Sametu Camp

Sixteen. Karibu publishes them as eleven twin or double suites, three executive honeymoon suites and two family suites that interconnect through a shared lounge. The two family suites are the largest in camp at around 147 square metres. The operator does not publish a maximum guest number and we do not estimate one.

All year. Karibu publishes no closed months for Sametu and the contract we hold carries none either. It is a permanent camp rather than a seasonal mobile one, so it stays in place when the herds move on.

On the eastern edge of the central Serengeti, beside the Ngarenanyuki River and close to the Sametu and Barafu kopjes. Karibu chose the spot to sit away from the vehicle traffic that builds on the main Seronera roads. Seronera airstrip is a forty five minute game drive away.

Most people fly. About an hour by road from Kilimanjaro International to Arusha Airport, then about an hour by light aircraft to Seronera airstrip, then a forty five minute game drive to camp which most guests treat as the first drive of the trip. By road from Arusha the operator allows six to seven hours over roughly three hundred kilometres through the Ngorongoro highlands. Light aircraft baggage is capped at fifteen kilogrammes per person in soft bags.

Yes, at any age. Karibu asks that children under fifteen share a suite with an adult, so our booking engine will not price a child into a room of their own here. The two family suites interconnect through a shared lounge and take four guests, five on request. Cots and high chairs can be arranged if you ask in advance.

Full board, three meals a day. soft drinks, meaning tea, coffee, water, juices and soft drinks. Daily laundry. The Tourism Development Levy. Park fees, concession fees, the game drive vehicle and driver guide, bush flights, medical evacuation cover, travel insurance, tips and personal items are all charged separately.

June to October is the driest stretch and the easiest for tracking. January and February are green, quiet and still strong for resident game. Karibu puts the long rains from March to May and the short rains from October to December. If the migration is what you want from this part of the park, the herds move north through the central Serengeti in May and June and swing back south in November and December.

Karibu states complimentary satellite Wi Fi in the public areas and in the guest suites. Mobile coverage at this particular camp is not something the operator publishes, so plan on the camp connection rather than your own phone and tell people at home you may be slow to reply.

Solar, running around the clock at 220 volts, with charging points in the suites as well as the main pavilion. Karibu describes them as universal ports but does not publish a socket type, so bring an adaptor. There is no fridge or mini fridge in the suites. If you travel with medication that needs to stay cold the camp kitchen will keep it for you.

Every Karibu camp has staff trained in first aid and stays in constant two way radio contact with camp management, and every suite has a two way radio or landline. Serious cases are flown out by air ambulance through the Flying Doctors, AMREF, to a hospital in Arusha or Nairobi. Karibu asks every guest to travel with insurance that covers emergency evacuation. There is no clinic on site and the operator does not name a nearest hospital.

It is unfenced by design, so wildlife moves through. At night guests are taken between their suite and the main areas by golf cart with an askari, the paths and the perimeter are patrolled around the clock, and there is a safety briefing when you arrive. Do not walk to dinner on your own.

No to both. Serengeti National Park does not permit driving after dark, and Karibu offers night drives only at its Tarangire property where the park rules allow them. Walking safaris are not among the activities Karibu lists here. What is on offer is game drives in open vehicles, a sunrise balloon flight over the plains, bush breakfasts, lunches and dinners set out along the river, a Maasai village visit, and bird watching with more than five hundred species recorded in the central Serengeti.

Yes. From 1 October 2026 visitors entering mainland Tanzania must hold the government inbound travel insurance, 44 USD per adult and valid for up to 92 days, covering emergency medical care, evacuation, repatriation and lost luggage. Children aged 3 to 17 pay half and infants under 3 are free. It is bought online before you fly or on arrival, and residents of Tanzania and of East African and SADC countries are exempt. If you land in Zanzibar first, the Zanzibar policy covers you instead. It is paid by you directly and is not part of your trip price.