The best of both worlds: Choosing between tented camps and safari lodges
Northern Tanzanian safari circuit
The decision to go on safari is easy — who can resist the call of the wild and the promise of adventure in Africa's untamed heart? But choosing how to safari? Well, that's a different matter entirely.
When planning my recent journey through Tanzania’s iconic northern safari circuit, I found myself with an impossible choice: do I answer the call of canvas at a luxury tented camp or revel in wild luxury at a safari lodge?
Well, as any explorer worth their mettle would, I decided to try them both on for size.
Luxury tented camps: Answering the call of canvas
The art of immersion
There's something about tented camps that transports you directly into the pages of Out of Africa. Just as the landscape captivated Karen Blixen decades ago, nature — ancient and untamed — unfurls in every direction, making modern life seem worlds away.
My first taste of the luxury tented camp experience began deep in the Serengeti's remote Western Corridor at Legendary Mila Tented Camp. Easy to miss amid a dense thicket, the camp revealed itself gradually as we approached — a collection of canvas structures seamlessly woven among thorn-tipped bushes and umbrella acacias. The moment I stepped from the vehicle, I understood what it means to be truly immersed in nature.
Here, surrounded by nothing but canvas and wilderness, I felt attuned to the Serengeti's pulse. With no fences severing the camp's connection to the wild, I felt as much a part of nature as the cluster of wildebeest grazing nearby.
"Last week, we had three lions sleeping in the shade of that tent," the camp manager explained, pointing toward a tent positioned at the edge of the plains. "The guests were mesmerized."
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The intimacy of canvas
The limited guest numbers at luxury tented safari camps like Mila and my next stop, Legendary Songa Migrational camp, created an intimate atmosphere where the wilderness feels exclusively yours to explore. Spacious layouts and private dining tents gave rise to the feeling that this slice of paradise was mine alone — bar the welcoming presence of my waiter, who somehow always knew exactly when to appear with an ice-cold G&T in hand.
This wasn’t rustic camping — these canvas cocoons offered remarkable luxury while maintaining the adventurous spirit of safari. Each tented camp's design philosophy became clear the more I explored: “At Songa, nature is the show,” the camp manager explained, gesturing the the wilderness that unfurled beyond my tent’s private patio. My accommodation was a masterpiece of thoughtful design: spacious enough for genuine comfort, yet intimate enough that the sounds of the African night seemed to emanate from within the walls themselves.
It was here, as I rinsed off the dust of another busy day with a steaming hot shower, listening to hyenas calling to each other in the distance, that I realized I wasn't just in the wilderness — I was part of it.
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Experiencing the spirit of adventure
When you stay at a tented camp, the spirit of adventure is imbued into every moment. At Legendary Nyasi, I'd wake to the sound of the camp coming alive around me: the cheerful greeting of my waiter as he delivered freshly-brewed coffee to my tent, the crackle of the firewood boiler outside and the ever-present symphony of birds greeting the dawn.
The luxury tented camp experience feels less like a destination to check off your list and more like a love letter to the wild. There's something undeniably romantic about candlelit dinners under canvas, stories shared around the campfire as the sun dips below the horizon, and being guided by an askari to your tent at night along pathways lit by flickering lanterns.
"This is how the old safaris would have been," mused my guide, as we prepared for the morning’s game drive. "Comfortable, yes, but still connected to the wilderness around them."
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Safari lodges: Redefining wild luxury
Celebrating nature’s grandeur
The contrast between tented camps and safari lodges became clear when I arrived at Legendary Mwiba Lodge, an architectural masterpiece rising from a massive granite outcrop like a natural extension of the landscape itself. Here, luxury revealed an entirely different character. Not the rustic elegance of canvas, but the confident permanence of stone, wood and glass.
Navigating the winding wooden pathway to my suite alongside the lodge manager, I was struck by its seclusion — the lodge itself seemed far away. Its perch at the edge of the outcrop reminded me of an eagle's aerie, gazing out over the wilderness below.
“This is your home away from home,” she explained as she welcomed me inside, and I found myself wishing that my home looked anything like this. The space flowed effortlessly, the enormous bed giving way to a private deck, and the ensuite bathroom, with its outdoor shower and clawed bathtub — framed by floor-to-ceiling windows — immediately piqued my interest.
An experience rooted in restoration
The true luxury of Mwiba Lodge lay in its facilities, which tempered the safari bustle of game drives and visits to local tribes with much-needed moments of pause and relaxation. The pool became my first port of call to cool off after hours spent in the vehicle, while the jacuzzi — artfully hidden amid a cluster of boulders, proved to be the perfect place for quiet contemplation beneath the stars.
At the spa, treatments were accompanied by the lull of wildlife’s ever-present chatter, while my albeit brief visit to the gym was accompanied by views that would distract even the most avid athlete. “The magic of Mwiba”, my guide would later say as we toasted the sunset on sundowner rock, “lies in the quiet moments that feed your soul — and the food!” He was right, especially about the food. Every lunch and candlelit dinner was better than the next, every dish a work of culinary art that would not have been out of place at the world’s top restaurants. I couldn’t get enough of the homemade ice cream.
As I sat in the jacuzzi, glass of Champagne in hand, it occurred to me that the true appeal of Mwiba Lodge was that it didn't compete with the wilderness but celebrated it. It was here, at the intersection of adventure and luxury, that a space for reflection and rejuvenation emerged.
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Why not both?
If my journey revealed anything, it was this: the most complete safari experience is one that incorporates the best of both accommodation styles. For future explorers reading this: don't limit yourself to just a luxury tented camp or safari lodge experience. Each provides its own unique perspective on the wilderness, and together they capture the true spirit of safari.
Whether your journey begins with the gentle rustle of canvas or the quiet luxury of a lodge, the Tanzanian wilderness will always reveal its magic.