Lodges & partnersSeronera Central Serengeti
Ten tents in a line on open grassland in the Seronera Valley, fifteen minutes from the airstrip, unfenced, with a lone acacia on the lawn and a fire lit on the grass.
From $175 per person per night
About
Thorn Tree Camp stands on open grassland in the Seronera Valley, the green heart of the Serengeti, about fifteen minutes from the Seronera airstrip and the visitor centre. The camp is permanent, unfenced, and laid out as a single line of ten tents facing the plains, with a lone flat topped acacia on the lawn and the ground running out towards Banagi Hill. Of all the camps in the central Serengeti it has the shortest run from the airstrip, which matters more than it sounds on an itinerary with a lot of flying.\n\nThe reason to be here is what lives outside. The Seronera river holds water all year, so game does not disperse the way it does elsewhere, and the fever tree forest along the river carries one of the highest leopard densities in Africa. Around a dozen resident lion prides range within an hour of camp, cheetah hunt the open ground south of the river, and elephant, giraffe, buffalo and the plains antelope are there in every month. The migration passes through the centre around May and June heading north and again in November and December heading south. Guests report lion calling close to the tents at night and wildebeest moving past the camp at breakfast, which is what an unfenced camp on open grass means in practice.\n\nThe tents are generous, ten metres by four and a half, with an extended sitting area inside and a shaded veranda outside. Inside is a bed under a mosquito net, bedside reading lamps, a writing desk, a charging strip with universal plugs, a wardrobe and luggage space, and mesh windows that frame the sunset. Each tent has its own bathroom with a flush toilet, a basin and a shower, all running on water heated by solar. Doubles, twins and triples are available. The whole camp runs on solar, including the lighting and the hot water, and there is wifi in the public areas.\n\nThe public areas are a long low marquee: a dining tent with mesh walls so you eat looking straight onto the grass, and a lounge tent next to it with wicker armchairs, blankets, a bookshelf and warm pendant lamps that glow after dark. A fire is lit outside most evenings and a guard walks guests back to their tents afterwards. This is a classic canvas and campfire camp rather than a design property, and it is honest about that. Pick it for the position in the middle of the best big cat country in the park and for the short airstrip run, and expect canvas, lamplight and a good guide rather than a plunge pool.
Signature experiences
The riverine forest fifteen minutes from camp holds one of the highest leopard densities anywhere, alongside resident lion on the kopjes. Leave before sunrise and you have the sightings to yourself for the first hour.
The dining marquee has mesh walls rather than canvas, so breakfast and dinner are taken looking straight out at the grass. Wildebeest, zebra and giraffe pass the camp regularly while you eat.
A fire is lit on the lawn in front of the lounge tent most evenings, under a lone flat topped acacia. The camp is unfenced, so a guard walks you back to your tent afterwards, which tells you how close the bush really is.
Balloon flights lift off from the Seronera area before dawn and drift low over the grass as the light comes up. Arranged separately and worth the early start.
Gallery
Room types
The safari tent taken by one guest. Ten metres by four and a half, with an extended sitting area, a writing desk, a charging strip, a wardrobe and a bed under netting. Bathroom with a flush toilet and a shower with solar heated running water, and a shaded veranda over the plains.
The safari tent with a large bed under netting, an extended sitting area, a writing desk and a charging strip. Bathroom with a flush toilet and a shower with solar heated running water, and a shaded veranda facing Banagi Hill.
The same safari tent set with two beds under netting. Extended sitting area, writing desk, bathroom with a flush toilet and a shower with solar heated running water, and a shaded veranda.
The safari tent set for three. Extended sitting area, writing desk, bathroom with a flush toilet and a shower with solar heated running water, and a shaded veranda. Available on request.
At a glance
Best time to visit
Best months: May to February.
Location & access
Seronera Central Serengeti
Seronera is the nearest airstrip and the run to camp is only about fifteen minutes, the shortest in the central Serengeti. Light aircraft reach Seronera from Arusha Airport in about forty five minutes to an hour, longer when the flight makes a stop. From Kilimanjaro International Airport allow about an hour and fifteen minutes by road to Arusha Airport first.
A long day, about eight hours. From Kilimanjaro International Airport the road runs west to Arusha, then on tarmac through Makuyuni and Mto wa Mbu, up the Rift escarpment through Karatu to the Loduare gate, across the Ngorongoro rim and past Olduvai Gorge to the Naabi Hill gate, then north across the plains to Seronera. Camp is about fifteen minutes beyond. Most guests break the drive with a night in Karatu or on the crater rim.
On the map
2.367° S, 34.838° E
What's included
Frequently asked
On open grassland in the Seronera Valley in the central Serengeti, about fifteen minutes from the Seronera airstrip and the visitor centre, looking out towards Banagi Hill.
Ten, each about ten metres by four and a half with an extended sitting area and a shaded veranda. Every tent has its own bathroom with a flush toilet and a shower with running hot and cold water.
All year. The Seronera river holds water through the dry months, so resident game stays in the area in every season and the camp does not close.
Most fly. Seronera is about forty five minutes to an hour from Arusha Airport on the light aircraft services, then only about fifteen minutes by road to camp. By road from Arusha it is a long day, roughly seven hours through Ngorongoro and across the plains, and most people break it with a night on the way.
Full board, so breakfast, lunch and dinner, with tea, coffee and bottled water at meals, plus the Tourism Development Levy and VAT. Park entry and conservation fees, the special campsite fee, game drives, transfers, other drinks and gratuities are all settled separately.
Yes, and the camp prices a triple. Note that the contract requires children below thirteen to share a tent with an adult, so a child cannot take a tent alone here.
No. It sits unfenced on open grassland and wildlife moves through, which is part of the appeal. Guests are escorted to and from the dining tent after dark.
There is wifi, best in and around the dining tent rather than in the tents. The camp runs entirely on solar, including the lighting and the hot water. There is no laundry service.
No. Thorn Tree is a canvas camp inside the park with no pool and no spa. The public areas are a dining tent, a lounge tent and a campfire on the grass.
Game viewing is good in every month because the resident population does not disperse, which is the point of this camp. June to October is the easiest, with short grass and animals on the water. The migration passes through around May and June going north and November and December going south. The calving herds in January to March are on the southern plains near Ndutu, a long drive away, so this is not the base for calving.
From midday, with check out at ten in the morning.
Full board. Breakfast and dinner are served in the dining tent, and a lunch box goes out with guests on the long game drive days. Special diets are catered for with notice.
What's nearby
About fifteen minutes south. Fever tree forest along a permanent river, the most reliable leopard country in the park.
Near the airstrip. A short walking trail through the kopjes with interpretation on the ecosystem, and shade for the middle of the day.
North towards Banagi, where the Orangi and Seronera rivers meet. Hundreds of hippo packed into the bend with crocodile on the banks.
A long drive southwest. Granite outcrops with Maasai rock paintings and the best chance of black rhino in the Serengeti.
A long day north from camp. The river crossings run roughly July to October at Kogatende.
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