Best Places to Sleep Under the Stars
Humankind has been sleeping under a blanket of stars for over a millenia, but it’s estimated that in today’s world, only 80% of the western society have ever seen the milky way. In a time of screens, notification and blue light we need to disconnect, look up into the cosmos and reconnect with our natural world.
Journeysmiths love to arrange trips that take you to the heart of our world’s wild places – yet still in comfort with great food and guides. Spending a night under the stars is no exception, and you will gain access to the world’s most impressive dark skies and find yourself enveloped in nature’s light spectacle as you relax in complete comfort.
Our ‘sleep under the stars’ lodges are some of the most remote properties in the world. Spend the night in a luxury four-poster bed in the wilds of Kenya, let your expert astronomer guide you across Namibia’s famous dark skies or spend the night in a transparent pod suspended on the mountainside of Peru’s Sacred Valley. There is something for everyone in search of an out of this world experience.
Jozibanini Tented Camp in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park, offers an immersion in the remote African bush for its intrepid guests. The location may be unspoilt, but you don’t have to be because there’s plenty of comfort in the rustic raised tents and great food to complement a true safari experience.
A luxury safari lodge in the Okavango Delta with a range of exhilarating activities.
Imagine views overlooking the broadly drifting Zambezi River and stretching beyond to the 2,000 ft peaks of the Rift Valley escarpment. Ruckomechi is an intimate camp with just such spectacular views and situated on a large, private concession within Mana Pools. Ancient forests and wetlands stretch behind the camp, and in front is the massive escarpment of Africa’s Great Rift Valley.
Loisaba Star Beds offers the ultimate sleeping under the stars experience combined with superb game viewing, excellent food and a friendly team of staff.
Little Makalolo is a beautiful and remote base for viewing the herds of elephants, buffalo, the full range of plains game and predators.
The original Sand Rivers was built in 1984 by the pioneering guide Richard Bonham. Its successor, Nomad, still occupies this privileged position.
Mchenja, meaning "the ebony tree", is set beneath a magnificent grove of these trees on the banks of the Luangwa River. It is the most luxurious of the Norman Carr tented camps yet it is also designed to combine excellently with other more rustic bush camps.
There are no fences at Lion Camp, so elephant, buffalo, and antelope come and go as they please. You can watch them from your private deck or the board walk, and they may well be watching you as you swim in the pool. The camp prides itself on its support for conservation and local community development initiatives, including Conservation South Luangwa and the Chipembele Wildlife Education Centre.
Puku Ridge inhabits a remote world of its own, watching the ancient patterns of life and survival while treating its visitors to enjoyably civilised hospitality. This small and intimate camp is built unobtrusively overlooking a vast floodplain where the Puku antelope after which the camp is named can be seen grazing throughout the day.
&Beyond’s Sossusvlei Desert Lodge is nothing short of magnificent, a secluded palace in a rugged oasis in the heart of the desert, lying beneath an endless sky.
Tswalu (meaning “a new beginning”) is designed in classic African style and blends into the Kalahari environment, offering unrivalled elegance.
Journey to Leobo Lodge for a malaria-free safari, and an action-packed itinerary guaranteed to entertain the whole group. There are absolutely no time frames at Leobo, the reserve is yours to explore in the company of knowledgeable guides, and you can do so at your leisure.
&Beyond Phinda Private Game Reserve is the premier wildlife reserve in Kwa Zulu Natal, a lush ecosystem which is home not only to the Big Five but to elusive cheetah as well.
Ivory Lodge is one of the most luxurious and exclusive safari lodges in South Africa.
Understated luxury awaits in this beautiful little bush-camp. The gentle simplicity of the design blends seamlessly into the bush, allowing a more intimate connection with the wildlife living alongside
Lake Manyara Tree Lodge is a luxury safari lodge, set in the heart of northern Tanzania’s Lake Manyara National Park. The lodge comprises a number of romantic treehouse suites, each built on wooden stilts and with fabulous views of the mahogany forest.
