Going on a safari ranks among the world’s great travel experiences, and South Africa has some of the continent’s finest lodges. On our most recent foray there, we stayed in four of the best, each with its own unique style and focus.

&Beyond Tengile River Lodge, set in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve next to Kruger National Park, offers immense accommodations — each has its own broad infinity pool — and superlative game viewing. We saw numerous lions, rhinos, elephants and buffalo, and we were also fortunate to have excellent leopard sightings. This property dazzled in almost all respects.

Jabulani is an older lodge in the Kapama Private Game Reserve, and it has a more traditional style. That said, its open-plan accommodations are also quite spacious and plush. They even have woodburning fireplaces, in addition to decks with plunge pools. We hand-fed orphaned elephants who live in the reserve — an unforgettable experience — and we saw all of the “big five.”