Dining on Safari

Better than most first-time guests expect. Camp kitchens are small — often a wood-fired oven, a couple of gas rings and a canvas roof — but the chefs are experienced and the output is genuinely good: fresh bread daily, three or four courses at dinner, and produce flown in regularly even at remote fly-in camps. Standards rise with the tier, but even mid-range lodges eat well.

Yes. Every itinerary we sell is full board — breakfast, lunch and dinner throughout your safari, including bush breakfasts and sundowner snacks. Most camps also include soft drinks, beer, house wine and standard spirits. Premium wines and champagne are usually charged separately at classic lodges but included at the ultra-luxury tier.

Yes, and routinely. Vegetarian, vegan, halal, kosher, gluten-free and all common allergies are handled without fuss. The one thing we ask is notice — remote camps provision by light aircraft, so we need requirements at least two weeks before travel, and ideally at the time of booking.

Never drink tap water in Tanzania. All camps provide filtered or bottled drinking water free of charge, including refills for your own bottle and water in the vehicle on every game drive. Ice, salads and fruit at reputable camps are prepared with treated water and are safe.

The safari tradition of stopping at the end of the afternoon drive somewhere with a view, unpacking a drinks table from the back of the vehicle and watching the sun go down. Gin and tonic is the classic, though a Dawa — vodka, honey and lime — is the Tanzanian favourite. Nuts and biltong come with it.

Yes. Most camps will arrange private dining with a day's notice — a table set away from the main mess in a clearing, on a deck or in a dry riverbed, lit with lanterns. There is rarely a charge at luxury camps. It is the single most requested honeymoon extra and worth arranging in advance.

Yes, and it is widely included. Tanzania produces good beer — Kilimanjaro and Serengeti are the local lagers — and camps stock South African wine as standard. Note that some camps near Muslim communities, and most of Zanzibar and Pemba outside resorts, are more restrained about alcohol in public areas.

Mountain catering is entirely separate and surprisingly substantial — a dedicated cook travels with every climb, producing hot breakfasts, packed lunches and three-course dinners in a mess tent. Carbohydrate-heavy by design, since appetite drops sharply with altitude. Dietary requirements are catered for here too.

Both. Small camps traditionally use a communal long table, which many guests enjoy, but no camp insists on it — ask for a private table at any meal and it will be arranged without comment. Larger lodges seat everyone separately by default.