TANAPA campsites
Unserviced camping, fully self-sufficient · Public campsite near Sitalike HQ; special, seasonal and fly campsites across the park · Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA)
A drawing, because nobody has sent us a photograph of TANAPA campsites yet. Send five and this page changes the same week.
Budget
Inside the park
Park-run (TANAPA)
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.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Only genuinely budget way to sleep inside Katavi
- Special campsites put your tent alone on the floodplain
- Year-round access via Sitalike, no flight needed
- Public site from $30 per person per night
- Fly-camping and multi-day mobile safaris run in the dry season
Cons
- Unserviced: bring everything, including a proper 4x4
- Special and fly campsites need advance booking
- No facilities beyond a bare site; full self-sufficiency required
- Premium special sites cost $300 per person per night
What's here
- Campsite
Arranged from the lodge:
- Guided walks
Read from TANAPA campsites's own website in July 2026. Anything not listed we could not confirm, which is not the same as it being absent.
What the park charges on top
The rate above buys you a bed. Katavi National Park charges its own entry fee for every day you are inside. Here is what that adds up to.
- Park entry$30 plus 18% VAT, charged per 24 hours.
- $35.4per person, per day
- Vehicle$40 plus VAT for a foreign-registered vehicle up to 2,000 kg; most safari 4x4s sit above that and pay $150 plus VAT. A Tanzanian-registered one is about $9.
- $47.2per vehicle, per day
Three nights means three days inside, so two adults sharing one vehicle pay $354 in park fees before anyone pays for a bed.
The full fee schedule for Katavi National ParkRates at TANAPA campsites
$30 pppn. Public campsite $30, special and fly campsites $50, premium special $300, all per person per night excl. VAT. Children 5–15 from $5.
What the rate covers is not confirmed. We do not know yet whether meals, drinks and activities are included, so read this as the bed only.
Every figure 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.
Questions about TANAPA campsites
How much do TANAPA campsites in Katavi cost?
The public campsite near Sitalike costs $30 per person per night excluding VAT. Special and fly campsites cost $50, and premium special sites cost $300, all per person per night. Children aged 5 to 15 pay from $5. Confirm the current TANAPA fee schedule before you travel, since park entry fees are separate.
How do you book TANAPA campsites in Katavi?
The public campsite near Sitalike takes walk-up guests year-round, but special, seasonal and fly campsites require prior booking through TANAPA. Email info@tanzaniaparks.go.tz to arrange special or fly sites ahead of your trip, and confirm fuel and food resupply in Mpanda, since nothing is provided on site.
Can you self-drive to the TANAPA campsites in Katavi?
Yes. The public campsite is reached by road via Sitalike, and a proper 4x4 is needed for the special and fly campsites scattered through the park. This is the main option for overlanders and self-drive travellers, who camp fully self-sufficiently with no services provided.
Are the TANAPA campsites in Katavi good for families?
TANAPA charges children aged 5 to 15 from $5 at its Katavi campsites, so families are catered for on price. We found no published minimum age, and there are no facilities beyond a bare site, so a family needs to be fully self-sufficient and comfortable camping without services, especially on the more remote special and fly sites.