Travel reviews by The A family from Cheshire

"After a 24 hour (3 flights and a drive on the rough roads from Kilimanjaro Airport) journey, the camp staff were waiting for us with warm towels, a refreshing drink and a very warm welcome. This level of service, attentiveness and friendliness did not waiver during our 2 night stay. The tents were very spacious, spotlessly clean, extremely well appointed and the beds really comfortable (my daughter likened it to sleeping on a cloud), complete with hot water bottles. In the evening and first thing in the morning the tents were warmed by calor gas heaters.

Our fellow guests were a good mix of nationalities - Belgian, Australian, Scandinavian and English - and we chatted with them over campfire drinks and dinner in the evenings. The food was all delicious (we ate breakfast, lunch and dinner at the camp and also had both a packed breakfast and lunch during our stay).

I graded the location as "good" simply because there is no view from the camp other than trees. However, I would really recommend Lemala Ngorongoro to everybody - it really is 5 star service and luxury camping in a very secluded and intimate setting.

The game viewing in the crater is fantastic - so many and such a variety of animals that it reminded me of being in a supermarket, with an enormous range of produce! The downside was the number of other customers - at one stage we counted 33 other vehicles jamming up the road looking at some rhino....and according to our guide, February is quite a quiet time of the year for visiting the crater!!"

"Olakira is set in a lovely open position with giraffe, zebra and wildebeest wandering and grazing around and even in the camp. As the camp manager said, don't sleep too well because you'd miss the nighttime sounds of all the animals, including lion calling to each other. He was right - it was wonderful - and I was woken on the first night by zebra, munching and galloping around our tent. The front of the tent is mesh netting which allowed me to watch them in the moonlight, chomping just a couple of yards away from me.

Animals aside, the staff were wonderful, very friendly and chatty and the food excellent. During one camp lunch we had been asking about typical Tanzanian food and that evening the staff cooked us an extra dish of just such food (meat cooked with bananas!) for us to try. That gives you an idea about the level of willingness, attentiveness and service common to all 3 camps that we stayed in.

The tents and facilities were great, and very few flies or mosquitoes, in spite of the proximity to all that wildlife.

The game viewing in the area was superb and we loved being able to drive off road (it is in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and off road driving is allowed), and it made all the difference to our game viewing and photos as our driver/guide was able to get up close to a leopard lying in a tree with its kill, vultures annihilating a wildebeest carcass, a cheetah hunt and to drive right through the vast herds of wildebeest gathering on the plains."

"The camp at Dunia nestles at the foot of a hill, with views from all 8 guest tents across the plains. When we first arived, there were hundreds of zebra grazing right outside! The tents are very spacious and extremely well equipped and all with great views. The staff at this camp were led by Richard, the camp manager, who was extremely warm and welcoming and was also a great racconteur, as we found out when he joined us for dinner. His friendliness and unobtrusive attentiveness filtered down through all the staff.

The food was excellent and the standard of bread and cake baking amazing. They are justifiably proud of their tented kitchen and are very happy to show guests around it. Richard found out it was my husband's birthday, so not only did we have a cake but it was delivered in style by all the camp staff singing, dancing and jiggling around the dining table that evening! A very special occasion..."