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User Reviews of Nyerere (Selous) National Park (103 Reviews)

Best Park Nyerere Safaris Tanzania
Sort By: Date Most Helpful Rating 71-80 of 103 Reviews

Average User Rating

4.6311 / 5 4.6 /5
4.5050 / 5 4.6000 / 5 4.6495 / 5 4.4625 / 5

Rating Breakdown

5 star 74 / 10 74
4 star 22 / 10 22
3 star 5 / 10 5
2 star 2 / 10 2
1 star 0 / 10 0
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Female avatar icon Jumbokedama Japan flag JP       Visited: August 2016 Reviewed: Dec 8, 2016

Email Jumbokedama  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

5 / 5 5 /5
5 / 5 5 / 5 5 / 5 5 / 5

I think this has been my favorite park so far. Hellish drive on a loooong, bumpy dirt road in order to get there, but the place is remote and there are few visitors. One can see a very wide variety of wildlife, including birds.

Male avatar icon Richard Kingsbury United Kingdom flag GB       Visited: July 2016 Reviewed: Oct 29, 2016

Email Richard Kingsbury  |  50-65 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

Great family safari including big 5 and river safari

5 / 5 5 /5
5 / 5 5 / 5 4 / 5 4 / 5

For us it was the opportunity to do a river safari that attracted us to the Selous and our trip up the Rufiji River was a nice change from game drives. The game drives were also excellent with very few other vehicles on the road and they are allowed to go off road which is great fun and allows you to get close to the wildlife. This is not allowed at some other parks. We were lucky to see elephants, lions, hippos and a leopard. There are some spectacular birds too. We stayed at the Serena Selous Camp which we would recommend. Accommodation is in luxury tents and there is a spectacular bar/restaurant/deck which overlooks a watering hole that hippos frequent. The service was attentive but unaffected and the staff even let our boys join in their daily football match. The food was excellent and we had no side effects. Another unexpected bonus of the Selous is that there are no mosquitoes which is one less thing to worry about. The weather was pleasant and not too hot in the last week of August.

Avatar icon DaveGibsonImages.com United States flag US       Visited: December 2005 Reviewed: Oct 25, 2016

Email DaveGibsonImages.com

5 / 5 5 /5
5 / 5 5 / 5 4 / 5 5 / 5

My visit occurred at the end of January when the temperatures reached 98 degrees. The shaded pool at Rufiji River Camp was a welcome respite from the heat as was the cooling breeze created by our safari vehicle. Vervet monkeys rule the camp. Pay respect to the alpha male with the blue scrotum! The best predator viewing is in the Lake Manze area where I spotted a hyena with a fresh wildebeest leg in its jaws. Birding is excellent and crocs are everywhere. One person in camp saw a crocodile take down a buffalo!

Male avatar icon arif India flag IN       Visited: December 2015 Reviewed: Oct 18, 2016

Email arif  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

4 / 5 4 /5
4 / 5 4 / 5 4 / 5 / 5

great destination .. different from northern circuit .. very diverse type of landscape .. lakes.. bushes .. grasslands .. crocodiles, hippos and some other animals not that abundant elsewhere are in abundance here .. lions are also sighted .. over all a nice place for a safari close to dar es salaam

Female avatar icon Tamsyn Munnik South Africa flag ZA       Visited: September 2016 Reviewed: Oct 17, 2016

Email Tamsyn Munnik  |  20-35 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Gorgeous scenery, great wildlife, and uncrowded areas!

5 / 5 5 /5
5 / 5 5 / 5 5 / 5 / 5
My friend and I spent two weeks on a safari tour of southern Tanzania with Wildness Safari. Selous Game Reserve was the last stop on our itinerary and we spent a total of 4 days in the area.

We stayed at the Hippo Camp which was a short 15 minute drive from the entrance to the Selous Game Reserve, making it a nice base for our safari trips.

Selous Game Reserve is an untouched wilderness giving you the sense of being in "real Africa", and in my opinion, was the most beautiful reserve in the southern circuit of Tanzania, with it's gorgeous grassy plains, lush tropical areas, acacia woodlands, and the meandering Rufiji River that runs through the reserve.

Selous Game Reserve is such a vast area, so we sometimes spent hours driving around looking for the animals. While the wildlife population density isn't as high as it is in northern Tanzania, we still saw loads of animals including lions, elephants, giraffes, wildebeest, impala,
Read more hartebeest, greater kudu, zebras, buffalos, warthogs, hippos and crocodiles. Unfortunately we weren't lucky enough to see any leopards, rhinos or wild dogs during our safaris, but it gives me an excuse to go back there one day. Our guide, Rajab, from Wildness Safari, was incredibly knowledgeable and informative during our safari tour, and I honestly think we would have missed out on so much had we opted to do a self-drive safari instead. His guiding skills were invaluable during the entire trip, and it felt like we had our own personal guidebook with us.

