Northern Tsavo East Special Campsites
Undeveloped exclusive-use campsites · Tsavo East, Northern Area beyond the Galana: Makoka and Roka · Kenya Wildlife Service
A drawing, because nobody has sent us a photograph of Northern Tsavo East Special Campsites yet. Send five and this page changes the same week.
Budget
Inside the park
Park-run (KWS)
Two special campsites in the Northern Area, booked exclusively so you have the site to yourself. There is nothing there at all: no water, no toilet, no shade structure, which is exactly the point for anyone properly equipped.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Exclusive use: nobody else can book your site
- Remote northern sector with almost no road traffic
- Two sites, Makoka and Roka, each booked alone
- Game drives and walking both listed as activities
- Nearest airstrip is Ithumba for a fly-in option
Cons
- Completely undeveloped: no water, toilet or shade structure
- Non-refundable KSh 10,000 per week reservation fee per site
- Conservation fees of $80 per adult per day extra
- Must book ahead through the park warden directly
What's here
- Campsite
Arranged from the lodge:
- Game drives
- Guided walks
Read from Northern Tsavo East Special Campsites's own website in July 2026. Anything not listed we could not confirm, which is not the same as it being absent.
What the park charges on top
The rate above buys you a bed. Tsavo National Parks charges its own entry fee for every day you are inside. Here is what that adds up to.
- Park entryThe non-resident rate, and East and West are ticketed separately.
- $80per person, per day
- VehicleKSh 600 a day for a typical hire car, roughly $5.
- $5per vehicle, per day
Three nights means three days inside, so two adults sharing one vehicle pay $495 in park fees before anyone pays for a bed.
A combination ticket covering both parks saves about $35 over two single tickets.
The full fee schedule for Tsavo National ParksRates at Northern Tsavo East Special Campsites
From $35 pppn. Camping fee per person per night: $35 adult and $20 child for non-residents, KSh 250 and 200 for East African citizens, KSh 350 and 250 for Kenya residents. Add a non-refundable KSh 10,000 per week reservation fee for the site itself, and conservation fees on top.
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 the official KWS tariffs. Watch the pricing basis: most Tsavo camps quote per person per night sharing, while Serena, the KWS guest houses and the self-catering bandas quote per room or per unit, so two sets of numbers are not directly comparable. KWS conservation fees are extra almost everywhere at $80 per adult per park per day, plus KSh 600 for a car under six seats.
Questions about Northern Tsavo East Special Campsites
How much does it cost to camp at the Northern Tsavo East Special Campsites?
Camping at Makoka or Roka costs $35 a night for a non-resident adult and $20 for a child, or KSh 250 and 200 for East African citizens and KSh 350 and 250 for Kenya residents. On top of that there is a non-refundable KSh 10,000 reservation fee per site per week, plus the usual $80 a day conservation fee.
How do you book the Northern Tsavo East Special Campsites?
Special campsites in Tsavo East's Northern Area, Makoka and Roka, are booked exclusively, so once your party has one, nobody else can share it. Booking runs through the park warden in advance, with a non-refundable KSh 10,000 reservation fee per site per week on top of the per-person camping fee.
What facilities do the Northern Tsavo East Special Campsites have?
None. Makoka and Roka are completely undeveloped: no water, no toilet, no shade structure, nothing beyond the ground itself. You need to carry your own water, fuel, food and a vehicle capable of reaching the remote northern sector, where road traffic is minimal and help is far away.
Is camping at the Northern Tsavo East Special Campsites good for families?
KWS does publish a child policy through its conservation fee rules: children aged five and younger are exempt from the fee entirely, and those from five to seventeen pay half the non-resident rate, $40 against $80 for Tsavo. The camping fee follows the same split, $20 for a child against $35 for an adult, but Makoka and Roka are completely undeveloped, so only well-equipped, self-sufficient families should consider them.