The Complete Guide To: Luxury Safaris

Safari is a Swahili word for "journey". These days, unless you opt for a no-frills version, chances are your journey into Africa's game reserves and national parks will involve staying in a comfortable lodge, camp or resort. Here, knowledgeable guides are on hand to introduce you to the surrounding wildlife, while a steady stream of G&T starts flowing as soon as the sun is over the outdoor plunge pool. But an increasingly competitive market has led some safari operators to up their game.

Basic comfort isn't enough; the modern safari experience is all about providing the ultimate in personal service, whether that's arranging a stay in a glamorously remote camp or providing a private guide to point out not just the Big Five - lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard and rhinoceros - but also smaller, rarer animals.

WHERE SHOULD I START?

Check into a boutique safari lodge. These are essentially small luxury hotels where you can also do game viewing. Many offer striking architecture, daily yoga classes and food to rival a Michelin-starred chef.

One of the most spectacular is The Outpost, in the northern reaches of the Kruger National Park, South Africa. The work of Italian architect Enrico Daffonchio, it has just 12 suites. Developed with a view to providing a sustainable income for the Makuleke people, it's also a fine example of modern safari lodge design. Rates for its glamorous, pared-back "living spaces" start at £395 for a double room, fully inclusive. To book call 020-7652 4625 or visit www.i-escape.com.

Nearby, Singita is a private game reserve, which boasts some of the chicest accommodation this side of the Rift Valley. It offers glass-fronted suites, a gym and health spa, a comprehensive wine cellar and a small boutique stocked with modern African art and sculpture. Rates start at R15,000 (£1,058), double full-board. UK reservations: 0131-556 4368; www.singita.co.za.

Singita has also just taken over management of three exclusive properties in the Grumeti Reserves in Tanzania's Serengeti: Sasakwa Hill Lodge, Sabora Plains Tented Camp and Faru Faru River Lodge - none of which can house more than 14 guests at a time. Opening rates for a double at Singita Serengeti Lodges until the end of March are £540 a night, fully inclusive, at the camp (0161 491 7610; www.carrier.co.uk).

Back in South Africa, the 16-room Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve and Retreat (00 27 21 685 25 98; www.bushmanskloof.co.za) is a Relais & Châteaux property. It blends five-star accommodation with the chance to explore 130 rock art sites nearby, as well as wildlife (although the 35 species of animals within its boundaries don't include the Big Five). Facilities include a walk-in wine cellar, an infinity pool and a fully equipped spa. Rates start at R2,100 (£148) per double a night, all-inclusive.

ANYTHING OUTSIDE SOUTH AFRICA?

Shompole in Kenya (00 254 20 884135; www.shompole.com) is another super-stylish safari lodge that offers a high level of luxury in the wilderness. Run in partnership with the Masai tribe, its eight tented rooms and two suites were built with local materials. Prices for a double start at US$830 (£426) per night, including all meals.

Also suitable for design aficionados is King's Pool Camp in Botswana. Recently refurbished, its nine twin-bedded tented suites each come with a tiny pool and deck and are linked to a communal living area by sleek, elevated walkways. Prices start from US$660 (£367) per person, full-board (Aardvark Safaris, 01980 849 160; www.wilderness-safaris.com).

Fans of modern architecture and arid landscapes, meanwhile, should head to Sossusvlei Mountain Lodge in the Namib Desert. Its 10 minimalist stone villas are set at the foot of a mountain, and have striking glass bathrooms, indoor and outdoor showers, star-viewing skylights and a swimming pool. Wildlife aside, one of the big attractions here is the chance to see the enormous Sossusvlei sand dunes. Rates start at 3,850 Namibian dollars (£275) per double per night, all inclusive; book through CC Africa (020-8133 1592; www.ccafrica.com).

I'D RATHER BOOK A WHOLE PACKAGE

With its dramatic scenery and variety of animals, Kenya is classic safari territory. In fact, the safari-holiday concept began there. To see the country in style, Naibor offers a modern take on the tented camp. It has just been relocated inside the Masai Mara, near the confluence of the Talek and Mara rivers, where there is a wider, more reliable diversity of wildlife. Naibor is intimate in size (there are just seven tents) and chic in design, with pale canvas tents and muted bush colours. Four night packages here start at £1,601 per person, including flights from Heathrow to Masai Mara via Nairobi with British Airways and Kenya Airways, transfers and all-inclusive accommodation (020-7384 2332; www.cazloyd.com).

