Reviews of Impala Camp
Wildlife sightings and reviews
281 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Impala Camp and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
Wildlife sightings by our travellers
Starting in Jun-2018, 19 of our travellers have recorded their wildlife sightings at Impala Camp.
Lion
95% success
Leopard
11% success
Wild dog
53% success
Giraffe
100% success
Hippo
100% success
Wildebeest
95% success
Zebra
95% success
Elephant
94% success
Spotted Hyena
94% success
Buffalo
89% success
Eland
65% success
Striped Hyena
11% success
Aardvark
0% success
Black Rhino
0% success
Pangolin
0% success
Midimo
Netherlands
"Selous Impala Camp review"
4 nights Arrived 2 Oct 2014
"The camps is great, beautiful tents and great service. Probably one of the best in the area.
When you want to see lots of elephants and lions however, you better go to a different national park. There has been a lot of poaching of elephants and lions are nomadic and therefore are difficult to find.
I've seen lions every day though and for a "first timer" it's a perfect place to go on safari. The landscape is absolutely stunning." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania
When you want to see lots of elephants and lions however, you better go to a different national park. There has been a lot of poaching of elephants and lions are nomadic and therefore are difficult to find.
I've seen lions every day though and for a "first timer" it's a perfect place to go on safari. The landscape is absolutely stunning." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location:
Good
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Average
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr & Mrs B
Witney
"Great experience"
3 nights Arrived 2 Oct 2014
"We had a great stay at Selous Impala camp. A very comfortable camp, friendly staff and excellent food. We also liked the way they served the evening meals in a different area of the camp each night and we enjoyed being able to have our meal on our own rather than communal dining.
A great location next to the river and plentiful wildlife. We also enjoyed the game viewing boat trip and the opportunity to try our hand at fishing. Catching tiger fish was quite an experience, as was catching the bait using the local method!
Many thanks to our guide Andrew and to our driver Rajabu, who both contributed greatly to our game viewing.experience. We were extremely impressed by Andrew's detailed knowledge," See all these reviews: 15n in Tanzania
A great location next to the river and plentiful wildlife. We also enjoyed the game viewing boat trip and the opportunity to try our hand at fishing. Catching tiger fish was quite an experience, as was catching the bait using the local method!
Many thanks to our guide Andrew and to our driver Rajabu, who both contributed greatly to our game viewing.experience. We were extremely impressed by Andrew's detailed knowledge," See all these reviews: 15n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr & Mrs H,
London
"Small is beautiful"
4 nights Arrived 30 Sep 2014
"We went here specifically for the boat safaris and were not disappointed. We really liked only having six rooms and four other people when we were there-this meant that we always had a boat or jeep to ourselves-essential. We had room number one, as requested, which is on it's own over a small bridge and felt like being alone in the bush.
Because out of 47 concessions in the Selous, 43 are for hunting, game is skittish and sometimes hard to find. Our fantastic guide Gerald was a godsend. Not only in finding game and in amazing situations but also in his amazing knowledge. For those like us who enjoy the birds it was fantastic.
The service was a little hit and miss and our food being attacked by birds at breakfast and bush babies at night might have been fun once, but felt the management should have been stricter with the serving staff and stopped some guests from feeding them.
Overall, excellent and would recommend. Our only small complaint was that the new managers did not really have a very good ' bedside manner'" See all these reviews: 4n in Tanzania; 3n in Zanzibar; 1n in Kenya
Because out of 47 concessions in the Selous, 43 are for hunting, game is skittish and sometimes hard to find. Our fantastic guide Gerald was a godsend. Not only in finding game and in amazing situations but also in his amazing knowledge. For those like us who enjoy the birds it was fantastic.
The service was a little hit and miss and our food being attacked by birds at breakfast and bush babies at night might have been fun once, but felt the management should have been stricter with the serving staff and stopped some guests from feeding them.
Overall, excellent and would recommend. Our only small complaint was that the new managers did not really have a very good ' bedside manner'" See all these reviews: 4n in Tanzania; 3n in Zanzibar; 1n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Excellent
Feedback Response
Impala Camp tells us that usual manager Fausto was on leave at the time these guests stayed, and a temporary manager was in place. It was not new management as they thought, but Impala Camp are very sorry that they did not look after them as well as expected and hope it didn't spoil their trip.
