Jakobsen Beach Camping | Established Campground

March 15th, 2024 by Linda

Very queries secluded camp site outside of town. Beach now underwater due to the rising lake levels. Great views of the mountains across the lake in the Congo. Very busy fishing village next to the campsite. Get there early to buy freshly caught fish. Give water to the Zebra who comes to visit every morning.

December 24th, 2023 by vipepeo-visuals.com

We enjoyed the relaxed environment of the campsite. It is basic, yes, but it is very ok. It's a quiet place. There are 2 showers and 2 toilets that are cleaned every morning. Beware of the monkeys who love to steal your food. We also had company of a few lovely cats and the zebra. No reception at campsite but at the road near the reception it works fine. They even have a pool table :) with our basic Swahili we had great fun with the staff as well.

December 15th, 2023 by mikehorseman1

Basic campsite with running water and flush toilets .. but very run down.
Road down to the campsite requires ground clearance
Staff friendly but no wifi when we visited. No access to the water but a lovely sunset view. Rogue zebra came to say hello when we were packing up.

Possible to make it Lakeshore lodge in one to - we left at 4:30am and arrived at 4pm

November 18th, 2023 by RogueWanderers

We enjoyed our two nights here while we did a day trip to Gombe NP. Quiet, private site in the trees, we were the only campers. Flush toilets and cold water showers, picnic area and nice big washing up sink. No cell coverage on Vodacom at site. Nice walk from camp to bluffs overlooking the lake. Short bumpy road into site, no 4x4 required. Still 20,000 TSH pp pn.

October 18th, 2023 by 14honeybadgers

We think this is a lovely campsite. Beautiful shady trees, two beaches (the water has risen so there’s no beach but the water is accessible) all you need to do is take a lovely walk to see the spots. Beautiful sunsets on the lake. Do not miss the woods for the trees.

September 13th, 2023 by MissR

We left the campsite! It is nice in the shade, but you can no longer get to the lake. You can neither bathe nor put your feet in the water. You're standing in your car in the forest and you can see the lake through the trees, but you can't see anything of it. Ablutions are very rudimentary, we didn't like it at all, so we left. We cannot recommend this place.

September 6th, 2023 by Amelia#lc

An ok stop. A little run down at the moment. The lake is a bit obscured from the camp and the beach has all but disappeared with the rising water. Cold showers and a very friendly zebra that visits. 20000 TZS pppn

August 16th, 2023 by mistersteve

Due to the rising lake level there is no longer a beach, but the campsites are good and there is easy access to the lake. It is a great place to relax, not far from town.

June 10th, 2023 by frasersafricanoverlanders

Met Mr Jakobsen, super friendly and so accommodating. Also met Zebrastian…a habilitated resident zebra. Stayed in Swala Chalets, self catering unit. Clean with hot showers, fully equipped kitchen and comfortable beds.

January 13th, 2023 by jeanladislas.calloch

Very nice place, access to little beach to swim in the lake. Quiet and peaceful.

If you want to go to Gombe National Park, you can go to tourism information. We pay 320 USD per person for 2 days trips with transport (210 USD per boat), 118 USD pp for entry fee, 24 USD for ranger per trip (2 trips), 40 USD for rest house (wifi, cold shower), taxi from tourism information to aqua lodge (departure of boat) and the rest for lunch, dinner and breakfast. Departure at 9:00, 2h boat tours, first trek at 12h30, visit of the chimpanzes lab (ask to chimp Vet), dinner and second trek at 7:30 the next day, go back to kigoma at 12h00.

Ask Elizabeth at Tourism Information : +255 757 932 609 what app number

November 18th, 2022 by ShelleyTheShed

Wonderful peaceful campsite right at the lake. Good facilities, Tsh 20000 pppn. Look out for the monkeys and make friends with the Zebra! Loved it here.

