Natural Habitat Adventures | African Safaris | Ultimate East Africa Safari

Hotel No. 5

Location
Entebbe, Uganda

Hotel No. 5 is a stylish boutique hotel tucked away in Entebbe’s leafy suburbs, just 10 minutes from the international airport. Its luxurious accommodations on Lake Victoria provide a peaceful escape from the urban buzz. Ten airy rooms open onto a lush lawn, palm-studded garden and shaded swimming pool. Plush beds feature mosquito-net canopies, and oversized upholstered furnishings, including armchairs, add to a cozy and contemporary atmosphere. Each room also has a writing desk. In these calm, earth-toned environs, polished floors are complemented by soft rugs, and a full wall of windows illuminates the space. Each room has air conditioning, en suite bathroom, Wi-Fi, flat screen TV, a safe, and tea- and coffee-making facilities The hotel offers spa treatments and a gym, and the restaurant features a gourmet menu paired with an international wine list.

Buhoma Lodge

Location
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda

This inspiring ecolodge provides an ideal location for gorilla treks into Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, since trails into the forest leave directly from the grounds. Eight large cottages are built of local natural materials including sustainably sourced stone and wood, with decor in earthy, muted colors. Each has a private veranda offering expansive views of the virgin rain forest. Comfortable beds welcome you after a long day of gorilla trekking, and each cottage has en suite facilities with flush toilets, hot-water rain showers, locally produced natural bathroom amenities and a secure safe. The lodge's water supply is gravity-fed, and solar power provides electricity and lighting. Each morning, hot beverages are delivered to your cottage, allowing you to wake gently and savor the early morning sounds of the forest. The central lodge comprises an elevated lounge and bar serving local and imported beverages, and dining facilities offering both international and locally flavored cuisine prepared using fresh local ingredients whenever possible. Terrace dining under the night sky is an appealing option. Fireplaces add warmth and atmosphere to cool evenings, providing a cozy environment in which to discuss the day’s adventures. Free Wi-Fi and recharging facilities are available in the bar. Following a long day of gorilla tracking, guests can enjoy a complimentary massage in the spa treatment room by a trained in-house masseuse. The lodge also offers complimentary laundry service and hiking-boot cleaning.

House of Waine

Location
Nairobi, Kenya

The House of Waine, located in the quiet residential suburb of Karen on the outskirts of Nairobi, offers an appealing alternative to standardized city hotels. Set on 2.5 beautifully manicured acres, it was originally built as a lavish private estate. Later acquired by a local family, the elegant property was carefully refurbished, resulting in the distinctive boutique hotel that exists today. The stately home offers guests an authentic experience of personalized African hospitality with uniquely designed rooms, modern amenities and traditional Kenyan charm.

The inn's 11 bedrooms are individually styled and named, each furnished to reflect a distinct theme. Complimentary pastries and fresh-ground coffee are delivered to your room daily. Luxurious en suite marble bathrooms feature large windows and natural light. All rooms have mini bar and Internet access. The House of Waine’s dining menus reflect Nairobi’s many local flavors. Meals are served in multiple locations including the dining room, terrace, garden, lounge and pool pavilion, offering memorable dining experiences amid the verdant lawns and gardens. Guests can also relax on the spacious patio and enjoy drinks poolside. The House of Waine is an easy 30-minute transfer from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and 20 minutes from Nairobi's domestic Wilson Airport.

Nat Hab's Private Mobile Camp–Ol Pejeta

Location
Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya

Natural Habitat's Private Mobile Camp offers one of the most exclusive and authentic safari experiences available. To sleep beneath canvas in the depths of the African wilderness, under a Milky Way so thick with stars that it looks like clouds, listening for the roar of lions in the distance...well, it's pure magic. Because our camp is mobile, we're able to locate ourselves in pristine areas where wildlife viewing is best. You'll savor thrilling wildlife encounters and intimate moments in nature that you simply can’t get at a typical safari lodge. Yet while our remote tented camp may evoke the ambience of a vintage safari era, it doesn’t mean you sacrifice modern-day comforts.

