In short
- Singita Sasakwa Lodge is an ultra luxury lodge on a hilltop in the Grumeti Reserve, a private concession of about 350,000 acres on the western edge of the Serengeti in Tanzania.
- The rate is close to all inclusive: meals, most drinks, laundry, twice daily game drives, guiding, walking safaris, night drives and conservation fees.
- Because the concession is private, guiding is unrestricted: off road driving, night drives and walking are all permitted, and other vehicles are rare.
- June is the strongest month, when the herds move through the western corridor towards the Grumeti River crossings.
- Our 5 Day Singita Sasakwa Ultra Luxury Safari starts from USD 13,950 per person sharing, including return flights.
- It is worth the money for privacy, photography, families taking a villa, and celebrations. It is poor value as a first safari on a fixed budget.
There is a moment on the drive up the hill when the manor house appears above the escarpment, lawns falling away beneath it, and the western Serengeti opening out for perhaps forty miles. Guests tend to go quiet. Then somebody says the thing everybody is thinking, which is that this cannot possibly be a safari camp.
It is not, quite. Singita Sasakwa Lodge is a country house that happens to sit above one of the last great private wildernesses in East Africa. That combination is what the rate buys, and whether it is worth paying depends almost entirely on what you want from the week.
What Singita Sasakwa actually is
Sasakwa is the flagship lodge of Singita Grumeti, on a hilltop in the Grumeti Reserve in the western Serengeti, Tanzania. The architecture is Edwardian: stone, thatch, deep verandas, polished floors, a library, a wine cellar and a long terrace above the plains.
The cottages sit apart along the ridge, each with its own heated pool facing the valley, and a family villa takes the end of the line. There are stables, a tennis court, a gym and a spa. Dinner is served where you like it, which is usually outside.
Singita Sasakwa at a glance
- Where
- Grumeti Reserve, western Serengeti, Tanzania
- The land
- A private concession of about 350,000 acres
- Style
- Edwardian manor house, stone cottages with private heated pools
- Board basis
- Close to all inclusive, drinks and laundry included
- Game viewing
- Off road driving, night drives and walking permitted
- Best months
- May to July for the western corridor, resident game all year
- Nearest airstrip
- Sasakwa Airstrip, in the concession
- Our journey
- 5 days from USD 13,950 per person sharing
The Grumeti Reserve, and why it changes the safari
Most guests book Sasakwa for the house. They come home talking about the land.
The Grumeti Reserve is a private concession on the western side of the Serengeti ecosystem, managed for conservation by the Grumeti Fund with a deliberately small number of beds. Only guests staying in the concession drive in it, which produces four differences you feel on the first morning.
- You are usually alone at a sighting. Not fewer vehicles. Often none at all.
- Your guide may leave the road. Off road driving lets him place you for the light, the angle and the wind, which the national park forbids.
- The day does not end at the gate. Night drives run after dinner, and spotlit hunts are part of the experience.
- You may walk. Guided walking safaris put you on the ground with an armed guide, which changes the scale of everything.
There is a fifth difference you only see at the edges: anti poaching teams, a rhino programme, community schools and scholarships, all funded from what guests pay. The land is not merely for looking at. It is being repaired.
What the rate includes
This is where the arithmetic turns, and where most comparisons go wrong. Sasakwa is close to all inclusive, while most luxury camps quote full board and then add the rest.
| Included in the rate | Charged separately |
|---|---|
| All meals, and dining wherever you choose | Rare vintages from the cellar list |
| Most drinks, including wines by the glass | Hot air balloon safaris |
| Twice daily game drives with a guide and tracker | Helicopter flights and private charters |
| Night drives and guided walking safaris | Spa treatments |
| Conservation and concession fees | Gratuities |
| Laundry and pressing | Flights to the airstrip, unless in your journey |
| Wifi, and use of the tennis court, gym and pools | Riding at the equestrian centre, at some rates |
Run the comparison properly and the gap narrows. Take a very good Serengeti camp at two thirds of the rate, then add park fees, drinks, laundry and a private vehicle, and you land within a few hundred dollars per person per day of Sasakwa, with more company at every sighting and a gate that closes at six.
