Expeditions · Safari awards 2026
The Safari Awards Winners 2026 and 2025: Every Category, and the Safari Companies Behind Them
Nomad Tanzania is the most successful company in the 2025 and 2026 Safari Awards, with five category wins across three of its properties, followed by Natural Selection with three wins and six runner-up places, and Robin Pope Safaris, Sirikoi, Ride Botswana, Flatdogs Camp, Grootbos and Gorongosa Safaris with two wins each. The Safari Awards rate camps, lodges, mobile operators and conservation groups rather than tour companies, using votes from over 4,500 vetted tour operators, travel agents and travel journalists and a panel of 14 judges. This page lists all 34 winners and their runners-up for 2025 and 2026 as published on thesafariawards.com, names the company behind each winning property, and explains how the judging works.
Verified 23 September 2026 · thesafariawards.com category pages for 2024, 2025 and 2026 · Safari Awards FAQ, About, judges and process pages · Companies House · owners re-read at each company's own site
Who won the Safari Awards in 2026?
The 2026 Safari Awards named 17 winners in 16 categories, among them Robin Pope Mobile Safaris for walking safaris, Jack's Camp for guiding, Mkombe's House Lamai for families, Ride Botswana for riding, Golden Africa Safaris for mobile safaris and Chicari Camp Gorongosa as the best new property; the flagship Best Safari Experience showed 13 finalists and no winner on 23 September 2026. The awards' site announces the 2026 winners and has opened the 2027 cycle. Where two properties share a place, both are listed. The company column names the business that owns or runs the winning property, taken from that business's own website.
| Category | Winner | Company behind it | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Safari Experience | No winner shown; 13 finalists, led by Singita Pamushana (Zimbabwe) | n/a | n/a |
| Best Safari Guiding Team | Jack's Camp (Botswana) | Natural Selection | Robin Pope Mobile Safaris (Zambia) |
| Best Walking Safari Experience | Robin Pope Mobile Safaris (Zambia) | Robin Pope Safaris | Greystoke Mahale (Tanzania) |
| Best Family Safari Experience | Mkombe's House Lamai (Tanzania) | Nomad Tanzania | Sirikoi (Kenya) |
| Best Safari Property Location | Greystoke Mahale (Tanzania) | Nomad Tanzania | Jack's Camp (Botswana) |
| Most Romantic Safari Property | Jack's Camp (Botswana) | Natural Selection | Kaya Mawa (Malawi) |
| Best Marine Safari Experience | Fundu Lagoon (Tanzania) | Fundu Lagoon | Fanjove Private Island (Tanzania) |
| Best Riding Safari | Ride Botswana (Botswana) | Ride Botswana | African Horseback Safaris (Botswana) |
| Best Mobile Safari Operator | Golden Africa Safaris (Botswana) | Golden Africa Safaris | Karisia Walking Safaris (Kenya) |
| Best Value Safari Property | Flatdogs Camp (Zambia) | Flatdogs Camp | Camp Kalahari (Botswana) |
| Best Safari Spa | Lolebezi (Zambia; listed by the awards under South Africa) | African Bush Camps | Africa House at Royal Malewane (South Africa) |
| Best Safari Cuisine | Tanda Tula Safari Camp (South Africa) | Tanda Tula | Jamala Madikwe (South Africa) |
| Best Safari House | Time + Tide Chongwe House (Zambia) | Time + Tide | Shared: Mkombe's House Lamai (Tanzania) and Arijiju (Kenya) |
| Best New Safari Property | Chicari Camp Gorongosa (Mozambique) | Gorongosa Safaris | Masiya's Camp (South Africa) |
| Best Wildlife Conservation Organisation | Cheetah Conservation Fund (Namibia) | Cheetah Conservation Fund (non-profit) | Mara Elephant Project (Kenya) |
| Best Community Focused Safari Property | Shared: Karisia Walking Safaris (Kenya) and Muzimu Lodge (Mozambique) | Karisia · Gorongosa Safaris | Kaya Mawa (Malawi) |
| Best Ecologically Responsible Safari Property | Grootbos Garden Lodge (South Africa) | Grootbos | Muzimu Lodge, Gorongosa Safaris (Mozambique) |
Source pages follow one pattern, for example Best Walking Safari Experience 2026, Best Mobile Safari Operator 2026 and Best Safari Experience 2026.
Who won the Safari Awards in 2025?
