Travel and Leisure Worlds Best Awards for number 1 tour operator in the world 2024 and number 2 tour operator in the world 2025

We're one of the World's Best Tour Operators!

Voted No.1 in 2024 and No.2 in 2025 by Travel+Leisure

Accommodation

Best Hotels & Lodges

Timbuktu Travel curates 6392 handpicked hotels and lodges across Africa, the Indian Ocean islands and beyond — from classic bush camps in the Serengeti and Okavango Delta to barefoot-luxe beach retreats in Zanzibar, Mozambique and the Maldives. Our collection spans iconic safari destinations including Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana and South Africa, alongside island escapes, mountain gorilla hideaways and Indian subcontinent retreats. Every property has been personally assessed by our consultants, who can match you to the camps, lodges and hotels that fit your style and travel rhythm. Browse the full collection below, or speak to a Timbuktu specialist to start planning.

Letamo at Qwabi Private Game Reserve

Waterberg

From $290 per person/night

Family fun in untamed wilderness

In this untamed wilderness, you’ll be met with vibrant hospitality and a palpable passion for conservation. An authentic safari destination set in one of only two UNESCO-declared savannah biospheres in Africa, QWABI Private Game Reserve presents you with a unique, immersive safari experience. Here, you will be surrounded by a vibrant, ancient landscape coloured with a water-rich ecosystem, remarkable sightings and scenery, and bespoke luxury at the lodge

Butterfly Cottage

Waterberg

2 Rooms

From $20 per person/night

Butterfly Cottage was the first construction project of Anthony Baber. He made it for himself and his bride, before he went on to build world famous lodges. It is a beautiful natural stone and thatched cottage with a spacious open plan living/dining/kitchen area, one double bedroom and a bathroom. There are two very comfortable sofa beds in the living area for use if required. The cottage has a bathroom, but there is no shower. Butterfly Cottage is situated near the swimming pool and has a lovely large braai area where you can sit and enjoy the stunning sunsets. Butterfly lends itself perfectly to either a romantic break for two or a family with young children.

Bushwillow Cottage

Waterberg

2 Rooms

From $20 per person/night

Nestled in the heart of the Waterberg plateau, Waterberg Cottages offers it’s guests a haven of tranquillity, relaxation, fun and chance to enjoy the beautiful Bushveld. Bushwillow Cottage is a two story unit with the main bedroom upstairs boasting a king bed and on suit bathroom with a bath. The downstairs bedroom has 3 single beds in and an on suit bathroom with a shower. There is also a lounge with a fireplace, dining room and fully equipped kitchen. The cottage also has a mezzanine next to the main bedroom with 2 sleeper couches as well as a stoep and an outside braai area. Wifi is available at no extra charge.

Thabametsi Treehouse

Waterberg

1 Rooms

From $1.3K per person/night

Thabametsi Treehouse is the newest addition to MORE Treehouse Experiences. Separate from the lodge and located at the foot of a mountain, Thabametsi affords complete privacy with simply spectacular views. Its 6m-long Martini Step deck is the perfect place to enjoy an infinite view over the Marakele’s verdant expanse – perhaps with a chilled sundowner. Thabametsi Treehouse is one very impressive creation – solar powered and built on two levels, with a bedroom, full shower room facilities, and dining and lounge areas.

Speke Bay Lodge

Mwanza

From $110 per person/night

Speke Bay Lodge is located on the south-eastern shore of Lake Victoria in Tanzania, East Africa. It is 15 kilometres from the Serengeti National Park, and 125 kilometres north of Mwanza. Speke Bay is part of Speke Gulf, named after the famous explorer John Hanning Speke, who, in 1858, discovered Lake Victoria to be the source of the Nile. Embraced by savannah, the Lodge looks like a small village, stretched out along the shores of the lake. The main buildings and luxury accommodation are round in form, built to perfection, painted white and thatched with a grass roof in the traditional style of the local tribe, the Sukuma. Since the Lodge is outside but close to the Serengeti National Park, it is the ideal place to start or end your safari, or relax during your travels. Excursions in boats and on mountain bikes are offered, so you can truly experience Africa; you can fish from the beach for Tilapia, enjoy the peacefulness, or wander around on the Lodge's 100 hectares of savannah, looking for birds.

