6 Extraordinary safari lodges in Tanzania

Flying into Kilimanjaro, I went on to visit the Serengeti, the Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire National Park. This combination of parks created an amazing all-round safari experience, with a great mix of wildlife and incredible landscapes at every turn. 

Travelling overland, we ventured through the national parks and stayed at different lodges along the way, each with their own personality. I saw so much more than I would if I’d based myself in one lodge and the journeys between the national parks were true adventures in themselves. 

Moving across a vast area in our jeep, we had the freedom to stop to see a herd of elephants around a waterhole or watch a cheetah perched in a tree. It’s a fantastic way to travel.

Along the way I stayed in some amazing safari lodges, all unique and special in their own way. These atmospheric lodges really made the safari about more than just wildlife spotting and added some incredible experiences to my trip. 

The lodges are often set within the national parks, so you feel completely immersed in nature. You can go to sleep to the distant sounds of lions and hyenas from your tent, which is a truly unforgettable way to drift off. It’s all very safe and the lodge guards keep watch throughout the night, so you can simply relax into it and enjoy every moment.

Before I travelled to Tanzania, I didn’t realise just how much these lodges would add to my overall experience. There’s something magical about arriving after an amazing day on safari, to be greeted with a nice cold drink, a glowing campfire, and a stunning sunset, while you sit and digest all the amazing things you’ve encountered that day. It’s something that will stay with me for years to come.

Arumeru River Lodge 

Approximately 45 minutes from Kilimanjaro Airport, just outside of Arusha, Arumeru River Lodge is the perfect spot to find your feet before you set off on your wild adventure. A night here is ideal, but if you would like to ease into your holiday more slowly, two nights would be wonderful too. 

Arumeru is a former coffee plantation set amongst beautiful tropical gardens. The well-kept grounds are great to explore and home to friendly monkeys and shy little dik-diks. The lodge has a very homely feel, with a little swing in the garden and fairy lights leading the way to a campfire at night. There’s also a refreshing pool and loungers, perfect for relaxing and shaking off the jet lag.

The impressive main building is covered by a traditional makuti roof and houses the bar, dining area, cosy fire and sitting room. Here, you can enjoy all your meals as well as afternoon tea or coffee (locally sourced, of course) and little treats. The evening fire makes for a calm evening with a book, or you could get stuck into one of the many board games in the lounge area.

Grumeti Hills 

My next stop was Grumeti Game Reserve, bordering the Serengeti National Park. This position makes it an ideal spot to see the Great Migration from May to July or from October to December, when thousands of wildebeest cross the Grumeti River. 

After weaving our way through the reserve, past the resident buffalos and giraffes, we arrived at Grumeti Hills Lodge, perched high up on the hillside overlooking beautiful grasslands. The lodge offers lovely little tents set along the crest of the hill, each with a comfy ensuite bathroom and a private deck. This is glamping at its very best!

The main building of the lodge, with its impressive, thatched roof, houses the dining area, bar, and some comfy seating areas. The lodge has a very authentic feel, with traditional and locally crafted artwork, ceramics and woven textiles, creating a very welcoming atmosphere. 

Grumeti Hills is designed for you to be able to enjoy the beautiful scenery from all angles, whether you’re walking along the winding pathways from your tent to the main house, sipping a drink on the sweeping terrace, or relaxing the pool built into the hillside. You could not ask for a better view.

Grumeti also offers activities that aren’t possible within the official Serengeti National Park, such as thrilling night game drives, and guided morning bush walks. We set off at dawn, while it was still cool, walking through the grasslands, learning about the flora and fauna, and spotting lion tracks in the dirt. Before long, we arrived at spot by the river, where breakfast was freshly prepared, with delicious eggs and pancakes all made right there by the lodge chefs. It was very surreal to enjoy breakfast in the bush alongside the rushing river and a real highlight of my trip.

There’s a real focus on sustainability at Grumeti Hills and its nearby sister lodge, Ikoma Hills. The camps are solar-powered, and electricity is supplied by a generator to both camps. They also use eco-friendly electric safari jeeps and a solar heating system to supply hot water. Both lodges are proud to be supporting eco-tourism and lowering their impact on the environment. Staying at either camp means that you’re supporting a great cause.

Togoro Plains 

Next, I travelled to my personal favourite lodge of the whole trip, Togoro Plains. This is set in the northern part of Serengeti National Park, famous for its big cats, but also classed as a ‘rhino sanctuary’ due to the few black rhino that have settled in the area. It’s a great spot to visit all year round. Ideally, I recommend spending a few nights of your trip here, to make the most of the stunning lodge and incredible wildlife opportunities. 

Togoro Plains offers 14 ensuite tents built around two kopjes (small rocky hills overlooking the savannah), each with amazing views out across the plains. The camp is unfenced, and you really get an uninterrupted sense of your wild surroundings. There’s nothing quite like unzipping your tent in the morning and just taking in the sunrise and watching animals wander past your door.

The bar and restaurant are set high up on the kopjes, with a lovely veranda that makes the most of the panoramic views. The food here was also incredible, always offering freshly prepared meals, with 3-4 courses for lunch and dinner throughout the safari. We were certainly well fed! 

