01
Kosher safaris, properly
Private kosher villas. Our own visiting mashgiach where required. Shabbat in the bush, properly observed. We have planned kosher trips for families who had given up on safari being possible.
LUXLife Boutique Safari Agency of the Year · 2024 · 2025 · 2026
Where the world goes quiet
The engine cuts. The bush settles around you in the long grass.
A lion moves through the scrub thirty metres away and time stops entirely.
That moment is why we do this.
Our philosophy
Africa is too extraordinary to trust to a brochure
Most agencies will send you a glossy PDF. Lodge photos, a suggested itinerary, a total price.
What that PDF will not tell you is that the head guide who made the lodge famous left in March. Or that this corner of the Okavango is extraordinary in March and overrun by August. Or that there is a smaller, wilder camp two hours deeper into the reserve that changes the whole experience.
We know these things because we have been there. We have sat around those fires. We have built real friendships with the people who run Africa's finest lodges.
That is what boutique actually means. Not just small. Personally accountable.
Explore our destinations
Africa has more chapters than most people realise
The wildebeest crossing the Mara at first light. The silence of the Namib at dawn. A gorilla in Rwanda who holds your gaze for twelve seconds and changes you.
Where does your next chapter begin?
South Africa
Sabi Sand
Leopards in the marula trees
Botswana
Okavango Delta
A river that ends in the desert
Zambia
Lower Zambezi & Luangwa
Walking safaris and a slower pulse
Rwanda & Uganda
Gorilla Trekking
Twelve seconds that change you
Namibia
Sossusvlei & the Skeleton Coast
Silence at the edge of the world
East Africa
The Mara & Serengeti
The migration, properly
Why Marula Hill
You don't just want a holiday.
You want a story you'll tell forever
-
01
Africa is home
We don't sell Africa from a brochure. We know it the way you know home: the reserves, the seasons, the difference between a good guide and an extraordinary one.
-
02
Built around you
No templates. No packages. Every journey starts from scratch, shaped around who you are and what you are looking for.
-
03
Never out of reach
We are reachable, responsive, and with you from the first conversation until the final game drive.
-
04
Insider access
Years of relationships with the finest lodges across the continent. The rooms that aren't listed. The experiences that aren't advertised.
-
05
Leave a legacy
Every safari we plan gives something back. To the land, to the communities, to the animals who make all of this possible.
The Marula Hill process
Safari planning, done properly
There is no algorithm choosing your lodges. From first message to final farewell, you deal with the people who care about this as deeply as you do.
-
01
A real conversation first
We start with a call or a message. No commitment. No hard sell. We want to understand your dream, your travel history, your family dynamics, your budget, and what you have always quietly hoped Africa might give you.
-
02
The proposal that surprises you
We do not just suggest the obvious. We bring options you would not have found yourself: the newly reopened concession, the off-peak rate at a lodge usually out of reach, the combination of countries that fits your dates exactly.
-
03
We refine until it's right
We iterate together. Some clients take three conversations to finalise. Others two weeks of back-and-forth. We only confirm the booking when you are completely certain.
-
04
We're with you the whole way
Pre-travel prep, packing notes, what to expect on the ground, and a direct line to us while you are in country. If anything changes, we handle it before you have to worry.
What our clients say
The kind of reviews that make us genuinely proud
The team at Marula is amazing. They took the brief and came back with options inside our budget. Communication was prompt, the whole process was easy. They understand customer service the way it ought to be.
Vikki planned a flawless family safari for us with two young children. Sabi Sabi Bush Lodge for four nights, then Cape Town for three. The attention to detail gave us the confidence to take the children at six and nine.
Sian planned our honeymoon across Tanzania and Rwanda. The proposal arrived as an interactive page with photos, accommodation links, optional activities, all in one place. The trip itself was extraordinary from arrival to take-off.
Common questions
Everything you want to ask before reaching out
Is it really any different booking through you versus directly with a lodge?