How much does Singita Sasakwa cost?
Rates move considerably by season, and Singita publishes them as a nightly, all inclusive figure per person sharing. Rather than quote a number that will age, here is how we sell it.
| Journey | Length | From, per person sharing |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Day Singita Sasakwa Ultra Luxury Safari | 5 days, 4 nights | USD 13,950, flights included |
| 8 Day Tanzania Grand Circuit | 8 days, 7 nights | USD 30,100, the crater rim, Grumeti and Mwiba |
| Exclusive use of a villa | By arrangement | Quoted for the party, often better per person |
The green months, roughly November to March, are meaningfully softer than June to October. If the budget is firm and the dates are not, tell us and we will point you at the weeks that buy the most.
When to go, month by month
| Months | What happens in the concession |
|---|---|
| November to March | Green, quiet and gentler on the budget. Resident plains game, superb birding, dramatic skies for photography. |
| April and May | The long rains. Fewer guests, lush country, and the herds beginning to move west. |
| June | The strongest month. The herds move through the western corridor towards the Grumeti River, with crossings on private land. |
| July to October | The herds move north, though the concession holds strong resident game, and the privacy is at its most valuable in peak season. |
If the Great Migration is the reason for the trip, read our month by month guide to the Great Migration before fixing dates.
Who it suits, and who it does not
Worth every dollar if
- You are travelling in June. Watching the western corridor from private land is one of the great safari privileges.
- Your time is shorter than your budget. Four nights here beats ten nights of compromises.
- You photograph seriously. Off road positioning, night drives and near empty sightings are exactly what a serious lens needs.
- You are a family or a group. A villa divided among six or eight often costs less per person than separate suites elsewhere.
- It is a celebration. Anniversaries, milestone birthdays and proposals are what the house does best.
- You have travelled before. If the classic circuit is behind you, privacy is the thing that still feels new.
Spend the money elsewhere if
- It is a first safari on a fixed budget. Two good weeks will show you more of East Africa than four nights at the summit.
- You are chasing the calving season. From December to March, sleep in Ndutu and the southern plains.
- You want canvas. Sasakwa is stone and thatch. For tented in the same concession, Sabora is the answer.
- Formality would grate. It is a grand house, beautifully run. Faru Faru is lighter, and next door.
Sasakwa, Sabora, Faru Faru or Mwiba?
| Lodge | Style | Choose it when |
|---|---|---|
| Singita Sasakwa | Edwardian manor, stone cottages, private pools | You want the house, the view and the grandest setting |
| Singita Sabora | Tented, in the manner of a 1920s expedition camp | You want canvas with the same driving privileges |
| Singita Faru Faru | Contemporary, lighter, beside a river | You want the concession without the formality, ideal for families |
| Mwiba Lodge | Suites above a gorge in a private reserve of its own | You are travelling from December to March for the calving season |
All four sit on private land. The land is the constant. The mood is what you are choosing between.
How to get there
You fly. Light aircraft reach Sasakwa Airstrip inside the concession from Kilimanjaro, Arusha and the wider Serengeti, and guests arriving from Nairobi connect through Kilimanjaro or Arusha. The transfer from the airstrip to the lodge is a game drive in itself, usually the first of the trip.
Our journeys include those flights, the meet and assist at each airport, and the Nairobi night either side where the connection calls for it.
Our verdict
Singita Sasakwa is worth it when what you want is space, privacy and time, delivered without a single rough edge, and when you are willing to buy fewer nights to have them. It is not worth it when the same money would buy you a longer, broader journey and you have never seen East Africa at all.
We sell both kinds of trip, and we will tell you honestly which one your enquiry sounds like. That conversation takes about ten minutes, and it usually saves people money.
Written by Abner Ongeri, founder of Ongeri Expeditions in Karen, Nairobi. We visit every camp we sell, and we plan these journeys every week. Last checked 18 September 2026.