10 Best Safari Lodges in Tanzania for 2026 (Tested by Our Guides)

Choosing where to stay on a Tanzania safari is one of the most important decisions you will make — and one of the most overwhelming. There are hundreds of camps and lodges scattered across Tanzania's northern and southern circuits, and quality varies enormously. A great lodge transforms a safari from good to unforgettable. A poor one can undermine even the best wildlife sighting.

We run seven properties across Tanzania, and our guides have stayed at or visited dozens more over the years. This list includes our own camps (we would be dishonest to exclude them) alongside three competitor lodges that we genuinely respect. Every property here has been tested by our team, and we have included honest assessments — strengths and limitations — for each.

Quick Price Comparison

Now let us dive into each property.

Want personalised recommendations? Tell us your budget and dates and we will match you to the perfect lodge.

1. Enkirari Wilderness Camp — Central Serengeti

Price: $250–$325/night | Style: Mid-range tented camp | Best for: Big-cat enthusiasts, value seekers

Enkirari Wilderness Camp sits in the heart of the Central Serengeti, near the legendary Seronera Valley. This area has the highest year-round density of big cats in Africa — lion prides, leopards in sausage trees, and cheetahs on the kopjes are daily sightings, not lucky breaks.

The camp offers 10 spacious canvas tents with en-suite bathrooms, hot showers, and comfortable beds. The dining area overlooks a seasonal waterhole that attracts wildlife throughout the day. Bush dinners under the Serengeti sky are arranged on request and remain one of our guests' most cherished memories.

Strengths: Unbeatable location for predator sightings, excellent value for the Serengeti, intimate camp size, knowledgeable guides who know every pride and territory in the area.

Limitations: This is a mid-range camp, not a luxury lodge. If you want butler service, plunge pools, and premium wines, look at Olkarien or the ultra-luxury options. What Enkirari delivers is authentic bush immersion at a price that makes the Serengeti accessible.

2. Serian Tarangire Camp — Tarangire National Park

Price: $221–$443/night | Style: Mid-range tented camp | Best for: Elephant lovers, bird watchers

Serian Tarangire Camp is set among ancient baobab trees in Tarangire National Park, one of Tanzania's most underrated wildlife destinations. Tarangire is famous for its elephant herds — some of the largest in East Africa, with concentrations of 300+ during the dry season — and its extraordinary baobab-studded landscape.

The camp features 8 tented rooms with views over the Tarangire floodplains. Afternoon game drives often end with sundowners under a massive baobab as elephants browse just metres away. The birding here is exceptional, with over 550 species recorded in the park.

Strengths: Best elephant viewing in Tanzania, stunning baobab landscape, excellent value starting from $221/night, fantastic birding, tree-climbing lion sightings.

Limitations: Tarangire is less famous than the Serengeti, so some guests overlook it. The park is best during dry season (June–November); in the green season, elephants disperse and the experience is less dramatic.

Ready to explore Tarangire? Ask us about itineraries that include Serian Tarangire Camp.

3. Olkarien Eco Safari Camp — Serengeti

Price: $435–$474/night | Style: Eco-luxury | Best for: Honeymooners, eco-conscious travellers, luxury seekers

Olkarien Eco Safari Camp is our flagship eco-luxury property in the Serengeti. It proves that luxury and sustainability are not mutually exclusive. The camp runs entirely on solar power, recycles water, and was built with minimal environmental impact — yet it delivers a five-star experience with a swimming pool, spa treatments, gourmet dining, and spacious suites.

The 12 rooms feature private verandas overlooking the Serengeti plains, indoor and outdoor showers, and king-size beds. The infinity pool — one of the few in the Serengeti — offers a surreal experience: swimming while watching zebra and wildebeest graze nearby.

Strengths: Genuine eco-luxury (solar, water recycling), swimming pool, spa, excellent food and wine list, private and exclusive feel, perfect for honeymoons and special occasions.

Limitations: Higher price point than our other Serengeti camps. Not the cheapest way to experience the Serengeti, but the quality justifies every dollar.

4. Enkutoto Migration Camp — Serengeti (Mobile)

Price: $250–$400/night | Style: Mobile tented camp | Best for: Migration chasers, adventurous travellers

Enkutoto Migration Camp is unique among our properties — it moves. This mobile camp repositions throughout the year to follow the Great Migration herds across the Serengeti. In January–February, it is in the Southern Serengeti for the calving season. By June, it shifts to the Western Corridor for the Grumeti crossings. July–October finds it in the Northern Serengeti for the famous Mara River crossings.

