Reviews of Impala Camp

"We felt very welcome, met with helpfulness and warmth. The management (2 women) were excellent and always forthcoming. We had a lovely young guy as "our" game drive guide, and the driver was very knowledgable about all the roads and "corners" of the park. We saw loads of gam, already the first day! The boat guide was a lot more quiet and impersonal but nevertheless took us to the the game in and along the river.

The room was great, comfortable beds, a good bathroom. The masai escort worked very well (they were also very warm and friendly).
The location was a little less though, than I had expected. Although at a river bank etc, it wasn't very beautiful – in an odd sort of way the architecture were nicer than the nature...

The food was a little of a mixed bag. They did cater for my special needs, which is highly appreciated (when the others got meat, I got fish or a specially prepared vegetarian main). The standard of the food however, varied quite a lot. We had some gorgeous dishes ("blue fish in orange butter", a mango salad, some good side veg (remember roasted pumpin). Then some dishes dropped down to very low quality and taste (as the Nile fish, the "tuna lasagne" (!) and a couscous salad, etc). Overall it was probably half-half when it came to food quality." See all these reviews: 14n in Tanzania

"A good choice as it contrasted well with Ruaha being in a wetter area, near a river. Again the guides were excellent and very well informed. We enjoyed the "fly camping" although you may warn future guests that the tents are very very hot!

Again we enjoyed the commumial eating in the fly camp but did not so enjoy the dining experience in the main camp. This was for two reasons: it is much hard to share experiences with fellow guests when everyone sits at seperate tables and while the food was "fancier" at Selous I missed the good basic food at Ruaha. (Maybe I am not cut out for luxury living!)

Again the management team of the camp could not have been more helpful." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania; 4n in Zanzibar

"Excellent. The food was amazing, safari drives amazing - our guide was fantastic, the boat safari was cool and different and walking safari fun too.

What can i say - absolutely brilliant! we saw some amazing game and just loved this place." See all these reviews: 13n in Zanzibar; 3n in Tanzania

"We had an excellent time at Selous Impala Camp - enjoying every mminute. The activities were well planned and accommodated our interests. The guide, Pietro, was great fun and very knowledgeable. We liked having the same guide for the entire stay and also the fact that there were only four guests going out at a time so viewing was great. The camp was run as a very tight ship by Nicole who made it her business to check with all the guest each day to ensure that they were well looked after and their needs/wishes met (and they were!).

The environment is beautiful and varied - the lakes meant that we saw plenty of water birds. We also enjoyed the fact that we could have boat safaris as well as safari drives.

We saw a pack of 15 wild dogs which was fantastic - but all the game viewing was very good.

Some people we met on route commented on the separate tables for dining. Most people we met would rather have had one large table so that it would be easier to compare notes and talk about the experiences that day - and I think we would agree with that point of view.

With regard to the increase in park fees - we were told that there was an increase but we didn't have to pay unless we wanted to. Unsurprisingly no one paid." See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania; 7n in Zanzibar

"From the moment we were met at the landing strip and taken on a boat safari to arrive at our camp, the camp did their utmost to provide us with the sort of experience we wanted. We were given the opportunity to choose which activity we wanted to do, with excellent advice and suggestions from Nicole and Chloe. It was so exciting to see a giraffe right outside our tent when we arrived and we quickly got used to seeing animals around the camp.

Comfortable tented accommodation (with a great view) and friendly, efficient staff and excellent food! On our first night there was a buffet dinner, with everybody eating together on one table. It was nice to be able to talk about the day experiences and also other camps that had been visited and I think it would be nice to offer this every night rather than reverting to individual tables.

Excellent guiding and I liked the fact that we kept the same guide throughout. All in all a very professional camp and a great experience." See all these reviews: 9n in Zanzibar; 5n in Tanzania

"The camp is well situated on the banks of the river. Tents on platforms all face the water and are screened from each other. Inside very luxurious bedroom & en suite bathroom.

Meals were of a high standard, of the quality of a hotel in many cases. All meals but 2 evenings were at seperate tables, personally I prefer to dine and discuss the day around the table with fellow guests.

Activities started as we came off the plane at 9:30 with a game drive that lasted till ~ 12:00 when we arrived at the camp. By that time following an overnight flight we were fairly tired.

