Kimondo Camp: Our full report
**Kimondo Camp closed in late 2021, as numbers of travellers were reduced by the Covid pandemic.
We’re still awaiting news of when it will re-open.**Kimondo Camp in Tanzania moves location to follow the migration. Between July and October, it is situated in the Lamai Wedge, a small pocket of the Serengeti north of the Mara River and south of the border with Kenya – and is one of the more remote camps in the area. From mid-November to mid-March, Kimondo moves to the south-east of the Kusini area. There are only a few other camps around here, so it's a quieter option than the Ndutu area if you want to see the migration during this time.
A rustic yet very comfortable camp, Kimondo is the sister camp to Olakira and Ubuntu. It is similar in style and design, offering a mid-range option that is of a similar standard to Ubuntu but not quite at the level of Olakira. Like its sister camps, Kimondo moves between two different locations and, when we visited in February 2018, it was at the Kusini site in the south. To get there we drove through herds of wildebeest and zebra, which had gathered not far from the camp.
There are eight tents at Kimondo Camp – five to one side of the main area and three to the other side. These were all replaced in 2016 and, on our most recent visit, they were looking in great condition. All the tents are spacious and have their own en-suite bathrooms.
Each tent has either twin or double black wrought-iron beds, covered in cream linen and a brightly coloured throw. On each side of the bed are wooden bedside tables with a flask of drinking water and a lamp. Burgundy curtains are tied back during the day, making the tents light and airy, while Arabic patterned rugs and brass light shades lend a Moroccan feel. There is plenty of hanging space for your clothes, and wellington boots are provided in case of rain. You can watch the wildlife from a veranda outside the tent, furnished with a couple of director’s chairs and colourful pouffes.
A curtain to the side of the bedroom leads through to an en-suite bathroom. This is well-designed, with two brass basins, a flush toilet and two bucket showers – one inside the tent, and a second outside, which allows two people to shower at the same time.
In the centre of the camp, two separate tents house the main lounge area and the dining area. The lounge tent is completely open to the front and sides (with flaps that are lowered in bad weather) offering views over the Serengeti grassland in front of the camp. Inside are a couple of seating areas, with comfortable sofas, chairs and pouffes around low wooden coffee tables, scattered with nature books. Dark red woven oriental rugs and metal lanterns continue the Moroccan theme, and guests can help themselves to tea and coffee from a cabinet to one side. In front of this tent, a firepit surrounded by canvas director’s chairs is a popular spot for guests to gather for an evening drink and to watch the sunrise.
Meals are taken in the nearby dining tent. Breakfast and lunch are usually enjoyed at individual tables, while dinner is communal, allowing guests to chat over the day’s exciting events. In this area, there is a small drinks cabinet from which guests can help themselves or be served by the attentive staff.
When Kimondo Camp is located in the northern Serengeti it it possible to do walking safaris at no extra cost, though these must be pre-booked. Speak to us if you are keen to including a walk during your stay at the camp.
Our view
Since opening in 2013, Kimondo has established itself as an excellent mid-range tented camp, offering a higher level of comfort than its sister camp Ubuntu. When located in the Lamai Wedge in the northern Serengeti, it is a great base to see the migration from July to October. It’s also a good option when it is based in the southern Serengeti, for those who wish to see the migration with fewer people around.
Tanzania expert
Geographics
- Location
- Serengeti Migration Area, Tanzania
- Ideal length of stay
- Three nights is typical although, during the wildebeest migration, four would be fine. Kimondo Camp is often combined into trips with its sister camps Olakira camp, Ubuntu and the more luxurious Sayari Camp. It also combines very well with Dunia camp in the central Serengeti.
- Directions
- When in the north, Kimondo Camp is a 45-minute drive from Lamai Airstrip. In the south, Kimondo is around a 20-minute drive from Kusini Airstrip, however, many travellers may choose to drive here with their own private vehicle and guide.
- Accessible by
- Fly-and-Transfer
Food & drink
- Usual board basis
- Full Board & Activities
- Food quality
- On our most recent visit in February 2018 we did not stay long enough to enjoy a meal, however the manager explained what we could expect:
Breakfast is a choice of a cold selection of fresh fruit, cereals, yoghurts, fresh muffins and freshly baked bread. A cooked breakfast is also available – eggs to order, sausages, bacon and toast – along with a selection of fruit juices and tea and coffee. If you have an early start then it is also possible to take a packed breakfast with you to enjoy whilst on safari.
Lunch is typically a buffet, with a selection of hot dishes served with salads and freshly baked bread. This is finished off with a light dessert. If you intend to stay out all day then you can take a packed lunch from camp.
Afternoon tea or coffee is served in the afternoon, with a fresh homemade cake, before you head out on an afternoon wildlife drive.
