Cool Runnings | Established Campground

November 15th, 2023 by justaroadtrip

Due to the massive inflation it now costs 12.000 k pppn. But it's a nice campsite, lovely to see all the people and fishermen at the beach and to walk around in the village. Friendly staff and Sam does some great projects. It's nice to visit the swop shop and other projects, about 2 km from Cool Runnings. The food at the camp is okay, but quite expensive. Breakfast was very nice though.

November 7th, 2023 by expeditionconservation.org

Very friendly owner/host. Little campsite (or more likely a yard of the house) on nice grass. Beach is near but you can’t see it from the yard. Ablutions would need an update, but we’ve seen much worse so they were ok compared to the price (8000 mk/pppn). Cool Runnings clearly does good jobs wth the community. We didn’t try the restaurant.

November 6th, 2023 by theexpat8

Excellent place run by the fantastic Sam. Limited shaded camp spots but we were the only ones there anyway. Can be a little noisy at night from the bar on the beach (which has decent food and good vibe) and activity on the beach due to it being a busy spot for the fishing community. Definitely recommend.

October 20th, 2023 by 6x6ontour

New price is MK 8.000 pppn

A lot of people passing by at the beach, but no problem

October 15th, 2023 by t_i_g_g_r

We had a great time staying here for 4 nights, originally planned only 2. Best thing for us was waking up early at sunrise to go and buy fresh fish (chomba, blue fish and catfish) and cook it on the brai for dinner. The cool thankfully showed us how to butterfly the catfish. Cheap veg and coal available in the village. Lovely to meet up with another biker and spend a few days relaxing. Prices went up on 1st October to 8000 pppn kwacha for camping. Sam continues to be a great host and doing amazing things in the community. Recommended :)

September 30th, 2023 by stamptrampers

Great place, went to stay for 1 night and ended up staying for 4. Sam who owns the campsite is great! She has developed and runs a project in the area where locals can collect rubbish (plastics and glass) and get it weighed in at her Swop Shop. They then get tokens to spend in the shop. The locals love it and its a way for them to earn money. The project also educates about recycling and upcycling! The locals can learn about living more sustainably and how to look after their village! We had loads of things to donate, so got to see the swop shop in full swing!

Great place to stay, 6000 pp pn to camp, right on the lake. Also hired a kayak and paddled to the near by island to snorkel and see cichlids!

We uploaded weekly vloga to our YouTube and will be doing a video about Sam's Swop Shop (couple weeks from now) if you want to see it in action! @stamptrampers

September 6th, 2023 by greta-does-africa.com

It was very busy when we arrived and felt a little hemmed in. It hasn't changed much over the years and the facilities need upgrading. It's nice enough if quiet but I would probably stay elsewhere in future.

August 29th, 2023 by Bryan Jones

As always, Cool Runnings' entertaining and highly knowledgeable owner Samantha keeps Cool Runnings up there with one of the best places to camp on Lake Malawi's shores. There is a central pair of electricity sockets for campers, a tap and wifi in the little snug behind the bar. The ablutions with their electric "suicide" showers sometimes need a bit of patience in obtaining a hot shower and an extra toilet and shower to add to the existing pair of each would be a good idea, especially if apart from a camper or two the UK and/or US army guys are also overnighting there. But Sam and her little green oasis, nice location, friendly staff and atmospheric pub and restaurant make up big time for such minor shortcomings. Strength to you Sam in your determined negotiations with officialdom!

August 29th, 2023 by Bryan Jones

As always, Cool Runnings' entertaining and highly knowledgeable owner Samantha keeps Cool Runnings up there with one of the best places to camp on Lake Malawi's shores. The ablutions with their electric "suicide" showers sometimes need a bit of patience in obtaining a hot shower and an extra toilet and shower to add to the existing pair of each would be a good idea, especially if apart from a camper or two the UK and/or US army guys are also overnighting there. But Sam and her little green oasis, nice location, friendly staff and atmospheric pub and restaurant make up big time for such minor shortcomings. Strength to you Sam in your determined negotiations with officialdom!

June 13th, 2023 by satyaoblette

Un endroit juste magique, au bord de l’eau avec une petite plage, entre un magnifique village de pêcheur et une autre plage. Samantha la propriétaire Anglaise et son équipe sont adorables. La décoration est top, il y a de très bonnes ondes. On peut dormir dans sa tente mais j’ai choisi de prendre une petite cabane.

May 16th, 2023 by rideliveexplore.com

Still a nice place to stay. No WiFi during my stay. Nice grass camping area. Camping 6000, hired tent 15000, rooms 18000. Ensuite 45000. Fantastic location on the beach. Owner Sam and staff are really friendly... Hot showers and toilets spotless clean. Brai area and dish washing facilities.

