Saadani; exactly what we were looking for!

12 February 2023 | Willeke & Erik

For our holiday in Zanzibar we were looking for the perfect addition (or stopover), namely a fly-in safari to the mainland of Tanzania. Our choice quickly fell on the Saadani National Park, a small-scale park on the coast above Dar Es Salaam. And we fell with our nose in the butter, it’s exactly what we were looking for! and needed ;-).

The Simply Saadani lodge is located just outside the park by the sea. The small bungalows are located on the beach, from the large private terrace you can gaze endlessly over the sea and in between the game drives you can (if the tides allow) enjoy a swim in the sea. The food in the lodge (of course again with sea view) was fantastic, three times a day we were served the most delicious things and on the last evening we were even surprised with a dinner at the campfire on the beach.

The game drives were fantastic. The Saadani National Park is a densely vegetated park, which makes it difficult to see wildlife. We knew this and it was no problem for us. Everything was not too bad, on every game drive we saw enough game and if we didn’t come across anything for a while, the landscape was varied enough to fully enjoy it. It was quiet in the park and we never saw another car during the game drives, how unique is that!

The Simply Saadani team quickly felt like a little family. Both the guides and the waiting staff and all other staff did everything to make us feel comfortable and we did not miss the fact that they themselves were having a great time. Very nice to see and experience, it makes you feel part of a larger whole for a moment.