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Rubondo Island National Park, Tanzania

Rubondo Island Camp

Price per night from$1,795.46

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (USD1,795.46), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Rubondo Island Camp Photos

Style

National ark exclusive

Setting

Lapped by Lake Victoria

Explore

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Tropical birdcalls, monkey chatter and the lull of Lake Victoria’s waves score life on Rubondo Island — a passion-project ark turned national park in Tanzania, where Asilia Africa’s Rubondo Island Camp is the only safari stay in town. Guided forays to spot chimpanzees, elephants and giraffes are on the horizon. And downtime consists of poolside snoozes, massages in your shorefront cottage and sunset tipples on the beach. Before long, the island’s andante rhythm will be second nature.  

Once you’ve booked your safari stays, the Asilia team will be in touch within 48 hours to help arrange chiimpanzee permits, travel between camps, which may include charter or private small-plane flights and/or overland transfers.

Smith Extra

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A souvenir glass animal, handmade in Tanzania or Kenya

Facilities

Photos Rubondo Island Camp facilities

Need to know

Rooms

Eight cottages, including one family cottage.

Check–Out

10am. Check-in is at 2pm. Both are flexible, on request and subject to availability. Please note that late check-out may incur additional park fees, food, drink and transport charges.

More details

Rates include all meals and drinks (except premium wines and spirits), limited laundry service, game drives, boat safaris, lake cruises, fishing trips and return shared transfers to Rubondo airstrip. Chimpanzee permits (US$159.30 each) are not included.

Also

Unfortunately, this remote camp is not suitable if you have limited mobility.

Hotel closed

Rubondo Island Camp closes annually for the rainy season in April and May.

At the hotel

Private beach, viewing deck, gift shop and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: radio, torch, USB charging ports, free bottled water, mosquito net, laundry detergent, bathrobes and Cinnabar Green bath products.

Our favourite rooms

There's no short straw among the eight Beach Cottages — they’re all set steps from the shore with stellar lake views. If you have intrepid kids in tow, opt for the two-bedroom Family Beach Cottage.

Poolside

You’ll catch glimpses of Lake Victoria through the tropical greenery as you make your laps of the adults-only outdoor pool — or sip a glass of South African red on your sunlounger.

Spa

There’s no spa, but a range of in-room massages using natural ingredients including coconut, lemongrass and Tanzanian clove are available daily from 8am to 8pm. You’ll need to book at least an hour in advance, and children under 12 must be accompanied by one of their adults.

Packing tips

Chimpanzees are not sloth-like and the humidity beneath the canopy is real, so a good level of fitness will give you the best chances of sighting our elusive primate cousins during forest treks, which cover hilly terrain on foot for around two hours.

Also

Once you’ve booked your safari stays, the Asilia team will be in touch within 48 hours to help arrange travel between camps, which may include charter or private small-plane flights and/or overland transfers.

Children

Rubondo Island Camp welcomes children aged five or older. For some activities, such as the chimpanzee habituation experience, the minimum age is 12 years old; younger Smiths will need to stay at camp, supervised by one of their adults.

Sustainability efforts

Asilia is a B Corp business and sustainability sits at the core of their safari offering, with camps designed to have minimal impact, and every operational choice rooted in reducing harm. At Rubondo Island Camp, employing locals and prioritising the island economy in its supply chain is crucial. Stays here also help to support ongoing chimpanzee habituation efforts. Across all safari operations, Asilia minimises waste, prioritises renewable energy and respects the wilderness. The primary power source in their camps is solar, waste is weighed, segregated, and recycled, emissions are tracked, and Scope 1 carbon is offset via REDD+ projects. As part of the Nawiri Group, Asilia contributes over $10m annually to nature protection and impact funding, providing long-term stable funding to partners across Africa. Their impact approach is community-led and includes a focus on expanding access to quality education in rural areas, funding programmes that benefit over 20,000 primary school students and over 200 vocational scholarships annually.

Food and Drink

Photos Rubondo Island Camp food and drink

Top Table

Communal dining is the standard here, but if you’d rather have a little alone time, individual tables can be set up at scenic spots across the main camp on request.

Dress Code

Come as you are in this remote, outdoorsy stay.

Hotel restaurant

Expect farm-to-fork dining that showcases seasonality and is proudly low on food miles. A commitment to sustainability and a celebration of local, indigenous ingredients underpin Asilia Africa’s approach to cuisine across all camps. 

