Saadani National Park

What an awesome place: on one side you get the ocean's beauty on the other side the real savannah and giraffes with wildhogs wandering around.

Bush, beach and wide open river - a perfect combination

Saadani was the first time I'd experienced a real safari. I'd been to Tanzania before and was bewitched by the place, but I hadn't actually made it properly out into the bush on the first visit. This time, it was going to be different.

The park had recently been upgraded from a Game Reserve at the time, so wasn't very developed as a destination. However, that made for perfect conditions.

The road in was clearly under water during the rainy season, but we arrived at a time that it was passable, finding our way by buffalo skull signposts. The lodge that awaited us was set in the bush and very welcoming, stylish and comfortable without being ostentatious, and the huts we stayed at were set on the beach. Having arrived in from Tokyo, the wafting breeze of the Indian Ocean and a long sandy beach with no-one else on it was the perfect tonic. Apparently, elephants would sometimes come down and frolic in the surf.

If there was anything I could have changed about the visit, I'd have drunk a little less in the evenings and awoken at the crack of dawn to get a better look at the wildlife. With fine food and hospitality, this was a difficult thing to do! However, given that most of the animals try and stay out of the sun in the heat of the day, we saw plenty. It's always going to be difficult for a giraffe to hide much.

What was the best thing about it? The ability to combine a bush safari, a river safari and a beach holiday all in one place. Would I go to Saadani again? If only I could!

A Tent with a. iew have been here since it was a game reserve they r the experts of saadani! Saadani safari lodge now owned by Costa is excellent .. it used to be owned by David my friend of A Tent with a View b4 he sold to Costa! i would ichoose between the two ... else where ... ur on your own!At the beach on coast with animals in your backyard! Thats saadani! Dont expect big four though, more like big two!

It's an Average national park.

Beautiful Park, with an amazing diversity, but wildlife often difficult to encounter. Can be in one spot of the park and difficult to locate. Good guide is thus necessary.

this park has been totally emptied by poachers, harly any wildlife to find.

Fabulous accommodations right on the Indian Ocean! The safari outing weren't as exciting as some of the other parks, but the accommodations couldn't be beat! Also, the giraffe on the airport runway added excitement! The river safari to see the hippos and birds was excellent.

Saadani is definitely beautiful and tropical. There is wildlife, but it's not as abundant as the other parks. You won't see it constantly. The best part of Saadani was the safari lodge. The Indian ocean was beautiful.

It was very hot here, but the scenery differed from other parks and was worth it! This coastal park didn't have as much wildlife as other parks, but we saw lions, cheetahs and many others.

Not so many large mammals here. The scenery and Indian Ocean are ok but not great. Probably the only reason to go is for convenience from Dar.