Best Hotels & Lodges

Pitched deep in NG12 — a 90,000-hectare sprawl of northern Okavango — Expeditions Camp is the brainchild of third-generation guide Ralph Bousfield, and it shows. Eight Meru tents sit directly on the forest floor (no raised decks, no frills) beneath ebony trees and facing a seasonal floodplain. The aesthetic is 1920s expedition with four-posters draped with mosquito nets, Persian rugs over levelled sand, bone-handled silver cutlery, and a well-stocked drinks cabinet that seems to refill itself. It's lightly nostalgic without overdoing it, rather letting the Delta do all the talking.

Taking the Governors' tried, tested and truly excellent formula to the next level, Il Moran is the one for honeymooners, couples and anyone looking for a little piece of secluded privacy. In a quintessential and wonderfully romantic Mara picture, the 10 tents wind their way down a bend of the Mara River in the beautiful Musiara Sector of the reserve, shaded by the branches of ancient fig trees. With handsome Victorian bathtubs to fall into at the end of an active day and long, lazy candlelit dinners under a starry sky to look forward to, you might find yourself never wanting to leave.

Saruni Mara Camp and its sister tented camp, Saruni Wild, lie in the Mara North Conservancy, a private wilderness covering more than 30,000 hectares outside the Masai Mara Reserve. The sanctuary is a partnership between conservationists, investors and 800-plus Masai landowners, for whom this is the first time they have received income from wildlife. The camps lie in the path of the Great Migration (July to November) and the less well-known Loita Hills migration (December to May), which sees thousands of wildebeest arriving at the conservancy. So there's plenty to see and, to top it all, this boutique lodge offers top-quality service.

The annual cyclical migration of two million wildebeest, zebra and antelope is one of the most dramatic spectacles on the planet. Compelled by their ever-constant search for food, these herbivores trace a migratory path through northern Tanzania's Serengeti, while braving crocodile-infested rivers and the constant threat of skulking predators. Nyasi Migrational Camp positions itself to witness the best of this great migration from mid-July to November. To keep things quaint and personal, there are just eight tents, ensuring quality hospitality and loads of peace and quiet. You'll be shown the ways of the wilderness by a private guide so every safari is at your own pace!

Tucked into a quiet corner of the Mara North Conservancy, Acacia House is your very own country house in the bush. A charming three-bedroom house, it’s perfectly positioned looking out over a busy waterhole and those iconic Mara plains, with nothing but birdsong, warthog grunts and the occasional lion roar to disturb the peace. With a dedicated team, your own guide and vehicle, and a wonderfully relaxed, do-as-you-please rhythm, it’s made for families and friends who like their freedom – and a good dollop of wildlife, too.