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Travel + Leisure

The 15 Best Safari Lodges and Safari Outfitters in Africa of 2025

Planning and delivering excellent safaris requires a team of experienced, reliable people. That's something Travel + Leisure readers appreciated as they voted for their favorite safari lodges and outfitters this year, most of which received nods for knowledgeable guides and seamless service. Many of these properties and operators are no strangers to the World's Best Awards, showing consistency in everything from staff members to opportunities for incredible wildlife sightings. Here's who came out on top. Every year for our World's Best Awards survey, T+L asks readers to weigh in on travel experiences around the globe—to share their opinions on the top hotels, resorts, cities, islands, cruise ships, spas, airlines, and more. Nearly 180,000 T+L readers completed the 2025 survey. A total of more than 657,000 votes were cast across over 8,700 properties (hotels, cities, cruise lines, etc.). Hotels were classified as either resort hotel, city hotel, inn, or safari lodge based on their location and amenities, and they were specifically rated on the criteria below: Rooms/facilities Location Service Food Value Tour operators and safari outfitters were specifically rated on the criteria below: Staff/guides Itineraries/destinations Activities Accommodations Food Value For each characteristic, respondents could choose a rating of excellent, above average, average, below average, or poor. The final scores are averages of these responses. Dinner by the pool overlooking the Masai Mara at &Beyond Bateleur Camp. Location and service were important for T+L readers when it came to choosing their favorite safari lodges. Readers wrote of Mfuwe Lodge's (No. 2) 'great location' in Zambia's South Luangwa National Park and the 'exceptional service." A previous guest of Sasaab (No. 5) commented positively on the camp's 'remote' location, just outside Kenya's Samburu National Reserve. Voters had a clear preference for Kenyan properties this year, with three of the top five being located in the East African country, including this year's favorite: andBeyond Bateleur Camp. andBeyond Bateleur Camp: Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya The deck of a tented suite at andBeyond Bateleur Camp. This year's top safari lodge, as voted by T+L readers, is andBeyond Bateleur Camp in Kenya's wildlife-rich Maasai Mara National Reserve. The property is split into two camps with nine tents each, and one family tent (all ages are welcome). The tents have vintage touches—traveling cases, leather Chesterfield couches, and copper bathtubs—with butler service, and each camp has a lap pool. No surprise, then, that one T+L reader recommended others 'allow time to enjoy the camp' rather than just take part in game drives. Several guests commented on the people, noting the incredible staff, knowledgeable guides, and great service—no small part of why the camp received a perfect score. 1. andBeyond Bateleur Camp: Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya Reader Score: 100.00 2. Mfuwe Lodge, The Bushcamp Company: South Luangwa National Park, Zambia Reader Score: 99.73 3. Solio Lodge: Laikipia, Kenya Reader Score: 98.13 4. andBeyond Phinda Private Game Reserve: Phinda Private Game Reserve, South Africa Reader Score: 97.41 5. Sasaab: Samburu National Reserve, Kenya Reader Score: 96.63 The type of safari outfitters varied across T+L readers' top choices this year—Vegas-based Dazzle Africa (No. 2) is a Zambia specialist; Asilia Africa (No. 8) is an East Africa operator with 17 camps; and Travel Beyond (No. 1) is a global tour agency based in Minnesota. One common thread, however, is the importance of people, from on-the-ground teams to U.S.-based travel planners. 'Tour operators and guides made this trip seamless for us,' one reader wrote about Dazzle Africa. Travel Beyond On safari in Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. The Minnesota-based luxury travel consultancy Travel Beyond organizes tours all over the world, but this year, T+L readers chose to highlight the company's safari planning skills in countries including South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Tanzania. Travel Beyond is this year's No. 1 safari outfitter, and readers praised their expertise, thoughtfulness, and ability to cater to specific requests—for example, finding a specialist photography guide to help set up 'a specific astro-photography shot.' Many voters had traveled with Travel Beyond multiple times—one reader said they'd recently returned from their second vacation with the company and 'have another trip booked in August to return to Africa.' 1. Travel Beyond Reader Score: 99.56 2. Dazzle Africa Reader Score: 99.55 3. Rothschild Safaris Reader Score: 99.40 4. Stanley Safaris Reader Score: 99.33 5. Deeper Africa Reader Score: 99.26 6. Piper & Heath Travel Reader Score: 98.87 7. Micato Safaris WBA Hall of Fame honoree. Reader Score: 98.75 8. Asilia Africa Reader Score: 98.72 9. Extraordinary Journeys Reader Score: 98.40 10. Thomson Safaris Reader Score: 98.16