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davisww
Visited:
March 2005
Reviewed: Apr 4, 2012
You actually get to use the fancy hiking boots you bought for the Tanzania trip. Chimps are awesome.
Alie Sijbersma
GB
Visited:
July 2008
Reviewed: Apr 2, 2012
Email Alie Sijbersma | 20-35 years of age
An unforgettable extraordinary experience with amazing animals
The scenery is beautiful, there are plenty of baboons and other monkeys, and the forest is right next to Lake Tanganyika. This is also how you reach the park: by boat from Kigoma. You can either enquire at the Jane Goodall Institute when a boat is going from there, or go to Kibirizi
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and take a local boat from there. This will take you up to the park in about 3 hours, regularly stopping at villages along the shore. This is definitely a great (local) experience and I would recommend to take one of those!There are 2 places for accommodation in the park itself. Camping is not allowed, so there is no other option than that. There is a forest lodge and a (sort of) motel (it was still being build when I was there). Since there are usually not that many visitors in the park you can take your chances and just go, but if you want to be sure you can book beforehand. If you're for example staying in Kigoma in Nzimano Hotel (highly recommended: lovely staff, great local food, quiet and peaceful, overlooking Kigoma bay), the staff there will be able to help you with bookings.
Kigoma can be reached by plane, but there is also a train going from Dar Es Salaam to Kigoma twice a week, which is well worth the trip. The train crosses the whole country, so you will have an amazing view of the country (it passes through the capital Dodoma, through the Uluguru mountains, over vast plains, and much more). I can very much recommend to take the train in Tanzania. Great experience!
Highlights of Kigoma: Gombe Stream National Park, local markets, Ujiji (where explorers Livingstone and Stanley met), Lake Tanganyika (with apparently an enormous range of unique fish), Amani Beach, Jacobson's Beach, MV Liemba (old German ferry going every week around Lake Tanganyika to Bujumbura(Burundi), Kalundu-Uvira(DR Congo) and Mpulungu(Zambia) and back to Kigoma), Katonga(small fishing village).
We were greeted by a whole Chimp family at the entrance of Gombe Stream, its was amazing, we also saw many baboons and other beautiful animals. In the evening we could watch a film about Jane Godall's first research and time there and talk to local stuff. Their meal was nice!
Alessandro
ES
Visited:
January 2024
Reviewed: Feb 29, 2024
Email Alessandro | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing park and chimps, although The two hour journey by boat could be an adventure in case or bad weather.
Regarding the organisation: Don't book the luxury tents. I booked and paid for one and they didn't give me, as it was "already booked". I didn't get any type of refund. That's embarrassing.
A world of beauty
Just a feedback. Your map of Gombe National Park on this website is completely wrong. It includes the site of Gombe Forest Lodge and the Kasekela tourist area, but the park boundary is utterly wrong it includes land east of the mountain ridge and beyond the road (wrong in both respects) and it misses-out all the valleys south of Kasekela until the park boundary just before Kazinga. I suggest you re-draw it please.
peter the safari maniac
Visited:
February 2009
Reviewed: Apr 11, 2012
As an off the beaten track specialist, Gombe offered me one thing Chimps and Jane Goodall! Experiences i cant forget. Logistics is a night mare though fly and dont use the road at least into Kigoma am a local and take my word for it!
Gombe National Park
Gombe is beautiful, the scenery and waterfall very picturesque. If going, please know that the chimps do migrate and follow the food source. For example, when there in April, the chimps are at the top of the mountain. The hike is very strenuous and takes several hours. At other times of the year, the chimps are much lower in the mountains. The guides live and work there and are very knowledgeable. We were not able to see the chimps. But, visiting Jane Goodall's research center was very interesting.
Sara Silvestri
GB
Visited:
February 2026
Reviewed: Apr 9, 2026
Email Sara Silvestri | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very poorly maintained accommodation, zero security provided for personal belongings, extortionate pricing for sleeping in the dirt. Over $2000 for 4 days in a 1-star hotel room with cold water.