Camping in the Serengeti
HOW TO GET THERE
Traveling to stay in the Serengeti can be difficult. It’s in the middle of nowhere Africa. Seronera Air Strip is the primary landing point for all aircraft in and out of the Serengeti. We flew there on a chartered plane from Zanzibar.
Our chartered plane from Zanzibar to Seronera Air Strip in the Serengeti
Mount Kilimanjaro outside the window of our plane, en route to the Serengeti
Landing at Seronera is bumpy because the runway is not paved (it’s a dirt runway). There are numerous lodges located throughout the region. They are all seemingly far from each other and there is absolutely no shops or services of any kind within hundreds of kilometers. I was told that the drive to the nearest town takes between 8-9 hours.
Lodges vary in price, luxury, and offering. There’s even a Four Seasons (although I wouldn’t recommend it - this didn’t seem like a place you’d want to be overly pampered. It’s a place you go to get an authentic, African wildlife experience.)
SERENGETI ACCOMMODATIONS
We stayed at Dunia, which is a luxury safari camp. You can’t book a stay directly there, you have to book through one of their authorized agents.
Dunia Camp is made up of just eight tented suites. Think glamping. Each tent has a queen size bed, sitting area, and an en suite bathroom, with sink, toilet, and shower.
The exterior of my tent at Dunia Camp
Inside my tent at Dunia Camp. En suite bathroom with "camp shower" located in the back.
Although the technology is limited, there is slow WiFi available in the main tent, and in some of the tents immediately adjacent. There’s no phone service. Each tent has a walkie-talkie for communication with the camp staff.
It gets pretty dark at night, and there are no lit walkways, so you need to call one of the hotel staff to take you anywhere.
The food at Dunia was quite good - especially considering we were in the middle of nowhere. You get full board with your stay, and they really go out of their way to prepare great meals.
Going on Safari in the Serengeti
The game drives in the Serengeti are truly unbelievable. You are out in the wild where animals roam freely, and make their way as part of the Great Migration.
Depending on the time of year, you will experience different animals. The sheer volume of animals is staggering. We saw literally hundreds of zebras, wildebeest, water buffalo, and dozens of elephants, monkeys, lions, and other animals. I really felt like I was at a National Geographic photo shoot.
The animals are also not too afraid, so you can get fairly close to them. There was one time we encountered a herd of elephants. Probably two dozen mothers and their young. We drove into the middle of where they were grazing and stopped to watch them do their thing.
This is absolutely a once in a lifetime experience.
