Olmara Camp: Our full report
With just eight guest tents, including two family tents and three signature stargazer tents, Olmara is a ...
... simple, family-friendly camp with a wonderfully attentive team. The camp captures an authentic bush experience, welcoming travellers of every kind.In comparison to the luxury camps that have proliferated in this area, Olmara stands out as a simple yet comfortable tented camp with a quirky and innovative décor. Olmara is a sister property to the popular Katambuga House in Arusha, Esirai Camp, a mobile migration camp that shifts locations across the Serengeti and Olkeri Camp near Tarangire National Park.
Olmara’s lounge is a wonderful place to settle down on the comfy sofas with a book. Lit by storm lanterns with lampshades, the space is decorated like a bazaar, with beaded animal busts and a bicycle wheel fashioned into a fun chandelier. The main area features brightly coloured Maasai shukas (blankets), indigo cushion covers, and terracotta patterned woven rugs. The dining room is set up with individual tables, decorated with kitenge (cotton print) runners and grass woven placemats. At the opposite end, there’s a lounge area. The drinks bar is in the middle – a lovely pit stop between the lounge and dining area.
Directly in front of the main mess tent, there’s a small clearing to accommodate evening campfires and early morning bush breakfasts. On either side of the main mess the guess tents are spaciously ranged to allow for privacy.
The guest tents have large interiors, divided into a spacious bedroom in a pleasing olive and beige colour scheme, with comfortable four-poster beds, a small sofa and coffee table and a writing desk. The insect screen windows are adorned with light linen drapes. The partition to the bathroom is a wooden lattice structure with a doorway covered with a small privacy curtain. The shower, which sits centrally in the bathroom, is enclosed in a wood-panelled glass cube structure. A shelf is provided for personal items and toiletries, next to a hanger with bathrobes. The small wooden vanity unit. with a porcelain washbasin, has a large oval mirror built into the wooden lattice screen behind it, with a locally crafted giraffe figurine.
A unique feature of Olmara are the stargazing platforms with which three tents are equipped. A gentle staircase offers panoramic and unobscured views of the night sky. This is ideal if you’re honeymooning or celebrating a romantic occasion. Private dinners can be served on the platform, next to the bed, which is set up under a light mosquito net.
The main activities at Olmara are game drives around the eastern Serengeti plains, walking safaris, fly camping and bush meals.
Vehicles are open game viewing vehicles with seven seats.
Our view
Olmara is a wonderful alternative if you’re keen to experience the eastern plains of the Serengeti, but don’t want the high-end luxury of the camps already in this area. We think the stargazing platforms are a magical element and they offer a sublime outdoor sleeping experience. Plus, the camp’s staff were attentive and genuinely excited and enthusiastic to look after us.
Tanzania expert
Geographics
- Location
- Serengeti Migration Area, Tanzania
- Ideal length of stay
- 3 to 4 nights – migration passes through March/April
- Accessible by
- Fly-and-Transfer
Food & drink
- Usual board basis
- Full Board & Activities
- Food quality
- During our recent visit at Olamara Camp , we enjoyed the food very much. Most dietary requirements can be catered for with advance notice.
If you have an early start you can take a packed breakfast out on safari with you. This is usually eaten at a quiet picnic site somewhere in the bush and consists of granola and yoghurt, pancakes, and bacon-and-egg sandwiches. There is also hot tea and coffee, as well as fruit juice. If you stay in camp you’ll usually be offered a buffet of cereal and fruit, as well as a full cooked breakfast.
Lunch can also be taken as a packed meal, or eaten at camp. In both cases you can usually expect fresh salad, as well as other light lunch options such as vegetables fritters, rice salad or cold meats. Dessert is usually something light and fresh like a fruit salad.
Before dinner, guests usually gather for a drink and some nibbles around the campfire and swap the day's stories. We tucked into a starter of potato and leek soup, followed by chicken breast, sweet potato chips and selection of steamed vegetables. Dessert was a chocolate mousse and to finish we had a hot chocolate. - Dining style
- Individual Tables
- Dining locations
- Indoor and Outdoor Dining
- Further dining info, including room service
- Room service is possible on request. For guests staying in one of the star gazing rooms, a private dinner is set up on the star gazing platform.