The concept is brilliant in its simplicity: instead of hoping the migration comes to you, Enkutoto goes to the migration. The camp offers 8 comfortable tents that are surprisingly spacious for a mobile operation — en-suite flush toilets, hot-water showers, and quality bedding.

Strengths: Guaranteed proximity to the migration, authentic mobile safari experience, front-row seats to calving season and river crossings, excellent guide team.

Limitations: Mobile camps, by nature, are simpler than permanent lodges. Do not expect a swimming pool or spa. The charm is in the rawness — this is safari at its most authentic.

Want to follow the migration? Ask us where Enkutoto is positioned for your travel dates.

5. Naserian Safari Camp — Ngorongoro

Price: $230–$380/night | Style: Mid-range tented camp | Best for: Crater explorers, families, value seekers

Naserian Safari Camp perches on the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater with panoramic views of the caldera 600 metres below. With 12 rooms, it is our largest Ngorongoro property and offers an excellent balance of comfort, location, and value.

The camp provides easy access to the crater floor — morning game drives descend into the caldera and return by early afternoon, leaving the rest of the day for rim walks, stargazing, or simply absorbing the view. At 2,300 metres elevation, evenings are cool, and the camp provides hot water bottles, thick duvets, and a communal campfire area.

Strengths: Spectacular crater rim views, excellent value for Ngorongoro, well-positioned for early-morning crater descents, family-friendly, welcoming communal areas.

Limitations: Nights can be cold at this altitude (5–10°C) — bring warm layers. The camp is mid-range, so guests expecting luxury-lodge finishes should consider The Castle instead.

6. The Castle at Ngorongoro — Ngorongoro

Price: $290–$480/night | Style: Luxury lodge | Best for: Honeymooners, luxury travellers, special occasions

The Castle at Ngorongoro is our premium Ngorongoro property and one of the most romantic lodges in Tanzania. Powered entirely by solar energy, the lodge features 14 spacious suites with private balconies overlooking the crater, en-suite bathrooms with deep soaking tubs, and a restaurant serving gourmet Tanzanian-fusion cuisine.

The highlight is the view. Every room faces the crater, and watching sunset paint the caldera walls in amber and gold from your private balcony is an experience that belongs in a film. The lodge also features a lounge with fireplace, a curated wine cellar, and a spa offering treatments with locally sourced botanicals.

Strengths: Stunning architecture and design, every-room crater views, solar powered, excellent restaurant and wine selection, romantic atmosphere, spa treatments.

Limitations: At $290–$480/night, it is not budget-friendly. But compared to the ultra-luxury competitors on the crater rim (andBeyond at $1,500+), it represents exceptional value for the quality delivered.

Celebrate a special occasion at The Castle. Contact us for honeymoon and anniversary packages.

7. Acacia Retreat — Arusha

Price: $140–$220/night | Style: City hotel | Best for: Pre/post-safari overnight, city explorers

Acacia Retreat is not a safari lodge — it is our Arusha city hotel, designed as the perfect bookend to your Tanzania safari. Located in a quiet residential area of Arusha, the retreat offers 20 rooms surrounded by tropical gardens, a swimming pool, and a restaurant serving international and Tanzanian cuisine.

Most of our safari itineraries begin and end here. After a long international flight, there is no better way to acclimatise than with a quiet evening at the retreat, a home-cooked meal, and an early night before heading into the bush the next morning. On the return leg, it provides a comfortable base for packing, last-minute shopping in Arusha, or a half-day trip to Arusha National Park.

Strengths: Peaceful setting, excellent restaurant, pool, affordable rates, ideal transit hotel, helpful staff who assist with logistics and last-minute requests.

Limitations: It is a city hotel, not a bush camp. There is no wildlife outside your window (apart from the occasional sunbird in the garden). Its purpose is practical — a comfortable start and end to your safari.

8. Singita Grumeti — Western Serengeti

Price: $1,800–$3,500/night | Style: Ultra-luxury | Best for: Once-in-a-lifetime splurge

We include Singita because any honest list of Tanzania's best lodges must acknowledge it. Singita Grumeti operates on a private 350,000-acre concession in the Western Serengeti, and it is, without qualification, one of the finest safari properties in Africa — possibly the world.