August 19th, 2022 by eriknjenga

Decent campground but quite small. Just 2 campsites so only 2 groups can camp in peace. Plenty of shade available at the campground with non potable water. Cold water only at the showers. Campsites are approximately 50m from the water’s edge. Paid Tsh. 20,000 pppn. Plenty of monkeys during the day but there’s a sheltered kitchen that you can use

May 12th, 2022 by Instagram: @savannatales

Had a pleasant 2 night stay here. Total peace except for the monkeys that come at breakfast time to try steal food. Facilities are great (especially for Tanzanian camping standards): tables, braai, sink for dishwashing, shelter for rain, shelter for cooking in a cage against monkeys, flush toilets and good pressure shower but no hot water. One zebra still around. 20,000 tzs ppn. No Vodacom signal at all but if you need connection you go up to the road near reception.

November 6th, 2021 by adelelieb

We stayed for 3 nights at this camp site. Beautiful views over the lake.. There sre 2 camping spots at 2 beaches.. We preferred camping at beach 2 as it had a bigger beach area and had its own braai area. Ablution facilities is a but run down but has western toilet and there is a cold shower only. There are quite alot of monkeys but you are allowed to store your food in the kitchen area. Id you want to use anything inside the kitchen area for cooking etc you need to pay THS5000 per day extra. Staff is very friendly and helpful and can arrange a tuk tuk should you want to go to town.. Town us about 15min away with a tuk tuk... Look out for the super cute resident zebra, he is sure to visit your campsite during your stay... We oaid THS20000 pppn to camp here...

September 14th, 2021 by Kimba

One if the best campsites in TZN, when there are no other campers around. Very quiet, peaceful and secluded. Despite an posting stating that beach campsite is not accessible in a big rig, no problem if 4x4. Stayed for 4 nights and if we did not run out if battery power, we could’ve stayed longer. Owners very friendly and helpful. Recommend.

May 16th, 2021 by Khayaonwheels

A bit neglected but it’s understandable in the current situation with so few of us on the roads of Africa. No more sandy beaches for now as the water levels have risen significantly so its swimming and snorkeling from the rocks. Still beautiful. It’s not super cheap no, negotiating didn’t work but after a couple of nights wild camping this is pretty perfect to be private, no people or roosters around, just the sounds of the water. A small closed kitchen store to keep your food away from the monkeys, 2 clean toilets with showers (lake water) and an outside bbq and kitchen counter with a tap. All one needs really for some quiet days of swimming and sleeping, I really enjoyed my stay here. The view point on top is epic with all the boats going out for the night and the sunset over the lake. You can walk to Katonga market in 30 min for basic groceries and fruit and some vegetables. I rented a motorcycle for 20.000 per 24hrs which was perfect for exploring the area and going to Ujiji, but is cheaper to just drive or take a tuktuk.
A friendly zebra, plenty of monkeys and a civet cat all came visit.

February 14th, 2020 by www.trailblazer.co.za

Stayed in an accommodation option. A very special stay and a gem of a spot. Staff friendly and on call for any assistance. Highly recommend for some rest and relaxation! Watch out for the monkeys and them stealing food even in containers. One can email ahead to make reservation at [email protected]

September 19th, 2019 by ronelle.duck

We really liked this place. It is not luxury but you have everything you need. Water, dish washing area, fire place and good enough ablutions with western toilet and cold shower. It was si hit the cold water didn't bother at all. Our big rig fitted fine. No cell signal didn't bother us. We walked up the hill to reception for wifi when needed. Awesome swimming and snorkeling in comparison with other spots. Walk and look at the 2 other beaches around, beautiful. There's place by the permanent tents to also camp if preferred. Saw some buck and evidence of zebra around. Watch out for the monkeys. Wish we stayed longer. It is a bit expensive 20 000pp but traveling further South of Tanganyika the prices are even more expensive. There aren't much in terms of food and drink but we had all we needed and enjoyed the peace and quiet.

