This page highlights owner Stacy Readal's favorite properties across East Africa & beyond
We believe in prime locations in wilderness areas,
Value for money,
Delicious food and excellent service, and
A deep connection to and the preservation of the environment, community, and cultures of East Africa.
These properties continually receive excellent feedback from our guests, and we personally stay at all of them.
Masoala Forest Lodge: Masoala, Madagascar
Masoala isn’t your average national park; visitors have described it as an “alternative world” teeming with weird and wonderful creatures. It’s set along the northeast coast of Madagascar, a biodiversity hotspot containing plant and animal species that are 90 percent endemic only to the country. The park is nestled in a voluminous rainforest on the Masoala Peninsula that shelters countless more unique plant species, primates, carnivores, birds and reptiles.
Lake Natron Camp: Lake Natron, Tanzania
Way deep down into the lowest depths of the Great Rift Valley, near Ol Donyo Lengai volcano, there’s a remote camp that is edged by natural plunge pools. Within only short walk, a guest can find rare, well-preserved human footprints left in the mud between 5,000 and 19,000 years ago. No other site in Africa has as many ancient fossilized Homo sapiens footprints. Lake Natron Camp is rustic – which makes sense – it doesn’t look like anything other than nature should be there at all.
Kisima Ngeda: Lake Eyasi, Tanzania
Go fly camping with the Hadzabe tribe in the hills above Lake Eysai’s eastern shore to discover ancient rock paintings and swim in shady spring pools. Gather seasonal offerings such as wild honey or baobab fruit at a Hazda encampment before a campfire sleepover. Learn how the Desert Rose provides poison for arrow tips.
Kaliwa Lodge: Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
From the deck of a bungalow nestled in the rainforest, there’s a spectacular view of Mount Kilimanjaro and its snow-capped summit peeking out from the clouds. The room is one of 10 at Kaliwa Lodge, which sits 1,300 meters high on the slopes of the mountain. Dense forests of the Weru Weru River Valley stretch out below.
Mysigio Camp: Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania
The ancient traditions of the Mysigio Maasai tribe continue to flourish in Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Conservation Area. And one luxury highland lodge provides a way for outsiders to gently immerse themselves into this community’s way of life.
Emerson Spice Hotel: Stone Town, Zanzibar
The last Swahili ruler of Zanzibar once owned a mansion in Stone Town, a unique coastal city influenced by hundreds of years of Swahili, Indian, Arab, and European cultures. From the structural remains of the mansion (plus a merchant’s house) came a boutique hotel hosting ornate rooms that each vary in style.
Mutanda Lake Resort: Lake Mutanda, Uganda
Lake Mutanda Resort is a spacious, comfortable place to stay in a unique location stretched out over the water on a peninsula.
Siringit Migration Camp: Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania
Siringit Migration Camp offers a mobile safari experience that migrates with the herds through Serengeti National Park— from the Mara River crossings in the north to the calving season in the south.
Chumbe Island: Zanzibar, Tanzania
An adventurer’s dream of being marooned on a secluded island comes to life surrounded by a kaleidoscope of coral reefs and sea creatures at this sanctuary off of Zanzibar.
Mkomazi Wilderness Retreat: Mkomazi National Park, Tanzania
Mkomazi Wilderness Retreat is a stylish luxury camp located in Mkomazi National Park, one of Tanzania’s undiscovered safari locations. Just a three hour drive from Moshi, visiting this park for three nights after a Kilimanjaro climb is a perfect way to relax. The camp overlooks a large waterhole that is visited by large herds of elephant and eland. The food is delicious and the customer service attentive but relaxed.