Shaba National Reserve
Shaba National Reserve
4.5
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4.5
293 reviews
Excellent
206
Very good
64
Average
14
Poor
4
Terrible
5
Nishlling
London, UK52 contributions
Nov 2020
We had a great time when we visited in November 2020. We stayed at Sarova Shaba which was great and it had good Covid-19 protocol in place. The park itself was beautiful. The views were stunning. We found our own spots to have sundowners. We really enjoyed the topography regardless of limited game. We did chance across a few Grevvy's and Kudu's.
Written 4 February 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
longhaultraveller328
London, UK26 contributions
Apr 2022
We saw several lions, elephants, giraffe, zebra and the Samburu5. Unfortunately the leopard and cheetah remained elusive during our stay. Great reserve if you wind a thrill in searching and finding wildlife, as opposed to being presented with swathes of wildlife with no effort of looking.
Written 20 April 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kiarie Mathaga Jr
Naivasha, Kenya39 contributions
Shaba National reserve is located in northern Kenya just nxt to Samburu National Reserve. The ecosystem here gives a different approach to the total wilderness. Characterised by volcanic rocks, curling plains, endless springs, hills, and beautiful grassy gold coloured carpet of grass.
With the history backgroundof the late conservationist Joy Adamson, it still remains untouched. Game drives here gives you a chance to encounter the shy animals and expose you to great features. Also nature walks can be arranged.
For birdwatchers this is the spot.... Host most of the rare birds including the endemic William's lark.
This is the wilderness to be...
With the history backgroundof the late conservationist Joy Adamson, it still remains untouched. Game drives here gives you a chance to encounter the shy animals and expose you to great features. Also nature walks can be arranged.
For birdwatchers this is the spot.... Host most of the rare birds including the endemic William's lark.
This is the wilderness to be...
Written 26 October 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Colin E
Southampton, UK1 contribution
Oct 2012 • Friends
In October 2012 we went on a Thomson booked holiday to celebrate my 60th birthday we chose the Best of Kenya Safari and a week at the mnrani hotel
Unfortunately on our 3rd day as we were leaving the Shaba Lodge we were ambushed by 5 armed bandits who held AK47 rifles to our heads
and robbed us of our money,cameras,Valuables and our passports in what was the most terrifying incident that my wife and I have ever experienced
We were so traumatised that we refused to continue with the rest of the safari as we were concerned about our safety and as we no longer had any thing valuable
to steal what would happen if we were ambushed again would our inability to give them anything be interpreted as non co-operation and lead to an escalation of violence
We wanted to leave and come home by as we did not receive our emergency replacements passports until 2 hrs before we were due to fly back on our scheduled flight we were
forced to stay for the full 15 days. On my return to the U.K. I did a search to see if there was any details of other robberies and was shocked to learn that a Swiss Tourist and the tour
bus driver were both shot dead in November 2011 in the same place that we were robbed. even though we were assured by the tour operator ,after we were robbed ,that it was a one
off event
Shaba Lodge is inside of the Shaba game reserve and its landscape is really unusual as it is made up of volcanic rock and provides perfect cover for
robbers I don’t know how many other people have been robbed in this game reserve but there is a definite weakness in the security of this area. The County commissioner
who met us after the robbery said that the they employ armed tourist police in the parks and are highly visible he was extremely concerned when I told him that not only
had we not seen any police on this day or on the previous day safaris and he said he would instigate an enquiry
On my return I wrote to Thomson and said that I held them responsible as the security was obviously inadequate on that day and
As you would probably expect Thomson have refused to accept any liability .I was advised by Thomson that I should have checked the Foreign office website for up to date information about security in Kenya
Interestingly enough when I checked their F.O. site in Jan 2013 the only details displayed said that two British nationals had been robbed in the Masai Mari
back in 2008.I contacted the Foreign Office to make them aware of our incident and was amazed when they told me, that as we had to apply for replacement
passports via the British Consulate in Mombasa, that they we already aware of the robbery. I asked them why their website had not been updated
to reflect this and at my insistence they have now added this so checking the F.O. Site for advice is not much use for travellers if they information is not currently accurate
Whether we were the last British tourist to be robbed in a Game Reserve since 2008 I don’t know ,but I find it highly unlikely. I did discuss a Freedom of information request
with the F.O. to try and establish how frequently robberies occurred in Kenya but they advised me to go direct to the Kenya Authorities for this information. Given that I
am still waiting for a response to an e-mail that I sent the County Commissioner, on my return , for details of the findings of his promised enquires