Roka Naoshima

Naoshima Island

11 Rooms

From $350 per person/night

All the eleven suites are housed in a one-storey accommodation wing. Open and comfortable with open-air baths, the space invites you to unwind and just be. In stillness and silence, you hear birds chirping and notice how the garden is designed incorporating the natural environment as its background.

Benesse House Park

Naoshima Island

From $380 per person/night

Built on a gentle slope surrounded by the nature of the Seto Inland Sea, this is one of the few wooden buildings by Ando.

From the verandas of the guest rooms, you can see outdoor artworks scattered across the green lawn and the Seto Inland Sea, with the mountains of Shikoku and the blue sky beyond. The hotel also features an art space designed by the artist himself, a lounge available only to guests staying at the hotel, a terrace restaurant, a shop, and a park hall that can accommodate up to 120 people.

Q Boutique Resort Malindi

Watamu

31 Rooms

From $70 per person/night

Swahili charm with European polish at this garden sanctuary just a stroll from the beach.

Part of the Q Experience Collection, this relatively new addition to Malindi's boutique scene has quickly made its mark. Set in a peaceful residential pocket just ten minutes from pristine beaches, the property blends Swahili coastal textures with refined European styling across 31 spacious rooms and suites. Lush tropical gardens provide a verdant backdrop for daily yoga sessions, whilst the on-site spa offers treatments rooted in local traditions. With coastal cuisine that celebrates the freshest catch and an easy-going atmosphere that never feels stuffy, it's the sort of place where you can genuinely unwind without sacrificing comfort.

Turtle Bay Beach Club

Watamu

145 Rooms

From $130 per person/night

Turtle Bay Beach Club is situated on 200 metres of beach on the edge of the internationally acclaimed Watamu National Marine Park, one of the best in Kenya. The hotel is set in 10 acres of tropically landscaped gardens with 145 rooms, three restaurants, three bars, entertainment lounge and swimming pool, and as such makes up one of the most extensive all-inclusive properties in Kenya. A supervised Kid’s Club is open daily from 10 am – 1pm and 3pm-9pm, all Kids between 4-12 years can join in and have fun with action packed games, swimming competitions, arts and crafts, field trips, cooking lessons, videos and much more.

The Beach Palace

Watamu

9 Rooms

An exclusive luxury villa to experience the wonderful Kenyan white beach.

One of the most glamorous and exciting houses on the East African Coast, a dramatic, luxurious, and expansive new private home set in three peaceful beachfront acres in Jacaranda Bay, between Malindi and Watamu, on Kenya’s north coast. The Beach Palace, also known as Beach Palazzo, features 9 air-conditioned ensuite bedrooms and a spectacular 40-meter elevated infinity pool. Cool, refined, secluded, versatile, and sophisticated accommodation.

Azura Villa

Watamu

4 Rooms

From $490 per person/night

Offering uninterrupted views, Azura is the ideal destination for a stylish beach retreat

Azura Villa, a brand-new residence which opened its doors in October 2023, offers a tranquil escape for those in search of a private experience in Watamu, Kenya. The villa comprises four ensuite rooms, an integrated indoor-outdoor living space with outdoor dining and seating areas, and a separate pergola with a barbecue and a fully equipped kitchen to enhance the outdoor living experience. The villa offers uninterrupted views of the surrounding natural landscape, including the mangroves, Mida Creek, and the Arabuko Sokoke Forest. With no other houses in sight, guests can enjoy a peaceful and undisturbed connection with the pristine beauty of these diverse ecosystems.

Jardim da Amazônia

Mato Grosso

From $140 per person/night

Jardim da Amazônia is a family-run ecolodge tucked into a private reserve at the southern edge of the Amazon basin in Mato Grosso, where decades of tireless conservation work have created a haven for nearly 600 bird species and seven species of primates, including the critically endangered Cone-billed Tanager. Expect comfortable chalets, excellent home cooking, a spring-fed swimming pool, and boat safaris along the Rio Claro through untouched forest.

Zannier Hotels, Bai San Ho

Phu Yen

From $390 per person/night

A mile-long private beach that doubles as your personal playground.

Tucked away on a rather spectacular peninsula in Phu Yen, this architectural tribute to village life sprawls across 245 acres of prime Vietnamese coastline. From hilltop perches to beachfront nooks, 73 private villas offer three rather distinct ways to wake up - to misty mountains, terraced rice paddies, or the sound of gentle waves. Down at the beach, fishermen deliver their morning catch to thatched huts where Grandma Hai's sacred recipes work their magic.