Kichakani Camp

By light aircraft from Arusha, to a different airstrip in each season. From June to November the camp stands in the Lamai triangle and the flight goes to Lamai or Kogatende: Coastal Aviation and Auric Air both fly there daily from Arusha with a stop at Lake Manyara, leaving between half past seven and a quarter to eight with a second departure mid morning, and the camp quotes about two hours in the air for the Lamai leg. From December to March the flight goes to the Serengeti South airstrip instead, an hour to an hour and a half from Arusha on the same two carriers, with the early departure landing before nine. Both carriers also connect from Kilimanjaro, and Coastal has an afternoon departure from Kilimanjaro that lands at Lamai a little before six. From either strip the camp quotes about an hour and a quarter by road into camp, and that drive is a game drive in its own right. We can also arrange a private charter, typically a Cessna Caravan or a Pilatus PC-12, direct from Arusha or Kilimanjaro, which takes out the Manyara stop and lets you leave at a time of your choosing.

Two things we check on every booking. The luggage limit on the scheduled aircraft is fifteen kilograms a person on Coastal and twenty on Auric, soft bags only and hand luggage included; Coastal sells a larger seat class that allows thirty kilograms, and we book that ahead rather than hope for space on the day. And the ticket has to match where the camp actually is on your dates: some older listings still show a third site in the western Serengeti for June and July, which the camp's current calendar does not have, so we book the flight against the camp's own calendar rather than a directory.

Yes, at both of its sites. TravelHealthPro, the UK's official travel health service, says there is a high risk of malaria in all areas of Tanzania below 1,800 metres and no risk above it, and the CDC draws its line at the same height. The Lamai triangle along the Mara River and the southern calving plains both sit below that line, so both services class the camp as a risk area in either season and both list antimalarial tablets among their recommendations, alongside bite avoidance. A camp that moves cannot fence out the mosquitoes, so long sleeves and trousers at the fire pit and repellent on any skin left showing matter in both seasons, and more so in the south, where the short rains leave standing water across the plains.

We are travel planners rather than medical people, so the decision about tablets belongs with you and your doctor or a travel clinic, ideally four to six weeks before you fly, because the advice changes and the right choice depends on the person taking it.

Yes, from the age of six, and the camp's own rule is that anyone aged fifteen or under shares a tent with an adult, so a family of four is two tents with a parent in each rather than one for the adults and one for the children. The tents are built for two, forty-two square metres each, and the camp holds twenty guests in total, so tell us the ages when you enquire and we will confirm with the camp how a third bed is handled on your dates before we hold anything.

The camp is not fenced and wildlife walks through it at night, so children need an adult with them at all times, including the walk back to the tent after dinner. Because there is no walking from camp and no night driving, the two activities that carry age limits elsewhere do not arise; what remains is the vehicle, and the full days out that follow the herds are long ones, so with younger children we plan the shorter morning and afternoon drives and ask the camp about a private vehicle so the day runs at your pace.

There is wifi: the camp lists it, with solar power and USB charging points, among the modern additions to an otherwise old-style canvas camp. What it does not say is where the signal reaches or how fast it is, and in a camp that is struck and rebuilt on a different site twice a year the honest answer is that it varies with the site and the day, so plan on messages and email rather than video calls, and download anything you want to read or watch before you fly. We have no verified answer on mobile signal at either site, so if you need to be reachable at a fixed time, tell us before you travel and we will ask the camp for the current position rather than rely on a brochure.

The USB points mean phones and cameras charge in the tent, but the full days out with the herds run from breakfast to late afternoon, so bring a spare camera battery. Anyone travelling with equipment that needs power through the night should tell us at the enquiry stage so we can check with the camp what its solar system can carry.

The two sites see different halves of the year. The northern season, June to November, opens in the coolest months: The camp's own guidance puts June to August as the coolest time in Tanzania, and on the Serengeti that means afternoons around 26 degrees, nights down to about 14, and cold fronts between June and September that can take a dawn game drive close to freezing in an open-sided vehicle. September and October warm up and stay dry, and the short rains arrive in November as the northern season ends. The southern season, December to March, is the warmest part of the year, with afternoons around 27 degrees and nights around 15, the plains green from the short rains, and usually a dry spell in January and February before the long rains build in March. The camp is closed throughout April and May, the wettest months.

Pack in layers whichever season you come: a fleece and a windproof jacket for the first hour of the day and for sundowners, when the camp's own advice is to have a warm layer to hand as the light goes; light neutral clothing and a wide-brimmed hat for the middle of the day; high-factor sun cream; closed shoes; and a light waterproof for November and for the southern months. Keep it to soft bags at fifteen kilograms a person for Coastal or twenty for Auric, hand luggage included. Laundry is included in the rate, so three or four days of clothes covers a week.

Three nights at either site, and four in the north if the river crossings are the point of the trip. The camp says the herds usually cross the Mara between July and October, with the peak from August to October, but a crossing cannot be booked for a particular morning: the animals can stand on the bank for days and go in the hour you are at lunch, so the extra night is what turns a good chance into a likely one. In the south the calving runs from December to March and the game is spread across open plains rather than pinned to a river, so three nights sees it properly. The camp moves back down at the end of November or the start of December, so the first nights of December are worth confirming with the camp before they are held.

The rate includes all meals, all drinks including the premium spirits, the game drives, the transfers to and from the airstrip and laundry. We include medical evacuation cover as standard. Charged on top, by the camp's own list, are the flights and landing fees, road transfers to other camps, insurance, shop purchases and tips. The rate sheets we work from put the Serengeti National Park fees inside the camp rate rather than on a separate bill, and we confirm that line on every quote so there is no surprise at the end; the flights we build in from the start.