MoreAfrica

Here i will give just few of the hotels,Resorts, Lodges and camps that are top in Tanzania.

For safaris
Elewana Collection (Arusha Coffee Lodge, The Manor, Ngorongoro, Serengeti Migration Camp and Tarangire Treetops camp.)

Andbeyond Collection (Lake Manyara TreeLodge, Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, Serengeti Kleins Camp, Serengeti Under Canvas.)

Singita Grumeti Collections ( Singita Sasakwa Lodge, Singita Faru Faru Lodge, Singita Mara River Tented Camp)

ASilia Africa ( Sayari Camp, Dunia Camp, Olakira camp, Ubuntu camp, Oliver's camp)

Lemala camps, Seren Camps, Four Season Lodge, Bushtops camp, Mbagaleti Lodges, Mbali Mbali Camps, Tanganyika Wilderness camps and Ang'ata Camps

i have just mentioned few anyone who have visited these properties and what was your experience and any other person with any property that he/she visited that i have left out.

feel free to share with us your experience and if yu have questions you can as well ask for advice.

RichardInSF

Hi, MoreAfrica, and welcome to Flyertalk!

Since you offer to give advice, may I ask if you are a travel agent or work in the safari industry in some manner?

Thanks!

needmorevacay

We stayed with mostly Asilia lodges for our Tanzania safari. Absolutely loved it. We chose Asilia because they have mobile luxury tented camps that move with the migration. The dinners were beyond amazing and better than many high end restaurants we've been to. We also opted Asilia over &Beyond Under Canvas because we could have our own private guide and driver. It sounded like &Beyond would be in a group which could vary from being alone or with others based on occupancy.

The only negative about Asilia would be the boxed lunches that they offer if you go out all day on a game drive. They weren't bad and better than others we saw, but certainly not equal to a lunch you'd receive dining in person at the camp. We later realized it was far better to go out early w/ a packed breakfast, return for a gourmet lunch, take a nap, and game drive in the afternoon.

MoreAfrica

Hi RichardinSF, yes i am, i work in Safari industry here in Tanzania and i have worked in Kenya as well.

@Needmorevacay, this is great, Asilia is among the camps and Lodges that i have enjoyed and i can proudly recommend. When come comes to private game drives these are always possible. and most lodges and camps always have the options; one drive in clients, flying packages ( where clients can share the safari vehicle or hire a private one which can use it inclusively by themselves for their entire stay. Of course option of doing to game drives a day is good but, i always prefer clients doing full day game drive with unlimited game drive this will allow you to cover and have high chances of seeing big five rather than doing morning and afternoon game drive. Because sometime Migration for instance is far from the camp or lodge. but at the end of the day, it depends with what clients wants .

DSI

Hello and thank you for the helpful post. Which of these resorts do you think are best for a 5.5 year old? And if we are flying into Nairobi (from Seychelles) which resorts have a large enough footprint to make all the flights/transitions efficient and provide the most value? I don't mind hoping over the Tanzania, but I honestly don't know if that'll mean I constantly have to get visas checked.

Jasper2009

Has anyone stayed at the Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti by chance?

Any feedback on which safari activities are included in the rate (and what approx. prices for non-included activities are)?

KI-NRT

Haven't stayed there, and I can't imagine staying there.

- 77 rooms(!)
- More of a hotel than an African safari lodge (or camp)

Basically, you're not going to get anywhere near an authentic and intimate bush experience here.

Not to mention the hotel is located in an area that has significant vehicle clustering. There are plenty of better choices in the Serengeti, methinks.

Jasper2009

Thanks for the response!

I don't necessarily disagree - although their prices are semi-reasonable *if* they not only include all meals and drinks incl. wine/beer/spirits (as mentioned on the website), but also at least two game drives daily.

The reality is that prices are (almost insanely) high if you want to have an intimate experience and at least a 4.5*+ accommodation and want to travel during peak season.

CanuckFlyHigh

I am staying here in September: http://www.retreat-africa.com/

It looks delightfully quaint, while still being luxurious. For 4 nights in a River suite, with flights, it came to about $6K USD which isn't bad at all.

KI-NRT

Almost every lodge/camp in the Serengeti is all-inclusive in terms of food/drinks and game drives.

