Reviews of Ikuka Safari Camp

"Very Richard Branson style lodge! Firstly Ruaha was such a great choice for us. As there is only a few lodges the park was relatively quiet and you rarely came across other vehicles!

The Lodge is amazing, the rooms have the biggest beds I have ever seen literally the size of two doubles together and the have the comfiest bedding! the views from those beds are beautiful! Although you are under canvas it is definitely not camping! Mark and Tanya and everyone that works there are so lovely you really do feel like you are visiting your family. The food is amazing, breakfast out in the park was surprisingly good considering it is all packed up for you, the lunch and dinner served in the lodge were some of the best food we have eaten and it was totally unexpected out there overlooking the whole park!

Habibo was our guide and he is Ruaha's answer to David Attenborough, all the guides seem to know him and every drive would be completely different. It seemed he could find whatever we wanted to see! We saw all the animals we came to see! Elephants, Giraffe, Lions and cubs! Leopard, Cheetah, Hippo and so many others, he knew every single bird we pointed out and really made our stay! We couldn't have asked for more.

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! All my ridiculous food allergies were sorted with no fuss at all! The lodge itself is so relaxing, I would go back just to relax by the pool looking at the view!

Cant wait to go back!" See all these reviews: 5n in Tanzania; 4n in Zanzibar

"Ikuka was a delight.

The staff were so friendly and wonderful to share the experience with.

Food was phenomenal and safari experiences were excellent." See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania; 7n in Zanzibar

"Ikuka was a very well run camp and it was evident that everyone worked as a team, not only to provide guests with a great experience, but because they were colleagues and helped each other out.

The rooms are very comfortable, the food was good and plentiful - in fact, their bush breakfasts were the best I think we have ever had. It wasn't the usual cold fried egg sandwich - it was much more imaginative and changed every day.

In some respects this was a more formal camp in that the staff, including the manager on duty (for us Tanya) was always there to wave you off and greet you back from safari and the staff serving food and drinks were extremely attentive. When we were staying there were some guests who wanted to go for shorter drives and, even though they hadn't booked a private vehicle, every effort was made to accommodate them.

Meal times provided a good opportunity to hear about everyone's day and enjoy each other's company, although it was possible for you to dine privately in your own little group if you wished.

We had some eventful game drives and some quiet ones but were privileged to see roan antelope.

All in all, a luxurious camp, good attention to detail in the rooms, great food and staff eager to ensure you have a good time." See all these reviews: 18n in Tanzania

"Ikuka is situated in a spectacular location on the escarpment overlooking the Mwagusi plain. It is a remote camp, with quite a long drive to it up a steep track. But the views from the camp are stunning, as are the tented rooms and the camp's main building.

Tanya is a lively and entertaining manager of the camp. Our guide, Ernest, was also excellent, very knowledgeable and with a pleasant sense of humour.

We particularly enjoyed a long and interesting game walk led by Mark, the co-owner of Ikuka, which ended with a fabulous bush breakfast next to the Mwagusi river.

We stayed five nights at Ikuka and it was one of the very best safari camps we have ever stayed at. Although it was the rainy season in Ruaha, we had excellent game viewing, particularly of predators. In one memorable afternoon we saw a pair of cheetahs, followed by a leopard in a baobab tree with an impala kill, followed by several lions round a giraffe kill watched by hyenas and numerous vultures. Also frequent sightings of most of the main game species; particularly good to see numerous herds of elephant. Spectacular bird-life, which included numerous eagles and other raptors and five different species of stork etc." See all these reviews: 9n in Tanzania

"Coming from Selous to Ruaha one is very conscious of the different climates. In Ruaha the rains had not arrived and the river was dry. This of course meant that we saw a much higher concentration of animals than in the Selous. We were lucky to see leopard, cheetah and a lion kill as well as beautiful herds of giraffe and elephant. The walking safari with Mark was a lovely break from the driving and gave a different view of the landscape. Ikuka is a new camp and we would assess it as 'perfect'. I'm sure not everyone would agree but we couldn't find a fault. Staff are wonderful, the comfort and design of the tents is amazing and the food is outstanding. They even supply hot water bottles for the cool morning starts. Highly recommended." See all these reviews: 8n in Tanzania

"Despite having only opened in 2016, the Ikuka camp feels as if it has been rightfully commanding its spectacular view for some time.

The staff are lovely, the food is delicious & the attention to detail is noticeable, including the host, Mark, meeting you back from every game drive & the hot water bottles provided in the land cruiser on the early morning outings.

