eXvo TravelAfrica
Plan Your Safari
Deck and pool of a premium lodge overlooking open bush at golden hour
Accommodation · Premium

Premium Camps & Lodges

Twelve to twenty-four guests, in the right part of the park, with a guiding team that has been there for years. That is what the money is for.

Plan Your SafariWhat it includes
Guests
Typically 12–24
Rooms
Suites or large tents
Basis
Full board, often all-inclusive
Book by
10–12 months ahead

Where we book

The premium camps and lodges we book, by area. Some sit at Mid-range on price: premium here is about size, position and guiding.

Examples we book, not a fixed list. Which one suits your journey depends on your dates, route and availability, and we quote every stay in your personal price.

What premium actually means here

In the bush the expensive part is not the building. It is being allowed to be somewhere very few people are, supplying it, and keeping excellent staff there through a season. A twelve-tent camp two hours from any other vehicle costs more to run than a hundred-room lodge on a main road, and it is worth more.

So when we say premium, we mean small, well positioned and well staffed. Sometimes that comes with a plunge pool and a wine list. Sometimes it is canvas, a bucket shower and the best guide in the region. We will tell you which you are booking.

What you get that the tier below does not

  • Position: inside the park or on a private concession, so game drives start where the animals are rather than an hour away.
  • Exclusivity: often a private concession where night drives and walking are permitted and park rules do not cap you.
  • Guiding: senior guides who stay for whole seasons and know individual animals, not rotating staff.
  • Space: a dozen guests means unhurried meals, flexible timings, and dinner you actually enjoy.
  • Service depth: laundry, early breakfasts at any hour, dietary needs handled without drama.
  • Often all-inclusive: house drinks, all activities and park transfers folded in, which changes the real comparison against a cheaper nightly rate.

Where premium is worth paying for, and where it is not

Worth it: the northern Serengeti in crossing season, where a well-placed camp saves two hours of driving each way; anywhere on a honeymoon or milestone trip; the southern parks, where the good camps are the only real access.

Less worth it: Ngorongoro, where every vehicle enters the same crater at the same time and a rim location matters far more than the room; and one-night stops, where you arrive at dusk and leave at dawn and will barely see the place.

This is why we mix. A typical Signature journey might use a comfort camp for the first night, a premium camp for the four nights that matter, and a solid lodge on the rim. The saving goes into the nights where it changes something.

The premium camps and lodges we book, by area:

What we check before recommending one

  • Where exactly it sits, in which sector, and how far the first hour of driving is.
  • Whether it moves seasonally, and whether it will be in the right place on your dates.
  • Who the guiding team is that season, not who it was two years ago.
  • What is genuinely included, and what appears on the bill at checkout.
  • How it treats staff and its community, which we ask about directly.
  • Whether we or a colleague have physically been recently. If not, we say so.

Questions travellers actually ask

On the nights that matter, yes, mainly for position and guiding. Across a whole two-week trip, blanket premium is usually poor value. We would rather concentrate it.

No, and we recommend against it. Mixing lets you put the budget where it changes the experience.

Ten to twelve months for June to October. The best small camps hold very few tents and repeat guests take a lot of them.

Some, not all. Several premium camps set minimum ages, and a few take families exclusively with a private guide. Tell us ages up front and we will filter honestly.

Where to go next

The journey that uses this level, and the other three ways to sleep in the bush.

CollectionExtended JourneyWhere premium is the default.AccommodationSeasonal mobile campsCanvas camps that follow the herds.AccommodationPermanent lodgesWalls, pools and power, in every season.AccommodationTented campsWhere the budget goes into park time.
Start planning

Your Tanzania Story Starts Here.

Tell us what you want to experience. We'll help you shape the journey.

Plan Your SafariExplore Safari Collections