Dinner is a slightly more formal three-course meal. After a drink around the fire, guests sit at one large communal table and are served a starter followed by a main course. This is normally a choice of meat, chicken or fish served with fresh seasonal vegetables. House wines are served with dinner. This is usually rounded off with a delicious dessert. A vegetarian option is always available if there are vegetarians staying in camp. - Dining style
- Group Meals
- Dining locations
- Indoor and Outdoor Dining
- Further dining info, including room service
- Room service is not available
- Drinks included
- Most drinks are included at Kimondo Camp, except for Champagne and premium wines and spirits.
Children
- Attitude towards children
- Children over the age of six are welcome at Kimondo Camp.
- Property’s age restrictions
- Children must be aged six or older.
- Special activities & services
- There are no special children’s activities.
- Equipment
- Kimondo does not have any cots or highchairs
- Generally recommended for children
- Kimondo Camp would be suitable for mature children from the age 12 years. There are no activities or facilities here to entertain children.
- Notes
- Parents need to be aware of Kimondo Camp's remote location and the high risk of wild animals, which wander through camp day and night.
Our travellers’ wildlife sightings from Kimondo Camp
Since mid-2018, many of our travellers who stayed at Kimondo Camp have kindly recorded their wildlife sightings and shared them with us. The results are below. Click an animal to see more, and here to see more on our methodology.
100% success
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50% success
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0% success
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0% success
Communications
- Power supply notes
- There is a back up generator and international charging points and USB sockets in the tents.
- Communications
- There is cellphone signal at Kimondo Camp. WiFi is also available, however the signal can be intermittent, and it is not suitable for large file transfers or streaming. The camp also has a satellite phone.
- TV & radio
- There is no TV or radio here.
- Water supply notes
- The tents have flush toilets and bucket showers, which are filled with hot water on request.
Health & safety
- Malarial protection recommended
- Yes
- Medical care
- Kimondo Camp has links to the Flying Doctors service. The staff are first-aid trained and they have a first-aid box on site. The nearest hospital is in Arusha, which is two hours away by light aircraft.
- Dangerous animals
- High Risk
- Security measures
- There are askaris (armed guards) on duty day and night. They will escort you to and from your tent after dark.
- Fire safety
- There are fire extinguishers in the main areas as well as in each tent
Activities
4WD Safari
Birdwatching
Hot air ballooning
Extras
- Disabled access
- On Request
- Laundry facilities
- Laundry is included at Kimondo Camp. It is hand-washed by local staff so, for cultural reasons, underwear is not accepted. Soap is provided in the bathrooms for this.
- Money
- There are electronic safes in each tent. There is no currency exchange.
- Accepted payment on location
- Kimondo Camp accept US dollars, GB pounds, euros and Tanzanian shillings. Currently credit or debit cards are not accepted (but there is little opportunity to spend money at Kimondo).
Other lodges in Serengeti Migration Area
Alternative places to stay in this same area.
Olakira Camp
Comfortable, friendly and relaxed, Olakira Camp moves between the Mara River and the southern Ndutu area, in line with the wildebeest migration.
Sayari Camp
In the northern Serengeti, near the Mara River, luxurious Sayari Camp offers excellent wildife all year – boosted further by the wildebeest migration.
Nomad Serengeti Camp
Serengeti Safari Camp is a well-appointed tented camp that moves several times a year to follow the predicted path of the migration.
Dunia Camp
Dunia Camp is well located for the migration from December to March, and has excellent game viewing for the rest of the year.
Namiri Plains Camp
Namiri Plains is one of the best camps in the Serengeti and its remoteness ensures a fantastic wildlife experience away from the crowds.
Lamai Serengeti
Set high in the kopjes with fantastic views, Lamai Serengeti offers top service and guiding and good migration sightings from Jul-Oct.
Ubuntu Camp
Ubuntu Camp has several locations in the Serengeti, following the wildebeest migration, so it is often in a great location to see the herds.
Kati Kati Camp
Kati Kati is a small, very simple bushcamp, which is well-positioned to explore the wildlife-rich Seronera area.
Ndutu Safari Lodge
Large and economical, but not luxurious, Ndutu Safari Lodge is well located in the southern Serengeti, so book early to get space.
Serian Serengeti
Serian Serengeti is a mobile tented operation run by Alex Walker which moves between two locations following the wildebeest migration.
Klein's Camp
Klein's Camp, in a private area of the northern Serengeti, sets high standards. Activities include walks, nights drives and Maasai village visits.
Serengeti under Canvas
Two of the three Serengeti under Canvas camps move through the Serengeti National Park every few months to follow the wildebeest migration.
Grumeti River Camp
Grumeti River Camp offers a laid-back atmosphere combined with top service, first-rate food, expert guiding and an excellent location.
Lemala Mara-Ndutu
Lemala Mara-Ndutu is a semi-permanent camp that moves between the north and south of the Serengeti to witness the wildebeest migration.