Mrs G
Herts
"More like a good lodge with tents"
4 nights Arrived 12 Sep 2014
"Very nice position giving the opportunity for water activities as well as drives. Very good accommodation and also very good guiding with a young and fairly inexperienced guide, Andrew, but who definitely knew his stuff and was very enthusiastic.
Excellent food and very well managed and organised. Pool excellent and very welcome after drives.
The meals served 'restaurant style' did definitely detract from a camp atmosphere but we still enjoyed it." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania; 5n in Zanzibar
Excellent food and very well managed and organised. Pool excellent and very welcome after drives.
The meals served 'restaurant style' did definitely detract from a camp atmosphere but we still enjoyed it." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania; 5n in Zanzibar
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location:
Good
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
C Plowdog
Sydney
"Luxury and wildlife next to the Rufiji"
3 nights Arrived 8 Sep 2014
"Just so terrific. Having not been to remote Africa before we didn't know what to expect from Tanzania and Impala Lodge. Suffice to say both were extraordinary. We loved Selous, and Impala Lodge was exceptional.
The staff and service was brilliant, the game drives excellent (our first sight was giraffes a plenty, and then we saw lions, a leopard, wildebeest, with Zebras, kudu, hippos, Goliath herons, bee eaters, hippos, and 2 resident giraffes-including Brian-and many many more animals). We loved the walk, the river landscape and we were looked after so well by Evans, our waiter, Hassan, Simon any all the staff. Dennis the guide put in huge effort to ensure we saw many animals and enjoyed the landscape.
We had no great expectations about the food but it was really good: the tomato tart and crime caramel were brilliant. Go there.
The only suggestion I have is to have combined, not separate, dining." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania; 1n in Zanzibar
The staff and service was brilliant, the game drives excellent (our first sight was giraffes a plenty, and then we saw lions, a leopard, wildebeest, with Zebras, kudu, hippos, Goliath herons, bee eaters, hippos, and 2 resident giraffes-including Brian-and many many more animals). We loved the walk, the river landscape and we were looked after so well by Evans, our waiter, Hassan, Simon any all the staff. Dennis the guide put in huge effort to ensure we saw many animals and enjoyed the landscape.
We had no great expectations about the food but it was really good: the tomato tart and crime caramel were brilliant. Go there.
The only suggestion I have is to have combined, not separate, dining." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania; 1n in Zanzibar
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr & Mrs T
Staffs
"Incredible safari at Selous Impala Camp"
4 nights Arrived 8 Sep 2014
"Where do we start.......... everything about our stay was superb. Starting from the moment we flew in with a giraffe on the airstrip through the multitude of wildlife seen on our drives, the brilliant food and wonderful accommodation.
The service we received was excellent, everyone was very friendly and everything was done with a smile! In particular we want to mention our guide, Andrew, whose encyclopedic knowledge of the wildlife and vegetation made every drive a wonderful lesson.
We were amazed by the range and quantity of animals seen during our stay - from the giraffe around the camp, the hippo that visited at night and the elephants which passed only yards from our tent to herds of wildebeest, impala, zebra, lion, buffalo and more
The walking safaris were outstanding - seeing both large animals (elephants) and small animals (ants) while on foot was very special.
The range and quality of the food was stunning. We had breakfast in the bush each day, two-courses at lunch and then four-course evening meal under the stars. It was impossible to go hungry at this camp! There was almost too much food!
We would highly recommend this camp and would love to visit it again ourselves (the sooner the better)" See all these reviews: 7n in Zanzibar; 5n in Tanzania
The service we received was excellent, everyone was very friendly and everything was done with a smile! In particular we want to mention our guide, Andrew, whose encyclopedic knowledge of the wildlife and vegetation made every drive a wonderful lesson.
We were amazed by the range and quantity of animals seen during our stay - from the giraffe around the camp, the hippo that visited at night and the elephants which passed only yards from our tent to herds of wildebeest, impala, zebra, lion, buffalo and more
The walking safaris were outstanding - seeing both large animals (elephants) and small animals (ants) while on foot was very special.
The range and quality of the food was stunning. We had breakfast in the bush each day, two-courses at lunch and then four-course evening meal under the stars. It was impossible to go hungry at this camp! There was almost too much food!