I wont "hold my breath" on that one as it is clearly evident that they don’t like people to be aware of the potential danger that they could be exposed to and this might deter
other visiting their country and the perceived concern shown to us on the day was just to passify us and keep the robbery quiet until we had left the country
My advice to anyone booking a Safari holiday with Thomson, or any other tour company, is be aware that due to the poverty in the country these criminals are desperate people
and would have shot us dead without a second thought had we resisted, make sure that the tourist police are clearly visible at all times if not
demand to know why but please be particularly apprehensive if you are travelling to the Shaba Game reserve as you could end up being another crime statistic
I hope that after what happened to us that the security has been improved to prevent a repetion because I would not want anyone to go through what we endured
Unfortunately on our 3rd day as we were leaving the Shaba Lodge we were ambushed by 5 armed bandits who held AK47 rifles to our heads
and robbed us of our money,cameras,Valuables and our passports in what was the most terrifying incident that my wife and I have ever experienced
We were so traumatised that we refused to continue with the rest of the safari as we were concerned about our safety and as we no longer had any thing valuable
to steal what would happen if we were ambushed again would our inability to give them anything be interpreted as non co-operation and lead to an escalation of violence
We wanted to leave and come home by as we did not receive our emergency replacements passports until 2 hrs before we were due to fly back on our scheduled flight we were
forced to stay for the full 15 days. On my return to the U.K. I did a search to see if there was any details of other robberies and was shocked to learn that a Swiss Tourist and the tour
bus driver were both shot dead in November 2011 in the same place that we were robbed. even though we were assured by the tour operator ,after we were robbed ,that it was a one
off event
Shaba Lodge is inside of the Shaba game reserve and its landscape is really unusual as it is made up of volcanic rock and provides perfect cover for
robbers I don’t know how many other people have been robbed in this game reserve but there is a definite weakness in the security of this area. The County commissioner
who met us after the robbery said that the they employ armed tourist police in the parks and are highly visible he was extremely concerned when I told him that not only
had we not seen any police on this day or on the previous day safaris and he said he would instigate an enquiry
On my return I wrote to Thomson and said that I held them responsible as the security was obviously inadequate on that day and
As you would probably expect Thomson have refused to accept any liability .I was advised by Thomson that I should have checked the Foreign office website for up to date information about security in Kenya
Interestingly enough when I checked their F.O. site in Jan 2013 the only details displayed said that two British nationals had been robbed in the Masai Mari
back in 2008.I contacted the Foreign Office to make them aware of our incident and was amazed when they told me, that as we had to apply for replacement
passports via the British Consulate in Mombasa, that they we already aware of the robbery. I asked them why their website had not been updated
to reflect this and at my insistence they have now added this so checking the F.O. Site for advice is not much use for travellers if they information is not currently accurate
Whether we were the last British tourist to be robbed in a Game Reserve since 2008 I don’t know ,but I find it highly unlikely. I did discuss a Freedom of information request
with the F.O. to try and establish how frequently robberies occurred in Kenya but they advised me to go direct to the Kenya Authorities for this information. Given that I
am still waiting for a response to an e-mail that I sent the County Commissioner, on my return , for details of the findings of his promised enquires
I wont "hold my breath" on that one as it is clearly evident that they don’t like people to be aware of the potential danger that they could be exposed to and this might deter
other visiting their country and the perceived concern shown to us on the day was just to passify us and keep the robbery quiet until we had left the country
My advice to anyone booking a Safari holiday with Thomson, or any other tour company, is be aware that due to the poverty in the country these criminals are desperate people
and would have shot us dead without a second thought had we resisted, make sure that the tourist police are clearly visible at all times if not
demand to know why but please be particularly apprehensive if you are travelling to the Shaba Game reserve as you could end up being another crime statistic
I hope that after what happened to us that the security has been improved to prevent a repetion because I would not want anyone to go through what we endured
Written 19 June 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ankeet_sinha
Ahmedabad, India2,834 contributions
Mar 2016 • Family
Firstly, Tripadvisor should make the following changes:
Shaba national reserve is a separate reserve and Samburu is separate. In fact there are three national reserves i.e Shaba, Samburu & Buffalo Springs.
