Camp Bastian Mikumi

We came to Bastian camp for three days (and would stay forever if possible). The camp is really cozy and fancy at the same time. Staff is amazing. We had private pool just by the house, but there is also one big cozy pool for everyone. They took us to Mikumi national park which was incredible. The best thing was when the lion came by our jeep. We saw the whole lion family with babies, lot of giraffes, zebras, hippos, elephants, monkeys…our tour guids (Silvia and Combo) put all the effort to make us see everything possible and even more. There is a lot of animals in the park (they said it is the best in the dry season - which september is) so you see something interesting and new all the time. It was trip we are going to remember for the rest of our lives. Big thanks for the whole team!

At check in we got welcome drinks. The reception is very friendly. There is food at a buffet in the morning, noon and evening. We got a tiny house with a step-in shower and everything else you need. You see very much tropical nature. We needed to wait sometimes for the hot water to come, but that was fine. There is a fireplace in front of the bar. There are sitting places to eat something small or to drink.👍👍👍

Given the Camp is by the main cross-Tanzania highway and a major truck stop the unglazed windows allow you to hear the roar of heavy lorries rather than lions through the night. And instead of a dawn chorus of birds you get the morning call to prayer from the local mosque. So this is not your typical idyllic African safari destination. In fact it was much noisier than where we stayed in Dar es Salaam. But I assume the same is true of other accommodation in Mikumi - including the new tourist chalets being built just inside the Park gates which are a 20 minute drive from Camp Bastian. Camp Bastian is more of a hotel than a 'camp' - boasting a very large swimming pool, a spacious bar area where you can sit around a log fire and a buffet restaurant with a decent choice of food for omnivores and vegetarians alike. Rooms range from spacious cottages set among gardens to motel-style rooms lined around the edge of the campsite area. Staff are very helpful with luggage and friendly enough, but not in the way we've found in more rural camps where staff live in, and they have their work cut out as during our 4 nights here the place always seemed pretty full - being popular with tour groups of various sizes. Drinking water in our rooms was not replenished unless we asked reception and the only toiletry provided was a refillable liquid soap pump by the bathroom sink, which seems a bit penny-pinching.

Very well equipped campsite with excellent cabins, great bar and good cuisine. Lovely and helpful staff. Highly recommended even for demanding travellers.

Someone broken into our room at 2am. I awoke to someone rummaging through my bag. After yelling thief, the thief attempted to take my bag but dropped it when I chased him. He quickly escaped through a hole in the fence line. After waking up, the guards came and did nothing. We got no sleep as they sat on our balcony for the rest of the night chatting and playing on their phones. The most upsetting thing though was that as we checked out in the morning that no one seemed to give a damn about what had happened. The only response we got was, “Sorry, this doesn’t happen all the time”. That’s it. No questions asked about whether anything was missing or if we needed anything.

Any complaints you see about the food or whatnot must have come from people with too-high expectations for a mid-range safari camp. The food was fine, the pool is nice, the rooms are comfortable if a little rustic, and the location is very convenient to the park entrance. Is it a luxury resort? No, but that doesn't seem to be much of an option around Mikumi.