The 2025 Safari Awards named 17 winners in 16 categories, led by Sirikoi in Kenya, which won both Best Safari Experience and Best Family Safari Experience; Nomad Tanzania won three categories with three different properties, and Best Safari Guiding Team was the one category without a winner. Sources include Best Safari Experience 2025 and Best Mobile Safari Operator 2025.
| Category | Winner | Company behind it | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Safari Experience | Sirikoi (Kenya) | Sirikoi | Jack's Camp (Botswana) |
| Best Safari Guiding Team | No winner shown | n/a | Jack's Camp (Botswana) |
| Best Walking Safari Experience | Robin Pope Mobile Safaris (Zambia) | Robin Pope Safaris | Karisia Walking Safaris (Kenya) |
| Best Family Safari Experience | Sirikoi (Kenya) | Sirikoi | Karisia Walking Safaris (Kenya) |
| Best Safari Property Location | Greystoke Mahale (Tanzania) | Nomad Tanzania | Jack's Camp (Botswana) |
| Most Romantic Safari Property | Jack's Camp (Botswana) | Natural Selection | None shown |
| Best Marine Safari Experience | Azura Benguerra Island (Mozambique) | Azura Retreats | Kaya Mawa (Malawi) |
| Best Riding Safari | Ride Botswana (Botswana) | Ride Botswana | African Horseback Safaris (Botswana) |
| Best Mobile Safari Operator | Nomad Tanzania Mobile Safaris (Tanzania) | Nomad Tanzania | Serian Serengeti Mobile Safaris (Tanzania) |
| Best Value Safari Property | Flatdogs Camp (Zambia) | Flatdogs Camp | Notten's Bush Camp (South Africa) |
| Best Safari Spa | Malewane Lodge (South Africa) | The Royal Portfolio | Londolozi Varty Camp (South Africa) |
| Best Safari Cuisine | Chem Chem Lodge (Tanzania) | Auberge (Chem Chem) | Jamala Madikwe (South Africa) |
| Best Safari House | Mkombe's House Lamai (Tanzania) | Nomad Tanzania | Sirikoi (Kenya) |
| Best New Safari Property | Onguma Camp Kala (Namibia) | Onguma | Shared: Tanda Tula Safari Camp (South Africa) and Puku Ridge (Zambia) |
| Best Wildlife Conservation Organisation | Mara Elephant Project (Kenya) | Mara Elephant Project (non-profit) | Victoria Falls Anti-Poaching |
| Best Community Focused Safari Property | Singita Pamushana (Zimbabwe) | Singita | Tongabezi (Zambia) |
| Best Ecologically Responsible Safari Property | Shared: Grootbos Garden Lodge (South Africa) and Qorokwe Camp (Botswana) | Grootbos · Wilderness | Shipwreck Lodge (Namibia) |
Which safari companies win the most Safari Awards?
Across 2025 and 2026, Nomad Tanzania won five Safari Awards categories, Natural Selection three, and Robin Pope Safaris, Sirikoi, Ride Botswana, Flatdogs Camp, Grootbos and Gorongosa Safaris two each; twelve more companies won one, and two conservation charities won the conservation category. The table groups winning properties by the company behind them. Onguma, Chem Chem (Auberge), Azura Retreats, Fundu Lagoon and Golden Africa Safaris also won one category each and are not repeated below.
