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
Siwandu
Siwandu
Siwandu
Siwandu
Siwandu
Siwandu
Siwandu
Siwandu
Siwandu
Siwandu

Reviews of Siwandu

Wildlife sightings and reviews

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

Wildlife sightings by our travellers
Starting in Jul-2018, 18 of our travellers have recorded their wildlife sightings at Siwandu.
Lion

83% success

Leopard

12% success

Wild dog

44% success

Elephant

100% success

Giraffe

100% success

Hippo

100% success

Wildebeest

100% success

Zebra

100% success

Buffalo

94% success

Spotted Hyena

78% success

Eland

56% success

Aardvark

0% success

Black Rhino

0% success

Pangolin

0% success

Striped Hyena

0% success

Showing 1-10 of 82
Duration
Arrival date
Mr N
Horsmonden

"Siwandu November 2023"

4 nights Arrived 12 Nov 2023
"I had a great time at Siwandu.

My main guide, John, was excellent in relation to the birds as well as the mammals. He even managed to find some wild dogs for me.

The location is very good an the room/tent is excellent.

The only complaint about the food was there was a lot of it, so not complaint at all really." See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania; 3n in Zanzibar
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

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

Buffalo

Multiple sightings

Elephant

Multiple sightings

Giraffe

Multiple sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena

Multiple sightings

Wild dog

1 sighting

Wildebeest

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

Mr & Mrs H
UK

"Siwandu review"

6 nights Arrived 23 Jun 2023
"Siwandu is set next to an oxbow lake, fed by the Rufjii river, and is quite spread out with reception at one end of the camp through seven spacious and well equipped tents to a large dining area overlooking the lake. Each of the tents also has a view of the lake, albeit we were set back about 100m. The camp is excellent, good food, great service with a very friendly willing team.

At the time of our visit (June 2023), the dry season hadn't really got going, the rainy season having lasted nearly two months longer than normal. The animals were therefore quite dispersed as there was still plenty of water on the higher ground away from the lakes and river. As a result, there were limited prey species around and therefore limited predators. In six days, we didn't see a cat, although we saw signs of leopard and lions. However, it was clear that the park was drying quickly and by the end of our stay the numbers of prey species around were clearly rising.

Despite the lack of predators, there was plenty to see and the birding was excellent. Our guide also went above and beyond." See all these reviews: 17n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

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

Buffalo

10 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Spotted Hyena

10 sightings

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Mr A.
Newton Abbot

"Siwandu review"

4 nights Arrived 25 Sep 2022
"Second time staying at Siwandu and still a great place to stay. Fantastic location on the edge of a lake.

Many activity options available including a boat safari, seeing Hippo, Crocodile up close as well as lots of birds. Also walking safari available if desired (we didn't do this) Not entirely clear if night drives are possible at Siwandu.

Food and service top-notch. Really enjoyed the pre-dinner camp fire chat. Emile was a great camp manager, larger than life and very engaging. Additionally, was very helpful to me when trying to capture particular types of photos around the camp (star trails)" See all these reviews: 17n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

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

Buffalo

Multiple sightings

Elephant

Multiple sightings

Giraffe

Multiple sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Lion

Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena

1 sighting

Wildebeest

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

Mr & Mrs B.
Holland

"Siwandu review"

4 nights Arrived 21 Jul 2022
"Siwandu was our second camp and was much busier than Jongomero - with both more animals and people. All the staff were very friendly and helpful, particularly the bar and restaurant staff and the assistant manager who looked after us really well. We really liked our guide Mpoto and he was extremely knowledgeable and experienced.

The camp is spacious and split into two so we had quite an intimate experience with fewer guests.

The food was delicious throughout although the drinking water is quite sandy.

On the first game drive we had, there were 4 other guests with us so we were very happy that the manager managed to find another guide for us so we had a private experience for the remainder of our stay. We would highly recommend organising a private car in advance as the experience was completely different and so much better.

The game drives are full of different animals but we also saw loads of other vehicles. A boat safari is also available on the lake and we did it twice, very relaxing and different to being in the car. We really enjoyed it!" See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania; 5n in Zanzibar
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

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

Buffalo

Multiple sightings

Eland

Multiple sightings

Elephant

Multiple sightings

Giraffe

Multiple sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena

Multiple sightings

Wildebeest

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

M & C
London

"Siwandu review"

3 nights Arrived 24 Dec 2019
"Beautiful lakeside location, Great service.

The area was very green in December, and there had been much rain the previous week. This made hunting for wildlife more of a challenge - but we still saw plenty, including wild dogs. The water trip was excellent, and also lunch relaxing on the pontoon.

