Sand Rivers Selous
Open-fronted stone cottages · Rufiji River in the west, near Stiegler's Gorge · Nomad Tanzania
A drawing, because nobody has sent us a photograph of Sand Rivers Selous yet. Send five and this page changes the same week.
High-end
Inside the park
Safari company
Nomad's southern flagship: eight stone cottages built open to the Rufiji in the quiet western end of the park, well away from the lake circuit traffic. It is the classic base for fly camping, a night out on a sandbank with bedrolls and a mosquito net, which is the part people remember. It is also the nearest camp to Stiegler's Gorge and the hydropower dam, worth knowing before you choose west over the lakes.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Stone cottages built with no fourth wall, open to the river
- Includes a night of fly camping on a Rufiji sandbank
- Nomad's flagship southern camp, the most remote top-end option
- Fully Inclusive Plus rate from $830 per person a night
Cons
- Only 8 cottages, so it books out at busy times
- Closed March to May every year
- Near Stiegler's Gorge, site of a hydropower dam project
- No facilities details published, so pool and wifi are unconfirmed
What the park charges on top
The rate above buys you a bed. Nyerere National Park charges its own entry fee for every day you are inside. Here is what that adds up to.
- Park entry$70 plus 18% VAT, charged per 24 hours.
- $82.6per person, per day
- Vehicle$40 plus VAT for a foreign-registered vehicle up to 2,000 kg; above that, where most safari 4x4s sit, it is $150 plus VAT.
- $47.2per vehicle, per day
Three nights means three days inside, so two adults sharing one vehicle pay $637.2 in park fees before anyone pays for a bed.
The full fee schedule for Nyerere National ParkRates at Sand Rivers Selous
From $830 pppn. $830 in low season, up to $1,235 in high season, on Nomad's Fully Inclusive Plus basis.
What the rate covers is not confirmed. We do not know yet whether meals, drinks and activities are included, so read this as the bed only.
Every figure on this page is in US dollars.
Indicative 2026 rates gathered in July 2026 from operators' own rate cards, and from the best third-party sources where an operator publishes nothing at all. No published rate means 'on request'. Always confirm with the property. Two things shift the real comparison in this park. First, park fees are extra almost everywhere: a camp inside the boundary carries the $82.60 conservation fee plus a $59.00 to $70.80 concession fee per adult per night, both including VAT, and most in-park camps bundle these into an all-inclusive rate while the camps outside the gate charge entry, boat and walking fees separately on the days you go in. Second, ignore any camp still advertising night game drives: they are not permitted inside the national park since the 2019 regazettement. Names you may still find in older guides but that we do not list: Azura Selous, which appears permanently closed, plus Selous Kulinda, Ol Moran, Jimbiza Lodge, Selous Great Water, Selous Mbuyu, Selous Mapumziko, The Retreat Selous and Amara Selous, none of which we could verify as currently trading.
Questions about Sand Rivers Selous
Is Sand Rivers Selous good for families?
We found no published child policy for Sand Rivers Selous; Nomad's website blocked our checks, so this could not be verified further. Ask the operator directly before booking for a family, including whether children are allowed on the fly camping night on the sandbank.
Can you self-drive to Sand Rivers Selous?
No access details are published beyond the airstrip. Sand Rivers uses Kiba or Sumbazi airstrip in the west of the park, which points to fly-in only, but the operator's site blocks automated checks so a self-drive route could not be ruled in or out. Ask Nomad directly.
What does the rate at Sand Rivers Selous include?
Rates run on Nomad's Fully Inclusive Plus basis, from $830 a person in low season up to $1,235 in high season, according to the camp's own pricing band. What exactly Fully Inclusive Plus covers is not detailed in the record, so confirm specifics such as drinks and laundry with the operator.
Is Sand Rivers Selous good for a honeymoon?
Its own description calls Sand Rivers Selous the most remote of the park's top-end camps, with stone cottages open to the river on one side and a night of fly camping on a Rufiji sandbank. Those are strong honeymoon ingredients, though no specific couples' features such as a plunge pool are stated.