Serengeti Bushtops
Serengeti Bushtops is a unique five star safari experience within Tanzania’s glorious Serengeti, a Unesco world heritage site. A Tanzanian haven for serious safari seekers, Serengeti Bushtops is a luxurious oasis within one of the world’s most magical settings. Picture yourself gazing out over the stunning scenery of the Serengeti. Imagine returning from safari and watching the sun set from the comfort of your tent’s private hot tub. Consider the thrill of watching the annual migration thunder across the mighty Mara river. Or simply revel in the thought of being pampered by your butler and our friendly staff, before enjoying our fabulous cooking and fine wines in the comfort of our restaurant and shared spaces. This combination of safari adventure, first class facilities and blissful relaxation has delivered Serengeti Bushtops’ unwavering promise of Wild Luxury. Under Serengeti Bushtops canvas lies the finest in seductive luxury and twelve of the largest, most impressive tented en suites imaginable. None are overlooked, but all look over the Serengeti. Each faces the sunset and is open on two sides, revealing heart-stopping vistas of timeless beauty. This is a magical place, in which to reconnect with what really matters.
Luxury Tent-Suite
Bushtops tents are simply extraordinary. Each boasts a hundred and twenty square metres of luxurious living space, providing ample room to wander at leisure, sink into a deck lounger, soak in your private hot tub or gaze out at passing wildlife. Spacious and beautifully furnished, each offers true five star luxury within a canvas canopy -- but with space and views no hotel could hope to match.
This is your personal realm, ideally suited to restful sleep, taking an open-air shower beneath the warm African sun, unwinding as you await drinks from your private butler, or perhaps purring under your masseuse's strong fingers, after an exhilarating day on safari. Solar power and a generator back up ensure constant electricity is on tap within your tent and across the camp. Due to our location, cellphone and wifi signals come and go, but you can always stay connected. Many prefer not to -- and we ask all our guests to keep their phones on silent, to keep the world at bay!
Family Tent-Suite
The two family tents are perfect for bigger families, especially since they are linked by a bridge to create a private family suite.
Everyone over the age of seven is most welcome at Serengeti Bushtops, so we can add two children's beds to any tent. This means we can accommodate four adults and four children within the combined family suites. We can also add a single bed for a sharing adult, accommodating three people in any of our tents.
Game Drive
There are no better game viewing locations on earth than the Masai Mara and Serengeti. We believe our converted 4×4 vehicles, expert guides and eagle-eyed spotters are without peer or parallel. The combination makes any Bushtops safari simply unforgettable. This activity is included in the price for the ground package rate and is not included in the price for those who are paying for the full board package.
Walking Safari
You leave Camp at around 6 am for a game drive en route to the walking venue at Wayo near Mara river. The walk takes around one hour and is accompanied by your Ranger and an armed Tanapa (Tanzania National Parks) Ranger, who’s expertise means you can safely approach herds of impala, zebra and giraffe. They will also spot and interpret the animals tracks left from the night before and identify the flora and fauna. All you need is a pair of good walking shoes and a sense of adventure! After the walk you head back to Camp for breakfast or continue with your game drive.
Sundowner
It’s a classic moment, immortalized in films, fantasies and a million great safari adventures: watching the sun set over the African bush. There’s simply nothing like it. You may see a burnished disk slip gracefully from view. If not, the clouds will diffuse an amazing palette of colour, flooding the horizon.
Either way, you’ll be part of an incredible experience which will live on in your mind’s eye, for ever.
Serengeti Bushtops isn’t just the perfect place for a safari: it includes the ideal spot for a sundowner. We call it Simba’s rock. The reason is simple. Simba means lion and our favoured sundowner location is theirs too!
Needless to say, if they are there first, our advance team swiftly detours to prepare one of several alternative options. Usually, though, we’re able to look across the Serengeti plains from Simba’s Rock, watching the sun set on paradise. Sundowners can also be enjoyed for free in the privacy of your own luxury tent. Each tent has a sunken lounge or you could enjoy the sunset from your hot tub. What a way to end the day!