In our view, sundowners in Ruaha are unbeatable." See all these reviews: 7n in Zanzibar; 6n in Tanzania

"This was a lovely camp – very high end - almost too upmarket for us, perhaps! Wonderful situation on side of a hill with open views from the tents and from the restaurant and pool. Slight drawback was that its location on the hill did mean that there was a 20 minute drive to get to anywhere to see game.

Lovely staff. Mark - the owner - led our first drive which was great. Our guide was very good.

However almost all of the other guests where honeymooners (5 couples at one point!) which didn’t bother us too much, but might be uncomfortable for some travellers. Am sure that this is seasonal…

The food was very very good, and drinks all included so that was appreciated. Very attentive staff. The norm is communal dining (though we were told we could choose to eat separately if we wished. By the end we’d have preferred a separate table, and I suspect that some of the honeymooners might have preferred to dine separately..." See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania; 6n in Zanzibar

"Ikuka Camp is in a stunning location, beautifully decorated and with breathtaking views. As we entered the camp for the first time we were greeted by the staff all enthusiastically waving with both hands and big smilingly faces.

The tents are open plan but discreetly positioned, you don't even have to lift your head off the pillow to take in the amazing view. Food was delicious, beautifully presented. Fish curry and steak dishes were our favourites.

The Ruaha National Park has a diverse range of terrain, we went in the dry season and crisscrossed the dry river beds and saw a huge amount of animals. Our highlights were a prowling leopard, watching a mother elephant creating a water hole for her baby to drink from and two separate lion prides with their kill. Being two meters from a male lion panting heavily after his feed will live with me forever.

Ikuka Camp feels high end and is all presented around its beautiful view, staff service is high with extra touches (little green fleeced hot water bottles for your early morning safari, they made us up a pack lunch for our retuning journey as we had a long wait at the airport) and just like as we arrived the staff all come out to give you a big waving send off." See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania

"Undoubtedly the highlight of our honeymoon, we can't recommend this place highly enough.

This was our first safari, and our gut feel is that you'd struggle to have a bad experience no matter where you stay in Ruaha, such is its raw beauty. However, the combination of location, facilities and staff make Ikuka a truly unforgettable experience.

The camp itself sits on top of a hill, offering breathtaking 360 degree views. Whether you're having a drink at the bar, eating lunch, or just sitting on your bed, it's impossible not to gape open-mouthed at what surrounds you.

The rooms are very clever - you're staying in an open plan tent, with the feeling of having nature at your finger tips. Yet the thick stone floor, the enormous beds, and the quality of the facilities makes you feel like you're in a high end hotel.

The food was outstanding and plentiful. We are still unsure how the chef made his steak so tasty, and the fish curry was a winner too.

The staff are unwaveringly friendly and the service first rate. We arrived to what seemed like the entire workforce waving, smiling and offering us a drink. And it was a similar story every time we returned from a drive thereafter.

In addition, everyone eating together at lunch and dinner works very well. Mark and Paul were very good fun, and if you run out of things to say rest assured they have enough safari stories to last a lifetime.

Naturally, as this was our first experience of a safari, we can't compare the quality of Ikuka's guides with other camps. What we can say, however, is that we felt we were in the best possible hands. Bearing in mind you spend around eight hours a day in your vehicle, the guides themselves almost single-handedly set the tone for your trip. What stood out is their genuine passion for what they do, their good humour, and their level of knowledge and insight. At no point does it feel like this is their 'job' - instead they feel as much as part of this experience as you do. They clearly have enormous respect for the national park, and we never ceased to marvel at their ability to be in the right place at the right time.

The Ruaha National Park itself is one of the last truly wild wildernesses left in the world and is a truly stunning place. Made all the more special by the strong sense of being on your own with the animals. It's not unusual to spend five hours on a drive without seeing more than two or three other vehicles. Yet the game viewing remains plentiful - we tracked a leopard, got up close and personal with two lion prides and their kills, and enjoyed sundowners in the company of large herds of elephant.

Overall this is a high end camp but with a really down to earth feel. The only down side was having to leave it." See all these reviews: 8n in Zanzibar; 4n in Tanzania

"Very pleasant new luxurious camp. Fabulous view across plains and good food. Very nice informative people. Very long game drives - good for us. Lots of different types of very beautiful scenery.

Had the place almost entirely to ourselves - end of season.

First time we've been on safari when its green. Less likely to see big cats and game more spread out and further away but still saw masses of animals and the birds in mating plumage are amazing and everwhere is green, lots of flowers and butterflies - an entirely different take on the African bush.

Tsetse quite bad." See all these reviews: 4n in Tanzania