At a Glance
- Experience Africa’s Great Migration from lodges blending luxury comfort with wild authenticity.
- Witness wildebeest and zebra crossings from Tanzania’s Serengeti to Kenya’s Maasai Mara.
- Support conservation and local communities through eco-luxury safari stays across East Africa.
Africa’s Great Migration is one of nature’s most astonishing displays, a year-long odyssey of over 1.5 million wildebeest, 400,000 zebra, and countless gazelles crossing the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem in search of greener pastures.
For travelers eager to experience this spectacle up close without giving up modern comfort, a collection of exceptional lodges and camps now offers the perfect balance between wilderness and luxury.
Across these stays, the migration unfolds like a living film, thundering hooves, sweeping plains, and moments of quiet wonder at dawn.
Guests watch survival and renewal play out in real time, surrounded by some of Africa’s most dramatic landscapes.
From Tanzania’s golden grasslands to Kenya’s storied conservancies, Shore Africa profiles ten hotels that capture the spirit and power of the migration like nowhere else.
1. Singita Faru Faru Lodge
Location: Tanzania
Set within the Grumeti Game Reserve, part of the vast Serengeti, Singita Faru Faru Lodge combines refined luxury with untamed beauty. Its glass-walled suites open onto the Grumeti River, a key crossing point for migrating herds. Guests can float above the plains in a hot-air balloon at sunrise or join expert guides tracking lions, elephants, and rhinos. Beyond the experience, the lodge contributes to local conservation projects that protect endangered species and support nearby communities.
2. Angama Mara
Location: Kenya
Perched high above the Great Rift Valley, Angama Mara seems to hover over the Maasai Mara itself. From its panoramic decks, guests have sweeping views of the savannah where the migration unfolds between July and October. Each tented suite opens onto a private veranda — an ideal spot to watch the sunset or the slow march of wildebeest below. Through the Angama Foundation, the lodge also helps fund education and conservation programs for local Maasai communities.
3. Mwiba Lodge
Location: Tanzania
Hidden among acacia woodlands in the southern Serengeti, Mwiba Lodge offers a private, tranquil retreat. Its stone-and-timber suites, each with a plunge pool, overlook a wildlife corridor where herds pass almost year-round. Between December and March, guests can witness the calving season — when tens of thousands of newborn wildebeest take their first steps on shaky legs. Mwiba’s close partnerships with local communities help preserve these vital migration routes for generations to come.
4. Sayari Camp
Location: Northern Serengeti, Tanzania
Few camps sit closer to the heart of the migration’s most thrilling chapter — the Mara River crossings — than Sayari. Nestled in the remote north of the Serengeti, its elegant tents face one of the migration’s most dramatic bottlenecks, where crocodiles lurk and herds brave the rushing waters. Guests can join walking safaris, night drives, and cultural excursions with local Maasai guides, making each stay both adventurous and deeply personal.
5. Naboisho Camp
Location: Kenya
In the 50,000-acre Mara Naboisho Conservancy, Naboisho Camp offers a peaceful and intimate safari. With just nine tents, it ensures both privacy and close-up wildlife encounters — often right outside your veranda. The camp’s Maasai rangers and guides bring rich storytelling and local insight to every drive. By staying here, guests directly support wildlife protection and education programs that keep the conservancy thriving.
6. Serengeti Under Canvas
Location: Tanzania
Operated by &Beyond, Serengeti Under Canvas is a mobile camp that follows the herds wherever they roam. Each location is carefully chosen to keep guests close to the migration’s key moments, from river crossings to calving grounds. Canvas tents evoke the romance of old safaris, complete with chandeliers, soft linens, and personal butlers — proof that adventure and comfort can coexist in the wild.
7. Lemala Nanyukie, Tanzania
Set near the Seronera Valley, Lemala Nanyukie offers an unbeatable vantage point for predator sightings during migration season. Its airy suites, each with a plunge pool, open to vast grasslands where big cats and herds roam freely. The lodge’s open-air lounge makes sunsets unforgettable, while its eco-friendly design — powered by solar energy and built around sustainability — keeps its footprint light.
8. Kuria Hills Lodge
Location: Tanzania
Just a short distance from the Mara River, Kuria Hills Lodge gives guests front-row access to one of nature’s greatest dramas. Its glass-fronted villas are tucked among granite boulders, blending seamlessly into the landscape. After a day of thrilling game drives, guests can unwind at the spa or enjoy dinner under starlit skies — a perfect ending to a day in the wild.
9. Entara Olmara Camp
Location: Central Serengeti, Tanzania
Olmara Camp brings modern elegance to the heart of the Serengeti. Its design blurs the boundary between indoors and outdoors, immersing guests in the rhythms of the bush. Ideal for photographers and wildlife lovers, the camp’s location offers sightings throughout the year. Each stay contributes to anti-poaching efforts and habitat restoration, ensuring the Serengeti remains a sanctuary for generations to come.
10. Sasaab
Location: Samburu, Kenya
Far from the crowds, in northern Kenya’s Samburu National Reserve, Sasaab reveals a different side of the migration. The lodge overlooks the Ewaso Nyiro River and is surrounded by desert-adapted wildlife — elephants, reticulated giraffes, and Grevy’s zebras. Its Moroccan-inspired design, open-air villas, and infinity pools create a calm contrast to the rugged terrain, offering travelers both serenity and adventure in one unforgettable stay.