One of the drawcards of Selous Game Reserve was the fact that it wasn't very crowded, and it often felt like we were the only ones in the reserve as we could drive for hours without seeing another vehicle. This provided us with a great opportunity for unlimited viewing times with the wildlife.

I would definitely recommend booking a boat cruise along the Rufiji River and a walking safari tour while in Selous if you have the time, as this was a highlight of the trip for me.

I highly recommend a trip to Selous Game Reserve during your time in Tanzania!
Male avatar icon Xavier Switzerland flag CH       Visited: January 2016 Reviewed: Aug 27, 2016

Email Xavier  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

5 / 5 5 /5
5 / 5 5 / 5 5 / 5 5 / 5

Amazing, stunning same as Ruaha, a real feel of Africa

Male avatar icon Xavier Switzerland flag CH       Visited: August 2016 Reviewed: Aug 27, 2016

Email Xavier  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: 2-5 safaris

5 / 5 5 /5
5 / 5 5 / 5 5 / 5 5 / 5

Same as Ruaha, a different feel compare, not as crowded, as the Northern National Parks!

Avatar icon Ersin Turkey flag TR       Visited: February 2016 Reviewed: Aug 17, 2016

Email Ersin

The real wildness

5 / 5 5 /5
5 / 5 5 / 5 5 / 5 5 / 5

comparing with other parks, Selous is the best choice if you like to spend your time like a local, not like a tourist. It is now guarantee that you can see all wild animals, because the park is not designed for tourists. It is really really natural wild life and you find your self in the middle of jungle !

Male avatar icon Ali Sinai United Arab Emirates flag AE       Visited: June 2016 Reviewed: Jul 4, 2016

Email Ali Sinai  |  35-50 years of age  |  Experience level: first safari

Unbelievable Place

5 / 5 5 /5
5 / 5 5 / 5 5 / 5 5 / 5

Although this was my wife and I's first safari, we had both done a little research and what we both wanted was a game reserve that gave us a healthy chance of seeing amazing wildlife without being in such a touristic hub that the "magic" of being in the wild was diminished in any way. We were not disappointed! Selous is one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited, and everything from the great Rufiji river to the other bodies of water, mountains and vast open spaces were breathtaking. We hardly saw any other tourists there which was actually a great thing when we saw lions and elephants and similar animals as we really got to enjoy the serenity of being a few meters away from these majestic creatures with nothing except ourselves and our guide within miles.

Our hotel was absolutely outstanding - Serena Mivumo. It's a lodge that overlooks the Rufiji river and is nothing short of exceptional. Amazing staff, luxurious bungalows and just generally great food and service. Highly recommended.

Avatar icon Kelly Marciano United States flag US       Visited: December 2015 Reviewed: Mar 18, 2016

Email Kelly Marciano

Dreamy Escape into the bush

4 / 5 4 /5
4 / 5 5 / 5 4 / 5 5 / 5
We participated in a three day safari at Selous, organized by Kanuth Adventure Safaris. Kanuth Staff picked up us from our hotel, they were kind, helpful, appreciative of our business and fair priced. The drive from the city to the park was beautiful and exciting, an adventure in itself. We stayed at Hippo Camp, which was a lovely camp, just outside the park gates. We stayed in a lovely tree house right on the rufiji river, it was much like "glamping". The park was extraordinary. It was remote and beautiful. It was rainy while we were there, but honestly the experience was so dreamy, it wasn't too upsetting. We chose Selous over the Northern circuit because we were looking for something a bit off the beaten track. We wanted to immerse ourselves in vastness of the land, away from "tourists". We knew there was a risk in doing so, as we heard the wildlife sightings were less of a guarantee at Selous. But we were very lucky. Our guide was wonderful. We spent all day
Read more driving around the park, seeing everything we could have hoped to see. The only other humans we saw were the two other jeeps we entered the park with, from our camp. It was truly lovely. I highly recommend this park. One thing I might say when booking a package-- we were sold a boat safari, jeep safari and "walking safari". The walking safari, was a bush walk that took place outside of the park. While it was lovely, we felt mislead. There were some travelers who received an actual walking safari inside the park. Just be sure to receive clarification on this. Other than that piece everything was a dream. Cheers.