Africa offers experiences both exceptional and unique. Celestielle believes that every safari should be a life-changing odyssey for novice and expert travelers alike.
We have developed outstanding relationships with our African partners. This network of relationships ensures that our clients visit the most spectacular lodges and camps, are escorted by the most knowledgeable guides and trackers, and are thrilled by the closest wildlife encounters.
Well before each trip begins, our detail-obsessed team prepares our guests by providing information on everything they will need to travel safely, knowledgably, and efficiently and to extract the maximum enjoyment from their journey.
“A safari is the ultimate dream trip for most travelers. Planning and arranging travel to Africa requires vast experience, carefully cultivated relationships, and impeccable logistics.” - Doug Easton, Celestielle Managing Partner and Founder
Prior to Celestielle's founding, Doug and John led many guests on safari. Our company's years of expertise are the foundation upon which we have built a reputation for designing Africa's most extraordinary adventures.
Safaris for Honeymooners
Romantic Tanzania
Tanzania offers some of Africa’s most spectacular lodges, with styles ranging from contemporary chic to 19th-century brass-and-mahogany elegance. Needless to say, the game viewing is off the charts.
Luxurious South Africa
It is a fact that South Africa offers the continent’s most luxurious experience. Safari lodges compete to outdo each other with the quality of comfort, service, cooking, and guiding. This is our first choice for honeymoons.
Cape Town & the Winelands
The valleys of Stellenbosch, Paarl, and Franschhoek comprise the world’s most beautiful winelands. Their proximity to Cape Town – Africa’s gastronomic capital and considered by many to be the world’s most beautiful city - makes it easy to add a wine experience and an urban component to one’s safari.
Safaris for Families
Kiss a Giraffe
Nairobi is home to Giraffe Manor, a must-do experience where guests wake up to hungry giraffes at their bedroom windows. It’s easy to combine a visit here with a stay at a family-friendly camp in the Masai Mara, just a short flight from Nairobi.
Makgadikgadi Glamping
Families love the magnificent, surreal salt flats of Botswana’s Makgadikgadi Pan. It offers unique activities that are at once educational, exotic, and exciting. A safari here provides the perfect opportunity to separate one’s kids from their electronic distractions.
Penguins!
Cape Town’s greatest day-trip excursion, the Cape Peninsula, offers extraordinary views, dramatic scenery, history, and… Africa’s largest colony of African penguins. While one can’t touch them, visitors can enjoy watching them from just a couple of meters away.
Safaris for Wildlife Lovers
Botswana’s Okavango Delta
It’s a good bet that any poll of safari experts would probably name Botswana’s extraordinary Okavango Delta as Africa’s best game viewing region. The quantity and variety of animals here is fantastic! Lodges here are generally the continent’s most expensive… but the experience is sublime.
Mountain Gorillas
No trip to East Africa is complete without a side trip to see mountain gorillas in their own habitat. Standing just a few feet from a silverback is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Chasing the Great Migration
Approximately two million wildebeest, zebra, and assorted antelope follow the rains in search of green grass. They are best viewed in Tanzania’s Grumeti and Serengeti and in Kenya’s Masai Mara. Most visitors try to visit in August or September in order to witness the migration at its peak.
Safaris for Seasoned Travelers
The Kalahari
Southern Africa’s Kalahari Desert is definitely Safari 201, a great destination for guests who are returning to Africa. The focus is less on the Big Five and more on smaller, rarer animals like pangolin, aardvark, and aardwolf. It’s also the place to go to see endearing meerkats.
Kenyan Highlands
Kenya’s Laikipia Plateau, in the shadow of Mount Kenya, is the destination of choice for old safari hands. They flock here for an authentic Maasai culture, excellent game viewing, and some of Kenya’s most interesting lodges.
A Flying Safari in Namibia
One of our favorite African escapes is a three-night flying safari up Namibia’s starkly spectacular Skeleton Coast. The plane becomes part of the experience, rather than just a means of transport. Namibia – one of the world’s least densely populated countries - is a photographer’s dream.
A little something extra
Lemurs and Beaches: Madagascar
Arguably Africa’s most exotic destination, Madagascar rewards visitors with wildlife found nowhere else, along with otherworldly geology, a rich culture, and stupendous, empty beaches. A trip here is bragging rights!
Paradise Found: Seychelles
Looking for somewhere to finish your safari in style? It would be difficult to top the Seychelles. Nothing about this island nation is ordinary, least of all its uber-luxurious hotels and eye-popping beaches.
The Smoke that Thunders
You’ll hear Victoria Falls before you see it, such is its force. This is one of the planet’s most impressive spots, dubbed “The Smoke that Thunders” in the local language. A stay at one of the lovely lodges here contrasts nicely with a safari experience, where the focus is on the animals rather than the falls.