Kubu Kubu Tented Lodge

Watching the wildebeest migration from a canvas tent is the defining experience here. Kubu Kubu Tented Lodge stands in central Serengeti on ground that twice a year sees hundreds of thousands of animals cross the plains. The lodge holds 25 tents built on raised wooden platforms, each with an en-suite bathroom, a private terrace, and an outdoor shower beneath the sky. Seventeen are double suites furnished with either a king bed or twin beds; six are family suites linking two rooms, each with its own bathroom and outdoor facilities; two are quadruple suites sleeping four guests. Flush toilets, hand basins, and hot-water showers are standard. Solar panels power the lights, with a generator as backup.

The main lodge includes a restaurant, a lounge with armchairs and sofas, and a swimming pool set among the tents. A small library and board games occupy one corner of the central area. Wireless internet is available in the shared spaces. Guides lead game drives to the Maasai kopjes, the Grumeti River, and the surrounding Seronera riverine forest where leopards rest in the trees. A five-minute walk up a nearby hill, escorted by a Maasai warrior, leads to a sundowner vantage point. A massage cabin offers treatments after a day on the plains. The lodge is 80 kilometres from Seronera Airstrip, which receives scheduled and charter flights from Arusha, or six hours by road along the tarmac route through Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Full-board accommodation includes all meals.