Best Hotels & Lodges

Outside the North-eastern border of the Serengeti National Park, perched amongst the Kuku Hills in a 10 000-hectare wilderness concession, sits Klein’s camp. Time it right and you can expect to be surrounded by lions, leopard, elephants, buffalo, gazelle and within reach of the Great Migration, all encased in a 360-degree view over the grassy plains and wooded hillocks down to the Grumeti River. Here, service is king and care is taken to provide an exceptional wildlife and safari experience all within a private oasis of old style safari luxury.

Set on the edge of Cape Town's beloved V&A Waterfront, where designer shops attract the chic set and everyone else comes to stroll, listen to music and enjoy pretty fine pizzas and other delights, is the uber-polished Queen Victoria Hotel. This small inn is indeed fit for royalty, with its intimate spaces and service that's both discreet and personalised. Visitors here generally want high-end accommodation and hospitality, and they get it in spades. There's a glut of shops on the doorstep, and sweeping beaches and mountains within easy reach by road. And the views from the hotel warrant a "Wow"!

Kusini lies in the southern reaches of Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park, close to the rocky outcrops called Moru Kopjes. One of Kusini's huge drawcards is its remote location – with no other camps nearby, guests are treated to exceptional game viewing with little chance, if any, of encountering other visitors. Six lavishly appointed safari tents make the most of the camp’s commanding position overlooking the plains. This region is renowned for its thriving population of resident game, notably lion and cheetah, and spectacular general wildlife viewing during the annual migration, which usually happens here between December and May.

Tanzania is one of Africa’s most iconic wilderness regions, with vast savanna grasslands, undulating mountain ranges, a labyrinth of waterways and pristine stretches of woodland. This diverse terrain supports an equally diverse ecology, and has perhaps the highest density of wildlife anywhere on the continent. Siringit Serengeti Camp is a brand new addition to the luxury safari circuit, situated in prime position in the heart of the Serengeti National Park. The stylish new camp offers classic, tented East African panache (with all the luxurious touches) in an idyllic setting renowned for natural beauty and abundant wildlife.

Those who know little about the bush are still likely to have heard of the Serengeti and its annual Great Migration. It's a dramatic, often televised event, and Nyikani Camp sits at the intersection of it all. Set up in the busy migratory region of northern Tanzania's Mara section of the Serengeti, this small mobile camp takes advantage of key river crossings from late May to mid-November, when wildebeest and zebra migrate for more fertile grazing. With just eight canvas tents, the in-camp experience is much like those classic safaris featured in travellers' tales. This is high adventure, Serengeti-style...

Established in the 1960s as the permanent camp of former professional hunter (and extravagantly moustached) George Dove, Ndutu Lodge flickers with stories of wild adventures. The camp lies just north of the rich Ngorongoro Conservation Area, overlooking Ndutu Soda Lake. With rustic accommodation and a folksy atmosphere (complete with resident genets that climb the rafters above the bar nightly), this is a good-value choice for unfussy safari-goers who're longing to witness one of Earth's most astounding spectacles. Visit between December and April, when the earth shudders as thousands of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle thunder past in search of greener grazing.