September 11th, 2019 by yosibarzam

Agree with Martie disapointmet.Next day we went to Laguna lodge

August 31st, 2019 by instagram.com/earth_wandererz

We spent one night here, it’s very secluded, quiet, you can see the lake through the scrub and can choose between two small but gorgeous beaches.
There’s a sink, a braai pit, two picnic benches, 2 toilets and 2 showers.
We thought it was a bit over priced for what you get as there’s no power, no hot water and no wifi or signal at the camping spot. However there is wifi up at the reception which is a couple of hundred metres back up the dirt bumpy road.
The owner is a nice guy but didn’t want to negotiate the price with us at all.
We paid 20,000 Tsh pppn.

August 17th, 2019 by Beep Beep Africa

FYI We were able to access the campsite in our big rig, it's steep and sandy but manageable for our Leyland DAF 4x4.

June 20th, 2019 by martie293

Camping expensive, not worth the price, water pressure in showers low, maintenance and cleaning of camping area to be done. Beach an added benefit and nice to snorkel

May 2nd, 2019 by SafariNdefu2019

Awesome spot, amazingly friendly and helpful owners, great place to visit Gombe which I highly recommend despite the high cost. Owners helped with organizing a safe boat. Re kids and Gombe, they allowed our 10 and 12 year olds to go because they were tall, but not our 8 year old. However there was a safe and friendly place for him to wait while we did the chimp trek. The campsite is lovely and the snorkeling from beach 2 in the mornings was works class. Highly recommended.

April 8th, 2019 by anka.i.franek

Great place! They have a lot of sleeping facilities starting with rooms, cottages and finally bigger tent with bathroom and the smaller one. The small tent it’s not small at all. There are two single beds inside, terrace with two chairs and table, and it all under the metal roof. Clean and nice outside ablutions (only cold water), very well equipped kitchen but without a fridge. You can ask the owner for a place to keep your food and they will help you for sure :)
Camping for overlanders is in different place and the kitchen is not equipped there. Reception is 5 minutes walking from the campsite (internet only there) but it’s a nice walk trough the bushes. When you sleep you can hear waves hitting the shore which is a great sound. The owners are really nice and helpful older couple from Norway. Definitely recommended!

April 4th, 2019 by wollert

A wonderful place for people who like naked nature
you need to have lowgear if you ever want to come back to the road.
The place itself is good for big rigs but the way to the Campground is not because of low hanging trees and sandy steep narrow access
No network no WIFI at the campground.
TzS 20.000 ppn Set up tent 50.000 ppn Chalets 60.000ppn
Muzungu prices 😀

March 12th, 2019 by fernwehafrica

It’s ok here, but I’m not sure it deserves the praise it’s bad before. Showers and toilet are clean but run down and no hot water. It’s not possible to see lake from the camp site and the actual campsite is a long way from the reception/bar where there is good WiFi. Lots of monkeys, but didn’t cause much of a nuisance. Raid down to the campsite is 4x4 only. We paid 20,000tsh pppn

February 2nd, 2019 by evelyn.veringa

We were curious about this place as the comments were quite diverse. I agree with the people who say it's highly overpriced for what you get. It's more a
forest camp than a beach camp, you hardly see the lake because of the dense bushes. Everything was very dirty, the tables, the ablution block, the braai
and also the tiny beach. Totally no maintenance, pathway to 'beach' muddy.
Apparantly the owner is in Norway and the manager left early, so in the end I found a staff member who was willing to do some cleaning up.

December 26th, 2018 by 2wrinkledtravellers.wordpress.com

We loved the location. None better at Lake Tanganyika. The camping is not great. Ablutions not great, only one braai and water tap and shelter at the lower level campsite, therefore if there are more than one group of campers, only the lower campsite has the facilities to braai and the use of the shelter. The owner organized a local boat to take us to Gombe, and the trip to Gombe was absoluty unforgettable.