A new dam is being built in the Selous - far from the lodge, but the new access road has made the area more accessible. I am worried that the dam will also affect water levels and wildlife over the next few years." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

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

Buffalo

2 sightings

Eland

1 sighting

Elephant

2 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

5 sightings

Lion

1 sighting

Wild dog

2 sightings

Wildebeest

3 sightings

Zebra

7 sightings

Mr & Mrs JP
London

"Super Siwandu"

3 nights Arrived 25 Oct 2019
"Selous was a great contrast to our few days in Ruaha. The rains had come early and it was very green and lush. Siwandu is beautifully situated on a lake and offers evening boat safaris and pontoon lunches (lunch on a boat) which provide a different perspective from land safari drives. The tents are large, comfortable, and well equipped. Mau did an excellent job of caring for our room and clothes washing. Our lake view was slightly restricted (room name Moja), numbers 3 to 6 on the south side have a more open view. All the food was excellent and we were superbly looked after by Alphonse. Evening meals start with a communal drink around the camp fire followed by dining alone on tables dotted around the banda. It is an open camp and regularly visited by elephants, giraffes and hippo. Maasai warriors escort you around after dark in case of any close animal encounters - we felt safe at all times.Our guide Christopher was knowledgeable, attentive and patiently answered all our questions. We asked to see wild dogs and he had tracked them down within an hour. We also had an excellent lion sighting finding them camped for the day in a little thatched open hut. One downside is the lack of mobile coverage in the camp and wifi only available in the reception area. It was also quite humid whilst we were there and we incurred a number of mosi bites. But overall a great safari experience." See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

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

Buffalo

1 sighting

Elephant

5 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Lion

1 sighting

Wild dog

1 sighting

Zebra

5 sightings

Mr I
Abergavenny

"Fab safari at Siwandu"

4 nights Arrived 2 Oct 2019
"It was lovely to return to Siwandu and it was made more special by our request for our previous guide being granted.

Some improvements had been made to the camp in the four years that have passed since our last visit.

We had heavy rains towards the end of our visit and they coped well maintaining our safari programme. Also despite the airstrip being closed due to flooding, suitable arrangements were made for our onward flight." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

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

Buffalo

5 sightings

Eland

1 sighting

Elephant

4 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Leopard

1 sighting

Lion

6 sightings

Spotted Hyena

7 sightings

Wild dog

1 sighting

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

2 sightings

Mr D.
Maldon

"Siwandu review"

4 nights Arrived 25 Sep 2019
"The location of Siwandu by the lakeside with views from the terrace was excellent. There was easy access to boats at the lakeside. The camp also provided lunchtime boat trips with lunch served on board whilst enjoying the wildlife.

Every member of staff contributed to the excellent service. It seems there was nothing that was too much trouble. The food was creative and good quality.
Our guide during the four days of our trip was Christopher. He was knowledgeable and took the time to give context and background information about habitat etc. We were fortunate to have Christopher as our guide throughout our stay.

A unique experience for us was discovering many species of birds at a feeding frenzy of catfish after rainfall.

Siwandu is a bird spotters paradise." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

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

Buffalo

5 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Lion

2 sightings

Spotted Hyena

1 sighting

Wild dog

1 sighting

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

9 sightings

Mrs S
france

"Delightful Siwandu"

4 nights Arrived 19 Sep 2019
"An oasis of calm, Siwandu has impeccable standards, and our second visit lived up to all our expectations. The staff are friendly but discreet, and very efficient. The tents and facilities within are of a very high quality, spotless and comfortable with amazing views down to the lake. The food is fabulous, every meal a joy, portion sizes perfect. And lovely to have a lunch out on the lake again. It’s great that Siwandu is now all inclusive, but I was slightly disappointed that there was no longer a little shot of liqueur offered on return from the evening game drive!

Activities were excellent, with a combination of drives, boat on the lake and walks. Would like to see different levels of walking tour offered though, as we all found the walk too sedate, despite being incredibly interesting. But we had excellent sitings every day.

The only slight negative, which is totally beyond the reach of Siwandu to fix, is waking up to the sound of trucks rumbling down the newly widened road on their way to the dam construction site. We hope this doesn’t have a negative impact on Siwandu and the reserve as a whole in the coming years." See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

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

Buffalo

2 sightings

Eland

1 sighting

Elephant

4 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

5 sightings

Lion

4 sightings

Spotted Hyena

3 sightings

Wildebeest

4 sightings

Zebra

9 sightings

Mr J
Basingstoke

"A warm welcome"

3 nights Arrived 5 Sep 2019
"Accommodation: The best safari style accommodation I've seen in 4 trips. Very well designed and equipped "tents" and with that all important view to the middle distance down to the lake.

Food and drink: The food was less fancy than some places of this type, but was very suitable to the weather and the activity level of the trip. In some ways, actually, this type of food is ideal being relatively simple, but is less spectacular than elsewhere. Overall, we preferred the food here to Ikuka. The wine however was a weakness and not of a good standard. Just a question of getting better advice I think, because the wines at Ikuka were absolutely fine.

Staff generally: Very willing and helpful although less refined than some places. Emil, the camp manager, is highly attentive and the room butler was exceptional. The atmosphere here is more of a camp with connections to its local community rather than the "colonial outpost" vibe of some places.

Guiding: Our young guide Amos was extremely knowledgeable and competent (although not as experienced as Geofrey at Ikuka who was exceptional)

Vehicles and game drives: A weakness - the vehicle was older and the roads in the Selous were considerably worse than other areas I've been to.