This review is for the Samburu Game Reserve attraction. It is perhaps the best national park after Masai Mara if not on par with it. We did miss out on lions but saw lifetime shots of Cheetahs (3 of them in separate places) and a Leopard both with their respective kills. Was also lucky to see the Samburu special five i.e Beisa Oryx, Somali Ostrich, Reticulate Giraffe, Grevy's Zebra and Gerenuk. The park is very hot and early morning and late evening game drives are the viable options. The park fees were again on the lower side with 1,000 KES for resident adults and 300 KES for resident children. For foreign tourists it is 70 USD per adult per night.
Couple of suggestions for the county or Kenyan govt. Please do a better job at marketing this place. Also, a couple of local children threw a stone at our car's windshield cracking it and almost hurting us seriously, Please ensure these miscreants are put behind bars as otherwise it will prevent tourists from visiting this wonderful place.
Shaba national reserve is a separate reserve and Samburu is separate. In fact there are three national reserves i.e Shaba, Samburu & Buffalo Springs.
This review is for the Samburu Game Reserve attraction. It is perhaps the best national park after Masai Mara if not on par with it. We did miss out on lions but saw lifetime shots of Cheetahs (3 of them in separate places) and a Leopard both with their respective kills. Was also lucky to see the Samburu special five i.e Beisa Oryx, Somali Ostrich, Reticulate Giraffe, Grevy's Zebra and Gerenuk. The park is very hot and early morning and late evening game drives are the viable options. The park fees were again on the lower side with 1,000 KES for resident adults and 300 KES for resident children. For foreign tourists it is 70 USD per adult per night.
Couple of suggestions for the county or Kenyan govt. Please do a better job at marketing this place. Also, a couple of local children threw a stone at our car's windshield cracking it and almost hurting us seriously, Please ensure these miscreants are put behind bars as otherwise it will prevent tourists from visiting this wonderful place.
Written 29 March 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bidule05
France1,918 contributions
July 2021
We made full day game drive in Shaba National Reserve in July 2021.
The landscape is breathtaking, with many kopje (rocky hills), its springs with soft palm trees, its fantastic savanna areas with magnificent acacias and fever trees.
Close to Ewaso Ng'iro river, at the top of a small hill, we had a wonderful panoramic overview on the whole park and on the famous mountain, which is nicknamed “Sleeping lion” because of its shape.
It was great safaris, allowing us to see:
- predators, including: a pride of female lions with cubs, 2 male lions without mane, spotted hyenas, black-backed jackals
- other mammals, e.g .: herds of endangered Grevy zebras, many groups of beautiful reticulated giraffes, wonderful gazelles giraffes (gerenuks), buffalos, Grant gazelles, waterbucks, warthogs ...
- and a lot of many birds.
Close to Joy camp, we saw the tomb erected in honor of Joy Adamson, who wrote the famous book "Born free".
Taken together, I highly recommend to visit Shaba national reserve with its “Out of Africa” awesome landscapes and few jeeps in the surroundings (disturbing animals).
The landscape is breathtaking, with many kopje (rocky hills), its springs with soft palm trees, its fantastic savanna areas with magnificent acacias and fever trees.
Close to Ewaso Ng'iro river, at the top of a small hill, we had a wonderful panoramic overview on the whole park and on the famous mountain, which is nicknamed “Sleeping lion” because of its shape.
It was great safaris, allowing us to see:
- predators, including: a pride of female lions with cubs, 2 male lions without mane, spotted hyenas, black-backed jackals
- other mammals, e.g .: herds of endangered Grevy zebras, many groups of beautiful reticulated giraffes, wonderful gazelles giraffes (gerenuks), buffalos, Grant gazelles, waterbucks, warthogs ...
- and a lot of many birds.
Close to Joy camp, we saw the tomb erected in honor of Joy Adamson, who wrote the famous book "Born free".
Taken together, I highly recommend to visit Shaba national reserve with its “Out of Africa” awesome landscapes and few jeeps in the surroundings (disturbing animals).
Written 5 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jarrodd1
Nairobi, Kenya99 contributions
Oct 2018 • Family
After living in Tanzania for 5 years and Kenya for 3, we were surprised by the lack of wildlife in Shaba. We camped for 2 nights (the campsite on the river was beautiful) and drove into Buffalo Springs and Samburu to see the wildlife. Something strange is happening in Shaba......................