April 26th, 2023 by Overlanderdream

Cool place with a very layed back vibe with easy access to the lake. Owner does a lot for the local community, you may find some locals coming in for aid. We donated some kwacha to her to put in good use.

We paid MwK6000 pppn.

April 7th, 2023 by barefootbungee

Very enjoyable stay! The army is gone so lots of space to camp on the grass. Ablutions clean and very friendly tentative staff. Cool bar atmosphere and easy access to the lake. We love the rustic Rasta vibe!
6000kw pppn

October 12th, 2022 by on-the-road-again.nl

British army still there, so not much 'room' for campers. We stayed for a night. 5$ pp. We also looked at Steps, wich is at the beach, but it had a more desolate feeling about it. Either way neither of the campsites was really beautiful. So would not advise to go to Senga for more than a stopover. There are more beautiful spots along the lake to hang out for longer period.

September 25th, 2022 by BigGreen

After looking at the Safari Beach Lodge, the Steps campsite and another lodge that signposted camping, this was the nicest place in our opinion.
We received a very friendly welcome here. Although the entire camp was booked by some military staff, we were allowed to stay for one night, and everyone was very kind and helpful towards us.
We found the site in very good conditions, the garden is taken a lot of care of (soft green grass and lots of shade), the bathroom facilities were clean, hot shower and dish washing facilities.
On the other side of the reception/main house, there were sun beds, and we and the other residents sat there for dinner and breakfast. You can walk directly onto the beach through a fence. There are fishermen nearby where you can buy fresh fish for dinner. Also, going to the village market is a 5 min walk from the campsite.
Some of the other residents went swimming, they say there is no bilharzia in this part of the shore.
At the camp they also offered to cook for us.
Safe at night, there were several guards.
The generator was switched off at around 8/9 pm and switched on again at around 6.30 am. The night was quiet.
We payed 5000 MKW ppn.

June 21st, 2022 by byctour

we didn't stayed.
campsite in on grassy, behind the building, not on the beach

February 28th, 2020 by @ljfletch

Tried to go here, was closed. Went to steps but they wanted 7,000pp and definitely wasn’t worth it by the looks. Ended up staying in a lodge with secure parking back in town for 6,000 for a double room with bathroom

December 29th, 2019 by rossandjessemail

If this is the best place in Semila, don’t bother going, unless you’re looking to camp on top of people in someone’s back yard!
Came here with high hopes and good reviews but was greeted with rude staff, filthy bathrooms and a terrible camp!
After 2 months in the bush we have never wanted the best, but this is very close to the worst

November 14th, 2019 by ronelle.duck

Lovely garden with thick grass and beautiful trees. Plug in point by the workshop / gym area. Ablutions rustic. Nice bar area. Only talked to the friendly owner Sam after a few days but then learned it was because it was her off days. Makes sense if you live at your place of business. The people in charge was more then capable to look after our needs.

September 4th, 2019 by our_african_odyssey

Nice place by lake malawi. The owner didn’t talk to us at all, maybe she was busy... hopefully she didn’t read the unnecessary comment below about her going on and on about her community projects. We would be happy to hear about what’s going on in the community.

We paid US$5 pp for one night. Showers were cold and low pressure. It was nice to camp on grass after a while! They offer loads of activities - croquet, cricket, boat trips, kayaking on the lake (not sure about prices though). They also have a basic gym which you can use for the day if you pay 500 kwacha pp. Recommended for a night or two.

August 18th, 2019 by zwigel

Its open again. The British army left. Still 5$pppn

June 1st, 2019 by futsoid

Cool runnings is currently occupied by the British army, for sure until mid July 2019. They don't take any visitors. Best to check afterwards.

May 7th, 2019 by Ebi

We have a truck, so first I checked Steps at Livingstonia. This site is easy to reach, but not to compare with cool runnings. It was close, but the truck stands at cool runnings, which is cool.

April 17th, 2019 by post

Totally recommendable! Nice atmosphere, lots of TLC in both the design and maintenance of the ablutions block, garden and other facilities. Lovely place at the beach, with comfortable beach beds and lots of activities on the beach to watch. Sam didn’t talk about her good work at all, but took care of the wounded kids and adults from the community every morning. And a very reasonable price: 5 USD pp and 2 USD for electricity. We also had our laundry done. The generator needs to run every now and then to have enough electricity. They don’t let it run unnecessarily.

March 3rd, 2019 by Wildman4x4

This is a Gem. After our experience at Steps this was nice stayed 4 nights. Sharon the owner has her hand on all from maintenance to the house keeping. Thick grass. On the beach.

