Kuria Hills Lodge

Fly to Kogatende airstrip in the far north of the park, then it is about forty-five minutes by road to the lodge, and the transfer is a game drive in its own right. Coastal Aviation's published schedule has two departures a day from Arusha, at a quarter to eight and a quarter to eleven, both calling at Lake Manyara and landing in a little over two hours; from Kilimanjaro a late morning flight routed through Arusha and Manyara lands at a quarter to one and a mid afternoon one lands at a quarter to six; and from Zanzibar a single morning departure routes through Arusha and Manyara and lands at a quarter to one, about four hours in all. Auric Air and Regional Air fly into Kogatende as well, and the scheduled aircraft allow fifteen kilograms a person in soft bags, hand luggage included. 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 stops and lets you leave when you choose. Either way we favour the morning arrivals, which land in time for lunch and leave the drive to the lodge in full daylight.

The Maasai Mara lies just over the Kenyan border to the north, but tourists cannot drive between the two parks: the Sand River crossing between them has been closed to visitors since 1977 and Tanzania has chosen to keep it that way. The link is by air. Coastal flies from Kogatende to Tarime, a twenty minute hop to the Tanzanian side of the Isebania border, a road transfer takes you through the immigration posts to Migori airstrip in Kenya, and Safarilink flies from there into the Mara just after midday. The two airlines run it together from the start of July to the end of October and from mid December to the end of March, it needs at least two passengers booked, and it works in the other direction too; on other dates the route goes through Kilimanjaro and Nairobi and takes most of a day. One thing to raise early with a travel clinic: TravelHealthPro and the CDC both record a risk of yellow fever in parts of Kenya, and both note that Tanzania asks travellers arriving from a country with that risk for a vaccination certificate. We are travel planners rather than medical people, so we make sure the question is asked in time rather than answer it ourselves.

Yes. 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 that height, and the CDC draws its line at the same 1,800 metres. Kuria Hills sits at roughly 1,600 metres in the Wogakuria Hills, with Kogatende airstrip a little lower again, so both sources place the lodge on the risk side of the line, and both list antimalarial tablets among their recommendations alongside covering up and using repellent. Sundowners on top of the kopje fall at exactly the hour the mosquitoes come out, so long sleeves and repellent on any bare skin matter whatever else you decide.

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, with Lemala's own booking notes worth knowing before you choose suites. Lemala does not recommend any of its Tanzanian properties for children of two and under, counts a child as three to fifteen, and says children stay at their parents' own risk; there is no nanny service, and a child in a suite of their own has to be at least fifteen. The Lemala Cubs programme is for under twelves. An extra bed can go into a standard suite, but only five suites can take one at any one time, so on crossing-season dates we book that early; children of ten and under get a safari camp bed instead, and two adults with two children can share a single suite only with a sofa bed, three beds being the most a suite holds.

The lodge is inside the national park and its game vehicles are open-sided, seating six in three rows of two and shared between guests unless a private one is booked, so with a young family we would book the private vehicle and let the days run at your children's pace. Tell us the ages when you enquire and we will say straight away which suite arrangement works and what each child can join.

Yes to wifi, which Lemala includes in the rate rather than charging for. It comes in by satellite, so Lemala's own guidance is that it copes with email, messages and social media, slows when the lodge is full, and is not built for streaming or video calls; the lodge's fact sheet lists it in the main areas and among the suite amenities, so photographs can go from the deck without a walk up to the lounge. Mobile signal is patchier. Lemala says there is coverage in and around all its properties but it may not reach the suite, and it advises switching roaming off and using the wifi for calls; each suite has a telephone to the main lodge for anything urgent.

Charging is straightforward: the lodge runs on 220 volts through three-pin square sockets, the same shape as a British plug, so visitors from the UK need no adapter, and Lemala's game vehicles carry 240-volt international sockets and USB points for cameras and phones during the drives. Each suite also has a hair dryer, a safe and overhead fans. If you need to be reachable at a fixed time, tell us before you travel and we will check the current setup with the lodge rather than rely on a brochure.

The crossings run from July to October, with the last herds sometimes still moving back south into early November before the short rains draw them away, and no lodge can promise a crossing on a given morning, which is why we give the river more than one day. The weather is warm days, cool nights, and a wetter, greener country than the rest of the Serengeti: rainfall climbs steeply from south to north across the park, from around four hundred millimetres a year on the south-eastern plains to as much as twelve hundred near the Kenyan border, which is why the hills around the lodge hold grazing and resident game after the south has dried out. June to October is the dry season, with afternoons in the mid twenties and nights around fourteen degrees, and between June and September the odd cold front can drop the first hour of a drive in an open vehicle to near freezing. The short rains fall in November and December and are unpredictable; the long rains run from March to May and are the wettest months, and the lodge closes for April and May and reopens in June.

Pack in layers: a fleece and a windproof jacket for dawn, neutral-coloured shirts with long sleeves, a wide-brimmed hat, high-factor sun cream, insect repellent, shoes with grip for the kopjes and any walks, swimwear for the pool, and a light waterproof outside the driest months. Keep it in soft bags at fifteen kilograms a person including hand luggage for the light aircraft; Lemala does same-day laundry at no charge, so pack for four days and let the lodge wash the rest.

We plan three nights as the minimum, and four between July and October, because a crossing cannot be booked for a particular morning and the herds can stand on the bank for days before they go; outside those months three nights gives two full days on the resident game around the hills. Evenings are the fire and the stars rather than a night drive, because the park's roads are open from six in the morning to six in the evening and the vehicles are back at the lodge by dusk. Check-in is midday and check-out ten in the morning, so a morning flight in and an afternoon flight out leaves a drive on both travel days.

Lemala sells the lodge two ways. The basic rate covers the suite, all meals, house wines and spirits, local beers and soft drinks, wifi and laundry; its game package adds two game drives a day, or one full day out, plus the transfers to and from Kogatende, and it is the one we book, because without it the drives and the airstrip run are charged on top. Excluded either way are the national park entry and concession fees, champagne and premium wines and spirits, the balloon flight, a private vehicle, flights and tips, though we include medical evacuation cover as standard; guided bush walks have to be booked ahead with the lodge, so tell us early if you want one. We build the park fees, the flights and any private vehicle into the quote from the start, so there is no separate bill at the end, and we tell you which of the extras are worth adding before you go.