Every lodge, camp and campsite in and around the park, from simple campsites to exclusive-use camps on the game circuits. Independently listed, and nobody can pay to rank higher.
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Katavi has only a handful of camps, and that is the point: on most game drives you will see no other vehicle. Two properties are TANAPA-run and cheap, one is a village-run camp on the park boundary, and the rest are small fly-in tented camps of six to ten tents. The Fox family, who run Katavi Wildlife Camp, also own Safari Air Link, the airline that connects the park to the rest of Tanzania.
Classic expeditionary tented camp · Chada plain near Katisunga, deep inside the park, under tamarind trees
The camp that defines the Katavi ethos: six canvas tents under tamarinds on the edge of the Chada plain, no frills by design, and the wilderness doing the work. Walking and fly-camping are the signature here, and Nomad supports local conservation and school outreach around the park. Note that some older guides still say twelve tents; Nomad's own site says six.
From $910 pppnAbout 1 June to mid February; closed March to May
Meru-style tents under makuti thatch · Edge of the Katisunga plain, between miombo woodland and the Katuma River
The best-value permanent camp in the park: spacious thatched tents looking straight onto the Katisunga plain, where the dry-season game concentrations happen in front of you. Because the Fox family also run Safari Air Link, this is the camp where logistics to remote western Tanzania feel easiest.
Bar
From $445 pppnJune to end February; closed March to May
Permanent safari tents · Central Katavi, overlooking the Katisunga plains
Formerly Katuma Bush Lodge, and still listed under that name on many aggregator sites as if it were a separate camp. It is one lodge, not two: Mbali Mbali confirmed that to us in writing on 2 September 2026. This is Katavi's most accessible mainstream lodge: permanent tents above the Katisunga plains, a proper main mess, and the option of night game drives at the official TANAPA rate. The main guest area was rebuilt to remove the swimming pool and add new lounge and dining space, with new thatch, decks and room furnishings, and some new family room configurations.
Basic government rest house, self-catering · Park headquarters area at Sitalike
A basic government rest house at park headquarters, and at thirty dollars a night it costs less than a thirtieth of the fly-in camps. It is self-catering and simple, but it puts a real roof inside Katavi within reach of overlanders and Tanzanian travellers. Book ahead through TANAPA; do not just turn up.
Unserviced camping, fully self-sufficient · Public campsite near Sitalike HQ; special, seasonal and fly campsites across the park
Camping is how Katavi was meant to be done on a budget: unserviced sites, everything brought in yourself, and the park entirely yours after dark. The public site sits near Sitalike; the special and fly campsites, booked ahead, are scattered through the park and are some of the wildest legal places to pitch a tent in Tanzania.
Campsite
$30 pppnYear-round; special, seasonal and fly sites require prior booking
Simple bandas plus a campsite, with restaurant and bar · Sitalike village on the Katuma River, just outside the northern boundary, 5 minutes from park HQ
The village option, and a good one: simple bandas and a campsite on the banks of the Katuma, five minutes from the park gate, with hippos grunting below. This is where self-drivers stage before an early gate entry, and the only camp in the area where your money goes straight into the local community.
Octagonal tents on raised wooden platforms · On the Kapapa River, a genuinely secluded corner of the park
The quietest address in one of Africa's quietest parks, tucked on the Kapapa River away from the main circuit. It has no website of its own and only a handful of reviews, which tells you how few people come. Book through a specialist agent and verify current season dates when you do.
EnquireDry season, roughly June to February; confirm when booking
Nothing matches all of those at once. Take one filter off and try again.
Every price on this page is in US dollars.
Indicative 2026/27 rates per person per night sharing, gathered July 2026 from operators' own sites and published trade rate sheets. Katavi camps rarely publish prices directly, so always confirm with the lodge. Watch whether a rate includes the TANAPA fees: conservation fee plus concession fee adds about $70 per person per night incl. VAT at a lodge inside the park.
Facilities and activities come from each property's own website, read in July 2026. We only record what that property's own page states. A blank means we could not check it, not that it is missing. Filtering on a facility shows only what we confirmed, and tells you how many places we could not check.