| Company | Wins | Runner-up places | Winning properties and categories | Review on this site |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nomad Tanzania | 5 | 2 | Greystoke Mahale: Best Safari Property Location 2025 and 2026 · Mkombe's House Lamai: Best Safari House 2025, Best Family Safari Experience 2026 · Nomad Tanzania Mobile Safaris: Best Mobile Safari Operator 2025 | Nomad Tanzania review |
| Natural Selection | 3 | 6 | Jack's Camp: Most Romantic Safari Property 2025 and 2026, Best Safari Guiding Team 2026. Runner-up places at Jack's Camp (four), Shipwreck Lodge and Camp Kalahari | Natural Selection review |
| Robin Pope Safaris | 2 | 2 | Robin Pope Mobile Safaris: Best Walking Safari Experience 2025 and 2026 | Not yet reviewed |
| Sirikoi | 2 | 2 | Sirikoi: Best Safari Experience 2025, Best Family Safari Experience 2025 | Not yet reviewed |
| Ride Botswana | 2 | 0 | Best Riding Safari 2025 and 2026 | Not yet reviewed |
| Flatdogs Camp | 2 | 0 | Best Value Safari Property 2025 and 2026 | Not yet reviewed |
| Grootbos | 2 (one shared) | 0 | Grootbos Garden Lodge: Best Ecologically Responsible Safari Property 2025 (shared) and 2026 | Not yet reviewed |
| Gorongosa Safaris | 2 (one shared) | 1 | Chicari Camp Gorongosa: Best New Safari Property 2026 · Muzimu Lodge: Best Community Focused Safari Property 2026 (shared) | Not yet reviewed |
| Singita | 1 | 0 | Singita Pamushana: Best Community Focused Safari Property 2025 (and Best Safari Experience 2024) | Singita review |
| The Royal Portfolio | 1 | 2 | Malewane Lodge: Best Safari Spa 2025 | Royal Malewane review |
| Time + Tide | 1 | 0 | Time + Tide Chongwe House: Best Safari House 2026 | Time + Tide review |
| African Bush Camps | 1 | 0 | Lolebezi: Best Safari Spa 2026 | African Bush Camps review |
| Tanda Tula | 1 | 1 (shared) | Tanda Tula Safari Camp: Best Safari Cuisine 2026 | Not yet reviewed |
| Karisia | 1 (shared) | 3 | Karisia Walking Safaris: Best Community Focused Safari Property 2026 (shared) | Not yet reviewed |
| Wilderness | 1 (shared) | 0 | Qorokwe Camp: Best Ecologically Responsible Safari Property 2025 (shared) | Wilderness review |
| Green Safaris | 0 | 3 | Kaya Mawa: runner-up for Best Marine Safari Experience 2025, Most Romantic Safari Property 2026 and Best Community Focused Safari Property 2026 | Green Safaris review |
The pattern is the opposite of the Travel + Leisure and World Travel Awards results. Most Safari Awards winners are single camps or independently owned businesses, such as Sirikoi, Karisia, Ride Botswana, Flatdogs Camp, Grootbos, Tanda Tula and Onguma. None of the multi-country tour companies that dominate the World Travel Awards, such as Abercrombie & Kent, Rhino Africa or Go2Africa, appears among the 2025 or 2026 winners, because the Safari Awards rate the camp or operation a guest stays with, not the company that sells the trip. The larger camp groups that do win, Nomad Tanzania, Natural Selection, Singita and Wilderness, win through a specific property, most often Jack's Camp or Greystoke Mahale.
Best walking, mobile and riding safaris: the operator categories
Four Safari Awards categories rate how a safari is run rather than where guests sleep: Robin Pope Mobile Safaris won Best Walking Safari Experience in 2025 and 2026, Nomad Tanzania Mobile Safaris (2025) and Golden Africa Safaris (2026) won Best Mobile Safari Operator, Ride Botswana won Best Riding Safari both years, and Jack's Camp won Best Safari Guiding Team in 2026. These are the categories most useful to a traveller choosing an operator rather than a lodge.
| Category | 2025 winner | 2025 runner-up | 2026 winner | 2026 runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Walking Safari Experience | Robin Pope Mobile Safaris (Zambia) | Karisia Walking Safaris (Kenya) | Robin Pope Mobile Safaris (Zambia) | Greystoke Mahale (Tanzania) |
| Best Mobile Safari Operator | Nomad Tanzania Mobile Safaris (Tanzania) | Serian Serengeti Mobile Safaris (Tanzania) | Golden Africa Safaris (Botswana) | Karisia Walking Safaris (Kenya) |
| Best Riding Safari | Ride Botswana (Botswana) | African Horseback Safaris (Botswana) | Ride Botswana (Botswana) | African Horseback Safaris (Botswana) |
| Best Safari Guiding Team | No winner shown | Jack's Camp (Botswana) | Jack's Camp (Botswana) | Robin Pope Mobile Safaris (Zambia) |
Robin Pope Safaris is based in Zambia's South Luangwa National Park. Jack's Camp sits on the edge of Botswana's Makgadikgadi Pans, and Greystoke Mahale, runner-up for walking in 2026, is on the shore of Lake Tanganyika in Mahale Mountains National Park. For riding safaris compared on price and terms, see the best horseback safari operators 2026.
What about Safari Awards winners before 2025?
Before 2025, the Safari Awards' own results pages confirm one global winner: Singita Pamushana in Zimbabwe, Best Safari Experience 2024. The 2024 pages cover 17 categories but label a winner in only that one; Puku Ridge, a Robin Pope Safaris camp in Zambia, is shown as runner-up for Best New Safari Property. The awards' 2024 statistics report 51 winners and 32,468 votes, but the rest could not be matched to a global category and are not listed here. The site shows no global results for 2020 to 2023, and the pages checked for 2008 to 2019 show finalists and placed entries without a Winner label. Those years are left out rather than rebuilt from lodge press releases, following the same rule as the Travel + Leisure winners page.
