Safari lodges are permanent accommodation located within or near wildlife areas, offering a comfortable base for game drives and other safari activities. These lodges vary widely in style and price, from simple, functional properties to high-end luxury lodges.
This category focuses on the classic lodge-style safari experience, typically with fixed structures rather than tented accommodation.
Situated on the eastern side of the spectacular Ngorongoro Crater, the Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge offers comfortable accommodation with breathtaking views. Watching the sun set over the crater from your private balcony or the welcoming central lodge area is an experience not to be missed. With easy access to the road down to the crater floor and its concentration of wildlife, including the Big Five, this lodge is a great base at Ngorongoro Crater.
Rhino Walking Safaris incorporates the luxurious Rhino Post Lodge and the beautiful tented Plains Camp, offering a unique safari experience within the Kruger National Park, tracking the Big 5 by foot and sleeping out under the stars. Any combination of multi-day walks, game drives and sleep-outs on raised wooden platforms can be arranged (weather permitting).
Pondoro Game Lodge is a small, owner-managed, luxury game lodge situated on the banks of the Olifants River in the 40 000 ha exclusive Balule Game Reserve, a big 5 game reserve which forms part of the greater Kruger National Park. Pondoro offers luxury chalets and suites and is excellent value for money.
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.
Bakubung Bush Lodge is one of the most established safari lodges in Pilanesberg National Park, offering a lively, resort-style safari experience close to Johannesburg. With a wide range of facilities and family-friendly accommodation, it is a popular option for travellers looking for an affordable safari getaway in a malaria-free reserve.
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.
In addition to daily game drives through the scenic and game-rich Congreve Conservancy, Mbweha Camp in the Lake Nakuru area offers a variety of activities. This includes visits to hot springs at nearby Lake Elementaita, local prehistoric sites and the Menengai Crater as well as bicycle safaris and hot air ballooning over the majestic Great Rift Valley
Ivory Tree Game Lodge is a large, well-appointed safari lodge in Pilanesberg National Park, offering a comfortable lodge-based safari experience close to Johannesburg. With a wide range of room types and family-friendly facilities, it suits travellers looking for an accessible Big Five safari at an affordable to mid-range price point.
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.
Notten's Bush Camp is an affordable, rustic and comfortable safari lodge in the southern sector of the Sabi Sand Reserve. The lodge accommodates guests in nine tastefully furbished suites, all en-suite with a private viewing deck which overlooks a large plain and watering hole.
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.
Nkorho Bush Lodge is located in the northern Sabi Sand Game Reserve, a conservation area covering more than two million hectares. The reserve shares unfenced borders with the world-famous Kruger National Park. As a result, the diversity of wildlife to be seen at Nkorho is breathtaking and guests are often treated to sightings of some of the Big 5, even from the lodge itself, which overlooks a waterhole and open plain. Nkorho Bush Lodge offers reasonably-priced, comfortable accommodation for 16 guests in 8 en-suite thatched chalets.
Ruaha River Lodge is spectacularly situated overlooking the Ruaha River, one of the lifeblood drinking sources for the abundant game, especially during the dry season. Ruaha National Park, known for its prolific elephant population and large prides of lion, offers visitors incredible scenery and the safari experience of a lifetime.
Camp Shawu is situated in a private concession area within the famous Kruger National Park, South Africa. Named after a magnificent elephant bull that frequents the area, the camp offers luxury accommodation for only 10 guests, with beautiful views over the Mpanamana Dam. In the dry season, a variety of animals gather at the dam to drink. Camp Shawu shares a vast concession area with Camp Shonga and Shishangeni Lodge, in the south-eastern part of the Kruger Park, which has an abundance of wildlife.
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.
Imbali Safari Lodge is situated in one of nine private concessions in the famous Kruger National Park, South Africa, and offers guests a fantastic African safari experience. The lodge offers luxurious 5-star accommodation with a private deck and jacuzzi. At Imbali, you can enjoy open-vehicle game drives through some of the best wildlife areas in Kruger.
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.
Shepherd's Tree Game Lodge is an intimate safari lodge in Pilanesberg National Park, offering a more traditional bush-lodge atmosphere for travellers seeking a quieter safari close to Johannesburg. With fewer rooms and a more secluded feel than many Pilanesberg lodges, it suits couples and travellers looking for a more authentic lodge experience.
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.
Not sure where to go or which safari is right for you? One of our Africa Safari Specialists can help you work it out.
