Reviews of Ikuka Safari Camp

"We had an amazing time at Ikuka and I'm hard pushed to think of any negatives.

If I was being picky the only slight negatives were no hairdryer, a separate w/c or at least a screen hiding the toilet from the main bathroom would be preferable ." See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania

"Beautiful location high on a hill overlooking the park in all directions. Rooms were superb, food excellent and staff well trained and very attentive. We had an excellent guide, Reuben, who looked after us every day.

The drives were very good, centred mainly on the closest river, albeit mainly dry, where there was quite a diversity of animals. We did venture further afield, again with reasonably good results .

Worth mentioning to clients that, due to altitude, the early mornings are cold and the blankets they supply just about kept the cold out, but a jersey would be useful. Mealtimes excellent with communal eating for all meals at which the management staff joined us too." See all these reviews: 13n in Tanzania

"Ikuka is relatively isolated and therefore there are few other lodges/jeeps around. On some days we saw only one or two other vehicles. This is a definite plus. There is an abundance of elephants, giraffes and buffalo.

Our guide was of the old school and not too interactive, but he knows his animals. There are standard 'circuits' for driving around the park and sometimes it feels more like driving on regular roads than tracks, at laest compared to the Serengeti.

The food is outstanding and they went to huge and successful lengths to accommodate my gluten/dairy free diet." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania; 6n in Zanzibar

"The scenery in the Ruaha is stunning, even without the animals, with the most fantastic sunrises and sunsets.We did expect to see more animals though from the information that we had read. A couple of times we drove for 2 hours before spotting anything.

We chose Ikuka for its location on top of the hill for stunning views and we were not disapointed. The stars were amazing here. Again your advice on rooms was spot on, we were allocated the two that we had requested and had the pleasant surprise in ours of a plunge pool. They were beautiful.

The service was very good in a relaxed and informal manner. It was nice to get into the Land Cruiser in the mornings with a hot water bottle and blanket waiting for us.

The food was outstanding, from our bush breakfasts to dinner. The quality was as good as any top London restaurant.

Special thanks must go to Habido (our guide) for his 12 hour stint in trying to find us a Leopard! Again, it was great to be allocated our own guide for the duration of our stay." See all these reviews: 10n in Tanzania

"Very Richard Branson style lodge! Firstly Ruaha was such a great choice for us. As there is only a few lodges the park was relatively quiet and you rarely came across other vehicles!

The Lodge is amazing, the rooms have the biggest beds I have ever seen literally the size of two doubles together and the have the comfiest bedding! the views from those beds are beautiful! Although you are under canvas it is definitely not camping! Mark and Tanya and everyone that works there are so lovely you really do feel like you are visiting your family. The food is amazing, breakfast out in the park was surprisingly good considering it is all packed up for you, the lunch and dinner served in the lodge were some of the best food we have eaten and it was totally unexpected out there overlooking the whole park!

Habibo was our guide and he is Ruaha's answer to David Attenborough, all the guides seem to know him and every drive would be completely different. It seemed he could find whatever we wanted to see! We saw all the animals we came to see! Elephants, Giraffe, Lions and cubs! Leopard, Cheetah, Hippo and so many others, he knew every single bird we pointed out and really made our stay! We couldn't have asked for more.

The little touches at the lodge really made the stay, everyone is so attentive, from having your little water bottle with your name on waiting after the long plane journey to having a hot water bottle in the morning drive! All my ridiculous food allergies were sorted with no fuss at all! The lodge itself is so relaxing, I would go back just to relax by the pool looking at the view!

Cant wait to go back!" See all these reviews: 5n in Tanzania; 4n in Zanzibar

"Ikuka was a delight.

The staff were so friendly and wonderful to share the experience with.

Food was phenomenal and safari experiences were excellent." See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania; 7n in Zanzibar

"Ikuka was a very well run camp and it was evident that everyone worked as a team, not only to provide guests with a great experience, but because they were colleagues and helped each other out.

The rooms are very comfortable, the food was good and plentiful - in fact, their bush breakfasts were the best I think we have ever had. It wasn't the usual cold fried egg sandwich - it was much more imaginative and changed every day.

In some respects this was a more formal camp in that the staff, including the manager on duty (for us Tanya) was always there to wave you off and greet you back from safari and the staff serving food and drinks were extremely attentive. When we were staying there were some guests who wanted to go for shorter drives and, even though they hadn't booked a private vehicle, every effort was made to accommodate them.

Meal times provided a good opportunity to hear about everyone's day and enjoy each other's company, although it was possible for you to dine privately in your own little group if you wished.

We had some eventful game drives and some quiet ones but were privileged to see roan antelope.

All in all, a luxurious camp, good attention to detail in the rooms, great food and staff eager to ensure you have a good time." See all these reviews: 18n in Tanzania

"Ikuka is situated in a spectacular location on the escarpment overlooking the Mwagusi plain. It is a remote camp, with quite a long drive to it up a steep track. But the views from the camp are stunning, as are the tented rooms and the camp's main building.

Tanya is a lively and entertaining manager of the camp. Our guide, Ernest, was also excellent, very knowledgeable and with a pleasant sense of humour.

We particularly enjoyed a long and interesting game walk led by Mark, the co-owner of Ikuka, which ended with a fabulous bush breakfast next to the Mwagusi river.

We stayed five nights at Ikuka and it was one of the very best safari camps we have ever stayed at. Although it was the rainy season in Ruaha, we had excellent game viewing, particularly of predators. In one memorable afternoon we saw a pair of cheetahs, followed by a leopard in a baobab tree with an impala kill, followed by several lions round a giraffe kill watched by hyenas and numerous vultures. Also frequent sightings of most of the main game species; particularly good to see numerous herds of elephant. Spectacular bird-life, which included numerous eagles and other raptors and five different species of stork etc." See all these reviews: 11n in Tanzania

"Coming from Selous to Ruaha one is very conscious of the different climates. In Ruaha the rains had not arrived and the river was dry. This of course meant that we saw a much higher concentration of animals than in the Selous. We were lucky to see leopard, cheetah and a lion kill as well as beautiful herds of giraffe and elephant. The walking safari with Mark was a lovely break from the driving and gave a different view of the landscape. Ikuka is a new camp and we would assess it as 'perfect'. I'm sure not everyone would agree but we couldn't find a fault. Staff are wonderful, the comfort and design of the tents is amazing and the food is outstanding. They even supply hot water bottles for the cool morning starts. Highly recommended." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania

"Despite having only opened in 2016, the Ikuka camp feels as if it has been rightfully commanding its spectacular view for some time.

The staff are lovely, the food is delicious & the attention to detail is noticeable, including the host, Mark, meeting you back from every game drive & the hot water bottles provided in the land cruiser on the early morning outings.

In our view, sundowners in Ruaha are unbeatable." See all these reviews: 7n in Zanzibar; 6n in Tanzania