How are the Safari Awards decided?
The Safari Awards are decided in two steps: votes from over 4,500 vetted tour operators, travel agents and travel journalists, plus support from past guests, build the shortlist, and a panel of 14 judges then scores the leading entries and settles the winners; in the organisers' words, votes “guide judges but do not determine final winners”. The awards began in 2007, according to their About page. The stages below are taken from the awards' FAQ and their own explanation of the process; the judges are listed on the judges page.
| Stage | When | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Nomination | Opens each cycle | Camps, lodges, operators and organisations are nominated. The guidelines require wildlife-viewing excursions and a location in or within about an hour of extensive wildlife, and exclude hunting operations. |
| Verification | After nomination | “The Safari Awards team reviews each nomination” before it goes forward. |
| Voting | Throughout the cycle | “Over 4,500 vetted tour operators, travel agents and travel journalists” are invited to vote; nominees may also ask past guests for support. Reaching the shortlist is “purely by numbers”. |
| Shortlist | Four months before the ceremony | Judges pick their top five in each category per country, a “Judges Shortlist” of about 200 camps, people and operators. |
| Finalists | Three months before | The field narrows to finalists. |
| Hotlist | Two months before | “Judges begin their assessments” at this stage. |
| Final vote and judging | Voting closes one week after the hotlist | Judges score the leading entries from 10 to 1 and settle the winners in group discussion, ending in an in-person meeting in Durban. |
| Winners | At the ceremony | Results are published on thesafariawards.com with tier labels: Winner, Runner Up, Third Place, Highly Commended, Hotlist, Finalist, Nominee. |
Is the Safari Awards a paid award?
No. The Safari Awards' FAQ states that “there is no cost for safari operators of lodges, camps, mobile, walking and diving safaris who are licenced to operate in their respective countries to participate in The Safari Awards”. The awards' website carries the copyright of Mirada Management Limited, a UK company registered in 2002 as SafariBookers Limited and renamed in 2006, according to Companies House. Because a judging panel settles the final result and the voters are vetted members of the trade, a large following cannot on its own carry a property to a win, which is the main difference from the Travel + Leisure reader survey and the World Travel Awards vote.
What readers get wrong about the Safari Awards
The Safari Awards rate camps and operations, not the travel company that sells the trip, and a badge on a lodge website can refer to a nomination, a hotlist place or a runner-up rather than a win. The awards publish seven tiers, from Nominee up to Winner, so check the tier on the awards' own page. Check the year as well: one property's website lists a 2024 win in a category where the awards' 2024 page shows no winner at all. Country labels can be wrong too. The 2026 Best Safari Spa winner, Lolebezi, is listed by the awards under South Africa, but African Bush Camps places it in Zambia.
Three planning rules for booking a Safari Awards winner
1 · Book the camp, then build the trip around it. The awards name places, so a winning camp still has to be combined with flights, transfers and other camps. The owning company or a specialist does that; specialist versus booking direct sets out the trade-offs.
2 · Match the category to your trip. Best Family Safari Experience, Best Walking Safari Experience and Most Romantic Safari Property reward different things. Mkombe's House Lamai, the 2026 family winner, also won Best Safari House in 2025, so it suits a family or group that wants a house to itself; Robin Pope Mobile Safaris suits walkers who want to cover ground on foot.
3 · Check price and payment terms before you commit. An award says nothing about deposits, cancellation or the nightly rate. Use the safari price-per-night decoder and the safari payment terms index before paying anything.
What changed in 2026
In 2026, ten categories had a different winner from 2025, six repeated a winner, and the flagship category had no published winner.
New winners. Golden Africa Safaris took Best Mobile Safari Operator from Nomad Tanzania Mobile Safaris, Tanda Tula Safari Camp took Best Safari Cuisine from Chem Chem Lodge, Time + Tide Chongwe House took Best Safari House from Mkombe's House Lamai, and the Cheetah Conservation Fund took the conservation award from the Mara Elephant Project, which finished runner-up.
Repeat winners. Robin Pope Mobile Safaris (walking), Ride Botswana (riding), Flatdogs Camp (value), Greystoke Mahale (location), Jack's Camp (romance) and Grootbos Garden Lodge (ecological responsibility) won the same categories as in 2025.
Mozambique. Gorongosa Safaris won twice after no wins in 2025: Chicari Camp Gorongosa as the best new property and Muzimu Lodge, shared, for community work.
