This season’s luxury safari news spans a reopened Singita camp, a new Vestige lodge in Namibia and Banyan Group’s first safari property in Tanzania.
Luxury Circuit, Loading
Reservations are open for Vestige Xaudum, an ultra-luxury six-suite lodge that will welcome its first guests on March 15, 2027, inside Namibia’s Khaudum National Park. It marks Vestige Collection‘s first property outside Spain and the first of four lodges planned for a new Vestige Namibia circuit.
Set on a Kalahari sand dune above a dry riverbed, the lodge is the only one operating inside Khaudum, a park that draws fewer than 3,000 visitors a year. The park covers roughly 1,467 square miles as part of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area, with wildlife moving freely between Khaudum and Botswana. Migratory elephant herds, African wild dogs, lions, leopards, cheetahs, roan antelope and more than 300 bird species are found in the park.
The lodge is built around five 2,153-sq.-ft. One-Bedroom Suites and one 4,199-sq.-ft. Two-Bedroom Suite with four private decks and a plunge pool. The team sourced materials and thatch locally, and craftspeople from surrounding communities helped build the property. Shared spaces include a spa, an open-air fitness deck and an 840-sq.-ft. pool.
Meals draw on Namibian ingredients and center on a spit-braai, with a six-course dinner combining plated courses with a family-style main. Days follow wildlife rather than a set schedule, with private guides, 4WD vehicles, bush breakfasts, guided walks outside the park and stargazing available.
Staff are recruited from the neighboring Muduva Nyangana and George Mukoya Conservancies and complete three months of hospitality training before the lodge opens. The lodge runs on solar power with battery storage and managed borehole water, and Vestige Namibia will work with the country’s Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism on conservation priorities.
For more information, visit vestigecollection.com.
Private, Mobile
Singita has reopened Singita Explore, a private mobile-style camp on the western plains of Singita Grumeti Reserve in Tanzania, following a redesign centered on stripped-back comfort and remote access. The camp hosts one group at a time, with no other guests on site, and is ideal for friends and family traveling together.
A central gathering area holds the kitchen, dining gazebo and fireplace, with tents on either side that can serve as a wellness treatment room, library or space for children. Canvas is the only barrier between guests and the surrounding plains, and the camp runs without synthetic sound or scent. Temperature is managed through fire, fresh air, fans, cold showers, hot water bottles and blankets rather than mechanical systems.
There is no fixed schedule. Guests are woken by a staff member at sunrise; weather determines the day’s activities and meals—prepared over open flame and served fireside—are followed by evenings around the fire. A small team supports each group throughout the stay.
The camp runs on solar power and operates seasonally, closing between March and May for the rainy season. Bookings are already open.
Guests can also engage with conservation work through the Grumeti Fund, including visits to its RISE Center, its Environmental Education Center and the GHOMACOS organic farming cooperative, which supplies Singita’s kitchens. Other options include time with the Anti-Poaching Canine Unit or a hike to one of the Fund’s Anti-Poaching Observation Posts, which offers views of the Serengeti.
For more information, visit singita.com.
Portfolio, Doubled
African Travel, Inc. (ATI) has introduced its 2027 collection, doubling its Locally Hosted Small Group portfolio, adding new Tailor-Made itineraries and returning to Uganda after several years away. The release lands as the company marks 50 years operating exclusively in Africa.
The Locally Hosted Small Group line now includes six itineraries across East and Southern Africa, with departures guaranteed at two guests. Three are new for 2027: A Taste of South Africa, an 8-day itinerary pairing Cape Town sightseeing with game viewing in a private Kruger reserve, extendable to Victoria Falls, Botswana’s Chobe National Park or Mozambique’s beaches; Timeless Kenya & Tanzania Safari, a 12-day itinerary through both countries’ safari regions; and Wild Botswana & Victoria Falls, a 10-day route from the Kalahari through the Okavango Delta to Victoria Falls.
New Tailor-Made itineraries include Kenya Romance: From Bush to Beach, combining safari with an Indian Ocean beach stay; Ultimate South Africa, pairing two private game reserves with time in Cape Town; and Cape Town & Botswana, which pairs Cape Town with two Botswana safari regions and includes the recently updated Xugana Island Lodge among its accommodations.
Uganda returns to the collection with mountain gorilla trekking in Bwindi, chimpanzee encounters in Kibale Forest and wildlife viewing in Queen Elizabeth National Park and Murchison Falls, paired with accommodations selected for the destination.
