Access & Location
The camp can be accessed via flight from Arusha or the Serengeti to Rubondo Island, followed by brief road transfer. It’s situated approximately 60 metres from the shores of Lake Victoria and surrounded by tall fig trees.
Rubondo Island Camp
A high-quality boutique camp offering a luxury stay on Tanzania’s remote Rubondo Island
Lounge, dining area, bar, deck, and swimming pool
Eight cottage rooms, including a family room and a honeymoon suite
Chimpanzee habituation experience, forest drives, forest walks, boat trips, fishing, birding, and children’s activities
Our Yellow Zebra Opinion
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Unique, but not for all
As this is the only camp on Africa’s largest island national park, you really do get the whole place to yourselves! The camp offers a place to relax surrounded by pristine sub-tropical forests, fabulous birding, wildlife such as elephant, giraffe, and sitatunga, and the option to go boating, walking, or even head out to track the troop of chimpanzees whose ancestors were released on the island during the 1960s.
Activities
The camp offers an exciting variety of activities!
Chimpanzee habituation
Wildlife viewing
Hiking
Forest drives
Catch-and-release fishing
Birdwatching
Children activities
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Chimpanzee habituation team as they slowly introduce the chimps to humans and observe them in their natural habitat. If you are interested in this experience, please get in touch with a member of the Yellow Zebra team. There’s a minimum age requirement of 15 years, and your overall fitness level must be pretty good as sometimes there’s a lot of walking involved!
The island covers 250 square kilometres, so chimp encounters cannot be guaranteed. However, the verdant equatorial forest is home to a number of other species, such as elephant, bushbuck, sitatunga, spot-necked otter, Nile crocodile, an astonishing assortment of butterflies, and over 300 types of bird.
You can choose whether to head out for a one-hour stroll or a full-day or even multi-day hike – the latter two options include staying in the camp’s well-equipped treehouse or setting up a fly camp on the beach.
Forest drives are also available, while boat trips offer opportunities to see a lot of aquatic life!
Catch-and-release fishing is possible from a boat, or from the lakeshore, or from camp, and you might just encounter the enormous Nile perch.
Birding is fantastic, particularly from December to March when migratory species visit the island.
And among activities especially for children are identifying animal tracks, learning about bush skills and local cultures, and enjoying nature walks in the company of friendly and knowledgeable guides.
*This property is unfenced and located in a wildlife area, so large and potentially dangerous animals do pass through. If you opt to stay here, always be alert when walking around the camp and request for a member of staff to escort you if you have any concerns. Any guest is escorted after dark as a matter of course.
Make an EnquiryMake an EnquiryFacilities
The communal lodge at Rubondo Island Camp is also made out of local materials.
Almost entirely open sided, with just mosquito netting between travellers and the open air, it’s a pleasant place for resting between activities and enjoying some delicious meals. The lounge features plenty of comfortable seating around coffee tables, as well as floor lamps, rugs, and a few books and games. The camp’s bar is set up in a corner, positioned to ensure amazing views! In the dining area, smart timber tables are flanked by well-cushioned wooden chairs. Throughout the lodge there are a lot of plants, contributing to the al fresco feeling. There’s a deck too, which is perfect for outdoor dining. The chef specialises in home-style cooking, rustling up all sorts of breads, biscuits, cakes, and sorbets. Lunch is provided buffet style, and dinners are served on the shores of the lake – usually after drinks around a convivial campfire! There’s also a swimming pool, with a few deckchairs alongside.
Make an EnquiryAmenities
Guest accommodation consists of eight cottages, including a family room and a suite for honeymooners.
Constructed by hand using local materials, all cottages merge effortlessly with the lakeside woodlands. Each has a spacious veranda, where you can relax and enjoy beautiful lake views! Gauze doors lead into the main bedroom area. Here you’ll find a double bed or twin beds, bedside tables and lighting, a writing desk and chair, and a small seating area. The en-suite washroom is accessed through a timber door behind the bed, and it contains a flush toilet, twin washbasins within a vanity unit, a walk-in shower, and plenty of storage space. The family cottage has an additional bedroom, and the honeymoon suite benefits from a double outdoor shower.
Talk to someone who’s been there
Real expertise doesn’t come from a few trips to Africa. All our specialists have either been guides, run the camps, or grown up and lived in Africa. That’s over 600 years of genuine safari experience.As Seen In
