A hand-picked selection of lodges and camps. Click through their name to visit their own website directly.
Sarova Shaba Game Lodge
The one large lodge in Shaba National Reserve, the easternmost of the three reserves, across the Isiolo–Marsabit road from Buffalo Springs and about 42 kilometres north of Isiolo. It is built around spring-fed water channels that run through the grounds to the Ewaso Ng'iro, with 85 rooms in all — 80 standard, four junior suites and a two-storey Presidential suite named for Born Free, which was filmed in this reserve. Shaba sees a fraction of Samburu's traffic, and the same dry-country species are here: Grevy's zebra, reticulated giraffe, gerenuk, Beisa oryx and Somali ostrich.
Samburu Intrepids Camp
A tented camp on raised decks above the Ewaso Ng’iro in Samburu National Reserve, where the river breeze and the riverine forest keep it noticeably cooler than the country around it. Twenty-seven tents are spread along a long riverside site, furnished in old-fashioned safari style with four-poster beds and en-suite bathrooms; the family tents pair two tents around a shared lounge and deck. Unlike most camps in these reserves it is electrically fenced, with security through the night. Buffalo Springs lies directly across the river, so game drives can work either reserve, and the camp adds walking and camel safaris outside the boundary, night skies for astronomy, and fly-camping on Ololokwe, the sacred table mountain to the north. Nairobi is 345 kilometres and about six hours by road via Nanyuki and Timau; the Buffalo Springs airstrip, twenty minutes away, takes twice-daily flights from Wilson.
Elephant Bedroom Camp
Fourteen tents under doum palms on the bank of the Ewaso Ng’iro, a small camp by the standards of these reserves. Every tent has its own plunge pool; the larger grade adds an outdoor shower and a bathtub. Dining is in the open under the trees by the river, and drives go out in 4WDs capped at six guests, so nobody spends the morning looking past two rows of shoulders. Five hours by road from Nairobi, or a charter to the nearest airstrip.
Samburu Dik-Dik Lodge
A small owner-run eco-lodge at Archers Post, outside the three reserves — above the Ewaso Ng’iro and facing Shaba, within a short drive of the Samburu and Buffalo Springs gates. Guests take either Dik-Dik House, three double rooms sharing a veranda and a pool, or Susuk Cottage, self-contained with two bedrooms and a full kitchen for self-catering. It runs on solar power and harvested rainwater and draws nothing from the river. Game drives, guided walks along the river and road transfers are arranged from the lodge.
Sasaab
Sasaab stands above the Ewaso Ng’iro in the Westgate Community Conservancy, on the western side of Samburu rather than inside the reserve itself. Eleven canvas-sided suites, each over 100 square metres, are built in a Swahili-Moroccan style with wide arches, open sides and a private plunge pool looking across the river valley towards Mount Kenya. Game drives run into the conservancy and the reserves, and the setting allows what the parks do not: walking, camel rides, quad biking and fly-camping, alongside visits to Samburu villages. Guests fly in to the lodge’s own airstrip. Families are welcome.
