Which was the cheapest safari lodge / camp you stayed at?
 

And was it worth it?
(requested in response to the thread about the most expensive safari lodge).
There are lots of very cheap camps and bush lodges in tiny game reserves which are not really worth it, so let's stick to lodges in Big Five wilderness areas where you can at least see lions and elephants and so on.
Onne from Wild Wings Safaris

Ilkeliani, Kenya. Still somehow luxury tents. Seperated from the Mara just by the Talek River close to Talek village. We decided to go for a SUV for the duration of stay which was roughly a week.
The camp caters mostly for self-drive tourists who stay in fullboard only.
Actually the game drives with Edward were excellent. The vehicle as well!
Food - not fancy but okay.
Atmosphere was comparable to kind of boutique hotel.

Asilia camps in TAZ.

Kings Camp, SA

Kwando camps BOT.

I would stay in all of them again - in a heartbeat!

((@))

Cheapest has been the public campsites. Public campsites is a "you get what you pay for" situation. Ie, acceptable.

However, PRIVATE campsites are usually dirty cheap compared to lodges and in my opinion are much better than even the most expensive lodge. ALONE with the animals, this is my dream Africa. Eat breakfast, lunch, dinner whenever you want. Listen only to the sounds of the nature. Whatever comes in your campsite is an exclusive sighting. And the big extra: you don't have 100 people running around you trying to carry your handbag, fill your glass, open the door for you or spoonfeed you, everyone waiting for a dollar or two. Sometimes I'm surprised when I don't find someone between our sheets trying to help us with sex.

Mashatu Tented Camp. It was the best value of any camp we've stayed. It is right behind Duba Plains for favorite out of the 7 camps we've visited in Southern Africa.

I vote for Mashatu, but unfortunately their prices have gone up - :(
Another real bargain is a mobile tented trip in Botswana.

<i>Sometimes I'm surprised when I don't find someone between our sheets trying to help us with sex.</i>

micmic - too funny!:-D

I agree with you about the special campsites - we too love them. Robin

Cheapest for me would be the public camps in the Kruger National Park, where a self-catering bungalow can cost $100 for up to 3 people, or a tent costs $30 a night. You drive yourself around for game drives. Among private game lodges, Gomo Gomo was (and still is) one of the cheapest, and best value for money. Just over $200 per person per night, including all meals and game drives.
Onne from Wild Wings Safaris

I was at Gomo Gomo and yes it was a great deal.
But haven't they moved to a new location?
My impression was they were trying to be a bit more upscale(no more tents) so I assumed their prices would increase too.

Lillipets, yes they did move to a new location, but they did that so that they could keep their prices the same. From what I heard, the land owner of their old property suddenly wanted to double the lease, which would have forced them to hike their rates. They no longer have tents but their rates stayed the same after they moved to their new location (abuot 10km away form their old location)

That was probably Ikoma tented camp. It is to the west of Serengeti.

To be honest; it had some plusses and minuses, so in the end I can only conclude: mixed feelings about that place!

Plus; the fact that tents are far apart and in the middle of the bush (no fences). Well... at the time we were there the combo "canvas + unfenced" was a first for us.

Minus; the distance to the Serengeti. Well... it was not THAT far, but there were almost no animals in the west part of the Serengeti. We were told poaching was a big problem in that area, so animals kept quite a bit of distance from the park border. Some small minuses were the food (average at best) and that we had no hot water (but that was because of ellies going for the water pipes,we were told).

Warning; out of curiosity I looked up how the camp looked now (it's more than 5 years ago since we were there), and I must say the place looks much better now (probably since Movairo took over). So my opinion may be waaay outdated.

Ciao,

J.

Good to know about GomoGomo. Thanks Wildwings.

GomoGomo (2 years ago?) moved to the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, still in the greater Kruger area. The old GomoGomo camp in the Timbavati reserve is now named Simbavati River Lodge. It has received a couple of good reviews here.

Like Onne, the cheapest camp I've been to is one of (several) camps is Kruger National Park. Kruger qualifies, all of the big 5 are there, it is not "tiny", it is huge, as large as our USA state New Jersey. For a private bungalow at $80 per night (that's only $40 per person), what's not to like?

As for other private camps, Kings Camp in SA Timbavati reserve used to be the clear bargain value winner but they have discovered they can charge a LOT more now. The other 10 or so private camps I've been to are all too close in cost range $400-500 pppn to distinguish using price between them. (And this range is where Kings Camp is now).

regards - tom

I think it depends on on how many night you want to be on safari...if only 3/5 you might want upscale since they will deliver you to every possible animal you will have on your list. They will take you there in comfort and safety. We had just those nights in camp and went to two upscale ones. The first was lovely but the area was too dry and not much wildlife..but we saw all there was. Beautiful tent room and great food. We were the only guests. Then fly to Little Governors. Yes, old fashioned, expensive but we were able to see it all. Great drivers taking us just where the beasties were. An elephant is born and there we were there the next morning. The TV crew filming the cheetas were there with us when they got a zebra. When an elephant approached our tent we were asked to go inside it and zip it up. I guess elephants, even big ones with very large horns just do not get zippers. I was happy with Governors. Saw enough for us and after three days...we had had enough.

About GomoGomo; they share their sightings with Africa On Foot. I don't know if they also go walking there, in the morning (AOF is 50% walks and 50% drives).

I think AOF is a little cheaper than GG, probably due to the location: GG is at a very big artificial lake, that has water throughout the year, AOF only has a small water hole

On the other hand, I've seen GG up close so I am certain AOF offers the best bush feel. Plus AOF have this tree house where you can sleep in the open.

"Cheapest" is relative
spassvogel's cheapest is 3X my most expensive...

SV -

Did I read correctly when you wrote Asilia Camps in Tanzania as the "cheapest?" Are you referring to Sayari, Olakira, Dunia, Oliver's on the mainland and the Matemwe Bungalows and Retreat on Zanzibar?

Have to wonder how much the other places charged if these, which are not considered even in the mid-priced range, set you back!

SV must mean they did the cheapest job on their laundry

sandi
You are right. I meant Asilia.
We stayed at Olakira, Olivers, Sayari (when it was in the Gol mountains) and Matemwe bungalows (before they added the "retreat".
That trip was in 2007 and rates were somewhat on the "favourable" site.

The most expensive was Singita Grumeti in TAZ.

No Frank - wrong conclusion!

((@))

I stayed at a camp in the Tuli Game Reserve two weeks ago that I rate as one of the best value camps I've stayed at, and the wildlife experience was outstanding.

It's a tented camp on the Limpopo river (in Botswana).

At about $120.00 pppn sharing, I rate Koro Camp as exceptional.

SV - Asante for clarifying.

FrankS - funny, funny! :)