Other classic destinations include Botswana's Okavango Delta, a vast wetland encompassing over 15,000km of papyrus swamps, shallow reed-beds and floodplains. One way to get a with-frills introduction to the game here - which includes lion, leopard, cheetah and zebra - is to book a stay at Baines' Camp. This is a five-star hideaway on a private concession, which boasts seriously sustainable foundations: it was built from discarded aluminium cans sealed with wire mesh and elephant-dung plaster. Overlooking a large lagoon, its five suites have four-poster beds that can be wheeled out to the balcony if you want to sleep under the stars. The camp is included in Abercrombie & Kent's Signature Botswana itinerary, a nine-day tour through the Moremi Game Reserve, the Okavango Delta and Chobe National Park, which costs from £3,499 per person, including flights from Heathrow to Johannesburg with BA and full-board accommodation (08450 700 611; www.abercrombiekent.co.uk).

Also in Botswana, Kuoni's Orient Express Safari is a new package that, as the name suggests, bases its safari guests in a range of sophisticated lodges. These six-night trips are split between the Savute Elephant Camp and Eagle Island Camp in Chobe National Park, and the Khwai River Lodge in the Okavango Delta. Prices start at £2,985 per person, including flights with South African Airways from Heathrow to Johannesburg, transfers, full-board accommodation and game drives (01306 747 008; www.kuoni.co.uk).

TAKE ME OFF THE BEATEN TRACK

If leaving the crowds behind is your idea of luxury, Journeys By Design (01273 623 790; www.journeysbydesign.co.uk) can organise private safaris in Katavi National Park, in south-west Tanzania. The company is dedicated to offering small, upscale safaris. Prices for a two-week private safari start at £3,950 per* *person, including a week in Katavi, three nights in a tented camp in the Serengeti and four nights on Chumbe Island, Zanzibar. International flights are not included.

Seclusion is also offered at Robin Pope's new Palmgrove Bush Camp in Zambia's Luangwa valley. It's not as lavish as a boutique lodge experience, but this is as cool as bush camping gets, with proper tents, mattresses, sheets and blankets, bucket showers and a full bar and food service. Prices start from £2,750 per person including flights from Heathrow to Lusaka with British Airways, four nights at a luxury camp, two nights at Palmgrove (all fully inclusive) and transfers (01993 838 500; www.audleytravel.com).

Namibia is another slightly offbeat destination for luxury-safari seekers, but it has diverse scenery and plenty of exotic wildlife (including the occasional Hollywood star). One of the best ways to get to grips with the country's unforgiving terrain is to see it from above. Tailor Made Travel (08454 568 006; www.tailor-made.co.uk) organises decadent Best of Namibia Wing fly-in safaris that incorporate excursions to the Sossusvlei dunes and Etosha National Park, as well as flights over the Skeleton Coast and its shipwrecks. Prices start from £2,260 per person, including internal flights, six nights' accommodation, all meals, activities and park fees. International flights are not included.

Other companies offering luxury safari packages include Okavango (020-8343 3283; www.okavango.com), Africa Exclusive (01604 628 979; www.safari.co.uk), ITC Classics (01244 355 550; www.itcclassics.co.uk), Roxton Bailey Robinson Worldwide (01488 689 700; www.rbrww.com), Premier Prestige (08708 890 834; www.premier-prestige.co.uk) and The Ultimate Travel Company (020-7386 4646; www.ultimatetravelcompany.co.uk).

I FANCY A WILD WEEKEND

One of the most decadent ways to go on safari is to head off on a long weekend. This is easiest done in Africa, because of the minimal time difference. Original Travel (020-7978 7333; www.originaltravel.co.uk) offers five-day safaris in Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, South Africa and Uganda. These are designed so that, if you live close enough to an international airport, you need take only three days off work. Prices start from £1,180 for the Kenya trips, including flights from Heathrow to Nairobi on BA or Kenya Airways, transfers and accommodation.

Further afield, Real Holidays has just launched similar short-break safaris to India, staying at the luxury Aman-I-Khas tented camp and exploring Ranthambore National Park (020-7359 3938; www.realholidays.co.uk).

If you subscribe to the idea that we should no longer be flying unnecessarily, however, it makes sense to fly less often but stay in a destination longer. Longer trips include stays in a "star" bed on the Loisaba ranch and wildlife conservancy in northern Kenya. Set on a raised, open platform, surrounded by mosquito netting and supplied with a cosy duvet (and an en suite private bathroom), the beds are a great way to indulge in a more adventurous way. They can be included in the nine-night Kenyan safaris offered by Tribes (01728 685 971; www.tribes.co.uk). Typical packages start at £2,600 per person, including a two-night Walking Wild safari, two nights in a star bed and stays at three other safari camps and lodges but not international flights.

Other companies running responsible safaris include Baobab Travel (08703 825 003; www.baobabtravel.com), Travel Roots (020-8341 2262; www.travelroots.com), Rainbow Tours (020-7226 1004; www.rainbowtours.co.uk) and many members of the African Travel and Tourism Association (08454 301 252; www.atta.co.uk).