Immersing our guests in a setting reminiscent of an Africa of bygone days, the camp provides a refined experience in the bush. Each spacious tent has a full bed with deluxe bedding; bedside table and floor rugs; an attached en suite bathroom with wash basin, toilet and safari-style shower; and a private covered veranda for personal relaxing. Imagine Ernest Hemingway or Teddy Roosevelt (though we surely do not hunt) perched on the porch of their own private tents, scanning the savanna for game, and you’ll picture what it's like to stay in our classic mobile camp.

A crew of experienced safari hosts sets up the camp in anticipation of our arrival, establishing a surprisingly luxurious base from which to explore key wildlife areas. They are on hand to provide for your every need and comfort, whether it's a hot bucket shower on demand, or a hearty meal artfully prepared over the campfire. When it's time to move on to the next destination, the camp is broken down and packed up, leaving no trace of our presence in the remote wilderness.

Nat Hab’s Private Mobile Camp–Mara Conservancy

Our luxury mobile tented camp is the perfect base for wilderness family adventures. Situated in a remote location on a private conservancy in the Maasai Mara adjacent to the national reserve, it offers outstanding proximity to prime wildlife viewing without the crowds. Each tent has a shaded veranda with table and comfortable chairs. Inside the heavy-duty canvas walls you'll find shelves, luggage racks and hanging caddies for your personal items. At night, sink into cotton linens, duvets and blankets to ward off the chill, with the added comfort of a hot water bottle provided each evening. En suite bathrooms have flush toilet, sink, warm water dispenser and safari-style hot showers. Solar-powered lighting is available around the clock in each tent, with charging facilities for all your electronic needs in the main lounge. After sunset, camp paths are illuminated by kerosene lanterns. Fine meals are served in the dining tent or outdoors under the shade of an acacia tree. A separate lounge tent offers comfortable furnishings so guests can sink back and share stories of the day. Once darkness falls, gather round the campfire and listen for the the roar of a lion while the Milky Way puts on a bedtime show.

Nat Hab's Private Mobile Camp–Serengeti

Location
Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

This deluxe mobile tented camp is designed to travel with the natural flow of the wildebeest migrating through the Serengeti ecosystem. The camp’s mobility allows us to follow the herds, optimizing our chances to witness the migration and ensuring outstanding wildlife viewing at all times. From December until March, the camp is ideally situated to intercept the migration in the Southern Serengeti. From June through October, the camp is positioned to intercept the migration in the Northern Serengeti.

The camp is comprised of eight canvas tents with two lounge/dining areas. Each tent is either a twin or double (triples are also available) with toilets and safari-style bucket showers in en suite bathrooms. The open communal area surveys the plains, so you can enjoy wildlife viewing over a drink as you relax in the lounge or bar. The dining room, also set beneath canvas, offers a classic bush dining experience. And after dark, classic lanterns provide a romantic glow throughout camp.

Guests will enjoy the intimate ambience of this traditional canvas safari camp that provides an authentic experience of the wild Serengeti as much as it does rustic luxuries. Our close-knit Tanzanian camp staff ensures that personalized hospitality, excellent food, and a warm, relaxed environment are hallmarks of a stay at our private mobile camp. And, since our staff follows the migration with our camp year-round, they are a font of detailed information about the wildlife and the overall experience.

Lemala Nanyukie Tented Lodge

Location
Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Lemala Nanyukie is a luxurious new tented camp in the central region of the Serengeti, just 45 minutes from the Seronera airstrip. The secluded camp sits alone on the grassy savanna, backdropped by rocky kopjes and shaded by giant acacia trees. The 15 airy, canvas tents are spaced well apart to maximize privacy. Each has a soaring ceiling, elegant furnishings in natural colors and materials including wood, wicker and sisal, an en suite bathroom with porcelain soaking tub plus both indoor and outdoor showers, and a private plunge pool on a spacious hardwood deck overlooking the Serengeti grasslands. Free Wi-Fi is also provided in each tent. Common areas include a large lounge and bar with a fireplace and plenty of soft couches and chairs, an outdoor viewing deck leading to a refreshing swimming pool, and indoor and outdoor dining areas. After dark, romantic lanterns illuminate the tables, walkways, pool area and campfire boma. For a special treat, enjoy a relaxing massage among the trees in the spa tent.

