Reviews

The camp is placed on the Great Ruaha River and is in an idyllic spot. We saw a variety of birdlife and game all from our banda - a particular highlight being a group of banded mongooses digging for insects right outside, just after we commented that on game drives these creatures always seem to be running in the opposite direction! All the staff at the lodge were very friendly and the food was always tasty and innovative. The camp managers were always very friendly and helped us to plan our days to get the most out of our time there. Our guide Meresu and driver Letus made our game drives a great experience. Meresu's knowledge and spotting skills were incredible and led to some amazing sightings of all things great and small. Would visit again in a heartbeat.

Our family (incl 3 adult 'children') had a super stay at Ruaha River Lodge. The staff were professional and created a relaxing environment, so it felt like a 'home from home'. Our guide and driver (Enok and Onesy) were excellent. The bandas are spacious and comfortable, and we loved sitting on the terrace soaking up the passing wildlife and the bush experience. One of our party was not very mobile, following an operation, and we particularly appreciated the flexibility of manager Christiane and her team in ensuring this was not an issue. The food was good and the team even managed to provide a Christmas dinner, complete with decorations. This was one of our favourite lodges for an all-round bush experience. Asante sana.

A dream came through when I visited Ruaha with a friend in December. The sheer beauty of the park is breathtaking, and the lodge is the most wonderful and welcoming place to be. As it happened, there were no other guests there at the time, so we felt as if we had the whole place for ourselves. The cabanas are lovely, spacious, and fabulously situated overlooking the riverbed, with views to die for. The river at this time had almost completely dried out, but the dry riverbed was as spectacular as anything, revealing the beautiful stony bed and allowing the animals to wander in plain sight. Mr. George, the resident hippo, payed a daily visit. The food was absolutely delicious and varied. Our guide Enok and the driver Onesy were fantastic, as well as our Masai guardians, manager James and the rest of the staff. Perfect service in every way, they even provide complimentary laundry service, a really nice touch. I only wish we could have stayed longer in this magical and remote paradise. Can’t recommend it highly enough.

Very nice lodge, remarkably located by the river. You always have to move accompanied by a Masai and it's real: elephants near the bungalows day and night, lion passage at nightfall. Very nice room, ditto bathroom. Buffet dinner in the evening quite average. Very smiling staff.

After a very long drive for us from Udzungwa, we arrived at Ruaha River Lodge. I recommend other people to fly here it's only a 20 minute drive from the airstirp. I had never slept in a Banda before so it was very exciting. After a very friendly welcome we were driven to our accommodation. I opened the door with a combination lock. What a wonderful experience awaited me. A truly beautiful house with thatched roof. The bed nice in the middle with 2 twin beds along the edge. And a nice seat. The open bathroom is very spacious, with a nice open shower and toilet. The windows are fitted with mesh (which you can cover) so you can look outside. The bandas are located on the river. Here you can see animals all day long. Mainly elephants and hippos. From your veranda you can wake up with a nice cup of coffee or tea with a view of the animals in the dry river. The most important thing for me, someone who likes to see animals and loves them very much but doesn't want to sleep with them, this is perfect. Everything was very very clean. The restaurant is great and atmospheric. After the Safari you can enjoy a drink here. And before dinner, enjoy a drink by the campfire. Every evening there is a deliciously varied buffet on the menu. After dinner, the Masai men will take you to your room. The Ruaha National Park is very large. So take into account full days of Safari to spot the most beautiful animals. This stay is definitely recommended.

We spent 3 days at Ruaha River Lodge and had a great time on game drives.We saw many elephants right up close. We also had hippos right outside our room. In fact although the river was very low and the weather was drier than usual the animal sightings were superb. Our experience was really special because of our camp host. Christiana was so kind and welcoming dealing with our needs and always doing so with a smile and sharing a giggle. The food was great and at the end of our time we left with heavy hearts. If you can visit you will not regret it.

Beautiful, somewhat older lodge on the Ruaha River, which was unfortunately very dry, as was the entire park. Christiane, a German from Frankfurt, and the entire lodge team took care of us lovingly and attentively right from the start. The stone houses, all with a view of the river and a beautiful terrace, are functionally but lovingly furnished. Our guide Enock showed us the animal world of Ruaha intensively on a full-day game drive. It's much quieter and wilder/ more pristine here than, for example, in the Serengeti with a similarly large animal population. The day with Enock as guide and the driver was a lot of fun and we learned a lot. The only suggestion for improvement: extend the times for electricity and thus also WLAN a little more generously. It was difficult to charge the devices, including the camera, in the few hours. Overall, a successful impression of a park that deserves a lot more attention. Many thanks to the entire team around Christiane and also to the Maasai who accompanied us to the rooms at all times. We felt very comfortable.

