One would be forgiven for questioning how a 'tented' safari camp in the middle of the Okavango Delta, in a country many have never heard of, wins best Best Hotel Travel + Leisure - Mombo Camps, against big named rivals in Italy, Budapest and even the United States of America.
Mombo Camp & Little Mombo Camp breaks all of the rules in your mind's eye of camping!
If you thought that camping was going back to basics and roughing it, then think again! Luxurious camps and lodges in Southern or Eastern Africa are a long way from that camping that you may have experienced. These camps redefine 'glamping,' and few come more luxurious than the camps in Botswana, which deliberately set out to entice upscale travellers and have a light footprint. Although many of the properties we offer are technically camps, as the property's main areas and suites may be made from canvas, this is where the similarity ends. Luxurious camps offer all creature comforts with suites as tents, fully en-suite bathrooms, separate loos, indoor and outdoor showers, and separate free-standing baths. Some, such as Zarafa Camp, have their own fireplaces.
Additionally, the suites will come with huge romantic four-poster beds with luxurious linen sheets, ceiling fans, or even air conditioning. Most have separate living and dressing areas and hardwood floors. All of this is combined with wooden furnishings, hand-painted African-inspired decorations, antique brass finishes, clubby leathers, and embroidered cushions in an understated, tonal colour palette. Tucked between these traditional, luxurious yet homely finishes are modern conveniences such as fully stocked minibars, coffee and tea-making machines, and USB ports in convenient locations. The luxury camps we offer have swimming pools with sunbathing decks with magnificent views across the plains. All suites have their outdoor decks and salas and either their own private pools or plunge pools. The main areas of camps offer bar and dining areas and libraries or sitting areas to relax and watch the passing wildlife traffic. Some even offer small museums, such as Jack's Camp in the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, and Jao Camp, also in the Okavango Delta.
Such camps also come with five-star service and will cater to your every want and dietary requirements. Not only will staff deliver your morning coffee/tea or snack, but they will set up breakfasts, lunches, or dinners privately around the camps or in the bush. You will not go hungry at camps such as Jao or Duma Tau, with an a la carte menu and a wine list to suit any and everyone, and all dietary requirements may be catered to. Food can also be served on-demand, and room service includes long lunches on your private terrace while watching the zebras, giraffe, and elephants meander past.
Luxurious safari camps have gone beyond offering all comforts and now compete to ensure that their offering has a light environment and eco-friendly footprint. Camp staff, guides, and conservation personnel will happily hold regular conversations about sustainability and conservation with guests or third parties.
Mombo is most certainly one such camp and any safari enthusiast's ultimate bucket list destination. This safari camp is driving the ultimate purpose of rhino relocation, introduction, and species protection, as well as the highest possible sustainability standards in style and uber-luxury; consistently earning itself the honorary titles of Best Hotel Travel + Leisure and other publications. Safari Guru's founder and specialist travel planner Deon De Villiers is a highly-respected Mombo Camp booking agent, having managed the camp's operations for over six years while living in Botswana with his family.
We can advise how to combine these luxurious camps and we think that they are best teamed with one another or with lodges in other areas of the continent such as Pamushana, in Zimbabwe, and Singita Ebony or Londolozi in South Africa.
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