Reviews of Sand Rivers Camp

"Hundreds of top rating TA reviews, hundreds of superlatives, all justified in our opinion. As close to perfection as anywhere can be in every respect.
The whole team led by Bernadeta were all genuinely welcoming, hospitable, attentive, efficient and knowledgeable. The meals were delicious, the snacks never ending, the drinks plentiful and free.
Our spacious room (number 4) with a breathtaking view was beautifully designed and equipped. There was even WiFi in the room (but not in the communal areas).
The location is the very essence of tranquility. The abundant flora, fauna and brilliant bird life were all expertly explained by Fazo our guide. The game drives, boat trip and walk were wonderful and virtually devoid of any other visitors unlike so many other safari destinations where one fights for a view amongst the crowd of jeeps/minibuses.
All of this was more than enough but as a bonus, we enjoyed several surprise treats which we won’t describe here to avoid spoiling them for future guests.
We’ve been on many safaris in several countries and none surpass the River Sands experience." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania

"We had a wonderful stay at Sand river Camp.

The staff was very nice and always to our service.

All the needs we had about food and drinks were taken well care of. The food was absolutely excellent.

The rooms and the restaurant/lounge was very nice, located by the river.

You cannot avoid to see the hippos and the crocodiles!" See all these reviews: 2n in Tanzania

"We had a great time at Sand Rivers. Hussein, our guide, gave us an expert's understanding of the sights and sounds at Nyerere Park.

We had a lot of fun with the staff and found the food to be especially good.

We had a hippo join us on the pool deck on his way to dinner.

The boat rides are extraordinary - a great addition to the line up of beautiful parks we visited." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania

"A lovely camp.

The room was very open and looked out onto the river. Staff were extremely friendly and accommodating.

As guests were on different schedules we were seated seperately at meals.

Wildlife viewing here was a bit quiet although we had an excellent sighting of two male kudus fighting." See all these reviews: 20n in Zambia; 15n in Tanzania; 1n in Kenya

"Everything was perfect here, let's go bit by bit.

The location is amazing, the lodge is very well integrated with the surrounding nature. The main area is overlooking the banks of the Rufiji river, we were welcomed by a hippo sleeping just nearby the lunch area. You could see animals (giraffes, elephants) in the distance coming to drink. Lots of birds and crocodiles.

The room is amazing too, we were in room n.1 very close to the river bank. To be clear the room isn't properly "indoor" as it has no windows, just some walls and a roof, but animals might be coming in. However, we had no issues at all and it made us feel we were living the experience at its best. At night you could hear animal sounds (mostly birds and hippos), but it always felt super safe and we slept soundly every night. The room was serviced every day, including laundry and prepared for the night with the mosquito net around the bed.

The staff was lovely: everyone was really kind with us (we've also been lucky because we were basically alone in the camp that week), always ready to help and make us feel welcome. We chatted with all the staff and everyone was happy to share bits about Tanzanian culture and keen to listen to our culture too.

The food was sublime. Everything is home made, with local, fresh ingredients. We had few breakfasts while doing our activities, either by the river or one of the lakes. There were people from the camp waiting for us ready to make breakfast on the spot. Lunches and dinners were also great, I think we had some of the best meals we've ever had.

And everything we've said it's not the best part yet. Now, let's talk about Ernest, our guide. We absolutely loved him. From the very first moment he came to pick us up, he started teaching us about the wildlife and he did so throughout the whole stay. We had 5 days packed with activities, and Ernest made each one of them so special. From the river adventure to morning game drives, from walking safari to night game drives we learnt so much about this incredible nature and Ernest made sure we did our home works (he started quizzing us on what we learnt towards the end of the safari :D). We saw lots of animals, but as Sara, the camp's manager, well put it, we had to find the animals and not just see them, and this really made the difference.

TL;DR; We had the best time here and couldn't recommend this camp enough." See all these reviews: 6n in Tanzania; 3n in Zanzibar

"As previously advised, staying at Sand Rivers felt like a waste of time and money. Game drives were of limited duration (max 2.5 hours and only as the afternoon activity) and lacked variety due to the condition of the roads - the guide clearly didn’t expect to see much wildlife. Alternative activities (boat trip/bush walk/sitting in a hide) were pushed in preference to game drives. The boat trip is nice but it is only possible to go upstream and that is limited by the hydro-electric dam. The included fishing is amusing, but not of a standard you would pay for in the UK. Bush walks were nice but again short and I have done much better ones elsewhere. The time in the hide was cancelled due to unsafe trees, but at other camps you see wildlife from your room so effectively you have this experience without it being one of your activities. Following my complaint to both the camp manager and Expert Africa we were given a night’s fly camping which we enjoyed but that was still not up to standard.
I feel sorry about having to write this review (I could carry on with lots of detailed comments) because the staff were helpful and friendly, especially Hamza (camp manager). However, I think the staff were aware that they do not have the product that customers were paying for or expecting. The camp is effectively a nice, remote, country hotel but as such it cannot compete with country house hotels at much lower prices. As a safari camp it cannot offer much : there is relatively little game in the immediate vicinity of the camp and it isn’t possible to access other areas.
As previously advised I believe Nomad should not be selling this and that they should provide a very substantial refund." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania

"Sand Rivers offers a big contrast with our trip to Serengeti as it is a permanent camp, wooded and set on a massive river.

The massive cabin was thatched with one side open to the river. It provided the largest bed we have slept in, attractive furnishings and an en suite bathroom with a monkey box to prevent theft of cosmetics. We were the only guests and the last guests of the season and they were still keen to please.

We particularly enjoyed the river safari which made a lovely change after 2 weeks in vehicles and the night safari also made Selous special." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania

"We have visited Sand Rivers twice and both experiences have been fantastic.

Our guide both times is the best we have had in all our many camp and lodge experiences.

The staff is super friendly and every effort is made to assure guests have a great time.

The rooms are unique in that they are open (mosquito netting around bed) with a view of the river and hippos frequently roaming nearby. It's so pleasant having early am coffee and watch the monkeys on nearby trees." See all these reviews: 14n in Tanzania

"Sand Rivers is a beautifully situated camp overlooking the river.

The accommodation is wonderful - though the completely open front might be a step too far for some people! We loved being able to lie in the enormous bed, encased in the mosquito net and watch the stars! However the open front and the rain did mean there were huge numbers of insects in the room - though our army of friendly geckos helped keep them under control!

The communal areas are very attractive and comfortable and we enjoyed excellent meals - some at our own table and some with other guests and staff, including a very enjoyable Swahili BBQ. The swimming pool looked very inviting.

The staff were all wonderful, including the man who did our laundry perfectly, the chef, waiter and driver who 'appeared ' to cook our breakfast in the bush, and Hamsa, Bernadette and Sarah who kept everything running very smoothly and were good company.

Ernest, our guide, was excellent and took us on memorable drives and boat trips to lots of different areas of the reserve.
He was a bird enthusiast too so was the perfect companion for us." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania

"This was our second Nomad camp on this visit and very different to Kigelia .

SRC is one of the best we have visited over many years. Our accommodation was the size of a small house and excellent. We loved the view from our open room over the river watching crocs and hippos. The waterfall shower was great!

The staff are all very friendly and helpful, nothing too much trouble giving us a fantastic evening for our 50th wedding anniversary. Special mention of camp manager Bernadette and our guide Pay who gave us some new and interesting safari experiences." See all these reviews: 10n in Tanzania