Written 20 October 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Renata I
Türkiye85 contributions
Oct 2014 • Family
This was my fifth safari trip in Kenya. I chose to stay four nights in Samburu Park mainly because we wanted to see the leopards as the last of the "big five" which we couldn't see in other parks. By reading the reviews we drove there with great expectations. However, we did not take into consideration that the wet season starts in October. This means that water is available in abundance and animals do not gather at the river (Ewaso Ng'iro) to drink. There were few animals overall to be seen. We took a total of seven morning and afternoon game drives and could see just two leopards for a couple of minutes. However, we saw all the famous "Samburu five" (reticulated giraffe, oryx, Somali ostrich, gerenuk and Grevy's zebra). The herds of elephants we saw were more beautiful and fascinating than the ones in Amboseli. We saw them play in puddles of rainwater, drinking, foraging. The herd were big in number of adults and baby elephants.
The abundant number of reticulated giraffes are the most beautiful ones we saw in Kenya. We saw the males scuffling for dominance in the herd, intertwining their long, graceful necks. That was something you don't see on your own every day.
The Samburu Park provides many side tracks you can drive to get closer to the animals, almost to your arm-reach distance. This is unique to Samburu compared to other Kenyan parks.
I will be posting many pictures that we were able to take of animals that we could come very close.
The entrance tickets paid at the entrance of Samburu Park are also valid for Buffalo Springs where we saw a dozen or so of ostriches, female and male, together with their small chicks, all at once. This was something we never saw before.
However, the cutest of all animals (and the favourites of my kids) were the tiny dik-diks. They have spindly legs, only around 30 cm (one foot) tall, capable of jumping almost twice their height, probably the most beautiful of all animal eyes that break a lot of animal lovers' hearts.
The abundant number of reticulated giraffes are the most beautiful ones we saw in Kenya. We saw the males scuffling for dominance in the herd, intertwining their long, graceful necks. That was something you don't see on your own every day.
The Samburu Park provides many side tracks you can drive to get closer to the animals, almost to your arm-reach distance. This is unique to Samburu compared to other Kenyan parks.
I will be posting many pictures that we were able to take of animals that we could come very close.
The entrance tickets paid at the entrance of Samburu Park are also valid for Buffalo Springs where we saw a dozen or so of ostriches, female and male, together with their small chicks, all at once. This was something we never saw before.
However, the cutest of all animals (and the favourites of my kids) were the tiny dik-diks. They have spindly legs, only around 30 cm (one foot) tall, capable of jumping almost twice their height, probably the most beautiful of all animal eyes that break a lot of animal lovers' hearts.
Written 22 October 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bibi1976_13
Udine, Italy72 contributions
July 2018 • Family
It was amazing to visit this place, I hope to come back. The best thing we saw was the leopard and I loved the birds nests.
Written 21 July 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jane H
Glasgow, UK38 contributions
May 2018 • Friends
Wonderful place packed with wildlife. Highly recommend.
The birdlife is fantastic and we also saw lots of animals. We enjoyed a Leopard out for an evening hunt and saw two lionesses. Elephants galore and you can get very close.
The birdlife is fantastic and we also saw lots of animals. We enjoyed a Leopard out for an evening hunt and saw two lionesses. Elephants galore and you can get very close.
Written 30 May 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
How did you go, I mean did you fly or by road.? Is road safari safe ?
Written 25 January 2020
Jambo Nakshatra,
Road safari is safe from Nairobi and you will enjoy the beautiful countryside on the way and a chance to see My.Kenya.
Enjoy your safari.
Written 27 January 2020
¡Hola Ana! He leído tu post y quería saber si pudiste hacer el viaje a Samburu por tu cuenta y luego contratar el tour con alguna agencia. Como vosotros, nosotros, tampoco queremos alquilar ningún coche y la idea es ir en Matatu. ¡Gracias!
Written 7 August 2019
javiersinfronteras
Punta Prima, Spain
Hola..Me llamo Javier y Vivo en Andalucia (España). Me gustaría saber cuál sería el precio de una estancia de fin semana. Gracias.
Written 10 October 2018
Can anyone explain this to me?
If I wanna visit both Shaba and Samburu, do I have to pay entrance fee for both parks or does the entrance fee apply for both parks?
Written 1 February 2018
Yes both are separate. Shaba is not worth it. Got to Samburu only.
Written 25 May 2018
Hi,
I'm speaking to Okoa Africa Tours via email about a safari at Masai Mara. There doesn't seem to be much information on the company and they've asked us to make payment to a bank account with the address in New York.
I just wanted to make sure they're a good company and we're not going to lose our deposit.
Thanks
Written 2 May 2017
Ask for their KRA pin... you can then check that on the website..
Alternatively I can give you the number of the guy who rents vans for safaris and i can connect you with the hotels which you can initiate.
Written 25 May 2018
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