This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn more

Skip to main content

Talk to an expert 1-800-242-2434 Lines open now

User menu
Meru National Park
Meru National Park
Meru National Park

Meru National Park is a little visited park east of Mount Kenya.

It offers some excellent wildlife-viewing…

Expert Africa offers just a handful of small camps and lodges here.

Meru National Park

Reviews of safaris to Meru National Park

37 holiday reviews from our travellers of holidays which include Meru.

Showing 1-10 of 37
Duration
Arrival date
Mr & Mrs R
Glos

"My Feb 2024 trip to Kenya "

I visited Kenya between 6 Feb 2024 and 20 Feb 2024
"It was a great mix of different parks and conservancies.

We had plenty of time at each camp to see the best of the local wildlife.

The final stop at Emakoko was worth every penny." Read full review: 14 nights in Africa; 13 on a Kenya safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr & Ms B
Florida, US

"Our 2023 trip to Kenya"

I visited Kenya between 16 Sep 2023 and 16 Oct 2023
"Before visiting Kenya, we have been to four countries in Southern Africa (Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) five times, and each one of those trips were highly enjoyable.

Nonetheless, we figured it was time to check out East Africa for a change. To be honest, we were a little apprehensive about this trip, because many guidebooks or websites tell you that in both Kenya and Tanzania visitor numbers are much higher than in the South of Africa. As the New York Times wrote earlier this year, they witnessed a cheetah hunting and making a kill in the Maasai Mara, and in no time, the poor animal was surrounded by 50 vehicles. Well, even though the number of cars per sighting was, on average, higher than in Southern Africa, we experienced none of such extremes. I guess, we were lucky with the choice of camps and/or locations.

For instance, we took great care in picking camps that are using open vehicles with a maximum of six passengers and not vehicles with pop-up roofs, let alone minibuses. For a serious photographer, such conditions would seriously limit your freedom to move, and in the case of pop-up roofs you would have to stand up and, often, you would look down on animals. In other words, it would be a nightmare ruining my trip. I realize that the camps we picked are significantly more expensive, but this goes hand in hand with providing better guides, better amenities and facilities, and better service. The good news is that in our experience, the camps in Kenya are not quite as pricey as Botswana accommodations.

One more comment about the number of cars per sighting: The official rules in the Maasai Mara clearly state that the maximum number of vehicles per scene is limited to five (per animal, not animals!). Taken literally, a pride of 8 lions could be visited by 40 cars, and we have witnessed scenes with up to 20 cars. On other occasions, for instance when observing cheetahs or leopards, we have noticed that local wildlife rangers do in fact make sure that there are no more than 5 cars on the scene. Throughout the entire trip, we were blessed with guides that showed great patience and perseverance to stay at a scene for longer. Quite often we were also lucky enough to be the only two guests in the vehicle. The only camp where there were six passengers in a car was Lewa Safari Camp.

As in previous years, I enjoyed recording our wildlife sightings. Overall, we saw more animals here than in any other place in Africa. And our encounters with the big cats were especially noteworthy, because often they were full of drama. I should point out though that we did not see any wild dogs anywhere. Of the four areas visited, the Maasai Mara was, thanks to our guides, and despite the higher number of vehicles, a photographer’s paradise.

What we also appreciated in all five camps was that they allowed each party to have their own tables at mealtimes.

To summarize, this trip was so good that we are almost certain to return to Kenya in the near future." Read full review: 30 nights in Africa; 20 on a Kenya safari
Overall trip
Excellent
N & J Lancs
UK

"Return to Kenya after 36 years"

I visited Kenya between 20 Jan 2023 and 4 Feb 2023
"On the whole it was an excellent and well organised trip to some vastly different parks. Amazing numbers of lions seen (70).

With hindsight we would have flown from Sand River to Elephant Pepper.

All the staff at the lodges were extremely welcoming and helpful." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 14 on a Kenya safari
Overall trip
Excellent
E&J
East Sussex

"What a wonderful holiday!"

I visited Kenya between 16 Jan 2023 and 29 Jan 2023
"Our Kenyan safari holiday was simply marvellous.

Everything went smoothly, Expert Africa's advice was spot-on, and all the arrangements made by Jessica, our consultant, were flawless.

Thank you so much ... we will definitely come back for more!

Suggestions to help us improve our trips or our service:

Can't think of anything. Our trip and your service were both superb." Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 12 on a Kenya safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr & Mrs C
Hindhead

"My Sep 2022 trip to Meru, Samburu and Massai Mara"

I visited Kenya between 14 Sep 2022 and 25 Sep 2022
"Originally trip was booked for 2020. We were pleased the trip was rolled over fairly painlessly to 2021 and then 2022.

Jessica has been there over the past three years to provide us with a high level of service.

This is our seventh safari (fourth with Expert Africa) and probably our best although they are all difficult to compare.

The local agent to meet us on arriving at Nairobi airport, Isaac? and transfers to and from Nairobi Wilson were very good" Read full review: 11 nights in Africa; 10 on a Kenya safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Dr G & Dr E
UK

"My Sep 2022 trip"

I visited Kenya between 10 Sep 2022 and 25 Sep 2022
"We worked out while we were away that this was our 25th safari. It was by far our best and Kenya has become our new favourite safari destination.

