10 Best-value Luxury Serengeti Safari Lodges & Camps.

Perhaps Africa’s most breathtaking safari location is Serengeti National Park. All five of the Big Five—lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant, and rhino—can be found in this vast Tanzanian wilderness, which is also well-known for providing excellent opportunities to see lions, leopards, and cheetahs. Additionally, it serves as the focal point of a famous great migration that includes an astounding 2 million zebras and wildebeest.

The Serengeti is home to numerous safari hotels and camps; below, we’ve highlighted ten of the most affordable luxury choices. Wildlife should be abundant all year long at whichever lodge or camp you select. However, if you’re hoping to view herds of wildebeest, be advised that they follow a predictable annual cycle, settling in some areas of the ecosystem and moving between others. So, before you make a reservation, do your research!

There is no set order of quality for the hotels listed below.

1. Serena Safari Lodge in the Serengeti

High levels of comfort are combined with an African jungle atmosphere at the 66-room Serengeti Serena.

The Serena group, an East African business that combines the luxuries of a luxury lodge with African décor and a bush feel, is typified by this 66-room lodge. Located atop a ridge surrounded by acacia forest, Serengeti Serena houses visitors in a series of two-story thatch-and-slate buildings that mimic a typical Maasai town. Each of the well-lit apartments has a king-size bed and a fan, and there’s a fantastic infinity pool and a restaurant with a speciality in Indian food.

The Serengeti Serena is just forty minutes’ drive from the Seronera River game-drive circuit, which is a great spot to spot lions and leopards perched in the trees.

2. Serengeti Lodge Meliá

The opulent Meliá Serengeti Lodge is among the best accommodations in the Serengeti.

Meliá Serengeti Lodge, which overlooks the Mbalageti River Valley, combines colonial and African design elements. Despite its natural setting, the lodge offers all the amenities of a five-star hotel.

Like in nature documentaries, feel the excitement of wildlife action. As wildebeest race across the grasslands, you can see lions, hear hyenas roar, and smell the dust. With your Maasai guide, explore on foot to get a better sense of the natural world. As nature hums all around you, savor a picnic in the bush. Unwind at the spa or pool while taking in the valley scenery from your terrace. Take a hot-air balloon flight over the plains against a wild backdrop of the morning sun.

3. Safari Lodge with Four Seasons

The Four Seasons has all the amenities of a contemporary resort along with a Serengeti safari experience.

One of the biggest and most upscale resorts in the Serengeti is Four Seasons Safari Lodge. It is true that it does not have the rustic wilderness atmosphere of the area’s numerous tented camps. However, this makes it the perfect option for families with kids or anxious first-time safari visitors who can’t live without contemporary conveniences and diversions (every room has a TV and air conditioning).

Three dining options, a spa and gym, and an infinity pool with a view of a waterhole that frequently draws thirsty elephants are among the additional features.

Four Seasons is an excellent starting point for bush walks, game drives, and morning hot-air balloon excursions for a unique viewpoint while flying above the wildlife.

The Acacia Seronera Luxury Camp is the fourth option.

From your deck at Acacia Seronera, take in breathtaking views of the Serengeti grasslands, which are home to a variety of species.

Acacia Seronera Luxury Camp, located in Makoma Hills, offers a broad perspective of the swarms of wildlife that inhabit the Serengeti plains. This elite camp is a union of luxury, tranquility, and excitement. Discover the Big Five, the herds of the Great Migration, and the big cats (lion, leopard, and cheetah) while traveling in a safari vehicle.

Take a bath while admiring the scenery, have a romantic bush picnic, or just unwind on your terrace while listening to the sound of the wild. To discover more about Maasai customs, music, and dancing, you can enroll in a cultural trip.

5. Luxury Camp Nyota

Nyota is one of the most opulent and well-located tent campgrounds for wildlife viewing.

Nyota Luxury Camp is a great option if you want to sleep under canvas while yet being pampered in the kind of way you’d find at a nice city hotel. With only ten roomy stilted units with canvas sides and roofs, polished timber floors, and natural furnishings made of bamboo, cane, and wood, this tented camp is very special.

