Reviews of Lewa Safari Camp
Wildlife sightings and reviews
22 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Lewa Safari Camp and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
93% success
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92% success
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"Lewa Safari Camp review"
Wilson, our guide for our stay, met us at the airstrip with cold beverages and some snacks, which were much needed after a bumpy ride from Nairobi. We can’t say enough about Wilson, he was informative, kind, welcoming and was a master at finding wildlife. Wilson always seemed engaged and it was easy to tell how passionate he was about the animals. Wilson never seemed in a rush, with our game drives averaging three - four hours. Wilson was always willing to stay out a little later if we found some animals we wanted to see. Wilson always made sure we had snacks on the drive, blankets and binoculars if needed. Wilson facilitated some unbelievable experiences, including time with numerous animals where it was just us and the animals, no other humans or vehicles in sight.
Wildlife was plentiful, seeing lions, lionesses, many rhinos, elephants, giraffes and much more. The only other safari experience we’ve had was in the Maasai Mara. There wasn’t as much volume of wildlife in Lewa Conservancy compared to the Mara, however, we still saw a great deal, and made it that much more special when we found an animal and were able to spend as much time as we wanted with no other people or vehicles within sight.
The camp itself was incredible, beautiful tents in the bush. Our room was kept up to the highest standard. Our server, Andrew, always provided top notch service. The bartender, John, was always ready to pour us a drink and have a chat. All staff were incredibly friendly, including all the above as well as Ruth, always willing to chat about how your day was going. The food was some of the best dining we’ve experienced, with the chefs checking in with you nightly. If we had one recommendation, not at all a criticism, would be to have a few more traditional Kenyan dishes as options on the menu for tourists like us to try and sample some dishes of the area. I would also highly recommend getting a massage at the spa if you have a chance, best massage I have ever gotten!
Overall we had an unbelievable positively experience at Lewa and couldn’t recommend this camp enough. Thank you Lewa for an amazing safari adventure!" See all these reviews: 7n in Kenya
Black Rhino
5 sightings
Buffalo
1 sighting
Eland
6 sightings
Elephant
10 sightings
Giraffe
4 sightings
Hippo
1 sighting
Lion
1 sighting
Spotted Hyena
1 sighting
White Rhino
10 sightings
Zebra
10 sightings
"Lewa Safari Camp review"
Our tent #7 was private, spacious, clean, good selection of charging ports, hot water always available with good pressure for showers, comfortable bed with nice outdoor sitting area. We were always walked back to our tent at night. It was nice having the same person looking after our tent so we got to know him. Internet worked good. We also enjoyed the communal space where we could meet other travellers.
We liked the breakfasts but felt lunches and dinners were inconsistent. We were served huge portions at lunch of too many different food items. By the 2nd day, we asked for a serving for one person which we shared to avoid waste. I think a lunch with fewer choices would be a better option, so do less and keep the quality high. Very good choice of wines.
We really liked our guide Mishenk who was a good communicator, cheerful, knowledgeable and always found a nice scenic spot for sundowners . In summary, would recommend Lewa Safari Camp for the staff, service and sightings." See all these reviews: 6n in Kenya
Black Rhino
5 sightings
Eland
Multiple sightings
Elephant
Multiple sightings
Giraffe
Multiple sightings
Lion
6 sightings
White Rhino
Multiple sightings
Zebra
Multiple sightings
"Lewa Safari Camp review"
The camp was very high quality. Everything was clean and modern, WIFI was excellent, and the lodge was cleaned everyday.
Food was plentiful, varied and high quality. For morning game drives, a tray of tea, coffee and biscuits was delivered to our lodge at 5.45 each day. Camp staff were available to guide you by torches between the lodge and the restaurant when it was dark.
Abdul was a very good guide. He knew everything about the animals and was informative on lots of different things. His ability to find animals, and get us very close to them was superb.
He positioned us next to a pride of lions and the two lionesses, followed by 6 cubs, walked within a metre of our car. He then trailed the male while it re-joined the pride. Similarly he also placed us next to elephant herds and rhino.
Bush breakfasts out of the car, with white rhino nearby, were a great experience." See all these reviews: 11n in Kenya
Black Rhino
Multiple sightings
Elephant
Multiple sightings
Giraffe
Multiple sightings
Lion
Multiple sightings
White Rhino
Multiple sightings
"Lewa Safari Camp review"
We felt the service was less personal here. The pool was green and uninviting. Used more by the many local birds than people. The food was uninspired and rather canteen in style, but plentiful. Our waiter, Maxwell, was an absolute delight. Great fun and always smiling.
After two days of sole use of a car with camp at its busiest, we were suddenly told that another couple was joining us, although there were then many fewer guests. We were paired with a couple on their first safari so it was an unfortunate mix. The management were quick to sort out the incompatibility when we raised it with them. We had a different car and guide for the final day.
We were extremely fortunate to observe a rhino capture and translocation whilst we were there. An amazing and unforgettable experience.