Being within the Serengeti National Park, Togoro Plains is a strategic spot to spend a few nights. With great wildlife on your doorstep, you can head out on a morning game drive and enjoy some downtime by the gorgeous pool in the afternoon. Bliss!

Olduvai Camp 

After Togoro Plains, we set off through the Ngorongoro Crater to Olduvai Camp, the wildest and most extraordinary lodge of them all. Having spent the day exploring the Ngorongoro Crater and watching the Great Migration’s huge herds of wildebeest and zebras, arriving at Olduvai camp was the cherry on top! Olduvai’s setting is truly unique. 

Perched on a rocky outcrop on Maasai ancestral lands, overlooking the moon-like landscape of Olduvai Gorge, it’s somewhere that you’ll never forget. The community plays a huge part in life at the lodge, and all tours are led by local Maasai warriors.

I arrived just before dusk, and we walked with the Maasai people to the precipice of the kopje, for cold drinks and nibbles as the sun set over the plains. All the while, I could hear the nearby bells of goats and the sound of Maasai going about their daily lives in the near distance. 

After a quick freshen up, we headed to the campfire and then enjoyed a freshly prepared buffet dinner, with a great variety of dishes. It was a really relaxed atmosphere and a brilliant end to the day. It was an incredible day, made even better by my cosy tent and a hot shower!

Olduvai Camp is built seamlessly into its surrounds, blending into the rocks and the native bush. Again, the whole camp is solar powered, and every effort is made to preserve the environment. During our trip, we were given a refillable water bottle. Each lodge has its own filter system, so we could access drinkable water throughout our trip and fill up as much as we liked, without creating plastic waste.

Bashay Rift Lodge 

Situated in Karatu, at the base of Ngorongoro National Park, Bashay Rift Lodge offered a completely different experience to the other safari lodges on my trip. I only spent one night here, but I instantly wished that I had booked at least one more night to enjoy the lodge and explore the area. 

The lodge has a very relaxed atmosphere, built with a European colonial feel. The main house contains a lounge with a cosy fire and dining veranda, with spectacular views overlooking the surrounding farmlands. The beautiful gardens offer peaceful little spots to relax and unwind, and there’s a fantastic pool too.

The villa-style rooms dotted along the hilltop have gorgeous views from their balconies, with the inside decorated in rich greens and terracotta, inspired by the local ‘African farmland’. The Karatu area of Tanzania is known for its fertile agricultural land, and the lodge’s own kitchen garden produces the herbs, spices and fresh ingredients used to prepare the tasty meals. 

While you are here, you can hire bikes, explore the local area on foot, or take a coffee plantation tour. If, like me, you love your coffee, it’s a nice treat to see what goes into making your morning cuppa and sample some of the varieties grown in the region. The hard part is deciding how much you can fit in your suitcase and take home! 

Depending on which direction you travel, Bashay Rift Lodge makes the ideal point to slow down and spend a few days of your holiday pausing, in the midst of your safari. We can give you first-hand advice about how to pace your safari in Tanzania, and where to take breaks along the way.

Maweninga Camp 

The last place that I stayed on my safari in Tanzania was Maweninga Camp, tucked away in Tarangire National Park. If you’ve come to Tanzania to spot elephants, you cannot miss Tarangire – it’s home to one of the highest populations of elephants in Northern Africa. 

The scenery here is very different compared to other parks, offering a great contrast to your trip. It’s really magnificent and feels completely untouched, with large baobab trees and a winding river. We watched a large herd of elephants crossing the river while we had lunch. The noise was incredible, and it was a sight that I’ll never forget.

After an amazing day of safari in Tarangire National Park, we headed to Maweninga Camp, where we were greeted with warm smiles and an even warmer campfire for us to enjoy the sunset! Throughout my safari, the local staff were wonderful, and the welcomes were out of this world! 

Maweninga sits atop a huge granite rock, with extraordinary views over Lake Manyara, the Rift Valley, and the surrounding bush. It’s home to 16 wooden tents raised over stilts, with ensuite bathrooms and private terraces. Like the other lodges, Maweninga is totally solar-powered and over 50% of the water consumption comes from local rainwater.

My thoughts about Tanzania 

Tanzania offers so much more than a classic safari experience. It’s a huge region to explore, with really varied landscapes and completely wonderful people. If you’re considering a safari, I would highly recommend travelling over land and making the most of everything that Tanzania has to offer! 

It’s fast paced and there’s always something unbelievable to see, whether that’s wildlife or stunning vistas. After the most incredible week, you’ll need to pick your jaw up off the ground and maybe head to the beaches of Zanzibar.

My personal highlight was travelling through the Ngorongoro Crater. It’s hard to describe just how vast the crater is, and the concentration of wildlife is staggering. I saw lions, hippos, hyena, flamingos and a lot of elephants. It was spectacular (and hard to put my camera away!) 

After a long day of travelling and lots of excitement, arriving at each lodge felt like arriving home, and they each added so much to my experience. The locations were mind-blowing, the staff with wonderful and the views were simply out of this world.

Ready to plan a safari to Tanzania? 

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