November 2nd, 2018 by mhmeub

One of the best places in eastafrica. Stood 7 days. Beach No.1 is just perfect. There is a little shelter, a brai, running water, a claen ablution nearly (cold water) and within 20 m you See in your private Beach, just chairing with three local fisherman. The second camp/beach has a well equipped campchitchen and a bigger beach. Camping is on 20.000 tsh. There are also sheltered tends and appartements. The owner couple are Norwegians, you can feel it. Good snorkeling just at the beaches. Visit to Gombe by lake taxi 4000 tsh one way from K. Enterece fee 100, plus guide 20 plus sleeping 20 $ plus 18 % Vat pop. Nearly 100 % chance to see chimps. Its a great deal.

October 25th, 2018 by alexpeaudeau

we specially enjoyed the beaches, the friendly atmosphere, the organisation of a boat trip to golbe (directly from the camp), the clean ablutionblock. you can snorckel in the rocks at the beach and see a lot of fishes. 20 000 only pp. daily fish market at the nearby village to walk to. no electricity but you can use the (dirty) collective fridge at the reception kitchen. some can goods on sale. the large campsites are to be shared if more campers, it may be not so nice with more cars and people.

October 21st, 2018 by PaPe

Actually a nice place but if you have to share one of the 2 camps it can be not so very nice. Camp1 has the below mentioned facilities but if you are not the first you park above and cannot nicely use them properly exept the 2 ablutions (cold water). We arrived and a couple was already there so we could'nt use table, Lapa and braai. After they left we moved down. As we went to town with our car a group of cars with 8 people envaded our place...
After claiming to the owner Mr. Jacobson (norwegian) he said if we are not happy we can move to a hotel... very unprofessional and rude!
After discussions he told the group to move to camp2, the facilities there are not as good as Camp1.
The norwegian couple was very nice at the beginning but the reaction on our claim was really not what we expected.
All in all the place is very nice, we took swims in the lake but beach 1 from 3 is washed away. If you have the camp on your own or can share decently it's fine but 20000 Tsh/ppn is overpriced (cold water, no power, sharing place...).

June 21st, 2018 by Warthog&PenguinOnSafari

Very disappointed after reading some of the complimentary reviews on here. I think they must be out of date!You are definitely paying 20,000pppn for what nature provides (the location/setting), not what the owners provide.

We had a lovely spot right on the lake and had it all to ourselves. Not so sure it would have been as nice if we’d had to share with other campers! One braai (not been cleaned for a long time!) and water tap, a monkey shelter and picnic table under thatch.

One ablution block with two rooms, each containing a shower sink and toilet. Each morning these are given a cursory sweep, but none was actually clean.

Shower a cold trickle, to call it a shower at all is a stretch! We complained and were told they would take a look. No one fed back so some time later we asked again and were told the shower was broken (both of them!) and couldn’t be fixed until a new part was bought. Only later when we asked for a discount as a result did they mention an alternative shower. It turns out there is a spotlessly clean bathroom next to reception we could use.

Overall a lovely location but facilities run down, poorly maintained and overpriced. Service not great. Shame, it has a lot of potential. I guess they get away with it due to lack of alternative options in Kigoma.

February 11th, 2018 by wanderingofftrack.com

nice place but 20 000tsh is a bit steep for what you get. cold but clean showers. lights in ablution block and kitchen but no plug points at the camp sites. fast internet at reception where they sell the basics (sodas - no alcohol, eggs, tin food etc)

November 2nd, 2017 by afrika-drimslar.de

Very nice Campground. The Campsite is down at the Lake while the Reception (free and fast Wifi) and Sunset Viewing Decks (awesome Views) are quite far away up the Hill. It's a big Compound with lots of Forest and everything is spread out in that Area. Water Tap, Monkey Shelter (useful for Cooking when they are around) and Rain Shelter available at Sites. Unfortunately you don't really see the Lake from the Camp but the Beach is just 15 m away. Ablutions at Sites were okay but sometimes a bit dirty. No Electricity. The three Beaches are just awesome! Crystal clear Water, Croc, Hippo and Bilharzia free (that's what we've been told). A perfect Holiday Place. We also paid 20.000 TZS (7,70 Euro) pppn.

