Saadani National Park is where the beach meets the bush, the park covering an area of 1,100 square kilometers (430 sq miles) in the east of the country, north of Dar es Salaam. The Park has the distinction of being the only coastal wildlife sanctuary of its kind on the eastern coast of Africa boats an Indian Ocean beachfront. It offers a completely unique safari environment, combining that most rare of recipes – river, bush and beach.  

The extraordinary Wami River forms the southern boundary of the Park. From the open sea, you can boat into the river mouth and within minutes you are passing pods of hippo and basking crocodiles. The game is plentiful in the inland bush: lions and other predators jousting with a wide range of plains animals.

The entire eastern boundary of the Park is set along the Indian Ocean where white beaches stretch to the horizon in both directions, and sand islands off-shore provide good snorkeling and swimming.

Access: Charter flight from Zanzibar or Dar –es-salaam with possibility of scheduled flights in the future. Thrice –weekly road shuttle from Dar-es-salaam taking four hours in either direction. No road access from Dar-es-salaam along the coast follow the surfaced Moshi road for 160 km(100 miles) then 60 km (36 miles) on dirt road access from Tanga and Pangani except after heavy rain a 4*4 wheels is required.

To do: Game drives and guided walks, Boat trips, swimming. Visit saadani fishing village which lies within the reserve ,where a collection of ruins pay testament to its 19 th century heyday as a major trading port.

ACCOMMODATION: one luxury tented camp

SAADANI SAFARI LODGE:

Saadani Safari Lodge is uniquely placed as the only hotel located inside Saadani National Park, arguably Tanzania’s most varied wildlife conservation area.  Here, beach, bush and river come together in a clash of colorful ecosystems found nowhere else on the eastern coast of Africa.

Saadani Safari Lodge is owned by Costa Coucoulis, a passionate nature-lover who has fully renovated and refurbished an existing property with creative style and sympathy to the natural environment. 

The nine, tented cottages with their cool grass roofs are strung along the beach. Each has its own veranda and pretty en-suite bathroom. Seafood is a specialty, in particular the feasts of fresh prawns that are brought from the sea to the lodge kitchens daily.  Nature-wise, the uniqueness of Saadani Safari Lodge is its proximity to such a mix of different ecosystems.

From the delights of the Wami River where a stone’s throw from the open sea you can be boating past pods of hippo, the lodge also offers game driving and bush walking to explore the plentiful wildlife in the natural bush. Out at sea, a sand island is a lovely spot for picnics and snorkeling in warm tropical waters.

Serengeti National Park