Inside the World's Most Personal Safari

What sets Singita apart

It is not the design - though Cécile & Boyd's interiors at Singita Sweni and the new Singita Faru Faru are arguably the best in the bush. It is the staff-to-guest ratio (consistently better than 3:1), the conservation work (Singita protects more than one million acres of wilderness across three countries), and the absolute consistency of the experience from one camp to the next.

The other thing that sets Singita apart is its quiet refusal to compete on amenities. There is no spa wing as a marketing centrepiece, no over-water restaurant, no helicopter circus. The product is the wildlife, the guides, the food and the silence. Everything else is in service of those four things.

Founder Luke Bailes still owns and runs the company. The model is unusual in luxury safari - most of the industry has been consolidated into a handful of corporate groups - and the sense that the place is run by people who care shows up in every detail.

The Sabi Sand: South Africa's best traversing rights

The Sabi Sand Game Reserve, on the western boundary of Kruger National Park, has the most consistent leopard sightings on the continent and arguably the best traversing rights of any private reserve. Singita operates four lodges here: Ebony, Boulders, Castleton and the smaller Sweni-style Singita Sabi Sand camps.

Singita Ebony is the original. Twelve suites in the original 1993 building, each with a private pool, set above the Sand River. It remains our most-recommended Singita property for first-time safari travellers - the design is timeless, the wildlife is reliably spectacular and the service is unmatched.

Singita Boulders, a fifteen-minute drive across the same concession, is a more contemporary expression. Twelve suites of glass and stone, also river-facing, with a slightly more architectural feel. We tend to recommend it for repeat safari travellers and design-led couples.

Singita Sweni and the photographic safari

Singita Sweni - six glass-walled suites on a quiet stretch of river inside the Singita Kruger National Park concession - is the property we book for honeymooners and serious wildlife photographers. Six suites is small enough that the camp feels private; the sound of hippos at night is part of the experience.

The advantage of the Singita Kruger concession over the Sabi Sand is the scale. 33,000 hectares with no other operators, which means you will sometimes drive for thirty minutes without seeing another vehicle. For photographers, this is paradise - and the head guide Patrick Shorten is one of the most respected wildlife photographers in southern Africa.

Singita Castleton - the family safari template

Singita Castleton is a private twelve-guest homestead with its own staff, vehicles and chef. You buy the entire house, exclusively, for your party. The economics work for groups of eight or ten - beyond per-person rates, the privacy of having your own kitchen, your own meal times and your own game-viewing schedule is the real product.

We book Castleton most often for multi-generational family safaris and milestone celebrations (60th birthdays, 25th anniversaries). The kitchen will accommodate any dietary requirement; the kids' programme is age-banded and serious. It is the only Singita property we recommend for families with very young children (under six).

Migration timing: Singita Mara River Tented Camp

Singita Mara River Tented Camp in northern Tanzania is one of the great migration camps. Six tents on a quiet bend of the Mara River, front row to the wildebeest crossings July through October. The crossings themselves are unpredictable - you may see them on day one or wait three days - but the wildlife density on this side of the Serengeti from June through November is the highest in Africa.

Migration timing strategy: aim for the second half of August through mid-October for the highest probability of crossings. Pair with two or three nights at Singita Faru Faru in the Sabi Sand for big-cat density and a complete southern Africa safari arc.

Gorilla trekking - Singita Kwitonda Lodge

Singita Kwitonda Lodge in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda, is now the property we book for almost every gorilla trekking trip. Eight suites and one private villa overlooking the volcanoes; 178 acres of restored forest reconnecting two Volcanoes National Park sectors; gorilla permits arranged in advance through the Rwanda Development Board.

Gorilla permits are USD 1,500 per person per trek, and group sizes for each gorilla family are capped at eight. Demand exceeds supply for the most accessible families - we book trekking dates 6 to 12 months in advance and pair them with three nights at Singita Mara River or Faru Faru for a 10- to 12-night Rwanda-Tanzania-Kenya safari arc.

Costs in 2026

Singita pricing is per person per night, all-inclusive (food, drink, game drives, laundry, conservation levy). For 2026 high season (June through October) the published rates run from USD 2,800 per person per night at the entry-level Singita lodges to USD 4,500 at Singita Sweni and USD 6,500+ at the private homesteads. Low season (April-May, November) brings rates down 20 to 30 percent.

Permits, visas, charter flights and add-on experiences are billed separately. A typical seven-night Singita trip - three nights Sabi Sand, four nights Singita Kruger, with one charter flight - runs USD 35,000 to 55,000 per person all-in.

What ZOMA secures on a Singita booking

Through our preferred-partner agreement: complimentary breakfast (already standard, but treated with extra care), priority on the best vehicles and trackers, dietary preferences pre-arranged with the chef, and on relevant stays a complimentary spa treatment per guest. We also coordinate the inter-lodge charter flights, manage the gorilla and chimpanzee permit applications, and handle the visa logistics that catch out most independently-booked safari travellers.