At Rubondo Island Camp, breakfast may include fresh fruits, yoghurt, muesli, freshly squeezed juices, baked pastries, breakfast sandwiches and wraps, as well as a choice of hot dishes cooked to order. 

Across all Asilia Africa camps, the menu changes by the day; at each meal, there’ll be a choice of starters, mains, sides and desserts, with vegetarians as well served as meat eaters. Lunch on Wednesdays and dinner on Sundays are a distinctly Swahili affair, spotlighting local culinary traditions. If you have food preferences or dietary requirements, the camp’s kitchen team will be happy to adapt dishes to suit. 

Hotel bar

Drinks can be served throughout the main camp. If you’re hoping for a lake-gazing spot for a sundowner, you’re spoiled for choice — settle on the deck beneath the forest canopy, on a sofa in the lounge area or sink your toes in the sand on the beach. 

Last orders

Rather than working to scheduled hours, meals fit around your plans and staff are happy to flex to meet your wishes.

Room service

Available 24 hours: you can order drinks and snacks to your cottage; meals, too, can be arranged chez vous.

Location

Photos Rubondo Island Camp location
Address
Rubondo Island Camp
Rubondo Island National Park
Geita
Tanzania, United Republic of

Rubondo Island Camp is set amid a wildlife-rich national park in the southwest corner of Lake Victoria in Tanzania.

Planes

From Kigali and the Serengeti, direct small-plane flights touch town on Rubondo Island; from Arusha airport, connecting flights go via the Serengeti. On the island, you’ll be met by Asilia staff for the 15-minute shared transfer to the camp, included with your stay.

Automobiles

All the driving at Rubondo Island Camp is taken care of by trained staff using Asilia vehicles.

Worth getting out of bed for

Asilia’s expert guides lead a range of safari experiences at Rubondo, all with conservation as their north star. On a chimpanzee trek (best from June to October), you’ll navigate dense and hilly forest terrain, following intel from the island’s researchers on the chimps’ whereabouts. An early morning or sunset game drive will see you cruising the island’s plains and hilltops in an open-sided 4x4. On a boat safari or lake cruise, you’ll be brought into the realm of the hippos, elephants, crocodiles, otters and water birds. Onshore birdwatching is hard to beat, too, bolstered by visiting populations from December to March. Back on the water, try your hand at catch-and-release fishing for vast Nile perch and tilapia. For an insight into local culture, ask in advance about boat trips to other islands. 

To reach Rubondo Island Camp, you can connect via Serengeti, so starting your safari with three nights at either Namiri Plains or Sayari Camp is the simplest of segues. Alternatively, heed the call of the apes: get your fill of chimpanzees in Rubondo Island before journeying to Erebero Hills in Uganda, where your reward for all that travelling is the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest’s mountain gorillas.   

Local restaurants

You’ll feast on the spectacular scenery and enjoy your fill of safari adventures, but other than this, you can expect all your dining to take place in camp. Breads, cakes and even ice-creams are made freshly in-house, and dishes are always paired with South African wines. 

Reviews

Photos Rubondo Island Camp reviews

Anonymous review

By Mr & Mrs Smith

Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this nature-nurturing hotel in Tanzania and unpacked their binoculars and birding books, a full account of their Lake Victoria break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Rubondo Island Camp… 

 

At Rubondo Island Camp, you’ll be cast away with some of the animal kingdom’s most sought-after VIPs. The chimpanzees — introduced in the Sixties — are the headline act, but in this pristine island sanctuary, there’s an ark’s worth of wildlife to encounter: forest elephants tread the undergrowth, giraffes graze the southerly plains, and hippos wallow in Lake Victoria’s shallows. 

Guided safaris will take you deep into the heart of their habitats — and, in the case of the chimpanzee treks, help researchers out too. But you’re just as ensconced in the wild back at camp. As you unwind on your veranda, a fish eagle might swoop low over the lake in search of supper. Your beach stroll could be interrupted by a bushbuck darting from the forest edge. Mid-massage, you might catch the call of a colobus monkey. Forget your eight favourite discs and the complete works of Shakespeare — at this desert-island escape, the neighbours will easily hold your attention. 

Book now

Price per night from $1,557.60

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