Usually the price is identical or better. We have rate agreements that often aren't available to direct bookers, especially during shoulder seasons and on multi-lodge itineraries. What is not identical is what happens around the booking: the insider knowledge on whether a lodge is having a quiet period, what the guiding is like right now, and someone to call if anything goes sideways. You are not paying extra for that. You are getting it free.
We have never been on safari before. Is this overwhelming to plan?
It is one of the most enjoyable conversations you will have. There is nothing to prepare. Just tell us what excites you. We handle every detail from there. First-timers are honestly our favourite clients, because watching Africa unfold for someone who has never experienced it is still the thing that makes us love this job.
What is the minimum budget to work with Marula Hill?
We specialise in luxury lodge experiences, which typically start from around USD 1,000 per person per night all-inclusive. That said, South Africa offers extraordinary value compared with East Africa or Botswana, and our knowledge of shoulder-season rates means we can often put together an exceptional trip for budgets that feel out of reach at first glance. Talk to us. We will be honest with you about what is possible.
You're based in South Africa. Can you plan East Africa trips too?
Yes. Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda. We have deep partner relationships across the continent. Many of our international clients combine the Masai Mara with Botswana's Okavango Delta, or add gorilla trekking in Rwanda to a southern Africa circuit. Our lodge relationships follow us across the continent.
Why choose a boutique agency over a large operator?
Large operators are often excellent at logistics and terrible at listening. Call a big company and you speak to whoever answers. With Marula Hill you speak to one of a handful of people, the same people who planned your trip, who know your name, who remember you mentioned your daughter is nervous in small aircraft. That continuity creates a completely different experience, from first enquiry to return home.
We're travelling with children. Can you plan a family safari?
Family safaris are a speciality. The key is knowing which lodges genuinely embrace children: the ones with bush walks designed for young minds, rangers who light up around curious kids, and camps where the day works for families rather than against them. We know which lodges those are, and which beautiful-looking properties to avoid entirely with under-twelves.
How far in advance do we need to book?
For peak season (June to October) and for Africa's most exclusive camps, twelve to eighteen months ahead is ideal. That said, we are also specialists in finding extraordinary last-minute availability: cancellations and special release rates that give clients access to lodges well outside their usual budget window. If you have a specific trip in mind, reach out now and we will tell you honestly what is achievable.
What happens if something goes wrong while we are actually on safari?
You have our direct contact throughout your trip. Not a call centre. Us. We have handled flight cancellations, weather events, medical situations, and the odd difficult lodge experience. When something goes wrong in the bush, having someone who has personal relationships with the lodge manager and knows the local logistics is worth more than any travel insurance clause. We stay on until you are home safely.
Ready to start
Your Africa is out there waiting
The lions are roaring at dusk on the Sabi Sand. The Delta is flooding into impossible shades of green.
A leopard is draped along a Timbavati branch only a handful of people will ever see.
Let us get you there properly.
What you actually need
Most operators say yes. We will tell you how
Anyone can book you a room. Real planning starts when the trip has a brief: a kosher kitchen, a wheelchair user, three generations, a child who is too young for malaria pills. We have done all of these. Often.
02
Vegan and plant-based
Camps where the chef genuinely understands plant-based cooking. Not we can do a salad. Real menus, planned in advance, with a chef who has cooked vegan for a week and knows how.
03
Wheelchair accessible
Specialist vehicles. Lodges with proper roll-in showers, not retro-fitted ones. Camps where the staff have done the training, not just ticked a box. We have a shortlist that actually works.
04
Malaria-free for young families
Madikwe, the Eastern Cape, the Waterberg. Big Five country with no antimalarials needed. Sensible if you are travelling with under-fives, or if anyone in the family cannot take prophylactics.
05
Multi-generational
Grandparents who do not want a 5am wake-up. Teenagers who do. A family villa with a private chef and a private vehicle, so everyone goes at their own pace and meets at sundown.
06
Conservation-led journeys
Rhino notching. Painted dog tracking. Pangolin release. Camps where your bed for the night funds something tangible, with the field reports to prove it.
Tell us the brief. We will tell you where, when, and with which guide.