Originally Posted by SafariCraig

Hi Isochronous,



You will love a luxury safari! I have been to almost all luxury safari lodges in Africa, and I know a few colleagues of mine in the industry that have as well. I don’t want to provide their names yet because I need the moderator to let me know if I can provide them here on this thread (it might be against a rule).



To prepare you for your call or meeting with this agent, when you find them, can you tell me a little more about what you are trying to do? I am happy to give you some high-level information here and more when you reply. I am heading to northern Minnesota on a canoe trip this afternoon and will be offline camping until Sunday night. I’ll reply next week.



I’ve been to all Singita properties in Africa except Kwitonda (in Rwanda). I go there this coming December.

I’ve been to all Royal Portfolio safari lodges including Waterside and Farmstead two weeks ago.

I’ve been to all Wilderness premier level camps except Bisate. I go there this coming December. “Premier” is a term they are trying to phase-out, but it applies to Mombo, Vumbura Plains, Jao, Duma Tau and Bisate.

I’ve been to all Great Plains reserve level lodges except Tembo Plains. I’ve been to every other lodge they own on the continent in the last 15 months.

I’ve stayed at Cape Grace, One & Only, Mt. Nelson, and Silo in the past 2 years. They are luxury hotels in Cape Town. Ellerman is in the set too.

I’ve been to the single location lodes like Tswalu, Mashatu Euphorbia, Jack’s Camp (sort of Natural Selection product), Sirikoi, Segera Retreat, Lion Sands Ivory, and more. I have not been to Tengile (&Beyond), yet but will soon! Zambia also has near-five-star lodges like Chinzombo, Puku Ridge, Chiawa, Lolabezi, Thorntree, Royal Chundu, etc. The Legendary Lodge and Chem Chem alliance also offers exquisite luxury in the tented camp style in Tanzania.



Please can you also provide the time of year you want to travel? Peak season (highest price) for all of them is July-September and some also require peak prices in June and October. Most are peak price for the festive holidays, but I strongly suggest avoiding this time unless you love kids, packed airplanes, and artificially high prices (paying peak season price during the hot, rainy summer).



A peak season luxury safari in which you visit 3 lodges for 3 nights each is going to cost at least $25,000 per person. The price tag in Botswana could be significantly higher. In August 2024, a trip to Duma Tau, Mombo and Jacks Camp for nine nights using shared planes, a specialist guide at Jacks, and private safari vehicles is over $45,000 per person. You will need to decide if this is really what you mean by luxury.



The good news is this: There is almost no case where more money buys you better animal viewing. The Grumeti Reserve and Mombo are well known exceptions since there is no similar ecosystem. Singita has 4 properties on Grumeti and 1 more coming online soon. Here are examples where there is a luxury lodge and a four-star lodge on the same land (or adjacent with no fence) where guests can see the exact same animals:

Mara Plains ($2600 per person per night) & Kicheche Bush ($900)

Mara Nyika ($2600) and Kicheche Valley ($900)

Selinda ($3,400) and Selinda Explorer ($2,000)

Singita Ebony ($3,000) and MalaMala Camp ($1,100) (both in Sabi Sands on their own, private property).



My point is you can mix and match lower cost lodges for your first and second stop and end at an ultra luxury for your last, cherry-on-top experience.



If you indeed mean highest level of hotel service + luxury safaris, here are some of my favorites:

Singita Lebombo and Singita Pamushana. They can be connected by a shared flight on Thursday only, May through September. Should be under $20,000 for a 6 night safari.

Vumbura Plains, Duma Tau and Waterside (Royal Portfolio in Thornybush). Best to hub through Victoria Falls and fly to South Africa from Victoria Falls on Airlink not Fastjet.

Selinda, Duba Plains and Mashatu Euphorbia (this is a Botswana only trip)

Singita Sabora in Tanzania combines with Mara Nyika and Sirikoi in Kenya

Mara Plains, Ol Donyo and Sirikoi

Mara Nyika, Sirikoi, and Segera Retreat



Anyway, this should keep you busy for a bit. Let me know if you have specific questions. If you give me a budget, I will tell you what something should roughly cost so you don’t get ripped off.



Craig Beal – owner – Travel Beyond