For more information, visit africantravelinc.com.
Luxury in the Northern Serengeti
Lemala Camps & Lodges has completed a renovation at Lemala Kuria Hills Lodge in the Northern Serengeti, adding a two-bedroom family suite, relocating the spa and redesigning the main dining tent. The work took place during the lodge’s annual March-to-May closure.
The new 2-Bedroom Family Suite was built on the site of the former spa and includes modern interiors, larger living space and a private plunge pool, giving families or groups traveling together a private base with room to spread out. It brings Kuria Hills in line with other properties in the Lemala Tanzania portfolio that already offer two-bedroom family accommodations. The spa has moved to a new location within the grounds, and the main dining tent has been enlarged to improve flow between dining, bar and guest areas while keeping its views across the landscape.
Kuria Hills sits on Wogakuria Hill among granite boulders and kopjes, with glass-fronted tented suites positioned for privacy and views over the surrounding grasslands. The lodge sits near the Mara River, within the Great Migration corridor during the July-to-October season, and the Northern Serengeti offers wildlife viewing year-round. Further south, the Serengeti’s November-to-April green season brings calving, when large numbers of wildebeest and zebra are born.
Beyond the lodge, guests can take guided game drives, walking safaris and hot-air balloon safaris across a region with comparatively low visitor numbers. The new suite is open for bookings now.
For more information, visit lemalacamps.com/stay/kuria-hills-lodge.
Elephant Watching
Banyan Group has opened Ubuyu, a Banyan Tree Escape, a six-villa retreat in Tanzania’s Ruaha National Park, marking the group’s first safari property and the second Escape concept worldwide after Bali’s Buahan. Ubuyu is open to guests now.
Ruaha sits in southern Tanzania’s Iringa region, where savanna meets miombo woodland. The park holds one of Africa’s largest elephant populations, the world’s highest concentration of lions and one of the last refuges for the endangered African wild dog, along with more than 570 bird species. The land is also tied to the Hehe, Bena and Kinga peoples, whose communities have long depended on the Great Ruaha River.
The retreat takes its name from the Swahili word for baobab fruit, with mature baobabs marking the entrance. Villas are built from local clay, timber and thatch with Mninga wood furnishings made by Tanzanian artisans, and the property runs on solar power with locally sourced water. Each of the six villas sits along the Great Ruaha River with a private plunge pool. The first-phase collection includes three 1-Bedroom River Front Villas, a 1-Bedroom River Glade Villa, a 2-Bedroom River View Villa and the Ubuyu Private Retreat, a 3-suite residence with a rooftop terrace and firepit lounge.
Guest spaces include the open-air Living Room gathering area, the Open Kitchen serving a plant-forward, seasonally sourced menu, the rooftop Mganga Bar and the riverside Maji Spa. Each stay includes a dedicated Escape Host who arranges walking safaris, cultural exchanges in nearby villages and private riverside dining, alongside conservation and community engagement through the Ruaha Conservation Project.
Clients reach Ubuyu via Msembe Airstrip, followed by a 45- to 60-minute game drive. Scheduled flights serve Ruaha from Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Zanzibar, the Serengeti and Selous on Coastal Aviation, Safari Air Link and Auric Air.
For more information, visit banyantree.com/escape.
Green Redesign
Hemingways Collection has completed an interior refresh of River Camp Mara in Kenya’s Mara North Conservancy, part of the wider Serengeti ecosystem. Richard Roberts, a third-generation conservationist, and his wife Liz originally built the 8-tent camp.
The redesign pairs Nairobi-printed textiles and pieces from local Mara artisans with woven Mandalay bedspreads and vintage Istanbul rugs. Behind the scenes, the property added solar water heating and updated waste management systems as it works toward its first Ecotourism Kenya certification.
The camp’s eight tents include six Luxury Tents, one Family Suite and one Private Suite. Mara North operates as a conservancy model, with the camp’s presence tied to direct land-lease agreements with more than 1,000 local Maasai landowners, revenue that supports wildlife corridor protection and community development in the area.
Hemingways Collection operates five-star hotels and safari camps across Kenya and East Africa. Its portfolio includes Hemingways Ol Seki Mara, also in the Maasai Mara; Hemingways Nairobi and Hemingways Eden Residence in Nairobi; Hemingways Watamu in Watamu; and Hemingways Retreat Kigali, the group’s first property outside Kenya.
For more information, visit hemingways-collection.com/river-camp-mara.