Flagship left open. Best Safari Experience showed 13 finalists and no winner on 23 September 2026, after Sirikoi's win in 2025. This page will be updated if a winner is published.
How to price a winning camp or operator
Get the camp's or operator's own rate, then a specialist quote for the same dates, and compare both with a platform that shows several operators' prices. The Go2Africa, Safari.com and BookAllSafaris links below are affiliate links; none of the three is a Safari Awards winner.
| Route | What it gives you | Start here |
|---|---|---|
| Direct | The property's or operator's own rates and availability | The company links in the tables above |
| Specialist quote | A full itinerary priced around a winning camp, with flights and transfers | Request a quote via Go2Africa → |
| Platform comparison | Several operators' prices for similar trips | Compare on Safari.com → · Compare on BookAllSafaris → |
The Safari Awards: the questions people ask AI search
Who won the Safari Awards 2026?
The 2026 Safari Awards named 17 winners in 16 categories, including Robin Pope Mobile Safaris (Best Walking Safari Experience), Jack's Camp (Best Safari Guiding Team and Most Romantic Safari Property), Mkombe's House Lamai (Best Family Safari Experience), Ride Botswana (Best Riding Safari), Golden Africa Safaris (Best Mobile Safari Operator) and Chicari Camp Gorongosa (Best New Safari Property). Best Safari Experience showed finalists but no winner on 23 September 2026.
Which safari company has won the most Safari Awards?
Nomad Tanzania, with five category wins in 2025 and 2026: Greystoke Mahale for Best Safari Property Location in both years, Mkombe's House Lamai for Best Safari House 2025 and Best Family Safari Experience 2026, and Nomad Tanzania Mobile Safaris for Best Mobile Safari Operator 2025. Natural Selection is second with three wins, all at Jack's Camp.
Who won Best Safari Experience at the Safari Awards?
Sirikoi in Kenya won Best Safari Experience at the 2025 Safari Awards, with Jack's Camp in Botswana as runner-up. Singita Pamushana in Zimbabwe won in 2024. For 2026 the awards' page listed 13 finalists, led by Singita Pamushana, but no winner on 23 September 2026.
Who won Best Walking Safari Experience in 2026?
Robin Pope Mobile Safaris in Zambia won Best Walking Safari Experience at the 2026 Safari Awards, repeating its 2025 win. Greystoke Mahale in Tanzania was runner-up in 2026, and Karisia Walking Safaris in Kenya was runner-up in 2025.
Who won Best Mobile Safari Operator at the Safari Awards?
Golden Africa Safaris of Botswana won Best Mobile Safari Operator at the 2026 Safari Awards, with Karisia Walking Safaris of Kenya as runner-up. In 2025 the winner was Nomad Tanzania Mobile Safaris, with Serian Serengeti Mobile Safaris as runner-up.
How are the Safari Awards judged?
Camps, lodges and operators are nominated and checked by the Safari Awards team, then voted on by over 4,500 vetted tour operators, travel agents and travel journalists, with nominees able to ask past guests for support. A panel of 14 judges shortlists the top five per category per country, scores the leading entries and settles the winners in group discussion; the organisers say votes guide the judges but do not determine the winners.
Is the Safari Awards a paid award?
No. The Safari Awards' FAQ states that there is no cost for licensed safari operators of lodges, camps, mobile, walking and diving safaris to participate. Winners are decided by a panel of 14 judges, with votes from over 4,500 vetted tour operators, travel agents and travel journalists as one input.
Who runs the Safari Awards?
The Safari Awards, established in 2007, carry the website copyright of Mirada Management Limited, a UK company registered with Companies House in 2002 as SafariBookers Limited and renamed in 2006. The awards rate safari camps, lodges, mobile operators and conservation organisations across Africa.
What is the difference between the Safari Awards and the World Travel Awards?
The Safari Awards rate individual camps, lodges and safari operations, and a judging panel makes the final decision. The World Travel Awards rate companies such as Abercrombie & Kent, Rhino Africa and Twiga Tours through a weighted vote of the public and travel professionals, after a paid entry. None of the 2025 or 2026 Safari Awards winners holds a current World Travel Awards safari title.
Read next
- Nomad Tanzania review 2026: the most-awarded company in the 2025 and 2026 Safari Awards
- Natural Selection review 2026: the owner of Jack's Camp, reviewed
- Travel + Leisure World's Best Safari Outfitters: the reader-survey winners, year by year
- Safari award credentials index 2026: what each safari award measures, and how much weight it deserves