Game drives were good seeing a lot of animals on each occasion. Drivers & Guides were knowledgable and there seemed to be many vehicles available. we had a half day and full day drive by ourselves. Some of the animals (zebras/wildebeast, were a bit skittish, possibly due to hunting that is ongoing in the south part of the park.

Also available were boat trips down the river seeing many birds and animals coming down to drink. Or an afternoon fishing, with in 15 minutes I hooked a tree, and then 2 tiger fish with a very patient guide. Some guests went on bush walks/fly camping trips and said how much they had enjoyed these." See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania; 3n in Zanzibar

"We flew in on BA arriving on Friday morning having slept a little on the flight (World Traveller Plus is definitely worth it). Apprehensive about the small plane flight (I hate turbulence) but needn't have been. The 35 minute flight was great and our first real sight of Africa. Arrived at the airstrip and left in Landrover on our first game drive on our way to the Impala camp.

Arrived at camp late lunchtime and greated by smiling faces and cool drinks. One of us would have preferred less of a drive time and to arrive pre-lunch in time to have a shower and then eat. The camp is clean, spacious, relaxed and staffed by the most friendly people, all eager to make our stay as enjoyable as possible. We were guided to our tent (number 8, the last one at the end) and wow; it had superb views of the great Rufiji River, and there at the bottom of the 15ft high river bank was a lone elephant right below our tent. Shortly after, Mum and two calves appeared on the far bank and we spent half an hour watching them playing and rolling in the river. Needless to say,the experiences continued like this throughout our stay.

We chose Impala as it was a short flight and it had the pool and a little more luxury than our next stop at Ruaha,Old Mdonya Camp, plus it had the variety of the river trips and walking as well as normal game drives. We didn't see a great number of animals on the walking trip but our guide was excellent and really made us 'see' what you can't see from a landrover. Wonderful.

Back at camp the pool was a real bonus. On one return from a river trip we walked up the bank from the boat and straight within 10ft of a young tusker. I don't know who was more surprised, him or us. Eventually after both recovered from the shock, elephant and human both turned tail and fled (slowly, as directed by our guide,of course!). This is safari. You never know what will happen, and it's great.

Our biggest bonus more than made up for the lack of leopard (my particular wish), as we got to see a pack of wild/hunting dogs right up close and lazing around just meters from the landrover. This is so rare and we were so lucky to see them. Great driving by our guide to allow us this rare viewing. We stayed 5 nights;- an expensive way to be lazy, but it worked for us. 4 nights would be more economical and you could still have all the experiences on offer.

The food was simple, healthy and never disappointed. Mosquitoes were pleasantly absent, although we took malaria tablets (a must) and did spray the tent once each night just in case. Overall, and excellent camp and highly recommended." See all these reviews: 14n in Tanzania

"We loved Selous - the layout of the camp along the River was spectacular, the staff were all lovely and made a real effort to chat to every guest at the end of each day. Food was fantastic. The guides / rangers were very knowledgeable and made the days out in the Jeep really fascinating, and we met some lovely people who we've stayed in touch with.

We loved the walking safari and the boat safaris. The highlight was probably waking up at 3am to the sounds of an elephant crashing through the bush next to our tent, before he emerged in front of the veranda and proceeded to eat right outside the tent for the next 1/2 hour." See all these reviews: 9n in Mozambique; 7n in Tanzania

"We really enjoyed our stay at Impala Lodge" See all these reviews: 6n in Tanzania; 5n in Zanzibar

"The luxury tents were excellent - very comfortable and clean with all the facilitiies necessary.

The whole camp was inkeeping with the surroundings and used wherever possible local materials etc.

The staff were very friendly and helpful and gave everyone personal attention.

The guides were enthusiastic and knowlegeable.

The quality of the food and the varied menu was excellent.

Unfortunately when it came to paying our drinks bill the waiters had added on drinks after we had signed the respective bill each night. It was very obvious on one occasion because they had used a different pen! The management have to ensure that the waiters put a line to the bottom of the bill for us to sign. The waiter didn't argue when we complained about the final total. He just made the necessary changes." See all these reviews: 8n in Zanzibar; 5n in Tanzania