The people are so welcoming, polite and friendly. The camps were all very well run with excellent food and facilities. The internal flights were well organised and efficient, albeit with lots of stops!

As we do quite a lot of self-guided, self-drive safaris, it was nice to go to camps with an emphasis on photography, so that they would position the vehicle as we would if we were driving and in a few instances, suggest angles that we hadn't thought of." Read full review: 15 nights in Africa; 14 on a Kenya safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mrs B
Kent

"3 weeks in July: city, beach, rural, safari."

I visited Kenya between 11 Jul 2022 and 2 Aug 2022
"A wonderful experience from start to finish. Richard's advice was excellent; he got to know what we would like and found accommodation and travel that suited our needs, soon gaining my confidence. At no point was I frustrated by the process, despite all that covid threw our way and the delay of a year that it caused." Read full review: 22 nights in Africa; 17 on a Kenya safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr T & Mr L
Amsterdam

"Meru and Amboseli"

I visited Kenya between 30 Sep 2021 and 13 Oct 2021
"It was simply wonderful to be back in Africa. If you're even slightly thinking about making a trip, take the plunge if you can. Everywhere felt safe (more so than at home) with the coronavirus being treated very seriously and the camps were clearly delighted to be back in operation.

Everyone was beyond welcoming and emphatic that we tell friends and family that Kenya is open for business and welcoming travellers.


At a personal level we were aching to return to the bush having had to reschedule this trip three times. We had been in Ethiopia and Kenya (the Mara conservancies) in February and early March 2020 and got home just as the world went into lockdown and it was a privilege and pleasure to finally return.

There was some additional hassle with paperwork, testing et cetera but once on the ground it felt almost like old times and was totally worth the effort. And in Meru we barely saw another visitor during our stay. Just awesome.

Planning was inevitably very last minute due to travel uncertainty and changing entry requirements but Richard was very patient and did a great job. The entire trip went like clockwork and we couldn't be happier with the arrangements made for us. We have already made plans for another trip in early 2021.

Last minute trips are great :-)" Read full review: 13 nights in Africa; 9 on a Kenya safari
Overall trip
Excellent
SueD
UK

"Kenya in a nutshell"

I visited Kenya between 28 Jan 2020 and 5 Feb 2020
"Enjoyed being in two contrasting locations. Amboseli is elephant heaven and I had some wonderful, very close, encounters with ele families and watched a cheetah and her cubs dining on her catch of the day (brilliant guiding by Joseph). After the open plains, Meru was deep bush - so much rain, even the lions had taken to the trees - and different animals to see.

Accommodation in both places was great, especially Elsa's Kopje, with its lovely staff and attention to detail." Read full review: 8 nights in Africa; 7 on a Kenya safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Mr V
Texas

"It Rains in Kenya"

I visited Kenya between 23 Jan 2020 and 8 Feb 2020
"The short rainy season extended right through our trip in January-February (2020), which is ordinarily the height of the short dry season. Interestingly, this is no way dampened (pun intended) our enjoyment of the trip.

I’m interested in photography, and the lush green foliage, moody skies, and sometimes dramatic sunrises/sunsets all enhanced my efforts. The animals were all healthy and happy, with plenty of vegetation for the herbivores and well-fed herbivores for the predators. Luckily, in spite of the presence of rain on each except our last day, we only experienced one 45-minute delay on a single game drive, so we weren’t particularly impacted by the rains, other than by the presence of lots of mud (the camps supplied Wellington boots) and some insects in Meru.

The hard work of the staffs at each of our camps contributed tremendously to our enjoyment of the trip." Read full review: 16 nights in Africa; 14 on a Kenya safari
Overall trip
Excellent
Showing 1-10 of 37
99%
37 reviews of Meru by travellers since August 2007
Overall rating by our travellers
36
1
0
0
0
Filter by month
Inspire me

Need inspiration?

Let our trip chooser narrow down the options for you

Inspire me

Where to stay in Meru

Our suggestions for safari camps in Meru National Park


Elsa's Kopje

Elsa's Kopje

Elsa’s Kopje is the most luxurious option in Meru National Park, with unique rooms built around the natural hilltop environment, and stunning vistas in every direction


97% (19 reviews)
Offbeat Meru

Offbeat Meru

Offbeat Meru is a low-footprint riverside bush camp, with six guest tents and a swimming pool in a quiet area just outside Meru National Park.


94% (18 reviews)
Rhino River Camp

Rhino River Camp

Rhino River Camp is a pleasant safari camp nestled in deep forest next to Meru National Park's rhino sanctuary.


No reviews yet

Login to Expert Africa

Sign in with password

Sign in with email link


New to Expert Africa? Create an account

Forgotten your details?

It's free & quick to set up

  • Save your wish-list
  • Send us an enquiry
  • Pay online for your trip
  • Subscribe to our newsletter
  • Give us feedback on your trip
  • Full site benefits of the site

Need some help? Talk to our team

Africa