What are the best safari lodges you can book with VIP perks?
By Aspen Travel Advisors · Last verified · Counts drawn live from the Virtuoso-sourced atlas
The safari lodges we send travelers to first are Jack's Camp in Botswana's Makgadikgadi, Belmond's Okavango camps, Bushmans Kloof in the malaria-free Cederberg, Elewana Loisaba on Kenya's Laikipia plateau, Londolozi and Singita in the Sabi Sand, and Fairmont Mara Safari Club. On safari the advisor's value is itinerary spine and private vehicles, not breakfast credits.
From the 71 safari and wilderness lodges in our atlas — most in Africa, the rest wilderness camps and ranches on other continents — the ones we send travelers to first: Jack's Camp in Botswana's Makgadikgadi (the great eccentric — Kalahari meerkats, desert-Baroque tents), Belmond's Botswana camps in the Okavango, Bushmans Kloof in the Cederberg (rock art, no malaria, family-friendly South Africa), Elewana Loisaba Tented Camp on Kenya's Laikipia plateau, Londolozi and Singita in the Sabi Sand, and Fairmont Mara Safari Club for the Mara circuit with big-hotel polish.
On safari, advisor value is less about breakfast credits (everything's included anyway) and more about the itinerary spine: which camps combine, private-vehicle guarantees, guide requests, charter logistics between airstrips, and the green-season pricing that halves rates in months that are often better game viewing than the brochure months.
Standouts from the atlas, by trip type
| Trip | Lodge | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The surrealist safari | Jack's Camp, Makgadikgadi, Botswana | Salt pans, habituated meerkats, museum-tent glamour — pairs with an Okavango water camp |
| Classic Kenya | Elewana Loisaba + Fairmont Mara Safari Club | Laikipia exclusivity plus the Mara river-crossing theater |
| Malaria-free family safari | Bushmans Kloof, South Africa | Cederberg wilderness, ancient rock art, kids welcome |
| Okavango water-and-land | Belmond Safaris (Eagle Island, Savute, Khwai) | Mokoro canoes, elephants, Belmond service — Bellini Club perks apply |
| Green-season value | Anantara Kafue River Tented Camp, Zambia | Emerging Kafue at pre-fame pricing |
The 71 'lodge/safari' properties also include wilderness lodges beyond Africa — Clayoquot in British Columbia, Blancaneaux in Belize, Explora in Patagonia and the Atacama, Huka Lodge in New Zealand — for travelers who want the safari rhythm (guides, wild luxury, all-inclusive days) on other continents.
What to actually optimize on safari
- Camp combinations over camp names: two contrasting ecosystems (water + land in Botswana; Laikipia + Mara in Kenya) beat two famous lookalikes.
- Private vehicle on at least the photographic legs — the single upgrade that changes the trip most.
- Green/shoulder season: January–March Botswana and November Kenya price 30–50% below peak with dramatic skies and newborn everything.
- Charter weight limits (often 15kg soft bags) — plan camera gear accordingly.
- Book 9–15 months out for dry-season marquee camps; they sell by the tent, not the hundred rooms.
The lodges themselves, smallest camps first
Every property the supplier files as a lodge or safari camp. Size is the honest sort here: a nine-tent camp and a 200-room game reserve are different holidays under one category.
| Property | Where | Rooms | Benefits listed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ladder, A Ted Turner Reserve | Caballo, United States | 1 | 5 |
| Minaret Station Alpine Lodge | Wanaka, New Zealand | 4 | 6 |
| Mateya Safari Lodge | Molatedi, South Africa | 5 | 4 |
| Tutka Bay Lodge - Within the Wild | Anchorage, United States | 5 | 4 |
| Eleven Winterlake Lodge | Anchorage, United States | 6 | 1 |
| Otahuna Lodge | Christchurch, New Zealand | 7 | 4 |
| Mukwa River Lodge | Livingstone, Zambia | 8 | 6 |
| Jack's Camp | Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, Botswana | 9 | 4 |
| Singita - Singita Pamushana | Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve, Zimbabwe | 9 | 4 |
| Singita - Singita Volcanoes National Park | Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda | 9 | 4 |
| Estancia La Bamba de Areco | San Antonio De Areco, Argentina | 11 | 6 |
| Jabulani Safari Relais & Châteaux | Hoedspruit, South Africa | 11 | 6 |
| Awasi Atacama - Relais & Chateaux | San Pedro de Atacama, Chile | 12 | 4 |
| Elewana Loisaba Tented Camp | Loisaba Conservancy, Kenya | 12 | 4 |
| Mahali Mzuri | Maasai Mara, Kenya | 12 | 4 |
| Ol Jogi Wildlife Conservancy | Nanyuki, Kenya | 12 | 4 |
| White Desert | Halley, Antarctica | 12 | 5 |
| Xigera Safari Lodge | Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana | 12 | 4 |
| Savute Elephant Lodge, A Belmond Safari | Chobe National Park, Botswana | 12 | 5 |
| Eagle Island Lodge, A Belmond Safari | Okavango Delta, Botswana | 12 | 5 |
Showing 20 of 71 matching properties in the atlas.
Frequently asked
Botswana or Kenya for a first safari?
Kenya for spectacle and value breadth (the Mara migration July–October); Botswana for exclusivity and water-based variety at higher cost. Both in 10–12 days is the honeymoon classic for a reason.
Are safaris all-inclusive?
At this tier, nearly always: meals, drinks, twice-daily game drives, and often laundry. The bill's variables are park fees, charters and premium extras (helicopter legs, private vehicles) — which is where itinerary design earns its keep.
When do lodges discount?
Green season (roughly Nov–May southern Africa, Mar–May and Nov East Africa) and long-stay/pay-3-stay-4 offers your advisor sees before they're public. Peak-season marquee camps essentially never discount — book those early instead.