Game viewing: Very good for giraffe as well as hippo and other water dependent wildlife because of the lake. We were fortunate to see buffalo and lion relatively near by as we understand this is not typically the case and the long drive to get a sighting could be quite bad (as we discovered with a drive out to see some Wild Dogs). Also only two sightings of a single elephant here. This is all relative of course, and I'm nitpicking as one of our game drives in particular was absolutely stunning. Also a very interesting and entertaining walking safari with Allen, the head guide." See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

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

Buffalo

1 sighting

Elephant

2 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Leopard

1 sighting

Lion

1 sighting

Spotted Hyena

1 sighting

Wild dog

1 sighting

Wildebeest

2 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Showing 1-10 of 82
97%
82 reviews of Siwandu by travellers since August 2007
Overall rating by our travellers
72
9
1
0
0
Filter by month

Holiday styles & special interests in Tanzania

From birdwatching breaks to walking holidays, find great ideas for your trip in Tanzania.


Beach holidays

Beach holidays

Discover Africa's coast and tropical islands.

Birdwatching

Birdwatching

Diverse habitats, discreet hides and superb guiding.

Cultural experiences

Cultural experiences

Get an insight into Africa's cultures and history.

Diving & snorkelling

Diving & snorkelling

Find captivating marine life beneath the waves

Family holidays

Family holidays

Hand-picked camps for an incredible family safari.

Honeymoons

Honeymoons

Romantic safaris and castaway island retreats.

Luxury

Luxury

First-class service, scenic vistas and unparalleled comfort await you during these carefully selected luxury holidays. 

Photography holidays

Photography holidays

Great holidays to suit the keen photographer.

Private villas & houses

Private villas & houses

Enjoy Africa with just your friends & family

Riding holidays

Riding holidays

Explore Africa's wilderness on horseback.

Solo Travel

Solo Travel

Trip ideas ideally suited for a solo traveller.

Walking

Walking

Explore Africa's most scenic trails on foot.

Walking safaris

Walking safaris

Explore Africa's untouched wildernesses on foot.

Wellbeing

Wellbeing

Wellness escapes in stunning locations

Wildlife safaris

Wildlife safaris

These trips include hard-hitting game and fascinatingly elusive species alike, as well as superb guiding and a variety of diverse ecosystems.

Other lodges in Nyerere National Park

Alternative places to stay in this same area.


Impala Camp

Impala Camp

Impala Camp is a comfortable, excellent-value camp with colourful tented rooms raised on platforms, good guiding and tasty food.


96% (278 reviews)
Lake Manze Adventure Camp

Lake Manze Camp

Lake Manze Camp is a rustic, lakeside bushcamp in Nyerere National Park that offers a great wilderness experience and doesn’t cost the earth.


93% (221 reviews)
Beho Beho

Beho Beho

Beho Beho is one of the best camps we work with in Africa, with gracious hosts, fantastic food and most importantly, excellent guiding.


100% (170 reviews)
Sand Rivers Camp

Sand Rivers Camp

The stylishly put together Sand Rivers has an outstanding reputation, with a wonderful location on the Rufiji River and great guides.


96% (79 reviews)
Beho Beho Tree-house

Beho Beho Tree-house

Beho Beho Treehouse is a satellite tree platform for just one couple, managed by Beho Beho and ideal as a one-night honeymoon retreat


98% (33 reviews)
Impala fly-camp

Impala fly-camping

While you're staying at Impala Camp in Nyerere National Park, you can enjoy a few nights' fly-camping in the heart of the bush.


92% (31 reviews)
Rufiji River Camp

Rufiji River Camp

Rufiji River Camp has a lovely location right on the edge of the Rufiji River and while not luxurious, it is one of the lowest-cost camps in the park.


88% (13 reviews)
Sand Rivers fly-camping

Sand Rivers fly-camp

Sand Rivers fly-camping safaris in Tanzania's Nyerere National Park operate out of Sand Rivers Camp, on the Rufiji River.


99% (14 reviews)
Roho ya Selous

Roho ya Selous

Roho ya Selous is a smart tented camp on the west side of lake Nzerakera, close to the park’s best wildlife-viewing areas.


100% (10 reviews)
Beho Beho Bailey's Banda

Beho Beho Bailey's Banda

Bailey's Banda at Beho Beho is a luxurious safari lodge in Nyerere National Park which can be booked exclusively for you and your party.


100% (5 reviews)
Kiba Point

Kiba Point

Kiba Point is the private sister camp of Sand Rivers, available on an exclusive basis, with its own private drivers and staff.


100% (2 reviews)
Rufiji River fly-camping

Rufiji River fly-camp

Fly-camping trips can be organised from Rufiji River Camp in Tanzania's Nyerere National Park


90% (2 reviews)
Mivumo River Lodge

Mivumo River Lodge

Mivumo River Lodge is Serena's main lodge in the Selous. Although comfortable, the windows and air-conditioning dispel any wilderness feel.


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