Safari, across Africa
andBeyond Lodges
Thirty owned-and-operated lodges, and some of the finest guide training on the continent.
andBeyond is not a hotel, it is a company that owns and runs about thirty lodges and camps across ten countries. I keep coming back to it for one reason above all others: the guiding. They train their own guides through their own schools, Inkwazi at Phinda and Mwewe at Klein's Camp, and every guide goes through it regardless of what qualifications they already hold. On safari, the person reading the bush for you is the whole trip.
The conservation record is real rather than decorative. The company began in 1991 by turning failed farmland and hunting concessions in KwaZulu-Natal into what is now Phinda. In 2007 the land was returned to the Makhasa and Mnqobokazi communities, who chose to keep it in conservation and lease it back. Phinda was the first private reserve to take black rhino under the range expansion project.
What makes it special
They train their own guides
Two named schools, a six-and-a-half week residential programme, then a second placement with assessments. Southern African lodges pair a ranger with a dedicated tracker.
Private land means night drives
At Klein's Camp, Bateleur, Phinda and Ngala you can drive off-road and after dark, which you cannot do inside a national park. It changes what you see.
Conservation you can join
Rhino tracking on foot at Phinda, and conservation work including notching, de-horning and elephant collaring. Rhinos Without Borders has moved a breeding population to Botswana.
Camps that follow the migration
Serengeti Under Canvas is two mobile camps of nine tents that relocate five times a year, from the Ndutu calving grounds to the Mara River crossings.
Swarovski binoculars in every room
A small thing that tells you who they are designing for. Also included: all meals, drinks, laundry, twice-daily drives, and the children's programme.
A closer look
What to do
- 01
Time the Great Migration
Calving on the southern plains from January to March, the Grumeti crossings in June and July, then the Mara River from July to October. It is rainfall-driven and never guaranteed.
- 02
Track rhino on foot at Phinda
Four hours, sixteen and over, with a trained guide and tracker. Not bookable in advance, which tells you it is real rather than staged.
- 03
Take a water safari in the Okavango
Mokoro poling and boat cruises at Sandibe, Nxabega and Xaranna, roughly May to September when the water is up.
- 04
Walk, do not just drive
Walking safaris run year-round on the private concessions and change the scale of everything.
- 05
Go out after dark
Night drives on private land turn up genets, civets, aardvark and cats that simply are not visible by day.
- 06
Spend time with the community programmes
Zulu village visits at Phinda, Maasai visits at Bateleur, and the KopeLion lion-coexistence work at Ngorongoro.
Good to know
- Portfolio
- About 30 owned lodges, camps and yachts across 10 countries
- Lodges I reach for
- Sandibe and Nxabega (Okavango), Klein's Camp (Serengeti), Bateleur (Masai Mara), Phinda Forest (South Africa), Sossusvlei Desert Lodge (Namibia)
- Rates
- From about $330 per person per night, up past $4,000 in peak season, all-inclusive
- Included
- All meals, most drinks, twice-daily drives, laundry, airstrip transfers, Swarovski binoculars
- Not included
- Park and conservation fees everywhere except Botswana. These are significant, so budget for them
- Children
- Under six cannot join regular drives without a private vehicle. Age rules vary by lodge
My honest take
Two things worth knowing before you commit. Game drives are shared by default, and the sharpest criticism I have read comes from solo travelers who ended up chasing someone else's wish list all day. If that would bother you, book a private vehicle and I will price it. Second, the style is polished rather than rustic, and people who want a small owner-run camp sometimes find it corporate. One more: Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, the famous over-the-top one, closed in early 2025 for a full rebuild and is not expected back until 2027.
Written from research and public information, and kept current as I go. Photography is courtesy of the property. For live availability, rates, and the perks I can add as a preferred partner, let's talk.