The hide was rather overgrown and unloved. We saw black rhino and elephant the afternoon we used it." See all these reviews: 13n in Kenya
Black Rhino
10 sightings
Buffalo
4 sightings
Eland
10 sightings
Elephant
10 sightings
Giraffe
10 sightings
Lion
3 sightings
Spotted Hyena
1 sighting
White Rhino
10 sightings
Zebra
10 sightings
"Lewa Safari Camp review"
The tented rooms were lovely and fresh. The food was very good, served with great attention to service. The dining area and main building were open and airy. The entire staff was wonderful and attentive.
An overall wonderful experience.
Thanks to our wonderful game driver/guide, Rafael, we saw some very special wildlife that differed from our first camp including Rhinos, Grevy Zebra, Velvet Monkey and Reticulated Giraffe, and an array of other fun sightings.
We felt very satisfied with our wonderful experience at Lewa Safari Camp and would definitely recommend it." See all these reviews: 10n in Kenya
Black Rhino
1 sighting
Eland
1 sighting
Elephant
10 sightings
Giraffe
10 sightings
Lion
1 sighting
White Rhino
10 sightings
Zebra
10 sightings
"Lewa Safari Camp review"
Our guide was a special man - loved learning about the Maasai culture." See all these reviews: 9n in Kenya
Black Rhino
Multiple sightings
Buffalo
Multiple sightings
Elephant
Multiple sightings
Giraffe
Multiple sightings
White Rhino
Multiple sightings
Zebra
Multiple sightings
"Lewa Safari Camp review"
Nonetheless, we got to see all of the Big Five within 24 hours, which never happened to us before, in any camp.
As mentioned above, the main attraction here are the rhinos, both black and white, and we saw plenty of them. They even have a black rhino named Katui that was hand-reared at this camp. We were unaware of this fact when we first met him on one of our game drives watching him munching on acacia leaves. Then he came very close to our vehicle, and our guide Daniel even petted him! A day later he showed up right in front of our tent.
Our guide Daniel was doing a fantastic job throughout, and he provided some very interesting details, whether on the history of Kenya or the local conservation efforts. For instance, they control the birth rate of lions by administering contraceptive patches to the females. Thus, the lionesses still go into estrus so that they can continue to mate, but they don’t get pregnant.
What’s also very attractive in this camp are the great views of Mount Kenya.
Another remarkable aspect of this camp was that we managed to see lions, elephants, and rhinos in very close proximity.
The rooms, the amenities, the service, and the food in this camp were all very good if not excellent. Unlike other top end camps we visited they even have a nice large swimming pool. But as I stated in a review of our previous trip, luxury is not our priority when traveling to Africa. We are primarily interested in encounters with animals and the people of the country." See all these reviews: 20n in Kenya
Black Rhino
4 sightings
Buffalo
3 sightings
Eland
3 sightings
Elephant
9 sightings
Giraffe
6 sightings
Hippo
1 sighting
Leopard
1 sighting
Lion
4 sightings
Spotted Hyena
1 sighting
White Rhino
9 sightings
Zebra
10 sightings
"Lewa Safari Camp "
On arrival the weather took a turn for the worse and we had a thunderstorm with heavy rain for two hours but thankfully that was the last rain we had here but the weather was generally cooler and cloudier than we have been used to on safari.
The camp itself was lovely and the staff were very friendly and helpful - special mention to Zion, Andrew and Martin who looked after us.
First class food, excellent game viewing, stunning scenery with good staff - this camp for us was very near perfect." See all these reviews: 9n in Kenya
Black Rhino
10 sightings
Buffalo
6 sightings
Cheetah
1 sighting
Eland
6 sightings
Elephant
10 sightings
Giraffe
10 sightings
Hippo
1 sighting
Lion
4 sightings
Spotted Hyena
2 sightings
White Rhino
10 sightings
Zebra
10 sightings
"Lewa Safari Camp review"
The food at Lewa was excellent. The lunch was wonderful with lots of salads. The gluten free options was great. Compliments to the chef.
We alway enjoyed relaxing at pool or the hide watching elephants hanging out in their pool." See all these reviews: 8n in Kenya
Black Rhino
6 sightings
Buffalo
10 sightings
Cheetah
2 sightings
Eland
Multiple sightings
Elephant
10 sightings
Giraffe
10 sightings
Hippo
5 sightings
Lion
8 sightings
White Rhino
5 sightings
Zebra
10 sightings
"Lewa Safari Camp review"
We saw 7 female lions, once on a daytime drive on once on a night drive. On the night drive they were lying on the track, we had to drive on the ground above the track looking down on them. Further on we got back on the track and the lionesses all greeted each other right by the vehicle.
By a waterhole we watched a big family of elephants coming down to drink and bathe. One of the young elephants wasn't too sure about passing our vehicle and gave out a trumpet call and all the family turned immediately to look at us. Fortunately he decided it would be OK to walk around the vehicle and he then re-joined the group." See all these reviews: 14n in Kenya
Black Rhino
10 sightings
Buffalo
10 sightings
Eland
10 sightings
Elephant
10 sightings
Giraffe
10 sightings
Leopard
1 sighting
Lion
10 sightings
Spotted Hyena
4 sightings
White Rhino
10 sightings
Zebra
10 sightings
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