We would highly recommend this camp and would love to visit it again ourselves (the sooner the better)" See all these reviews: 7n in Zanzibar; 5n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr & Mrs W
Croydon
"Great variety of safaris at Impala"
4 nights Arrived 30 Aug 2014
"Excellent stay at Impala and plenty of different wildlife. It was good to have the opportunity for river trips (did two) and a bush walk, and to be able to go off road. When we went, there were not as many elephants as we expected, however, we were lucky to see one of the packs of wild dogs and to get very close to lions. The river trips were very interesting with the bank of bee-eaters' holes being a highlight. Dennis was an excellent and knowledgeable guide. The vehicle was open with a shade and comfortable. It was rare to come across other vehicles and there were a couple of occasions when we watching animals in the company of another vehicle.
The camp tented accommodation was very good and comfortable with an electric socket (UK 3 pin) - useful for charging equipment and for a hairdrier - and a powerful fan which was much appreciated. It was hot but pleasant at this time of year.
The camp was well run by Fausto and the friendly and attentive staff, inlcuding the Masai who were always around to escort us to and from our tent. On the whole the food was good, especially breakfasts and lunches, though one or two of the evening meal options were not up to the generally high standard. All meals were at separate tables and evening meals rotated between the decked areas or candle lit tables on the river edge (requiring vigilance for bread stealing bush babies) which we thought was a good idea." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania
The camp tented accommodation was very good and comfortable with an electric socket (UK 3 pin) - useful for charging equipment and for a hairdrier - and a powerful fan which was much appreciated. It was hot but pleasant at this time of year.
The camp was well run by Fausto and the friendly and attentive staff, inlcuding the Masai who were always around to escort us to and from our tent. On the whole the food was good, especially breakfasts and lunches, though one or two of the evening meal options were not up to the generally high standard. All meals were at separate tables and evening meals rotated between the decked areas or candle lit tables on the river edge (requiring vigilance for bread stealing bush babies) which we thought was a good idea." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Mr & Mrs T
Nuneaton
"Great boat safaris at selous impala camp"
3 nights Arrived 10 Aug 2014
"An excellent camp with great facilities and excellent service, the river trip and sundowners a must.
Gerard was a great guide." See all these reviews: 16n in Tanzania
Gerard was a great guide." See all these reviews: 16n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
safari lovers
UK
"Superb Selous Impala camp"
4 nights Arrived 19 Jul 2014
"A magical camp , efficiently run by delightful staff who make the whole experience very personal. Our guide Ezra and his driver Kharida were superb. We had asked for a senior guide and we were not disappointed. Everyday we chose to have our breakfast in the bush so our morning drives were at least 6 hrs. This was obviously a fantastic advantage enabling us to cover large distances to see game and giving us time to sit and watch animal behaviour. We learned a tremendous amount from Ezra and he was a delightful enthusiastic person to spend 8 plus hours a day. We found being on the river a great treat and loved the two boat trips we did. They gave a different perspective and a change from the drives.
The camp staff were so attentive and made such a special effort to help us celebrate our daughters graduations ( reason for trip !) . They arranged surprise sundowners (gave us a bottle of bubbly) at a magical location that we reached by boat. At dinner one evening the waiters sang a traditional Swahili welcome song and brought a cake to the table.
That evening our table location was away from the restaurant down near the water and we were kept company by bush babies and civet cats. It's hard to describe the atmosphere on paper. It was magical." See all these reviews: 5n in Zanzibar; 4n in Tanzania
The camp staff were so attentive and made such a special effort to help us celebrate our daughters graduations ( reason for trip !) . They arranged surprise sundowners (gave us a bottle of bubbly) at a magical location that we reached by boat. At dinner one evening the waiters sang a traditional Swahili welcome song and brought a cake to the table.
That evening our table location was away from the restaurant down near the water and we were kept company by bush babies and civet cats. It's hard to describe the atmosphere on paper. It was magical." See all these reviews: 5n in Zanzibar; 4n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr S
Maidstone
"Selous Impala Camp Review July 14"
3 nights Arrived 17 Jul 2014
"We stayed for 3 nights in July 14. We were both impressed by everything at Impala camp - the rooms were great, food wonderful, staff exceptionally helpful and guides keen and knowledgeable. We went on walking, boat and vehicle trips - all good - saw huge variety of wildlife, the highlight being tracking down a pack of wild dogs and spending some time viewing them.
I can honestly think of no 'negatives' about this camp and would highly recommend it." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania
I can honestly think of no 'negatives' about this camp and would highly recommend it." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
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