Heart of migration action Dec to late Apr. Quieter but still worth considering rest of year.
Guide Price: From: $325 To: $450
Ndutu Lodge was one of the first camps to be built in the Serengeti and has an appealing simplicity to it. The location is absolutely spot-on, in beautiful mature acacia woodland on the southern shore of Lake Ndutu where the southern Serengeti and Ngorongoro Conservation Area meet. This is wildebeest central come the migration between January and March, but it remains great through April and even early May, both months when visitor numbers are generally a fraction of the Christmas / February time. It's also somewhere we'd strongly recommend looking at for the dry season as well, provided you have a really knowledgeable guide (or you may end up wondering what you're doing here).
Ndutu Lodge is a rarity in the Serengeti nowadays - a small, well run, privately owned lodge. It's most definitely not flash, 'simple and unpretentious' being a kind description, with the stone built cottages all set quite close together, but the camp has a genuinely friendly and intimate feel with very real charm and somehow everything works like clockwork. You never quite know who's going to show up at the bar, often a mecca for local researchers, film makers and off duty safari guides. The manager Colin, who has very considerable experience of the Serengeti, and his crew put a great deal of energy into making everyone feel comfortable, even when the camp is full at the busiest times of year. This is one of those places that people come back to time and time again.
The lodge has thirty twin or double cottages, made of stone with thatched roofs. The mess building is also thatched with stone sides and open front looking out onto a bird table that gets covered each morning by flocks of ridiculously colourful love birds. All the cottages at Ndutu are strung out in a line either side of the mess building. The rooms, which aren't huge, feel quite spartan at first, with simple decoration and basic furnishings and you need to be prepared for the water which has a strong sulphurous smell (because of the soda lake, nothing more sinister).
However, this simplicity belies the true nature of the place. The camp has both character and charisma and all the bits that really matter, like comfortable beds and hot water, are there. After the fashionable excesses of some of the luxury lodges it's really nice to see that Ndutu hasn't been tempted to follow suit and has retained much of its original charm.
The one thing it still seems to lack is good coffee, so if that's high on your list of priorities (or you're secretly hooked on it) you may need to pack a little of your own so things don't get ugly. In the meantime we're trying to persuade them to give this some attention!
simple old style safari lodge with 34 rooms
From: 325 To: 450
Heart of migration action Dec to late Apr. Quieter but still worth considering rest of year.
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This area is dominated by the vast and seemingly endless short grass plains, stretching southwards from Naabi Hill farther than the eye can see - towards the extinct volcanoes of the Ngorongoro Highlands directly south, the Maswa woodlands in the south west and the dramatic Gol Mountains and open plains of Loliondo to the south east and east respectively. The southern plains are at their best between mid December and late May when this whole area comes alive as millions of wildebeest move onto the plains in search of the fresh green grass after the first rains. Read more?
Tanzania safaris rival a safari any other country in Africa in terms of sheer wilderness, formidable landscapes and volume of wildlife. At Natural High, we have travelled all over the country, worked in some of its best Tanzania safari camps and lodges and flown all over as bush pilots so we feel qualified to venture such opinions. Read more?
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Vanessa's 16 years in travel has seen her knowledge develop from sub-Saharan Africa into North Africa, Central and Southern America and the Galapagos. Consequently, she’s a veritable encyclopaedia of travel information and exceptionally cool, calm and collected in the face of the greatest planning demands.
At Natural High, we've had long experience putting together trips in Africa that really work. Whether it's intimate bushcamps in out of the way places, or a private lodge in one of Africa's top-billing wildlife areas, light mobile camping or remote island escapes, we know there is a lot to choose from. We're absolutely confident that we can recommend the right places for you.