Hot Air Ballooning
There is nothing quite like soaring high above the herds in a hot air balloon, as the sun rises over Serengeti. If this prospect appeals, and you decide to add a balloon safari to your itinerary, do let us know in advance, so we can arrange a booking with our local hot air balloon operator, based near Kogatende.
You will be picked up from Serengeti Bushtops before dawn, ready to take off as the sun makes its appearance. The flight lasts an unforgettable hour, before your balloon is brought gracefully back to earth – and a celebratory Bush champagne breakfast. You can then head off on a full day’s day game drive, or return to camp for a more leisurely morning and even a return to bed, to catch up on lost sleep.
Bushtops Bushcraft Challenge
If you are bringing younger members of the family with you, there's something new and exciting awaiting them at Bushtops. Our Bushcraft Challenge. This introduces youngsters to basic survival skills, local culture, the importance of conservation and (of course) local flora and fauna.
Activities include learning to make fire without matches or a lighter; completing animal spotting checklists (assisted by our rangers); identifying animal tracks and making a memento plaster cast of their favourites (we can even arrange to have a Bronze made out of your cast. This will be sent to you via courier); learning about animal bones; practicing archery; trying out bead making skills; baking Swahili cookies and more! Completing the challenge leads to a Bushtops Bushcraft Certificate, authenticating unique skills and a sense of real achievement. This activity carries no additional cost.
Bisalalah School Visit
Education is the greatest gift – and helping out local schools is very much part of the Bushtops way. It’s fundamental to our belief that luxury safaris must go hand in hand with care for the land, its wildlife and the communities who were there long before us.
Our local schools are proud of what we achieve together, so the headmaster or a teacher is always happy to give our guests a tour. In around 45 minutes you get to meet the students, see them in class and note some of the projects we’ve funded, built or worked on.
A visit always creates an unforgettable impression: it’s a captivating experience, seeing how children in less fortunate communities take every chance they can get to learn – creating new opportunities for their future. To take part in a school visit, just let us know before you arrive. If not, we may still be able to arrange things once you join us. There is no cost.
Private Bush Breakfast
Picture this: an early morning wake-up call, followed a mysterious drive into the wilderness. Then, as the sun rises and light floods the landscape, you find yourself in an oasis of tranquility. You hop from the truck to survey this wonderland. Moments later, your table awaits you. This is your Private Bush breakfast. It’s highly unlikely that you have ever started the day in such a glorious location, or in such splendid isolation. No fellow diners: just you, our chef and your driver, serving a hot meal and an array of delicious buffet delicacies. A glorious day in the Bush has begun …
Klipspringer Dining
The perfect end to the perfect day: total privacy in your own illuminated corner of the darkening Serengeti. That’s what our Klipspringer dining experience delivers, within a setting of charm and intimacy. The surrounding rocks, of the sort favored by local Klipspringer antelope, form a natural amphitheatre, adding intimacy for honeymooners or families. Within this magical haven, lanterns and a bonfire turn beauty into wonder, creating the ideal spot for a sumptuous meal, prepared by our executive chef. As day turns to night in the Serengeti, has life ever been this good?!
Aromatherapy Massage
When you visit us, we want you to be exhilarated by the wildlife, but relaxed by everything else. You can book an Aromatherapy or Deep Tissue massage with products from Terres d’Afrique. As you contemplate the delights of the safari you have just completed or the dinner about to be enjoyed, what better way to let the cares of the world slip from your shoulders? These treatments and massages carry an additional cost.
Full Day Game Drive & Picnic Lunch
During a full-day game drive your ranger will find a nice spot under a tree to set up a picnic lunch. Dining in the middle of nowhere with nobody to disturb you except for the noises of animals nearby also enjoying their lunch is an experience one cannot easily forget. This carries no additional cost.
For more info on Serengeti Bushtops Camp, click HERE
