Reviews of Ikuka Safari Camp

"A spectacular location with a wonderful dining and bar area and great attention to detail with a friendly and attentive staff. The food was generally good.

Whilst the rooms were well appointed the design of the bathrooms outside the enclosed tented area at night was both inconvenient and also meant that visits to the bathroom during the night and in the morning were fraught with bat droppings/insects of various sizes everywhere.

We had a first class guide in Festo who enhanced our safari drives with both his natural wit and extensive knowledge of all aspects of the Ruaha." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania

"From the moment I saw the view when I first arrived at Ikuka Safari Camp, I knew I was going to enjoy my stay. The camp has a stylish, yet very natural and rustic look to it, and its location looking out across Ruaha National Park was absolutely stunning. The rooms are very spacious and tastefully designed, and the veranda also has great views across Ruaha.

The staff at Ikuka were all incredibly friendly, and went out of their way to make sure you had everything you needed. The managers Mark and Tanya were also very friendly and attentive, and always had dinner with the guests in the evening. All of the food was delicious, and there was always a special vegetarian option waiting for me, which was much appreciated!

Our safari guide Habibo was very knowledgeable, and led us to some amazing views of two separate leopards, hundreds of elephants and plenty of beautiful birds. He also found some lovely spots for us to enjoy our sundowners and to take in the sights and sounds of Ruaha.

I had been wanting to visit Ruaha for several years prior to my trip, and wasn't disappointed. It really had a rugged beauty to it. Being the green season, the wildlife was rather spread out, but we still saw plenty, especially elephants. I have never seen so many in my life! The birdlife was outstanding too. I hope to visit again someday!" See all these reviews: 13n in Tanzania

"Another remarkable property in an unbelievable location. We loved our guide Reuben, who went out of his way to show us different parts of the park and the wonders of wildlife.

I still had a cold so I stayed at the camp one morning. The staff was quite kind and solicitous.

This was the perfect place to finish our safari adventure." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania; 4n in Zanzibar

"An excellent start to our holiday.

Owner run lodge which makes a big difference and gives that important personal touch.

Whilst the location was stunning with its views from the escarpment it did feel rather removed from the wildlife." See all these reviews: 10n in Tanzania

"We flew from the Selous to Ruaha for the second part of our trip and the two areas are very different. Beho Beho in the Selous has it's own airstrip so the drive to it was only a few minutes, however as Ikuka sits atop an escarpment overlooking the Mwagusi plain its about an hours drive from the main airstrip at Msembe. However the views from the rooms and the main camp are truly stunning once you have arrived.

The camp is amazing, this was only the second season so everything has a very new feel to it. The camp manager, Mark, who is also the owner, was very friendly and attentive as was Tanya the manager. They both went out of their way to ensure that our trip was as pleasant and comfortable as possible. All the staff were very attentive and helpful which my wife greatly appreciated, due to her limited mobility having recently broken and dislocated her ankle. A special mention to Seif, Luka, Davis and Salum who looked after my wife on the occasions when she could not go on the afternoon game drives.

The rooms have enormous beds about the size of two doubles together and they have the comfiest bedding. Although you are under canvas it is definitely not camping. The hot water is provided by a gas powered boiler. The food is excellent, the staff ensuring that any dietary requirements were met. Breakfast in the bush was also very good considering it is all pre-packed before leaving at shortly after 06:00!

Festo was our guide and he was without a doubt one of the best guides we have ever encountered. He had a great sense of humour, full of stories and anecdotes as well as being able to provide some great game viewing. The male and female lions plus three cubs on the last night was the piece de resistance, especially as the interaction with a herd of elephants trying to get to the river generated an impasse which thankfully resolved itself without incident!

The little touches at the lodge really made the stay, everyone is so attentive, from having your little water bottle with your name on waiting after the long plane journey to having a hot water bottle in the morning drive!" See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania

"Ikuka is situated on an escarpment with outstanding views. The food was great, the interaction with other guests was wonderful and the management run a first class operation. We saw a wide variety of game and the guide was very good at ensuring nothing was missed. Everything was excellent!" See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania; 4n in Zanzibar

"We had an amazing time at Ikuka and I'm hard pushed to think of any negatives.

If I was being picky the only slight negatives were no hairdryer, a separate w/c or at least a screen hiding the toilet from the main bathroom would be preferable ." See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania

"Beautiful location high on a hill overlooking the park in all directions. Rooms were superb, food excellent and staff well trained and very attentive. We had an excellent guide, Reuben, who looked after us every day.

The drives were very good, centred mainly on the closest river, albeit mainly dry, where there was quite a diversity of animals. We did venture further afield, again with reasonably good results .

Worth mentioning to clients that, due to altitude, the early mornings are cold and the blankets they supply just about kept the cold out, but a jersey would be useful. Mealtimes excellent with communal eating for all meals at which the management staff joined us too." See all these reviews: 13n in Tanzania

"Ikuka is relatively isolated and therefore there are few other lodges/jeeps around. On some days we saw only one or two other vehicles. This is a definite plus. There is an abundance of elephants, giraffes and buffalo.

Our guide was of the old school and not too interactive, but he knows his animals. There are standard 'circuits' for driving around the park and sometimes it feels more like driving on regular roads than tracks, at laest compared to the Serengeti.

The food is outstanding and they went to huge and successful lengths to accommodate my gluten/dairy free diet." See all these reviews: 12n in Tanzania; 6n in Zanzibar

"The scenery in the Ruaha is stunning, even without the animals, with the most fantastic sunrises and sunsets.We did expect to see more animals though from the information that we had read. A couple of times we drove for 2 hours before spotting anything.

We chose Ikuka for its location on top of the hill for stunning views and we were not disapointed. The stars were amazing here. Again your advice on rooms was spot on, we were allocated the two that we had requested and had the pleasant surprise in ours of a plunge pool. They were beautiful.

The service was very good in a relaxed and informal manner. It was nice to get into the Land Cruiser in the mornings with a hot water bottle and blanket waiting for us.

The food was outstanding, from our bush breakfasts to dinner. The quality was as good as any top London restaurant.

Special thanks must go to Habido (our guide) for his 12 hour stint in trying to find us a Leopard! Again, it was great to be allocated our own guide for the duration of our stay." See all these reviews: 10n in Tanzania