A star bed is a bed set out in the open, on a raised platform, a rooftop or a beach, so you sleep under the night sky. The idea began on African safari, and it now runs from the Kenyan highlands to the salt pans of Botswana and the islands of northern Mozambique. This guide sets out where the sleep-outs are, what each one is, and how to choose.
Kenya
Kenya has the widest choice: Loisaba Star Beds and Segera’s Bird Nest in Laikipia, a rooftop star bed on every suite at ol Donyo Lodge in the Chyulu Hills, and a Starbed at Ishara in the Masai Mara. Our full guide to star beds in Kenya covers each one.
Botswana and Namibia
- Tuludi Sky Suite, Khwai Private Reserve (Botswana): an open-air sleep-out deck. It comes with a private vehicle, a dinner basket and a continental breakfast.
- Camp Okavango, Okavango Delta (Botswana): an elevated sleep-out deck with a double bed under a mosquito net and a private toilet.
- Salt pan sleep-outs, Makgadikgadi (Botswana): beds laid out on the pans at Leroo La Tau, and at Meno a Kwena from May to September, weather and pan conditions permitting.
- Little Kulala, near Sossusvlei (Namibia): 11 thatched suites, each with a deck, a private plunge pool and a star bed.
South Africa
- Tswalu Kalahari (Northern Cape): the Malori and Naledi sleep-out decks, with views of the Kalahari and the Korannaberg mountains.
- Thabametsi Treehouse, Marataba Mountain Lodge (Marakele National Park): a solar-powered treehouse with a lantern-lit deck, a sunset picnic basket and a bed under a mosquito net.
Zambia and Zimbabwe
- Puku Ridge, South Luangwa (Zambia): eight tented suites, each with a rooftop deck and a four-poster star bed.
- Chisa Busanga, Kafue National Park (Zambia): four rooms built about 4 m off the ground among fig trees, each with a viewing deck.
- Mwamba Bush Camp, South Luangwa (Zambia): the Numbu Star Bed, on a raised platform overlooking a permanent waterhole, rolled out after dinner with mosquito netting and lanterns.
- Kaingo Camp, South Luangwa (Zambia): the Elephant Hide Star Bed, a tree hide above the Luangwa River for two guests.
- Chongwe River Camp, Lower Zambezi (Zambia): a Time + Tide sleep-out in custom-built tents with bedrolls, hot showers and a three-course dinner. See also our page on Chongwe River House.
- Victoria Falls River Lodge (Zimbabwe): two-storey Starbed Treehouses on Kandahar Island, each with a private rooftop starbed.
- The Dove’s Nest at The Hide, Hwange (Zimbabwe): a treehouse about 10 minutes from camp, with a viewing deck and an upstairs bedroom under canvas.
Tanzania
The Rock House at Ikuka Safari Camp, Ruaha: a zip-up tent on a raised platform between two boulders, with a bucket shower and toilet on the deck, candlelit dinner, and guides reachable by radio.
On the coast and by the water
- Anantara Medjumbe Island Resort, Quirimbas Archipelago (Mozambique): a dhow to an uninhabited island for dinner on the beach, then a night on an outdoor four-poster bed under the stars, as part of the resort’s Discovery Experience.
- Nkwichi Lodge, Lake Malawi shore (Mozambique): a four-poster bed placed on a rocky outcrop, a baobab-ringed beach or a viewpoint over the lake, depending on the weather.
Beach sleep-outs are rarer than the safari ones, and they depend on the tide, the wind and the season, so we check these with each property before we plan around them.
How to choose
- For a night as part of a Kenyan safari: Loisaba, ol Donyo or Segera.
- For a bed in the open on the salt pans or the Okavango: Botswana.
- For desert stars: Little Kulala in Namibia or Tswalu in the Kalahari.
- For a treehouse: Victoria Falls River Lodge, Marataba or The Hide.
- To pair a safari with a night on a beach: northern Mozambique.
Practical notes
- Sleeping outdoors depends on the weather, so we ask each property for its wet-weather arrangement and plan with some flexibility.
- What is included differs by property. We confirm inclusions in your quote.
- Much of Africa is a malaria area, and sleeping outdoors makes mosquito protection worth planning. We cover malaria and yellow fever guidance in every itinerary.
- Children: policies differ, and some properties publish no age limit, so we confirm before quoting.
- Several of these properties are not yet on our site, and we confirm their current details before quoting.
Compiled from the properties’ own information and travel-trade sources, October 2026. Details change, so we confirm them again when we quote your itinerary.