A tented camp on the bank of the Grumeti River, in a private concession of 350,000 acres, with your own vehicle and guide for every day of it.
The Grumeti Reserve is a private concession on the western edge of the Serengeti. Roughly 350,000 acres, with a very small number of guests permitted across the whole of it, and rules that a national park does not allow. You can drive off the track. You can go out after dark. You can sit with a sighting for as long as it holds you.
All of which only matters if the vehicle is yours, and on this journey it is. Your own guide and Land Cruiser for every day in the reserve, so those decisions belong to you rather than to whoever else happens to be aboard.
Grumeti River Lodge sits low on the bank under a canopy of old trees, ten tented suites with a deck above the water and hippo close enough to hear all night. It is small and deliberately unshowy, and the country around it is enormous.
Why we love this journey — because it puts three things together that almost never appear at this price. A private concession, which permits off road driving and night drives that Serengeti National Park does not allow. A private vehicle and guide, so those permissions are actually yours to use rather than shared with five strangers who want lunch. And a camp of ten suites, which is small by any measure, on a riverbank in the middle of 350,000 acres. Most journeys near USD 10,500 give you one of the three. This one gives you all three, and includes the flights.
A private vehicle throughout
Your own guide and Land Cruiser for every day in the reserve. Not shared, and not an upgrade.
350,000 acres, privately held
The Grumeti Reserve is a private concession in the western Serengeti with very few guests across the whole of it.
On the riverbank
Ten tented suites under a canopy of trees on the bank of the Grumeti River, with hippo in the water below.
Off road and after dark
A private concession permits what a national park does not. Off road driving and night drives are both allowed here.
Black rhino, reintroduced
Grumeti has one of the more successful rhino reintroductions in Tanzania, alongside excellent resident lion and elephant.
Looked after from the door
An overnight in Nairobi, a gift hamper on arrival, meet and assist at every airport, and a departure lounge on the way home.
You are met on arrival and flown into the Grumeti Reserve on the western edge of the Serengeti. Your private guide and Land Cruiser meet the aircraft, and the drive in to camp is the first game drive. Grumeti River Lodge sits low on the bank under a canopy of old trees, with hippo in the water below. Out again in the late afternoon.
Full days out with your own guide, which in a private concession means you go where you like and stay as long as you want. Off road driving is permitted here, so you can leave the track to reach a sighting, and so are night drives. Lion, elephant, buffalo and a reintroduced black rhino population, across 350,000 acres holding very few guests.
The fourth day is deliberately unstructured. A long morning drive and an afternoon on the deck above the river, or a full day out with a packed lunch and no return time. A night drive after dinner if the mood takes you, which is a thing you cannot do in a national park at all.
A final early game drive and breakfast, then the flight out to Kilimanjaro, Nairobi or Zanzibar for your onward connection. Departure lounge access is arranged for the wait. If you would rather add a beach, Zanzibar is a short hop from here.
Ten tented suites on the bank of the Grumeti River, under a canopy of trees, with hippo in the water below.
From USD 10,500 per person sharing. That covers four nights at andBeyond Grumeti River Lodge, one complimentary night in Nairobi, Kilimanjaro or Arusha with a gift hamper, a private safari vehicle and guide throughout the reserve, return flights from Kilimanjaro, Jomo Kenyatta or Zanzibar, all wildlife, park and concession fees, the Tourism Development Levy and Carbon Offset Levy, all meals and selected beverages, all game drives, laundry, meet and assist at every airport, departure lounge access, and medical evacuation insurance.
Yes, for every day in the reserve. It is the most important inclusion on this journey. With your own guide and Land Cruiser you decide where to go and how long to stay, rather than sharing that decision with whoever else is aboard.
In the Grumeti Reserve, a private concession of roughly 350,000 acres on the western edge of the Serengeti in Tanzania. The lodge sits on the bank of the Grumeti River under a canopy of trees, with ten tented suites and very few other guests anywhere in the reserve.
Off road driving and night drives are both permitted in a private concession, and neither is allowed inside Serengeti National Park. Combined with a private vehicle, that changes what a day looks like considerably.
Return flights are included from Kilimanjaro, Jomo Kenyatta or Zanzibar, so you can route your international flights whichever way suits you. A complimentary night is also included in Nairobi, Kilimanjaro or Arusha, whichever fits your arrival.
The herds usually pass through the western corridor between roughly June and July on their way north, though this moves with the rain and no operator can promise a date. Grumeti holds exceptional resident game year round, including lion, elephant, buffalo and a reintroduced black rhino population.
Easily. Zanzibar is a short flight and the return leg is already included from there, so adding four or five nights on the coast is straightforward. Ongeri Expeditions can extend this journey in either direction.
Grumeti River Lodge holds ten suites, so the calendar fills a long way ahead. Tell us roughly when and we will come back with what is genuinely open.
Grumeti River Lodge sits low on the riverbank under a canopy of old trees, which is the first thing you notice and the reason it feels cool when everything around it is not. Ten tented suites, a raised deck over the water, and hippo close enough that you hear them all night. The camp is small and deliberately unshowy, and the concession around it is enormous.
Ten tented suites raised on decks above the riverbank, each with a private veranda, an en suite bathroom and an outdoor shower. Two are family suites. Canvas throughout, with the river running past below.
All meals and selected beverages are included. Breakfast on the deck, lunch wherever the morning ends, and dinner under the trees or beside the river depending on the night.
Curated, tested, and refined over years. Our most loved luxury safari itineraries across East Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands.