In terms of peak season, it depends on where you are (and when.) The Central Serengeti area is pretty awesome (almost) year-round, but the migration generally comes through during April/May and November/December. If by peak you mean July to October, then the Northern Serengeti (especially Serengeti Mara/Kogatende) is where the migration will usually be happening.

The vast majority of Central Serengeti gets jam packed with vehicles. The one exception is Namiri Plains Camp, which somehow manages to own a camp about 50km from anywhere else in a PRIME area. It's famous for having among the very best big cat sightings on the planet.

For almost $800 per person per night during high season, I think you can find much higher quality experiences than Four Seasons. It has a massive footprint (i.e. very heavily built), the area is congested with Land Cruisers and the people who stay there often care more about lounging by the pool than enjoying being one with nature. Safari parks are one of the exceptions when it comes to large luxury chains being superior to the little, independent guys. With very few exceptions (can't think of any, actually), they are not.

DSI

The four seasons would be my last choice and is not luxury to me at all. I'd do Serian, but yes, it is much more costly. Singita may be a more budget friendly option than serian?

Kagehitokiri

hotels that sell game drives >
80 room FS - ive seen reports of terrible guides
120 room fairmont mount kenya safari club

safari including game drives >
50 tent fairmont mara safari club

singita tanzania runs $2540 > $4635 plus $875 for private vehicle
exclusive-use mobile camp starts at $3810 including private vehicle

indeed only conservation companies like wilderness safaris
as well as andbeyond aka cc africa (not sure re structure)

KI-NRT, any private concessions in area?

KI-NRT

Off-hand, I believe there are two of them in the Serengeti:

1) Singita Grumeti Reserves (with Singita Sasakwa being the flagship Singita property there.)
Not only is the area exclusive to Singita, but the camps there are allowed to offer walking and horseback riding in the reserve, as well as night drives. And vehicles can go off-road, which is not permitted in the (main) Serengeti. Drawback is that outside of the main migration seasons (typically May-June and October-December), game viewing can be weaker than other parts of the Serengeti.

2) Maswa Conservancy
It's in the extreme Southwest of the Serengeti, where Legendary Mwiba Lodge and Legendary Mbono Camp are situated. We haven't been to the Maswa, mainly because the main migration season is usually between December to March, and it's also rainy season... which is why most people prefer to go up to the Mara area between July to October to witness the migration during the Serengeti's dry season. I've had 2 acquaintances stay at Mwiba, and said it was exceptional. Super quaint and private, with great food, service and guiding. And Wildebeest as far as the eye can see (they went in February and March, respectively.) Also a ton of calves at that time! As is the case with Singita Grumeti, vehicle off-roading, walking safaris and night vehicle safaris are permitting, significantly enhancing the experience vs. other camps in the Serengeti.

As an aside, there just isn't a great substitute to the Mara River migration crossings in Serengeti North. It's dry season, animals are everywhere, you'll have a high probability of river crossings and there are several terrific camps in Serengeti Mara (led by - in my opinion - Nomad's Lamai camp, which is phenomenal.) Yes, there is some vehicle clustering when the herds are crossing the river, but once you see the Wildebeest in action you'll be able to block out the distraction of having other vehicles and people around.

For migration action, the other option would be to visit the Maasai Mara during the Northern Summer. Quality is equally high, but vehicle density is much, much higher than in the Northern Serengeti. One possibility is to stay at one of the conservancies and then raid the Mara River area (in the main reserve) to check out the crossings - for every 3 nights in a conservancy, you are allowed one visit into the main Maasai Mara reserve (although you can also pay a-la-carte if you want to take daily visits to the main reserve.) Mara Plains Camp is supposedly tops in all of the greater Mara region - it's in the best conservancy (Olare Motorogi), and is closest to the area inside the main reserve where the Wildebeest often cross. The best of both worlds.

uclabruin82

I think may have changed since 2014 when I was last there but at the time, the FS did not include game drives in the rate, which was part of the reason that the rates were so much cheaper than other high end places in the area.
We have only been on one safari, but for the Serengeti portion we stayed at Serengeti Bushtops and really liked it. But that was the first stop on our first safari on our honeymoon, so I may recall that lodge more favorably

floridagal23

I have posted about our visit, but we had an excellent Singita experience last May (during Migration) at Sabora Tented Camp and Sasakwa lodge. (we love Singita and have also visited the SA lodges). We also had a few days at & Beyond Crater Lodge.