Ruaha River Lodge
Stone-and-thatch lodge · On the Great Ruaha River rapids · Foxes Safari Camps
Mid-range
Inside the park
Owner/family-run
The park's stalwart: stone bandas scattered along the rapids of the Great Ruaha, where the game viewing starts from your own veranda. Family-friendly, road-accessible and the best value inside the park.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Hippo and elephant watching right from your own veranda
- Best value lodge inside the park, with year-round access
- Family-friendly and reachable by road, not just by air
- Open all year, including the usually-quiet green season
- Run by the Fox family's safari company for over four decades
Cons
- We found no published minimum age; ask what applies when you enquire
- Lodge pages do not confirm wifi or in-room power
- About 25 minutes' drive from Msembe airstrip
- High season rates rise to about $420 a person
What's here
Arranged from the lodge:
- Game drives
- Guided walks
Read from Ruaha River Lodge's own website in July 2026. Anything not listed we could not confirm, which is not the same as it being absent.
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 Ruaha River Lodge
From ~$340 pppn. ~$420 pppn high season, full board incl. game drives.
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 Ruaha River Lodge
Is Ruaha River Lodge good for families?
The lodge markets itself as family-friendly and is reachable by road rather than fly-in only, which helps with children's bags and odd nap times. We found no minimum age stated on its own pages, so ask what applies to your children's ages when you enquire.
Can you self-drive to Ruaha River Lodge?
Yes, it is described as road-accessible, unlike many of Ruaha's fly-in camps, and sits about 25 minutes from Msembe airstrip for those who prefer to fly. Operator Foxes Safari Camps also runs its own charter airline, Safari Air Link, for guests who want to fly in instead.
What does the rate at Ruaha River Lodge include?
Full board with game drives, from about $340 a person a night in low season to roughly $420 in high season. The lodge's own pages do not break down further inclusions such as drinks, laundry or transfers, so confirm these when you book.
Can you visit Ruaha River Lodge in the green season?
Yes, it is open all year, including the quieter green season when many Ruaha camps close. That makes it one of the few serviced lodges inside the park you can book outside the June to March window that most competitors use.
How big is Ruaha River Lodge?
It is the largest lodge inside the park, built in stone bandas in two wings along the Great Ruaha River's rapids, with views of hippo and elephant from your own veranda. Sources differ on the exact banda count, so confirm current capacity when you book.