Ol Donyo Lodge is one of National Geographic’s Unique Lodges of the World, and also an esteemed member of Relais & Chateaux. Such accolades are warranted: it’s in a truly stunning location, and capitalises on it with meticulous attention to detail and high levels of service.
Tierra Atacama is a family-owned boutique hotel and spa on the outskirts of San Pedro de Atacama. The desert which surrounds you calls for outdoor adventures, but you’ll be more than glad to come home to Tierra Atacama at the end of the day.
The Alto Atacama Desert Lodge and Spa is the product of an incredible design vision; local Chilean architects and designers came together to create a breathtaking hotel offering the greatest luxury to its guests whilst blending seamlessly into the desert landscape.
Atop 10-metre high cliffs on the western bank of the Boteti River, the distinctive Desert & Delta owned Leroo La Tau sits. An exceptional vantage point for the flowing river below, you’ll be treated to incomparable views of the rich wildlife without even leaving your room.
Tau Pan Camp is situated inside the world famous Central Kalahari Game Reserve right on the edge of the beautiful Tau Pan. “Kalahari” is derived from the Tswana word Kgala meaning “great thirst” – and it has vast areas covered by red sand without any permanent water.
Dinaka rests within its own private concession on the northern edge of the world-renowned Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Surrounded by an expanse of ever changing desert landscape, Dinaka has several, permanent, life-sustaining waterholes which attract an abundance of wildlife all year round. The red sands in this corner of the Kalahari offer exceptional game viewing and a luxurious lodge to stay in too.
With just 12 beautiful suites, each with its own private guide and 4x4, Awasi Atacama is the perfect base from which to explore the surrounding desert at your own pace, and to indulge your interests.
Catering to just 24 guests, Xigera Safari Lodge in the Okavango Delta offers an exclusive, intimate and personal experience, with phenomenal animal encounters both on land and on the water. The thoughtful service and generous hospitality is the cherry on top.
Named after the area’s resident giraffe, Onduli Enclave is your own private Damaraland retreat. This refined and elegant lodge is set in an otherworldly landscape of dusty red plains, huge boulders, mountains and several jagged rocky outcrops. With a private guide and a helpful team back at the lodge to look after you, you can explore entirely at your own pace.
The Thiksey Monastery looms large over the Indus Valley, both physically and culturally speaking. At its foot is the remarkable Chamba Camp.
The phrase ‘once in a lifetime’ is thrown around quite freely, but we won’t hesitate to use it when describing a night at Peru’s Sky Lodge, the world’s first and only hanging hotel. Ascend some 1,300 feet up the side of a granite mountain in the Sacred Valley and spend the night in a transparent pod suspended on the mountainside. There’s no one else but you, the stars and the condors who occasionally fly by.
Completed in 2024, the unique Hotel Svart is a remarkable example of sustainable innovation and regenerative travel. The hotel’s creators believe that luxury and sustainability can go hand-in-hand, an ethos we certainly agree with. In an unbelievably beautiful location, this hotel offers guests tranquillity and unplugged exploration. Think ice-climbing, yoga in the midnight sun and watching the enchanting Aurora Borealis.
Venture to Wolf Lodge for the Scandinavian adventure of a lifetime. This secluded property in Norway’s Polar Park is highly coveted, only offering a handful of stays per year. The lodge is available on an exclusive basis only and so you’ll enjoy a wintery wonderland experience in complete privacy. You’re able to get up close to the park’s amber-eyed wolves, watching as they frolic and play together, spraying powdery snow up into the air behind them.
Aman-i-Khas is the most exquisite basecamp for your Rajasthani safari.
The COMO Uma Paro resort combines the colourful craftsmanship of Bhutanese traditions with contemporary design and luxury.
If the beauty of nature is high on your priority list in Bhutan, you can’t miss Six Senses Bumthang. This luxurious lodge is set in acres of woodland; the sights, aromas and sounds of the forest have been carefully incorporated into your experience.