kilometres upstream from the breathtaking Victoria Falls and offers an extensive range of African experiences and activities.
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.
Situated along the eastern side of Hwange National Park, The Hide is about two hours' drive south from Hwange's main camp. It's one of the oldest, most established camps in Hwange. All tented suites and the main camp with its upper-level hide overlook an active vlei and waterhole. One of the best features of this camp is the eye-level game viewing hide right at the waterhole.
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.
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.
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.
Located in a secluded valley in the foothills of Korannaberg Mountain Range in Tswalu Kalahari Game Reserve, Tarkuni is a luxurious exclusive-use, private homestead that was once the Oppenheimer family's private Tswalu residence. Tarkuni Homestead is ideal for families with children and small groups of friends who want to reconnect and soak up the tranquillity of the green Kalahari.
Situated up on a hill on the border of the spectacular Tarangire National Park, Treetops offers magical tented rooms on stilts built around beautiful trees. Each spacious room is open at the front and has its own balcony with panoramic views across the bush. A waterhole at the camp provides regular sightings of lion, leopard and elephant.
Tanda Tula Safari Camp offers bygone-era luxury in 12 East African-style tents. Situated in lush riverine surrounds, Tanda Tula overlooks the Nharalumi river bed in the Timbavati Game Reserve, which shares unfenced borders with the famous Kruger National Park. It's a game-rich area famous for the White Lions of the Timbavati.
Recently renovated (April 2018) Stanley's Camp is an elegant tented camp located off the southern tip of Chief's Island in the Okavango Delta in Botswana. As it's situated in a 260,000-acre private concession, off-road game drives, bush walks and night drives are permitted. Its remote location ensures exclusivity and provides great game- and bird-viewing activities by vehicle, by boat or on foot. The camp offers expansive views over the surrounding floodplain.
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.
Somalisa Camp is reminiscent of bygone heydays ... luxury and elegance coupled with untamed, pristine Africa. It offers sweeping views out over the grassy plains and overlooks an ancient, seasonal floodplain with a perennial pan where animals often congregate. As part of a concession, flexible game viewing activities are allowed, including night drives with huge spotlights and bush walks with a knowledgeable, expert ranger.
Solio Lodge is situated in a wildlife conservancy in the game-rich Laikipia district. Solio Game Reserve is recognised globally as the most successful private rhino breeding reserve in Kenya, where both white and black rhino live in harmony with plentiful herds of buffalo, zebra, giraffe and numerous other big game species.
Located on the edge of a large dam in wildlife-rich Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, Simbavati Waterside offers affordable luxury safari lodge accommodation for couples, families, groups of friends and solo travellers in a beautiful, sophisticated and intimate setting.
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.
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 in the starkly beautiful Hartmann Valley in the remote north-western corner of Namibia, Serra Cafema Camp is luxurious, intimate and peaceful. It offers guests authentic interaction with the fascinating Himba – one of the world's few remaining semi-nomadic peoples.
Why not chat to one of our safari experts who can answer all your questions and help you design your dream trip to Africa.