November 18th, 2018 by Khayaonwheels

Nice thick grass to camp on behind the main house. Showers and toilets ok although a bit grubby but otherwise a nice and quiet place in a busy village to stay for a night or 2. Kw3750pppn

November 10th, 2018 by bayamakumpika

Nicest place compared to the others. Ablutions okay. Close to public beach. Follow the yellow markers then it's easy to find. Recommendable!

October 25th, 2018 by www.unsere-pfade.com

Relaxed camp, very helpful staff. We used the restaurant for breakfast and dinner. Quality of food is good, prices for some dishes are on the high side. Camping space for rooftop cars is limited but if you find a place quite pleasant. Showers and toilets clean and working.

August 9th, 2018 by gettin-lost.com

The area is fine and close to the beach. You can park on the grassy terrain, but it is not really a campsite. It focusses more onto backpackers/volunteers with a dorm and a few rooms reasonable priced. The campspot has no braaifacilities, electricity, firepit etc. You can use the kitchen which the backpackers also use and it is not clean. The spot has many ants.

The beach is close to the village and is very crowdy and dirty towards the village.

The abulutions blocks are old and some of them doesnt work or are very dirty.

We ate pizza and curry which are good priced, but average as it comes to taste.

This spot is nice if you are backpacker or for a stay over.

May 28th, 2018 by Warthog&PenguinOnSafari

Mostly agree with what everyone else has said. A perfectly pleasant overnighter. No hot showers for us though.
And yes Sam does a lot of good work - but beware, you can’t help but know about it because she will tell you everything whether you want to hear or not! On this occasion we just wanted to check in quickly and grab a drink after a long drive, but it was over half an hour before we managed to even get a single word in she was so keen to tell us about all her community work and how tired she is as a result!
Still US$5pppn.

May 26th, 2018 by lotzofmiles

Beautiful and cheap place on the lake. Staff friendly and hot shower.

October 18th, 2017 by afrika-drimslar.de

A bit difficult to find, try to follow the little yellow Signs. Camping behind the House/Bar/Restaurant with no lake View. Green Grass, Ablutions okay but Shower Pressure very weak, communal Kitchen, Skyband Wifi. The Bar and Restaurant offers beautiful Views of the Lake. Some Deckchairs available to chill out at the Beach Front. Samantha is a really nice Person and does an impressive Job helping the Locals. However we didn't want to stay more then one Night. Due to the usual Power Cut a huge Generator was running almost all Night and also during the Day (why?). The nearby Village also was very noisy. She also had several other Guests when we were there so the Chillout Area at the Beachfront was already occupied. We were searching for a relaxed, quite place and went on. Still 5 USD pppn.

September 1st, 2017 by h.greiner

nothing else to ad.

August 26th, 2017 by Bryan Jones

A long established little grassy paradise right on the lake run by the delightful Sam who is very active in local upliftment programmes. 5 USD pppn camping. Rooms also available. Hot showers, pay wifi, bar, restaurant, small gym, kayaks to rent, very safe and quiet. Friendly local staff. Highly recommended.

June 20th, 2017 by wanderwheels.wordpress.com

Price has gone up to 7,000 K pppn.
They didn't wNt to negotiate, despite us being the only guests.
Didn't stay.

April 17th, 2017 by tumblr.com

Great place to stay. Smaller than steps with cool hang out areas. Sam is fabulous and does a lot of community projects. We paid 3000k a night. You would struggle to get the large overland trucks down there but perfect for people with their own tents or rooftop tents.

November 15th, 2016 by judith_wilfred

Nice grassy pitches, okay ablutions but personally I do not like electric shower heads with some loose wires. Very noisy generator, nousy night club close by. Also heard/saw people continously walking on the campsite in the middle of the night, of which I only recognized one person as working there (gave us an not so good feeling). $5pppn.

November 8th, 2016 by africaexpedition.de

Nice site but no lake view from the Campsite. Generator is very loud till late. 5 USD pp.pn.

July 9th, 2016 by wollert

It is the "must be" in Malawi! Talk to Samantha who is one of the most impressive person I met on my travelling around here .

June 15th, 2016 by catherine.dlcw

Nice place on beach, grassy area for camping - roof tent fine. Noisy at night. Wifi is sky band. 5$ per person per night

September 2nd, 2015 by facebook.com/castoffafrica

Free ant-killing powder provided! Can be noisy at night, it's close to town. Nice owner, excellent restaurant! >>5 USD pPpN

July 14th, 2013 by kapp2cape-blog.net

Campsite and dorms bordering on the beach. Good space for roof top tent, although not of big groups.Grass. OK ablutions. Kitchen facilities. Bar and restaurant. Local restaurants and curios within walking distance. May be volunteer groups also staying.

Cost:MK1800

December 21st, 2011 by PikiPiki Overland Blog

Cool campsite and dorms on the beach. Well run with bar, restaurant.