The attention to detail is extraordinary: world-class interior design, a wine cellar that rivals Michelin-starred restaurants, private vehicles and guides for every room, and virtually zero other tourists. The wildlife on the concession is excellent, particularly during June when the migration herds cross the Grumeti River.

Strengths: Unmatched luxury and service, private concession with exclusive game viewing, phenomenal food and wine programme, conservation commitment through the Grumeti Fund.

Limitations: The price. At $1,800–$3,500 per person per night, Singita is accessible only to a small fraction of travellers. The experience is magnificent, but a 5-night stay for two can exceed $35,000 — more than some guests spend on an entire two-week Tanzania safari. For comparable wildlife in the Serengeti at a fraction of the price, our Olkarien Eco Safari Camp ($435–$474/night) delivers excellent quality.

9. andBeyond Ngorongoro Crater Lodge — Ngorongoro

Price: $1,500–$2,800/night | Style: Ultra-luxury | Best for: Design-obsessed travellers, crater purists

andBeyond Ngorongoro Crater Lodge is the most famous lodge on the crater rim, and its reputation is well-earned. The architecture is theatrical — Maasai-inspired stilted structures with banana-leaf roofs, chandeliers, and gilded mirrors that feel like a Baroque palace transplanted to the African bush. Each of the 30 suites has a personal butler, a fireplace, and floor-to-ceiling windows framing the crater.

The crater access is excellent, and andBeyond's guides are among the best in the business. The dining experience — think five-course meals with South African wines served by candlelight — is exceptional.

Strengths: Iconic design and architecture, personal butler service, outstanding crater views and access, five-star dining, well-established brand with high standards.

Limitations: At $1,500–$2,800/night, you are paying a significant premium for the brand and the architecture. The wildlife experience — a crater floor game drive — is identical to what you get staying at our Castle at Ngorongoro ($290–$480/night) or Naserian Safari Camp ($230–$380/night), since all crater lodges use the same access roads and see the same animals. The lodge is also large (30 suites), which some guests find less intimate than smaller camps.

Looking for crater-rim luxury at better value? Ask us about The Castle at Ngorongoro.

10. Nomad Serengeti Safari Camp — Serengeti

Price: $450–$750/night | Style: Premium tented camp | Best for: Experienced safari-goers, purists

Nomad Tanzania is a well-respected operator, and their Serengeti Safari Camp is a beautifully designed property that embodies the classic tented-camp aesthetic. The camp moves between two locations in the Serengeti depending on the season, tracking wildlife patterns with expert precision.

What sets Nomad apart is their guiding philosophy. Their guides are some of the most experienced in Tanzania, with deep knowledge of animal behaviour and a passion for interpretation that goes beyond spotting and naming. The camp itself is elegantly simple — quality canvas, comfortable beds, excellent food, and a bar that serves surprisingly good cocktails considering you are in the middle of the Serengeti.

Strengths: Outstanding guide quality, authentic tented-camp experience, two seasonal locations for optimal wildlife, excellent food programme, respected conservation ethos.

Limitations: Mid-to-high pricing places it between our mid-range and luxury options. The experience is excellent but not dramatically different from what we offer at Olkarien Eco Safari Camp at a lower price point.

How to Choose the Right Lodge

Choosing a lodge comes down to four factors: budget, location, style, and occasion. Here is a quick decision guide:

Our safari team designs itineraries that combine properties across different price points and locations. Many guests mix mid-range and luxury — spending two nights at Enkirari in the Serengeti for value and two nights at The Castle for luxury at Ngorongoro, for example.

Let us build your perfect lodge combination. Contact our safari team for a free, personalised itinerary.

Booking Tips for 2026

Tanzania's safari industry is booming, and availability at the best lodges fills quickly. Here are our tips for securing your preferred accommodation:

• Book 6–12 months ahead for peak season (July–October, December–February). The best camps have limited capacity and sell out fast.
• Green season (April–May, November) is easier to book and offers significantly lower rates — 20–40% off peak pricing at most properties.
• Book directly with operators like Acacia Collections to avoid travel-agent markups. Our direct rates are typically 15–25% lower than what you would find through international booking platforms.
• Ask about special offers: We regularly run stay-4-pay-3 promotions, early-bird discounts, and honeymoon packages.
• Combine properties strategically: Mixing lodges at different price levels lets you experience luxury and value within the same trip.

Browse all our properties at Camps & Lodges or explore our ready-made safari tour packages.

Frequently Asked Questions