Lemala Nanyukie
Lemala Nanyukie is a comfortable and stylish tented camp that opened in 2018 in the central Serengeti.
Lemala Kuria Hills
Lemala Kuria Hills is a luxury permanent camp that is ideally located for wildlife all year around, but especially during the wildebeest migration.
Lobo Wildlife Lodge
The large Lobo Wildlife Lodge has simple, functional rooms in a stunning location. It's a good base for exploring the north-eastern Serengeti.
Lemala Ewanjan
Lemala Ewanjan is a comfortable and stylish tented camp in the Seronera area of the central Serengeti National Park.
Kusini Camp
Kusini Camp is permanent, luxury camp located on a beautiful kopje in a quiet, wildlife-rich corner of the south-west Serengeti.
Serengeti Serena
The Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge is a large, hotel-style lodge and a good family-friendly base from which to explore the central Serengeti.
Kubu Kubu
Kubu Kubu is a contemporary, tented lodge, well located in the central Seronera area of the Serengeti National Park.
Mbalageti Lodge
Mbalageti is a well-run lodge in a quiet part of the Serengeti's western corridor – an ideal location during the Apr-Jun migration.
Serengeti Walking Mobile
This fairly simple camp offers only walking activities, but it's very well done and combines well with more conventional camps or lodges.
Migration Camp
Serengeti Migration Camp is a smart tented camp, good for the wildebeest migration from Jul–Aug, or to explore the Lobo Kopjes any time.
Faru Faru Lodge
On the north bank of the Grumeti River, Faru Faru is a small, chic hideaway in this exclusive corner of the Serengeti.
Serengeti Green Camp
Serengeti Green Camp is a comfortable camping experience, in your own private safari camp and at the heart of a great wildlife area.
Singita Mara River
Singita Mara River Tented Camp is a luxurious camp in the isolated and rewarding Lamai wedge region of the northern Serengeti.
Serengeti Sopa Lodge
Serengeti Sopa Lodge is an international-style hotel offering good-value accommodation in the central Serengeti, with lovely views of the plains.
Kirurumu Migration Camp
Kirurumu is a rustic tented camp which moves around the Serengeti twice a year to follow the wildebeest migration.
Mkombe's House Lamai
Mkombe's House Lamai is a fully staffed private house in the Wogakuria Kopjes district of Serengeti National Park.
Sabora Tented Camp
Sabora Tented Camp is a smart tented camp – one of the most luxurious, professional and stylish properties to be found in Tanzania.
Sasakwa Lodge
On a hill looking over the Serengeti plains, Sasakwa Lodge is grand, luxurious safari camp, one of the most opulent properties in Tanzania.
Seronera Wildlife Lodge
Seronera Wildlife Lodge is large hotel-style safari lodge in the heart of the Serengeti, offering good value and a great location.
Bushtops
Serengeti Bushtops is a permanent luxury camp in the northern Serengeti, with spacious and private tents with their own hot tubs.
Ndutu Kati Kati
Ndutu Kati Kati is a seasonal tented camp, based in the southern Serenget from Dec-Mar, ideal for the migration as it passes through.
Lake Masek Tented Camp
Ideally located for the wildebeest migration from Dec–Apr, Lake Masek Tented Camp is a good, mid-market safari camp.
Olduvai Camp
Olduvai Camp lies between Ngorongoro and the southern Serengeti plains. It's a good base for the southern plains during the rainy season.
Mwiba Lodge
Mwiba Lodge is a luxurious property located on a private concession on the edge of the southern Serengeti.
Four Seasons Serengeti
The Four Seasons Safari Lodge is the only hotel in the Serengeti offering international facilities such as a gym, spa and children’s club.
Serengeti Pioneer Camp
Serengeti Pioneer Camp is a luxurious tented camp in the central Serengeti, styled on African explorers' camps of the early 20th century.
Mara Kati Kati
Mara Kati Kati is a simple bush camp in the northern Serengeti, based from Jul-Oct near the Mara River for the wildebeest migration.
Mara Mara
Mara Mara is a smart tented camp in the northern Serengeti, situated on a small hill close to the Mara River.
Nimali Mara
Nimali Mara is a luxurious safari lodge in a quiet region of the northern Serengeti with good access to the wildebeest migration.
Nimali Serengeti
Opened in July 2017, Nimali Serengeti is a smart, permanent tented camp located in the Seronera area of the central Serengeti.
Taasa Lodge
Taasa Lodge is a slightly quirky option offering guided walks and night game drives, which are not permitted in Serengeti National Park.
Kirawira Camp
Set high on a hill, in the Serengeti's western corridor, Kirawira is a relatively large tented camp in the Serena group.
Mbuzi Mawe
Mbuze Mawe is a comfortable tented camp in a convenient, central-north location when driving through the Serengeti.
