Steven013

Thank you so much for the insight. I most likely will go with my friend and this will be our first safari trip so I guess I am a bit nervous about the trip. And the only previous drive experience I've had was in Patagonia a couple of years ago where we went to Awasi where every room was equipped with a private jeep and guide and it was a very pleasant experience so I was wondering if the African safari will have the similar setup. But I guess it's nice to get to hang out with other hotel guests.

threepointkid

Totally makes sense! I think that having a private vehicle could be beneficial, especially if you want to move at a different pace, see specific wildlife, etc., but as a safari rookie, I believe that there’s no problem staring a vehicle with another pair. I think it actually enhanced our experience and we’ve since kept in touch with the guests we met upon returning!

threepointkid

I figure this is the best place to place this response. Since traveling to Africa on my honeymoon in August, I’ve been obsessed with the continent and experiencing more that it has to offer. I’ve now inspired a handful of friends to want to visit Africa with me and experience a safari as a group. I’ve recently learned about a handful of exclusive use properties and I wanted to see if anyone could weigh in on the merits of any of these properties over others. I am aware that the size of these various properties varies quite a bit, but I think as the one taking the lead on this, if I propose a handful of properties to my group of friends with the price tag along with each of them, that I can get them convinced to just join along. Below are the properties that I’ve come across and would seem amazing to take exclusive use of. Thanks in advance for any guidance.Kubili House (South Africa)

Cheetah Plains (South Africa)

Singita Castleton (South Africa)

Tarkuni Homestead (South Africa)

Singita Serengeti House (Tanzania)

Arijiju (Kenya)

Ol Jogi (Kenya)

Lengishu (Kenya)

Laragai (Kenya)

SanDiego1K

MacMyDay has stayed at several of those properties. It's worth searching his blog to see what he has to say. For example, here is his stay report on Cheetah Plains and Arjiju

Smiley90

There's also lodges that just have fewer rooms/tents that you could feasibly rent all of them. Thabamati has 4 tents.

I haven't been, but I've looked at it before - maybe someone here HAS been and can share impressions, but maybe Thanda Villa Izulu?

https://www.thandasafari.co.za/accommodation/villa-izulu/

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threepointkid

Thank you! These are wonderful detailed reviews that are quite helpful. Seems like a large group would be happy at any of these properties. I appreciate you sharing these!

Ericka

Not sure how many will be in your group, but Morukuru (Madikwe, South Africa) has fully staffed houses of various sizes. We stayed in the smallest house. The others are bigger. Here is our trip report.
https://www.flyertalk.com/hotel-revi...h-our-son-2834

MacMyDay

I have stayed in the above. To save you the bother of reading my monotonous blog, go to Serengeti House and combine with Arijiju or Ol Jogi. Arijiju is the most luxurious of all the options, but the experiences at Ol Jogi are unbeatable. Ol Jogi's design was created in an era where lots of people were on lots of drugs, so you'll have to try and get over the decor and trust me.

I only returned last week from Serengeti House, Ol Jogi and Lengishu so haven't had time to write-up reviews on them - in the mean time here's some pretty pictures I took on Flickr