CAN I COMBINE SURF AND TURF?

Many companies now offer holidays that combine stays at the beach with time in the bush. Ultimate Safaris and Islands (020-7589 8800; www.ultimatesafarisandislands.com) puts together imaginative tailor-made trips to some of Africa's most glamorous lodges and beach hideaways. If you really want to impress, its Ultimate Journey is hard to beat. It takes in the King's Pool, Abu, Mombo and Jacks camps in Botswana, followed by time on an elegant beach at North Island in the Seychelles. Prices for this 19-day trip start from £17,999 per person including flights from Johannesburg, transfers, activities and all-inclusive accommodation.

More conventional surf and turf trips include a package from Expert Africa (020-8232 9777; www.expertafrica.com), which covers both a walking safari in Zambia and time on the beach in Mozambique. The trip starts at Tafika, a relaxed and unpretentious camp on the Luangwa river. You then continue on foot to two satellite bushcamps, Chikoko Tree Camp and Crocodile Camp. The journey ends on Quilalea Island in Mozambique's Quirimbas archipelago. Prices for this 16-night trip start at £4,375 per person, all-inclusive.

To combine beach and bush without having to lug your suitcase about, try one of the To Escape to Big Seven safaris (08717 115 282; www.toescapeto.com). These are based at the new, five-star Intsomi Lodge in the Eastern Cape region of South Africa. It is set on the edge of the greater Addo Elephant National Park. You can go out to spot the Big Five in the morning and then stroll the few hundred metres to the Indian Ocean in the afternoon to see a further "big two" (the neighbouring bay is a popular breeding ground for orca whales and sharks). Prices start at £1,699 per person including flights from Heathrow to Port Elizabeth via Johannesburg with South African Airways, transfers and five nights' all-inclusive accommodation.

ANYTHING MORE UNUSUAL?

From May you will be able to hop on board the new Ichobezi Mukwae, sister vessel to the Ichobezi Safariboat (00 27 11 897 0102; www.ichobezi.co.za). Look out for elephants, buffalo, giraffe, kudu, waterbuck, impala and baboons as you sail along the Chobe and Zambezi rivers in Namibia. This luxury cruiser will have four large en suite cabins and an elevated deck with an open dining room, a lounge, a plunge pool, a bar area and a kitchen (not that you'll have to muck in, with a private chef on hand). Prices start from R4,920 (£354) per double per night, including full-board accommodation.

If you prefer trains to boats, the Shongololo Express (00 27 11 781 4616; www.shongololo.com) runs 16-day In the Tracks of Dr Livingstone journeys between Dar es Salaam and Johannesburg (or vice versa). These take in a range of attractions en route, including the Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania, Zambia's South Luangwa National Park, game viewing at Somabhula and a visit to the Victoria Falls. Prices start from £3,886 per person, including train travel, half-board accommodation, activities and entrance fees but not international flights.

For the luxury of travelling with celebrity guides in tow, a Desert and Delta fly-in safari is led by the Big Cat Diary presenters Jonathan and Angie Scott. This 17-day trip through Namibia and Botswana is the first in a new collection of Signature Safaris from Wildlife Worldwide (08451 306 982; www.wildlifeworldwide.com). It incorporates some of the region's top lodges, camps and wildlife locations. Prices start at £8,995, including flights, transfers, accommodation, meals, National Park entry fees and guides.

TAKE ME OUT OF AFRICA

India and Nepal are fast-growing luxury safari destinations. Bales Worldwide (08707 559 851; www.discoverbales.com) runs a 12-day Best of Nepal trip. It includes two days spent spotting tigers, rhinos, leopards, buffalo and more than 400 species of birds at Royal Chitwan National Park. Prices start at £1,298, including flights, guides, transport, accommodation and most meals.

Further south, the Taj Hotel group (www.tajsafaris.com) has teamed up with CC Africa to set up Taj Wilderness Lodges within India's tiger reserves. The first lodge, Mahua Kothi, opened on the edge of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh last November. The second opens next month in Baghvan, in Pench National Park. Lodges are planned at the tiger reserves of Corbett, Kanha and Panna for later this year and next. Opening rates at Mahua Kothi start at US$600 (£320) double, fully inclusive. If you'd rather book a package, Wildlife Worldwide (08451 306 982; www.wildlife worldwide.com) runs nine-day trips taking in Mahua Kothi and Bandhavgarh, with prices starting from £1,299.

For a rather more unusual safari experience, head to Australia. Bridge & Wickers (020-7483 6555; www.bridgeand wickers.co.uk) offers trips to a new, exclusive bush camp in the Northern Territory. Bamurru Plains bush camp is on the floodplains of the Mary river delta just west of Kakadu National Park. The rooms are built on raised platforms with views over the wetlands. Land-based prices start from £1,257 for three nights.

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