Auberge Collection just expanded into Africa. The new arm, Auberge Safari, brings two of East Africa’s most respected operators, Legendary Expeditions and Chem Chem, under one roof. Nine lodges and camps now sit across Tanzania’s northern circuit, from the Serengeti to the Greater Mwiba Protected Wildlife Area to the Burunge Wildlife Management Area. The announcement matters for one specific reason. Auberge already runs conservation-led, animal-forward properties at a price point most luxury portfolios cannot match. Africa is a natural extension, not a stretch.
What Auberge Safari Is
Auberge Safari is the result of bringing Legendary Expeditions and Chem Chem Safari into the Auberge Collection. Legendary Expeditions has long shared ownership with Auberge, both rooted in the Friedkin family’s decades of conservation work in Tanzania. Chem Chem, founded by Fabia Bausch and Nicola Negre, has built one of the most quietly admired safari operations in the region. The new structure does not blend the two brands into one. It unites them under a single advisory, booking, and itinerary framework so a client can move across the country, between camps, on a single connected route. That is the practical win for the traveler. Less friction, one point of contact, properties that already speak the same conservation language.
The Nine Lodges and Camps
The nine properties now under the Auberge Safari umbrella are Mwiba Lodge, Mwiba Plains, Mila, Nyasi, Songa, Legendary Lodge, Chem Chem Lodge, Little Chem Chem, and Forest Chem Chem. Together they cover roughly 600,000 acres across the Greater Mwiba Protected Wildlife Area, Burunge WMA, and migration territory inside and adjacent to the Serengeti.
A few quick reads on where each one sits in the lineup:
- Mwiba Lodge and Mwiba Plains sit on private land inside the Greater Mwiba reserve. This is exclusive-use country, walking safaris, night drives, and game densities that public-park itineraries cannot deliver.
- Mila, Nyasi, and Songa are the migration-focused camps in Legendary Expeditions’ portfolio, designed to track the herds rather than wait for them.
- Legendary Lodge is the Arusha base, the soft landing before or after the bush.
- Chem Chem Lodge, Little Chem Chem, and Forest Chem Chem sit in the corridor between Tarangire and Lake Manyara, the wildlife migration route between the two parks. Forest Chem Chem is the newer, more intimate property in that group.
A well-built itinerary uses two or three of these in combination, not all of them. The umbrella structure is what makes that easy.
Why Auberge in Africa Is Not a Stretch
This is the part I want to be direct about. I have stayed at and booked plenty of Auberge properties. The pattern is consistent. The rooms and hard product are well-considered, the food has never let me down once across the portfolio, and the price point sits a step below the strictest luxury tier without the experience feeling like a step down. The brand also already runs properties where animals are part of the daily texture. Horses at Calistoga Ranch, working ranches and equestrian programs across the Auberge map, sustainability and conservation built into the way these places operate rather than bolted on as marketing.
In other words, Auberge is not entering Africa to learn how to manage land, wildlife, and a high standard of guest experience at the same time. It is entering Africa to formalize the work it has already been doing alongside Legendary Expeditions for years. That is why this addition reads as natural, not opportunistic.
The Conservation Layer Most Brands Cannot Match
Both halves of Auberge Safari are tied to active, independently operating conservation organizations. Stays at the Legendary Expeditions properties support the Friedkin Conservation Fund, which protects the Greater Mwiba Protected Wildlife Area and helps secure the passage of the Great Migration. Stays at the Chem Chem properties support the Chem Chem Association, which protects the Burunge Wildlife Management Area, the corridor that links Tarangire and Lake Manyara National Parks.
The point: this is not a sustainability statement on a website. It is a funding mechanism tied to specific land, specific corridors, and specific wildlife outcomes. If a client cares about that connection (and a meaningful share of safari clients do), Auberge Safari is one of the cleanest answers in the market right now.
Who This Is Built For
This portfolio works for travelers who want the safari done with real depth, not as a checkbox. The exclusive-use Greater Mwiba reserve and the private Chem Chem corridor are the differentiators. A first-time safari client gets a route that is well-paced and approachable. A returning safari client gets access most operators cannot offer, including walking safaris, night drives, and the kind of off-public-park flexibility that defines the higher tier of African travel. It also works well for multi-generational groups and slower-paced honeymoon clients who want the Arusha-and-bush rhythm without four separate operators in the booking chain.
For more context on the launch and the ownership story, the Friedkin Group’s official Auberge Safari announcement and Travel Weekly’s coverage are both worth a read.
On Booking Auberge Safari
Coordinates Collective is a preferred Auberge Resorts Collection advisor, and Auberge Safari now sits inside that same relationship. Booking through us layers advisor benefits on top of the room rate at parity with booking direct, alongside VIP recognition with each camp and the kind of itinerary structuring that matters far more on a safari than on a city hotel stay. Auberge Safari is also a brand we know personally, which means honest steering toward the right camps, the right combination, and the right season for each client.
A practical note on timing: the strongest months in this region run roughly June through October for the dry-season game viewing, with the calving season in the southern Serengeti landing in late January and February. Auberge Safari already books on a long lead time because of the exclusive-use camps. I would plan eight to twelve months ahead for high season, longer for migration-tracking itineraries.
If Tanzania is on your radar, reach out before booking direct. The rate is the same, the layered benefits and the routing knowledge are not.
Codi Gunn is the founder of Coordinates Collective, a fee-free luxury travel advisory practice and a preferred Auberge Resorts Collection advisor.
