Where to Stay in Africa: Luxury Africa Safari Lodges, Villas, Tents and Tree Tops

Time is a non-renewable resource. How and where we spend it matters.

For some, luxury means a lavish safari lodge while others dream about sleeping under the stars dissolving all barriers to nature. No matter how you imagine your luxury stay, Africa is home to an incredible variety of architecturally stunning, responsibly built accommodations that can make you feel right at home or a million miles away - the choice is entirely yours.

Join us as we explore ROAR AFRICA’s hand-picked and personally vetted world of luxury accommodations across our home continent. From breathtaking African safari lodges and private villas to unforgettable safari-tented suites opening up to the zebras or giraffes grazing right outside, here you can begin to envision your peace.

Types of Luxury African Safari Accommodations

Africa is home to many of our planet’s last truly wild, untouched and untamed places. Ones where humans remain outsiders and natural beauty and biodiversity thrive. The homeland of much of the ROAR AFRICA team is the perfect place to experience the wonder and freedom only pristine wide-open spaces deliver. However, one can’t overlook the importance of accommodation to the overall comfort and experience of your stay.

While there are many luxury resorts and lodges in Africa to choose from, we favor those special places where stillness, seclusion and the magic of nature take center stage. The fact that these properties are imbued with innovative, thoughtful design and led by personable owners, many of whom are dear friends, is an added bonus.

Traditional Safari Tents

If true immersion into the African wilderness is what you seek, a safari tent or what we refer to as tented safari suites will answer your call to the wild. The allure of these immensely comfortable, canvas sanctuaries is their effortless weaving of luxury into the rugged embrace of nature. 

A stay in a safari tent is a symphony for your senses. Nestled safely within your canvas suite, you’re fully in harmony with the abundant nature that surrounds you. You become attuned to the daily rhythms of wildlife - the sunrise crescendo of birdsong and low rumbling roars from a pride of distant lions perhaps. The sounds of the savannah become your soundtrack. There’s really no experience quite like it.

Tented camps are the perfect match for those who crave a truly remote location or adventurous travelers seeking an authentic safari stay in the beating heart of the bush. 

Luxury Lodges 

Your luxury African safari lodge is one where you can truly relax, share stories around the nightly campfire, absorb local culture and design and enjoy the privilege of undisturbed time in the wild with your every need catered to.

Botswana luxury safari lodges such as Xigera, aptly called the Jewel of the Okavango, come front of mind. This game-changing property is a true ode to Africa and a living art gallery, sensitively capturing both the magic of the bush and the breadth of the continent’s creative talent.

From South Africa to Tanzania and everywhere in between, we have a roster of luxury safari lodges that exceed the expectations of every guest. The comforts of home entwine with the call of adventure. Where else does the Symphony of the Wild mingle with world-class amenities and service? 

Private Villas

A private villa on a luxury safari dials an already spectacular experience up several notches. These world-class properties provide an extraordinary setting for celebrations, families or even groups of friends seeking an intimate, truly private oasis for their unforgettable safari experience, one replete with personalized services, private guiding and five-star staff.

Consider Arijiju, a privately owned, exclusive-use property in Kenya’s 90,000-acre Lewa-Borana landscape. With space to host up to ten adults and four children, this private villa encourages guests to sink fully into the rhythms of safari at their own tempo. It’s the pinnacle of exclusivity built to blend seamlessly into an ancient landscape abundant with wildlife.

Treehouse Stays

Luxurious comfort and adrenalized excitement reach new heights in a treehouse. Designed as fantastical places that marry the adventure of the wild with the peace of Africa’s starry night skies, these spectacular accommodations immerse you in nature…with a private guide nearby should you need anything.

Kenya’s Segera and Xigera, deep in Botswana’s Okavango Delta are home to two exceptional treehouse stays, architected with comfort and care to safely blur the lines between humans and nature. The ultimate in privacy and seclusion, these magnificent treehouses, designed to mimic the wilderness that surrounds you, offer a highly rarefied, special experience. 

Choosing the Right Accommodation for Your Luxury Safari

This list offers a taste of the best luxury African safari lodges and accommodations on the continent. There are dozens of exclusive experiences that provide the best of both luxury amenities and an immersion into nature and African architecture.

When choosing where to stay on your safari, consider what luxury means to you. For some, the iconic charm of a safari tent fuses old-world charm with modern comfort and few barriers to the bush. For others, a romantic getaway in a luxury safari lodge or perhaps an intimate family reunion in a private villa tops their list.

No matter which luxury accommodation you choose, you can rest assured that you will have access to world-class amenities, hand-held service and the insider experiences ROAR AFRICA is renowned for. With an emphasis on connecting with nature, you will find expert-guided game drives and bush walks, hot air ballooning and helicopter safaris, cooking classes, community connections, conservation initiatives and so much more available to you during your stay.

A luxury African safari lodge, tent or villa is more than a place to rest your head. It is your personal piece of paradise to make memories and savor the unique wonders of Africa’s vast wilderness.

Benefits of Choosing a Sustainable Africa Safari Lodge

ROAR AFRICA chooses to partner with individuals and properties whose commitment to preserving Africa’s wilderness with impact-led, responsible travel mirrors our own. Ecotourism that respects the inherent fragility of the wild is a key pillar in all our safaris.

Our partners share our values and apply the same urgency to conservation and women’s empowerment that we do. The lodges that top our list – and the pioneering masters behind them – are exceptional. Each property overflows with emotional intelligence, creativity and sustainable design. Their originality and authenticity are stunning – even more so when you consider our increasingly homogenized world of chain hotels and corporate groups.

From sustainable building practices using local materials and craftspeople to self-sustaining, organic gardens, these lodges are a true example of living in harmony with nature.

This deep respect for the wild brings to mind one of our treasured Kenya luxury safari lodges. Segera, home to Africa’s first all-female anti-poaching team, is a prime example of sustainability: owner Jochen Zeitz has restored 50,000 acres of dusty, parched ranchland to its rightful wild glory. This rewilded landscape is truly a paradise teeming with biodiversity and thriving wildlife, one that teaches guests so much about the critical links between conservation, culture and community. Botswana’s Mombo and Rwanda’s otherworldly Singita Kwitonda Lodge are also firm favorites that go above and beyond to bring a positive impact to the surrounding landscape, community and wildlife they share space with. 

Travel’s ability to transform us is as important as its power to help others – the wildlife, the local communities and the land. We must never forget that conservation is our collective responsibility.

Explore more of our luxury African destinations and experiences at ROAR AFRICA.