The first half of our honeymoon was with Foxes at Ruaha and everything was absolutely perfect. Every single member of staff are a complete credit to the company and the manager Christiana was so welcoming and helpful. Nothing was ever too much. We thoroughly enjoyed all our game drives with Mereso and Ibraham and the timings for the game drives were very flexible as we could choose between full day and split day. There was never any rush or pressure and everything completely went above and beyond our expectations. We saw more animals than we imagined we would - including a pride of lions with cubs as well as a couple of leopards, lots of giraffe, elephants, impala, monkeys and buffalo. Our favourite spot was the hippo and crocodile pool not far from the camp.
The camp is really well located on the bank of the (dry in September) river so there would always be different wildlife just outside - beware the hippos can get noisy at night! :)
The maasai's are all very knowledgeable and kept us safe walking around the camp. We even got to do a walking tour of the camp learning more about the plants/insects and footprints. (Shout out to Julius our favourite Maasai!)
Compliments to the chefs who prepared our food as it was all so delicious and there was always a great variety, even considering all my allergies and requirements.

It was an unforgettable experience and the most memorable holiday we will ever have. The perfect honeymoon!
We will definitely be returning to Foxes in the future.

My family and I had the most amazing holiday ever at Ruaha River Lodge. We had three generations with us and found the Lodge so good about accommodating all ages from kids to older people. The staff were amazing and friendly and the game drives were phenomenal. We felt like they went out of their way to make sure we had an incredible trip and we really did.

The Lodge itself was comfortable and so well located on the river. We saw elephants, hippos, impala, crocodiles just sitting on our porch watching the river. We would love to come back, it was a trip we’ll be talking about for the rest of our lives.

My wife and I spent 4 nights at Ruaha Lodge and found it fantastic. We had great views of hippos, elephants, giraffe,crocodiles and impala from our balcony. The game drives were great with amazing views of lion, leopard , zebra , water buck, wildebeest and all the amazing birds. Enoch and Emanuel, our guide and driver, were excellent. The accommodation was very good and the staff were wonderful. Very helpful, friendly and efficient. We had our wedding anniversary one night and all the staff sang us a song of celebration in Swahili. -wonderful.
Justin, the Manager was great and made sure we were well looked after.
Would thoroughly recommend Ruaha to anybody think if visiting Tanzania.

Were kindly received with a drink at the reception. Brought the car to our house. Beautiful river view. Dassies on the rocks below us and hippos in the picture. Were not many people. In the evening by campfire when it was safe and we were on time and then at the table. Delicious eaten. For security, Massais walked on the premises. Also accompany us to our house. Also heard lion and hyena at night. Large park. Been 4 nights. Was great. Have to drive deeper into the area. Packed lunch. Had a good driver and guide, William, who was part of our trip

Where to start? Our whole experience at Ruaha river lodge was exceptional. We were met at the airstrip by Lyyo the guide and Onesi the driver. Very smooth. On the trip to the lodge (about 1hr) we had close encounters with Giraffes and an elephant! So cool. The Bandas were very comfortable. Christiana and Yustin the managers were very welcoming. The safari drive schedules were pretty flexible. Our guide for the remainder of our stay (3 nights) was Mereso. He was super knowledgeable and very friendly. On our drives we saw everything - Lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes, hyenas, so many antelope. Just fantastic. The food was great and plentiful. All the service was top notch.

The stay at the Ruaha River Lodge was a nature experience for us five travelers! Because of COVID-19 we were the only guests and we were very well looked after! The end of the mask requirement was finally over! The accommodations were large and spacious, the beds very good for sleeping. The food was excellently cooked and very good. The cook and the staff gave everything, we were very satisfied! The manager also looked after us every day. We were allowed to enjoy four nights in the nature of Ruaha NP. The road from Iringa to the lodge is 125 km long and difficult to drive on. But a longer stay at the lodge makes you forget the hardships of the journey. You could also reach Ruaha Park by light aircraft. The lodge is highly recommended, even at the beginning of February!

This was my only camp on the trip which had rock cabanas for sleep. I thought I wouldn't like not having canvas but there were big screen windows all around the main room which still gave you the feeling of being right there. The main room is like a spacious studio with a living room space and 2 large beds. The ensuite is gigantic with a wonderful shower. You have a front porch overlooking the river filled with birds and animals. I had an elephant come down one night and a hippo another. The dining area also has a great view of the river. The food was good and they accommodated my dietary needs. The staff was fantastic.