Shimba Hills National Reserve
Shimba Hills National Reserve
3.5
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Duration: More than 3 hours
Meets animal welfare guidelines
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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3.5
17 reviews
Excellent
5
Very good
1
Average
7
Poor
3
Terrible
1
pinneydavid
Nottingham, UK331 contributions
Jan 2020
We went in our own car which coped well with most roads but a higher vehicle would have been better. It was not easy to see animals in the forested areas and through the long grass elsewhere. One morning we hired a guide for a KES 1,000 fee at the main gate (for under 3 hours) and he was good. We had hoped to see Sable Antelope and elephant but were not lucky. It was the guide who made the visit interesting, also the scenery. Take a map if you have one and you are without a guide. Maps are no longer available at the gates.
There are picnic places or you could book in at one of the few lodges. We enjoyed the unique Shimba Hlls Lodge built in the trees.
There are picnic places or you could book in at one of the few lodges. We enjoyed the unique Shimba Hlls Lodge built in the trees.
Written January 27, 2020
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.
Andre H
Cape Town, South Africa548 contributions
Apr 2021
Visited Shimba Hills with Shikeli from Holaa Safaris on 1 May 2021. It's not a very big reserve & if you expecting to see many animals then you may be disappointed as the vegetation is quite dense & not easy to view game. The big 5 is not here , there are rare Sable unique to Kenya which we were fortunate enough to see along with some impala , bush buck , monkeys. There are elephants & leopard as well but we never saw these. Along the way we stopped at a few viewing points with wonderful views. The highlight by a long shot was the visit to the Sheldrick Waterfall within the reserve. 2 rangers , who were armed , guided us through the bush to the hidden gem , made the day worthwhile indeed. The walk is just over 2km & can be a bit tough especially if it's hot as there are a few steep uphills. The setting around the falls are amazing with a little pool at the base , which is very shallow but you able to feel the force of the water by standing under the falls , even the children that were there had a blast . Spent about 30-45mins there. Headed for lunch at Shimba Green Lodge , about 15mins dive from the Reserve . Great views with a pool right on the edge of the rockface. The pool is available to guests who visit Shimba Hills Reserve & we certainly enjoyed a dip after lunch. If you interested in lots of animals I would suggest going to Tsavo National Park
Written May 6, 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.
hkiraga
Solingen, Germany163 contributions
Mar 2023 • Friends
Great experience at the shimba Hills national reserve There are animals such as buffalo's,elephants,antelops,monkeys etc.going downhill to the water falls is as tough as going uphill..at the waterfall the water is clear and natural..untreated but clean to drink no chemicals.great experience to walk in thick forest. We enjoyed the trip..
Written March 24, 2023
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.
michele r
London44 contributions
Nov 2022 • Family
There were no animals anywhere..we bought a package for €260...what a waste of money. The grass is so high and it's dry and hot, so animals are hiding. The driver just randomly drove around the roads. We walked to the falls for a long hot sweaty hour...had a paddle and walked back again..all up hill.Then off for a lunch at Simba Green lodge. If I was to do it again...
Pay a hotel driver 10000ksh for the day.
Bring a cool box with drinks ( they were extra)
Entry to the park is USD 25.00
Walk to the falls with the ranger( who doesn't guide...is at 10 am and 2pm)..it's pretty ..just take your time
Lunch at the lodge was 1900 KSH..beautiful view
Much better value to do it yourself..saw more animals out of the park
Pay a hotel driver 10000ksh for the day.
Bring a cool box with drinks ( they were extra)
Entry to the park is USD 25.00
Walk to the falls with the ranger( who doesn't guide...is at 10 am and 2pm)..it's pretty ..just take your time
Lunch at the lodge was 1900 KSH..beautiful view
Much better value to do it yourself..saw more animals out of the park
Written November 14, 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.
Embukane L
Diani Beach, Kenya208 contributions
Jun 2023 • Couples
Whatever you do, don't wear blue or black in the daylight hours 🙂
The Shimba Hills National Reserve and many other parks and reserves in the East African Savanna are a magical place, one of the last places on earth for capturing wildlife on camera as nature intended. But long days in an open safari vehicle require some careful wardrobe planning.
The pesky tsetse flies, which can leave nasty bites, are attracted to dark blue and black, so khakis and natural colors are best. Black and blue cars have also been known to attract them.
