Accommodation in short
The decisions that actually matter.
Inside or outside?
Inside if you have 2–3 nights. Mix on longer trips.
What is a concession fee?
$47–59 per adult per night to sleep inside a park.
Cheapest option?
Camping — $35.40 park fee plus camping costs.
Classic experience?
A permanent tented camp. Canvas, and every sound.
Following the migration?
A mobile camp — it relocates with the herds.
Book how far ahead?
6–12 months for Kogatende or Ndutu in peak season.
The five types of safari accommodation
Where you sleep is the biggest single variable in what a safari costs — and, on a short trip, in how much wildlife you actually see. The animals are the same whichever you choose; what changes is comfort, and how far you are from the action at dawn.
| Type | Per person / night | What it is | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public campsite | $35.40 park fee + camping costs |
Your own tent inside the park, shared long-drop toilets, cold showers, cook preparing meals on site. | Budget travellers, groups, the adventurous |
| Lodge outside the park | $60–150 | Solid rooms, hot water, restaurant, usually a pool. In Karatu or on a park boundary. | Keeping costs down |
| Lodge inside the park | $150–400 | Permanent building, electricity, restaurant, often a pool with a view over a waterhole. | Comfort plus convenience |
| Tented camp | $200–600 | Permanent canvas with proper beds and en-suite bathrooms. You hear everything at night. | The classic safari experience |
| Mobile camp | $300–700 | Relocates two or three times a year to follow the migration. Small, remote, few other vehicles nearby. | Migration-focused trips |
Inside or outside the park?
This is the decision that trips up most first-time planners, and it matters more than the star rating of the lodge.
Sleeping inside
You pay a concession fee on top of the room rate — $59.00 per adult per night in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro, $47.20 in Tarangire, Manyara, Arusha NP and Nyerere. In return you are already in the middle of the ecosystem when the light is best, at dawn and dusk, which is precisely when predators are active.
Sleeping outside
You save the concession fee and usually a large part of the room rate. The cost is time: the nearest gate can be 30 to 90 minutes away, which means leaving before dawn and returning after dark, and losing the two best hours of each day to driving.
| Inside the park | Outside the park | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Higher: room + $47–59/night concession | Lower |
| Dawn game drive | Start immediately | 30–90 min drive first |
| Evening light | Full use of it | Must leave early to reach the gate |
| Sounds at night | Hyena, lion, hippo | Usually quiet |
| Facilities | Varies; often simpler | Often better value for comfort |
What each type is actually like
Camping
A two-person dome tent on a public campsite, a shared ablution block with cold water, and a cook who produces genuinely good food over a fire. You will hear hyenas at night — and occasionally lions. Buffalo walk through some campsites. You are given a torch and told not to leave the tent after dark, and that instruction is not decorative.
It is basic, it is not for everyone, and the people who choose it usually describe it as the best part of the trip.
Tented camp
The word "tent" is misleading. These are permanent canvas structures on platforms, with real beds, en-suite bathrooms and hot water brought at dawn. What makes them special is the canvas: you hear everything, and at night an askari escorts you to your tent because animals move through camp.
Lodge
A hotel in a national park. Solid walls, electricity, a restaurant, usually a swimming pool. Comfortable and reliable, and considerably less atmospheric than canvas. The best ones are built on escarpments or above waterholes and the view does the work.
Mobile camp
Small, usually six to twelve tents, relocated seasonally to follow the herds. Solar power, bucket showers, no pool, no Wi-Fi. Remote and quiet, and if the migration is why you came, this puts you closest to it.
How to choose for your trip
| If you… | Choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Have 2–3 nights only | Inside the park | Dawn and dusk are worth more than comfort |
| Have a week or more | Mix inside and outside | Save on the ordinary nights, spend on the key ones |
| Are on a tight budget | Camping or outside lodges | Same guide, same animals, much lower cost |
| Are following the migration | Mobile camp | It moves with the herds |
| Are travelling with children | Lodge with a pool | Somewhere to burn energy in the hot hours |
| Want the classic experience | Tented camp | Canvas, sounds at night, an askari walking you back |
| Are on honeymoon | Small tented camp | Private, quiet, and far better than a big lodge |
Questions worth asking before you book
Safari accommodation — frequently asked questions
On a trip of three nights or fewer, inside — you are already in the ecosystem at dawn and dusk when predators are active. On a longer trip, mix: cheaper nights outside, key nights inside. Sleeping inside adds a concession fee of $47–59 per adult per night.
A per-person, per-night charge levied by the park authority when you sleep in a lodge or camp inside a national park. It is $59.00 per adult in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro and $47.20 in Tarangire, Manyara, Arusha NP and Nyerere, on top of the room rate.
Yes, at designated public campsites, with the normal precautions: stay in the tent after dark, keep food sealed and away from the tent, and follow your guide's instructions. Animals do walk through campsites, which is exactly why those rules exist.
A lodge is a permanent building with solid walls and electricity. A tented camp is permanent canvas on a platform with real beds and en-suite bathrooms. The canvas is the point — you hear everything at night, which most people find is the memory that stays.
A small camp, usually six to twelve tents, that physically relocates two or three times a year to follow the migration. Solar power, bucket showers, no pool. If the migration is the reason for your trip, this puts you closest to it.
Public campsites are $35.40 in park fees plus camping costs; lodges outside the parks $60–150; lodges inside $150–400; tented camps $200–600; mobile camps $300–700. Ultra-luxury runs from $700 upwards.
Yes, particularly for June to October and for Ndutu in February. Camps in the northern Serengeti and Ndutu sell out six to twelve months ahead because the number of beds in those areas is limited.
Lodges usually have both. Tented camps often run generators for set hours and provide solar lighting the rest of the time. Mobile camps typically have solar power and no Wi-Fi at all. Ask before booking if it matters to you.
Almost always on safari — full board is standard, and packed lunches are provided on full-day game drives. Drinks other than water and tea are usually charged separately except at the luxury end, where they are often included.
Most lodges accept children of any age. Some tented camps set a minimum of six or twelve years, because of the walking between tents at night. Tell us the ages when you enquire and we will filter accordingly.
An askari — a night guard — escorts you between the dining area and your tent, because animals move through camp after dark. You will hear hippo, hyena and often lion. The tent zips shut and is entirely secure.
With children, genuinely yes — the hot hours between game drives are long and a pool solves them. Without children it matters much less, and the money is usually better spent on location.
A lodge just outside a park boundary, at $60–150 per person. You avoid the concession fee and get better facilities for the money — at the cost of 30 to 90 minutes of driving each morning and evening.