Mdonya Old River Camp
Classic tented camp · Mdonya old river bed, western Ruaha · Adventure Camps (Coastal Travels)
A drawing, because nobody has sent us a photograph of Mdonya Old River Camp yet. Send five and this page changes the same week.
Website offline Mid-range
Inside the park
Safari company
A straightforward, solar-powered canvas camp on an old river bed where elephant and kudu stroll between the tents. No pool, no wifi-lounge, and that's exactly the point.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Elephant and kudu wander freely right through camp
- Best value under canvas inside the national park
- Deliberately simple 'old Africa' bush-camp character
- Solar-powered, in keeping with its no-frills style
- Twelve Meru-style tents, a decent-sized classic camp
Cons
- The operator's website is offline; book through an agent instead
- No pool and no wifi lounge
- About 1.5 hours' drive from Msembe airstrip
- We found no published child policy; ask what applies when you enquire
What the park charges on top
The rate above buys you a bed. Ruaha National Park charges its own entry fee for every day you are inside. Here is what that adds up to.
- Park entry$30 plus 18% VAT, charged per 24 hours.
- $35.4per person, per day
- Vehicle$40 plus VAT for a foreign-registered vehicle up to 2,000 kg; most safari 4x4s sit above that and pay $150 plus VAT. A Tanzanian-registered one is about $9.
- $47.2per vehicle, per day
Three nights means three days inside, so two adults sharing one vehicle pay $354 in park fees before anyone pays for a bed.
The full fee schedule for Ruaha National ParkRates at Mdonya Old River Camp
From ~$450 pppn. Full board plus; some agents quote rates incl. concession fees.
What the rate covers is not confirmed. We do not know yet whether meals, drinks and activities are included, so read this as the bed only.
Every figure on this page is in US dollars.
Indicative rates gathered from operators and agents, July 2026. Rates change by season and year. Always confirm with the lodge. Park fees (conservation + concession, roughly $75 pp/day combined for in-park camps) are usually excluded.
Questions about Mdonya Old River Camp
Is Mdonya Old River Camp still open?
Yes, though its own website, adventurecamps.co.tz, no longer resolves. A guest posted about a stay in November 2025 and the camp's Facebook page carried video into early 2026, so it is still being sold; book through an agent or the operator, Coastal Travels, rather than the old web address.
Is Mdonya Old River Camp good for families?
We found no published child policy for Mdonya, and with the operator's own website offline, there was nowhere current to check one. Elephant and kudu wander freely through the unfenced camp, so ask your booking agent about suitability for young children before you commit.
What does the rate at Mdonya Old River Camp include?
The record price is full board plus, from about $450 a person a night, though some agents quote rates that also include concession fees and others do not. With the camp's own site offline, confirm exactly what is and is not included when you book through an agent.
What is Mdonya Old River Camp like?
A deliberately simple, solar-powered canvas camp on an old river bed in western Ruaha, with twelve Meru-style tents. There is no pool and no wifi lounge, and animals, including elephant and kudu, wander freely between the tents, which is the point of staying here.
Can you self-drive to Mdonya Old River Camp?
This is not stated anywhere current: the operator's website is offline, so there is no page to confirm self-drive access. The nearest airstrip is Msembe, about an hour and a half away by road, which suggests fly-in is the usual route; ask your agent to confirm.