Galapagos Safari Camp

This is what the movie business calls “high-concept” — a hotel based on an extraordinary idea, where the name tells you more or less everything you need to know about the place. Galápagos Safari Camp brings the tented luxury camps familiar across southern Africa to the Americas, and allowing for differences in landscape and wildlife — here tortoises take the place of big cats — the concept survives more or less intact.

Needless to say, it’s a winning one. In this magical setting most of us would be happy to pitch our own tents, so these plush tents on elevated platforms are an easy sell. En-suite bathrooms are universal, as are balconies with hammocks, ideal for basking in the camp’s hillside view.

There’s a central lodge with some plush lounging space and the camp’s dining room and bar, and you’ll spend a fair bit of time there. Most days, however, are spent in the wilderness — a wide array of programs gives everyone a chance to express their inner Darwin, on land, at sea, on surrounding islands or even underwater, on an excursion with one of the camp’s scuba guides. It’s a low-key sort of safari, compared to the African variety, but if you’re at all interested in the natural world the Galápagos are among the planet’s great wonders.

Text courtesy of Tablet Hotels