Saadani Safari Lodge is small and intimate, with just nine individual tented cottages set along the beach, cooled by soft ocean breezes and shaded by casherina trees. Cottages are twin or double with swathes of sail cloth adorning the ceilings, large romantic Zanzibar style nets and locally carved furniture. The ensuite bathrooms are creatively decorated with sand floors and shell mosaics. The lofty main building rests on stilts amongst a stand of dramatic screw palms overlooking the sea. Meals are served on the lower deck, higher up, towards the expansive rafters, a sitting room and sundowner deck gives panoramic views of the ocean on one side and the bush on the other. A minute's stroll behind the lodge brings you to the hide overlooking a waterhole. Here someone will bring you sundowners or tea and cake, whilst you watch animals drinking to the sounds of waves breaking on the beach just beyond them.

The white sandy beach at Saadani Safari Lodge disappears to the horizon in both directions. You can pad barefooted directly from your veranda onto the beach for a gentle stroll. Saadani’s wildlife is plentiful with lion and other predators jousting for position with a wide range of plains game including elephant, giraffe, kudu and large herds of buffalo. Walking safaris and game driving provide very different bush perspectives. Tanzania’s glorious Wami River ends its journey in Saadani. Flamingoes are often seen in the shallow estuarine waters, as are flocks of pelicans perched in dead trees in the dawn light.