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Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge
Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge
Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge

Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge


3°9’14.9"S 35°40’33.5"E

Reviews of Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge

Wildlife sightings and reviews

23 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa

Wildlife sightings by our travellers
Starting in Aug-2018, 6 of our travellers have recorded their wildlife sightings at Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge.
Lion

100% success

Leopard

33% success

Wild dog

0% success

Buffalo

100% success

Elephant

100% success

Spotted Hyena

100% success

Wildebeest

100% success

Zebra

100% success

Hippo

83% success

Black Rhino

80% success

Eland

25% success

Aardvark

0% success

Pangolin

0% success

Striped Hyena

0% success

Showing 1-10 of 23
Duration
Arrival date
Mr A.
Trento

"Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge review"

2 nights Arrived 4 Jun 2021
"Wonderful location and very close to the entrance of the crater.

We were the only guests of the lodge, giving us a deep sense of privilege to be there.

The road to get there is really awful after the rains and especially after having arrived from an international flight.

My advice is not to get there directly after arrival on day one." See all these reviews: 5n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Black Rhino

1 sighting

Buffalo

Multiple sightings

Elephant

Multiple sightings

Lion

1 sighting

Spotted Hyena

1 sighting

Wildebeest

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

Mr & Mrs D
Hampshire

"Perfect location for Ngorongoro"

2 nights Arrived 4 Sep 2019
"A perfect location for a visit to the crater. The lodge is excellent (much better than expected). Very good accommodation, excellent food, helpful friendly staff - it couldn't be better. A tip: spend two nights here to guarantee a full day in the crater. We had an eleven hour crater visit and it was every bit as good as we had hoped." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania; 4n in Zanzibar
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

8 sightings

Elephant

2 sightings

Hippo

5 sightings

Lion

5 sightings

Spotted Hyena

2 sightings

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Mr & Mrs M
Weymouth

"Wonderful views when the mist clears"

3 nights Arrived 15 Jul 2019
"Alfred "Papa" Sakita was a great guide who was with us for the whole of our stay at the amazing Ngorongoro Crater, he knew exactly where to go for the best places and positions for wildlife photography, including finding three black rhino, two of whom were mating - and yes, I have the photograph.

The crater is quite amazing in its size and the amount of big game and birds that are there, the view from the hotel on the crater edge is spectacular when the early morning mist burns off.

We managed to see our first leopard standing in the mist beside the track as we left on our last day." See all these reviews: 17n in Kenya; 9n in Zimbabwe; 6n in Tanzania; 5n in Botswana; 5n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Black Rhino

5 sightings

Buffalo

10 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Leopard

1 sighting

Lion

10 sightings

Spotted Hyena

10 sightings

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Ms H & Mrs J
London

"Perfect "

2 nights Arrived 25 Jan 2019
"The two night stay was just perfect.

Arriving early evening, time to settle in, have dinner and then an early start the next morning to go down to the Crater.

Spend most of the day in the amazing Crater with picnic breakfast and picnic lunch; then late afternoon visit a nearby Masai village before returning to the Lodge for dinner." See all these reviews: 10n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Black Rhino

1 sighting

Buffalo

Multiple sightings

Eland

Multiple sightings

Elephant

Multiple sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Lion

1 sighting

Spotted Hyena

Multiple sightings

Wildebeest

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

Tim
USA

"Great view - too big"

2 nights Arrived 21 Aug 2018
"This lodge has an excellent location on the rim, however it is big. Lots of people.

However the rooms are hotel like, so if you need a break from the tents it is a good option.

Food was a big average buffet. Staff was mixed. Rooms were big and nice.

The ride to the lodge is long and bumpy, however worth the trip since the crater is unbelievable." See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Average
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Average
Sightings Report

Black Rhino

Multiple sightings

Buffalo

Multiple sightings

Elephant

Multiple sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Leopard

Multiple sightings

Lion

Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena

Multiple sightings

Wildebeest

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

Mr Peter P
USA

"Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge review"

2 nights Arrived 7 Aug 2018
"The lodge itself was excellent along with the view.

Quick access to the crater was a big plus. The game drives were fantastic.

We saw lions attempt to catch a water buffalo.

The hippos pools were outstanding." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania; 4n in Zanzibar
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Average
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

10 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Lion

10 sightings

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Ms J
USA

"Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge review"

2 nights Arrived 26 Jul 2017
"Overly commercialized lodge. Didn't feel like Africa at all." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Average

Location:
Good
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Average
Rooms:
Average
Food:
Average
Facilities:
Average
EBL
Brookline

"Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge Review"

2 nights Arrived 13 Feb 2017
"We chose to stay at Sopa Lodge for two reasons:
1) it's got the best access into the crater on the only two-way road, so getting to the crater floor at the crack of dawn is possible.
2) We knew that the lodge was the largest on the crater, and hence the most impersonal, but had great views and was quite decent.

And it was all of the above. Rooms were large, showers (hot water only during certain hours - not a problem) were also large, each room had its own little sunroom, the common outdoor areas were spacious and perfect for amazing sunset views. There is a pool for those brave enough for the slightly chilly temps. The elevation is over 8,000' so don't be surprised if you find yourself slightly out of breath after hopping upstairs. Take advantage of the guards after dark on the walk back and forth to the dining room. Two large water buck were hanging outside our room! Breakfast and dinner were buffet style with many options and lunch was a la carte. The food was perfectly fine but not the highlight.

However, the experience on the crater floor and being literally the first car there in the morning, was remarkable and for that reason alone I would stay in Sopa again. However, the road along the crater rim to arrive at the camp - wow - and hour plus of really bad road. but this seems to be the case throughout the crater." See all these reviews: 10n in Tanzania; 5n in Zanzibar
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Mr S
Hong Kong

"Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge review"

2 nights Arrived 10 Jan 2017
"Upon entering Sopa, I couldn't believe that I was actually staying here.

A cross between a circa 1975 East German mountain retreat for Honecker's top politburo people.....meets Romanian orphanage.

Between the limited rationed hot water and the cigarette burn holes in my WW2 era scout blanket....the common area only wifi -- I was not happy to say the least.

However, in spite of the dismal interior with no terrace or balcony... the view of the crater was stunning and the staff could not have been more proactive or eager to satisfy. The food in the main dining room was surprisingly good, especially the curries." See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania; 4n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Average

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Rooms:
Terrible
Food:
Good
Mrs A
Haslemere

"A taste of luxury"

2 nights Arrived 24 Dec 2016
"A very different accommodation from the two previous nights. Modern in comparison. Incredible views from each bedroom's bay window across the crater.

Really enjoyable entertainment on Christmas Eve by an acrobatic group and a performance from the staff choir. A nice touch that each room received a Christmas gift. Great atmosphere. Excellent food and service. Opened for breakfast especially early so that we could get an early start to the day's game drive.

The rooms were so incredibly spacious that we could have easily made do with one room instead of 2 (each room had two double beds). Might be worth giving families this option." See all these reviews: 6n in Tanzania; 5n in Zanzibar
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
Showing 1-10 of 23
88%
23 reviews of Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge by travellers since August 2007
Overall rating by our travellers
14
4
5
0
0
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