- Drinks included
- House drinks included
Children
- Attitude towards children
- Children of all ages welcome
- Special activities & services
- Nature walks around the camp.
- Equipment
- Cots and high chairs are available on request in advance.
- Generally recommended for children
- Although the camp is happy to have children of all ages as guests, we think its atmosphere makes it most suitable for those aged 10 and above.
- Notes
- Parents should keep an eye on children around the camp. There is a lot of vegetation around the camp and it is unfenced
Our travellers’ wildlife sightings from Olmara Camp
Since mid-2018, many of our travellers who stayed at Olmara 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
100% success
75% success
75% success
75% success
75% success
75% success
75% success
75% success
50% success
33% success
33% success
33% success
0% success
0% success
0% success
0% success
0% success
Communications
- Power supply notes
- There are charging stations in the room tents as well as in the main areas.
- Communications
- WiFi is available in the main areas.
- TV & radio
- N/A
- Water supply
- Transported in
- Water supply notes
- Camp is applying for permanent status and hope to establish their own borehole.
Health & safety
- Malarial protection recommended
- Yes
- Medical care
- There is a medical clinic at the Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti, about an hour’s drive from camp.
- Dangerous animals
- High Risk
- Security measures
- Askaris available throughout the night
- Fire safety
- There are fire extinguishers in each guest tent and in the main area and there’s a fire break around the camp
Activities
4WD Safari
Birdwatching
Guided walking safari
Hot air ballooning
Private activities
Extras
- Disabled access
- On Request
- Laundry facilities
- A laundry service (including underwear) is included in the rate.
- Money
- For extras, the camp accepts Visa, Mastercard and Amex, with a surcharge. Cash is accepted in all currencies.
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.
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.
Sayari Camp
In the northern Serengeti, near the Mara River, luxurious Sayari Camp offers excellent wildife all year – boosted further by the wildebeest 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 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.
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 Ewanjan
Lemala Ewanjan is a comfortable and stylish tented camp in the Seronera area of the central Serengeti National Park.
Lemala Nanyukie
Lemala Nanyukie is a stylish camp located in the quieter part of the central Serengeti.
Kubu Kubu
Kubu Kubu is a contemporary, tented lodge, well located in the central Seronera area of the Serengeti National Park.
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.
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.
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.
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 Sopa Lodge
Serengeti Sopa Lodge is an international-style hotel offering good-value accommodation in the central Serengeti, with lovely views of the plains.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Mkombe's House Lamai
Mkombe's House Lamai is a fully staffed private house in the Wogakuria Kopjes district of Serengeti National Park.
Singita Mara River
Singita Mara River Tented Camp is a luxurious camp in the isolated and rewarding Lamai wedge region of the northern Serengeti.
Kirurumu Migration Camp
Kirurumu is a rustic tented camp which moves around the Serengeti twice a year to follow the wildebeest migration.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Bushtops
Serengeti Bushtops is a permanent luxury camp in the northern Serengeti, with spacious and private tents with their own hot tubs.
Esirai Migration Camp
A season migration camp, with only 8 tents and 1 family tent and plenty of character. Esirai is ideally placed for excellent wildlife and enjoys a simplistic and comfortable under-canvas experience.
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.
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.
Mwiba Lodge
Mwiba Lodge is a luxurious property located on a private concession on the edge of the southern Serengeti.
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.
Nasikia Naona
Naona Camp is a small tented camp, located in the Moru Kopjes, west of the Serengeti central area
Nomad Walking Camp
Nomad Expeditionary Walking Camp is a simple camp of up to three tents, plus infrastructure, that changes location to allow guests to do substantial walks between campsites.
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.
Taasa Lodge
Taasa Lodge is a slightly quirky option offering guided walks and night game drives, which are not permitted in Serengeti National Park.
Nimali Serengeti
Opened in July 2017, Nimali Serengeti is a smart, permanent tented camp located in the Seronera area of the central Serengeti.
Laba Migration Camp
A luxury mobile camp that moves between the Western Corridor, Mara River and the southern Ndutu area, in line with the wildebeest migration.
Nyikani Central
Nyikani Central is a comfortable tented camp located in the game-rich Seronera area of the central Serengeti.
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.