August 3rd, 2017 by hugmin42

Our all time favorite campsite in East Africa over 170 days. The setting with the secluded beaches is just amazing. We stayed for three nights and could easily stay for weeks. Fast WiFi is available at reception, but nothing at campsite. Remember to be vigilant about the monkeys that can steal your food if left open.

April 19th, 2017 by taib

Though located on the shore of Lake Tanganyika and no doubt a beautiful location, I had in my mind's eye expected the traditional camping site located on one site which is secured by a compound or perimeter fence. It is not anything like that. It is is more a collection of well constructed, very functional, simple yet tastefully furnished cottages built separately and apart from each other in the jungle vegetation on the hillside facing the lake. well equipped kitchens are provided as all accommodation is self catering. we paid 60,000/- Tanzania Shillings per person for 5 persons for the shamba house which has a magnificent hillside elevated view of the lake. the beach is in a small cove-like situation at the bottom of the slope about 5 minutes walk, but is beautiful and you can see the DRC Congo on the opposite shore. Would highly recommend the place as a base to visit the Chimpanzees at Gombe, the David Livingstone Memorial at Ujiji and of course, Kigoma town.

March 19th, 2017 by h.merker

Excellent. 10$pppn

February 22nd, 2017 by Cruisecanary

I don't want to be honest about this place because I want it all to myself! ;-)
I planned for 2 night and ended up staying 4 nights. What a fantastic place! 20.000 pppn. They thought of everything including 3 atmospheric beaches (not 2), including chairs and braais, 2 large and well equipped kitchen areas, clean ablutions, water activities, view decks with chairs and braais, etc. Everything except a restaurant. They do sell some items like rice, cookies, spaghetti and sauce but they purposely didn't build a restaurant because the (very kind) Norwegian owners don't want too many guests.
The vervet monkeys can be very cheeky, but showing them a catapult chases them away. Also there are a lot of mosquitos and hundreds of tiny caterpillars when I was there. The water is safe to swim and snorkel in, and is crystal clear. During my 3 days I was all alone on my campsite. There are several campsites. I mostly had beach 1 all to myself, except for some fishermen who land and depart here.
There are no lights on the campsite except for the ablutions block, but I was given a lantern.

February 3rd, 2017 by chasibgblueskies

nice camp with two nice beaches. $10ppn seemed steep for what it was. Nice deck on top though and zebras walking through camp

July 25th, 2016 by mike

Epic little camp sites on the lake. little beaches for swimming, water, flush tuolets and kitchen areas. one of the most scenic camp sites I have come across in Africa.

May 25th, 2016 by matatu.ch

Great camp and very friendly & helpful owner. There are Vervet monkies living in the camp, which mighty steal your food if your not careful. But it's more of a joy than a hassle. In the night is a spotted Genet or Cerval cat (it might be even both as the owner said) roaming around in the night and comes up to one meter near you. Sometimes is also a Jackal or Zebra around.

December 16th, 2015 by facebook

Just out of Kigoma a beautifull spot on the beach. Norwegian owner small campsite direct at the beach. Paid 20.000 tsh pp.

November 7th, 2015 by alles-selbst-erlebt

Beautiful beach, view to Congolese mountains, absolutely quiet, no disturbing lights, Breathtaking views from Sundowner deck near reception. Attention of stuff could be better. 20000 TZS pppn

November 3rd, 2014 by Tucks' Truck

Nice camping site with secluded private beach.

August 13th, 2013 by kapp2cape-blog.net

Reasonable campsite. 1 standpipe and braai stand on whole campsite. Thatched seating area with table and benches. Small ablution with cold shower and flushing toilets. Far from town so make sure you have what you need.

Cost:TZS15,000

August 1st, 2012 by ourafricanfootprint.com

Great location & facilities. Beach is amazing. Only problem is each campspot is small and he is not worried about putting two groups on one spot which is SHOCKING and will ruin your stay as it will be overcrowded and not enough facilities.