All Lemala properties throughout Africa are deeply committed to sustainability, and Nanyukie camp is no exception. This camp is fully solar-powered, so there are no generators to drown out the sounds of nature deep in the savanna. Meals feature locally grown produce, supporting farmers in villages surrounding the park, and the tented structures leave a very light footprint on the land. Wildlife is abundant in this area, while other vehicles are not. The annual wildebeest migration crosses near the camp twice a year, and guests frequently enjoy viewing elephants and big cats directly from their private decks. Game drives bring you quickly into the surrounding realm of cheetah, leopard, hippo, zebra, colorful birds and much more.

Lemala Ngorongoro

Location
Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania

Lemala Ngorongoro is a luxury seasonal camp located in a private reserve on the north side of the Ngorongoro Crater. Its optimal location near the less-traveled Lemala access road provides quick and easy entry into the crater, a mere 15-minute descent that maximizes wildlife-viewing opportunities by allowing for full days on the crater floor. Often, the first hours of a morning safari drive are enjoyed in solitude before others arrive. Set in an acacia forest on the crater rim, the intimate camp offers secluded accommodations under canvas in deluxe tents. Each of the nine spacious tents is outfitted with a gas heater, large single or king-size beds with warm duvets, wooden flooring with rugs, 24-hour solar lighting, and en suite bathrooms with a dressing area, flush toilet and safari-style bucket shower. The mess tent is lavishly furnished with grand sofas, lamps, chests, rugs, and book cases and corner cabinets in old wood. In the evening, guests gather around the campfire for sundowners before enjoying a sumptuous dinner. The camp works closely with the local Maasai community, members of which often offer dances and talks on Maasai culture, traditions and ceremonies, an engaging way for guests to learn more about their traditional lifestyles.

Plantation Lodge

Location
Ngorongoro Highlands, Tanzania

A green oasis amid the red-brown hills of the Ngorongoro Highlands, Plantation Lodge lies at the center of a working coffee, flower and cattle plantation, surrounded by rolling green farmland and lowland forest. Its 17 individual bungalows provide superb comfort and amenities, each with a separate sitting area, wood-burning fireplace and private veranda overlooking lavish gardens and manicured lawns. The individually furnished rooms and suites are uniquely decorated with the owners’ fabulous collection of safari antiques and Tanzanian arts and crafts. The small size of this owner-run lodge, combined with its colonial-style charm, creates an intimate atmosphere where personal attention and a concern for detail are evident at every turn. The lodge enjoys a prime location for safari access: it's very near the entrance of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a quick hop from Tarangire and Lake Manyara national parks, and a relatively short drive from the Serengeti.

Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge

Location
Arusha, Tanzania

Before or after your safari, enjoy a serene setting among lush gardens filled with bougainvillea and jaracaranda surrounding a colonial German farmhouse at the base of Mount Meru. The original 1905 house was transformed in 1974 into a tranquil guest lodge filled with antiques, and it is still owned and run by the same conservation-minded family today. Long covered verandas offer views of Mount Kilimanjaro from overstuffed chairs, while indoors, a fireplace provides warmth when the sun goes down. Ten garden rooms front an expansive lawn across from the main house, with private porches for relaxing. Beneath the beamed timber ceilings, sink into a canopied king-size Zanzibar bed or two twins, with elaborate carved wooden headboards. A separate lounge area is appointed with colorful local fabrics and handmade ottoman sofa. Each room has a large en suite bathroom with tub, rain shower, dressing area and separate toilet. Meals at the main house are served in the dining room or al fresco on the shaded terrace overlooking the gardens and small lake. Menus feature homemade fare incorporating organic vegetables from the lodge garden and local small farms, fresh-baked breads and pastries, locally grown coffee that's roasted at the lodge, and more. The property generates its own hydroelectricity, and all drinking water comes directly from its natural spring, which also supplies fresh water to neighboring villages.

Do as much or as little as you like at Ngare Sero. Fifty acres of sprawling grounds invite a stroll through forest that's home to black and white colobus and Sykes' monkeys. The owners have planted more than 3,000 indigenous trees on the property, which shelter native wildlife and 200 bird species. Take a boat ride on the lake, fed by crystal-clear coldwater springs rising in the forest and inhabited by many different frogs, freshwater crabs and fish. Ride a horse through the woodlands as you look for abundant birdlife. Play a round of croquet, take a refreshing swim in the 100-foot pool, or rejuvenate with a massage at the open-air spa, enhanced with essential oils.