Nyota’s location by the river makes it an excellent spot to relax and take in the scenery from your cozy own patio. However, it also boasts a fantastic spot for game drives on the Seronera River’s consistently lucrative big cat region.

6. Safari Camp in the Serengeti

This luxurious mobile tent tracks the movement of wildebeests throughout the Serengeti.

The zebra and wildebeest are not the only animals in the Serengeti that migrate every year. Additionally, a number of mobile camps move around the ecosystem, erecting at various locations during the year to take advantage of the best wildebeest watching opportunities.

The majority of these mobile camps are really simple, as one might anticipate. However, this is not the case at Serengeti Safari Camp, run by Nomad, a Tanzanian company that was founded locally and manages many of the best luxury lodges in the nation.

This camp’s six open-plan Meru tents are exquisitely furnished, the cuisine is excellent, and the attentiveness of the welcoming staff rivals the excellent guiding.

7. Serengeti Sametu Camp in the Serengeti

Those who love big cats can expect to see lions, leopards, and cheetahs in the Serengeti.

This opulent tented camp is both one of the most central and off-the-beaten-path hotels in the Serengeti, which may seem contradictory. On the one hand, Seronera, the location of a game-drive circuit known for its high tourist density and excellent big cat sightings, is only 25 km/16 mi from Sametu. Conversely, the plains near Sametu experience comparatively less visitor traffic and provide a decent possibility of spotting all three big cats during a few game drives.

This camp’s proximity to the rocky hills known as Sametu and Barafu Koppies, as well as its infinity pool with a view of the Ngare Nanyuki River, are additional appealing attractions.

8. Elewana Serengeti Pioneer Camp Reminiscent of the past, Elewana Serengeti Pioneer Camp offers a traditional safari experience.

Among Serengeti safari lodges, Elewana Serengeti Pioneer Camp is perfectly situated to provide access to the Big Five and the yearly Great Migration. Its decor and style are reminiscent of the vintage mobile camps of the 1930s, and it boasts expansive views of the vast plains, Lake Magadi, and Moru Kopjes.

There are plenty of things to do here. Enjoy a productive day of wildlife observation; enjoy a bush lunch at a private location on a hill with a breathtaking view of the plains below; enjoy cocktails on the deck as the sun sets and eat by lamplight while admiring the stars; or take a hot-air balloon ride for an aerial perspective of the Serengeti.

9. Kuria Hills Lodge in Lemala

Elegant apartments with glass fronts, a plunge pool, and a nature setting in the Northern Serengeti

With its grassy hills rolling down to the picturesque Mara River, the Northern Serengeti feels more untamed and isolated than the rest of the park. The Kuria Hills, whose slopes are dotted with boulders and provide stunning vistas in every direction, are among the area’s most striking sights.

Lemala Kuria Hills Lodge provides a genuinely opulent retreat in 15 glass-fronted suites with private plunge pools, freestanding bathtubs, and indoor and outdoor showers right in the middle of this unforgettable location.

During July and October, when the wildebeest migration settles in to make numerous crossings over the Mara River, the surrounding landscape truly comes into its own. At other seasons of the year when there aren’t many other tourists, Kuria Hills also provides excellent wildlife viewing.

10. The Elewana Migration Camp in the Serengeti National Park

This outstanding lodge, which is situated on a cliff close to the Lobo Hills, exudes a “Out of Africa” vibe.

One of the Serengeti’s oldest and consistently top-notch lodges is Elewana Serengeti Migration Camp. It was established in the 1990s and is currently a member of the elegant Elewana group. It has a stunning setting on a cliff with a view of a remote area of the Grumeti River.

With features including a swimming pool, a jacuzzi, and a cocktail bar, the opulent lodgings of 20 raised wood-and-canvas huts are furnished in the traditional Edwardian safari style.

The fact that this lodge is only a half-hour’s drive from the picturesque game-drive route that focuses on the Lobo Hills—a region renowned for its enormous lion prides and an abundance of buffalo and elephants—is one of its best features. Except during the migration, Lobo is one of the Serengeti’s most underappreciated locations, with relatively few visitors. Nearer to camp, there are guided bush hikes available.