P.s > We had a black jeep and so we really got bitten hard! I mean a good one and those flies are painful let me tell you Maina! We saw them a lot around the buffaloes.
#safaritips #myfssafari #traveltips #africa #shimbahills
The Shimba Hills National Reserve and many other parks and reserves in the East African Savanna are a magical place, one of the last places on earth for capturing wildlife on camera as nature intended. But long days in an open safari vehicle require some careful wardrobe planning.
The pesky tsetse flies, which can leave nasty bites, are attracted to dark blue and black, so khakis and natural colors are best. Black and blue cars have also been known to attract them.
P.s > We had a black jeep and so we really got bitten hard! I mean a good one and those flies are painful let me tell you Maina! We saw them a lot around the buffaloes.
#safaritips #myfssafari #traveltips #africa #shimbahills
Written June 22, 2023
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.
Diana I
1 contribution
Jan 2020
We've been on one day safari- during almost 5 h in the car (of course without AC) we've seen one giraffe, a few antelope and 3 wilde beast! Don't go with a children to waterfall- it's to exhausting- African people dont tell this to you. Boring time, and it's cost to muche .
Written January 9, 2020
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.
TAMAR
42 contributions
Oct 2019 • Friends
It's a nice place however lacking in animals. The roads in a lot of the areas is below the grasslands or forest around it, which makes seeing the animals a challenge when the grass is so long as you are below the land.
We did see the one Giraffe, Sable antelope, bush buck, impala, water buffalo, warthogs, baboon, birds and butterflies.
The falls are a long walk away and nothing special at this time of year and with the heat it's just not worth it unless you want a nature walk.
Worth a mornings visit with no expectations x
We did see the one Giraffe, Sable antelope, bush buck, impala, water buffalo, warthogs, baboon, birds and butterflies.
The falls are a long walk away and nothing special at this time of year and with the heat it's just not worth it unless you want a nature walk.
Worth a mornings visit with no expectations x
Written October 4, 2019
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.
Nick
Swansea, UK5 contributions
Sept 2019 • Solo
Amazing time, I booked a tour with Diani safaris kanya ways, they made the trip total worth it, problem with Shimba hills is you can miss all the animals for it very wooden area and the animals can be sleeping, most tours do morning trips more chance seeing animals, but I did not wake up until 7am, sent Diani safaris a WhatsApp massage and they sorted out a midday start for me, so I do the walk to waterfall at 2pm instead 10am like you do most trips.... It be better to go in morning... But booked last minute... My driver loves animals and was super happy to talk and help, we ended up spending longer than a trip normal takes hunting to find elephants, we could see the tracks and poo, so knew they close. Drove around a block trees we thought they were in twice and was award a amazing elephant standing in the road infront off us. He ran in to the trees, what a experience to see..... You will see loads elephants in tsavo, but total special to see them like magic walk in to the trees.... it is like magic the trees move out the way and then back to cover them over..... If I or you were to go into the undergrowth like them we leave a human size hole they leave it as it was. Water fall was amazing aswell. 😊 The driver made trip amazing if you go I book with dianisafaris.com
Could be a rubbish few hours if your driver just wants to get home for dinner. Lots luck on this trip sadly (worth the gamble in my opinion) one the few places you can walk for a bit instead just staying in car, (ranger with gun comes with you so your safe) sadly on walk to waterfall we only seen dik-dik which was amazing to be that near on foot, but anything can happen. That a elephant in the trees by way😝 phone camera rubbish. If you only got few days to see animals go tsavo, however if you got time total worth a visit.
Could be a rubbish few hours if your driver just wants to get home for dinner. Lots luck on this trip sadly (worth the gamble in my opinion) one the few places you can walk for a bit instead just staying in car, (ranger with gun comes with you so your safe) sadly on walk to waterfall we only seen dik-dik which was amazing to be that near on foot, but anything can happen. That a elephant in the trees by way😝 phone camera rubbish. If you only got few days to see animals go tsavo, however if you got time total worth a visit.
Written September 26, 2019
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.
Mutisya M
Athi River, Kenya89 contributions
Apr 2019 • Friends
A lot needs to be done to make this reserve park whlorthwile of return visits. Current plans in place to set up zip lines at the Sheldrick waterfalls so waiting for. this to happen.. don't expect to see many animals though 😔
Written April 14, 2019
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.
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