Rhino River Camp

Beautiful small scale lodge, friendly people and good food. Lushy surroundings at the river and amazing pool. Highly recommend!

We stayed here for 4 nights in October. It is a truly delightful place. We were here for 3 of the nights with 6 Americans and had a really fun time at dinner. Our tent was actually a family one, so it was huge. We loved having the pool. The food was simple but delicious. On our game drives we had Peterson and his trainee Karen and they were both brilliant. We loved Meru, very peaceful with no crowds around the animals we would definitely recommend.

Loved this Gamewatchers Camp midway through our Safari. Guides were fabulous at identifying all the birds we saw in Meru National Park. Being able to visit the Rhino Centre and the Chimpanzees Sanctuary were highlights for us. Food and company in our evenings as well as feeding the Bushbabies another great memory.

Horrible experience, just getting there!
We made a reservation for 2 nights at the Rhino River Camp, located in Meru. We had travelled all the way from Nairobi 5hrs drive. To access the camp, you have to access/enter Meru National Park (Murera Gate) and pay the park entry fees. The road seems okay at first until there's no road but a really rocky path not ideal for saloon cars. You drive along the park fence for 1 hour or so, crossing rivers, then exit the park, continue on the path to get to the camp.
We get to the camp, and the staff members look surprised to receive guests, none of them welcoming. We proceeded to the reception, show our email confirmation to the receptionist, and he proceeds to say that he has no such reservation on his end. We asked if we could get an availability since we were already there, and the guy dissappeared for abit, came back and told us that there was none, we sat for a bit enjoyed the view of the river & pool and left disappointed.

This is a lovely camp set by a river. The accommodation and safari drives are excellent. The staff and guides are wonderful. We enjoyed seeing the rhino and all the birds. Do not expect to see big cats as they stay well hidden but there are plenty of other animals to see.
One word of warning to those with mobility difficulties, there are several steps and few handrails, but plenty of folk to lend a hand.

We had the most amazing time at RRC. It was my second visit here. Solomon and his team were really outstanding. Daniel the chef was superb and we had the best meals — his vegetarian options were fantastic. Rosie, James and Carol really looked after us so well in camp. We had Fred and John as our guides (relief guides from Porini Ol Pejeta) and they were brilliant. They were so patient with us and we saw so so much in Meru which is a real gem of a park. I can’t recommend this camp enough and can’t wait to be back.

This is is lovely camp with excellent staff. It is as expected on the banks of a river. The only downside for this is that there are a lot of steps to negotiate eo get anywhere especially down to the lovely swimming pool. But very few hand rails, so I was not able to get down there.
Apart from mobility difficulties you couldn't fault the camp in all areas of hospitality.
The staff were very helpful and friendly and our guides was knowledgeable and we had a wonderful stay thank you.

Our first visit to Meru and we had a wonderful stay at Rhino river camp right on the edge of the park. The staff were so helpful and friendly. Thankyou Felix and the team for everything. Highlights at the Lodge were the helpful staff, wonderful views over the river from our tent, feeding the bush babies, a daily swim in the beautiful pool and seeing the crocodile with its own separate pool. Loads of wildlife around the camp including Sykes monkeys, mongoose and birds. One of our group got a great massage from Carol. Staff pointed out wildlife. Our guides to the park were Peterson and Backson who pointed out elephants, giraffe, buffalo, black and white rhinoceros, including some with young. And the Birds. Wow. Several species of eagle and hornbill and so many others… The vegetation at Meru is much more dense than in other reserves but the park is also much less busy, so weigh up what you want… Not the usual porini model of a private conservancy next to a game park either. Bird lovers would particularly enjoy Meru.

This is not the typical Porini camp as it was a more recent purchase and it permanent. I did prefer the more intimate settings at the other camps where everyone ate at a communal table. Our tent overlooked the river waterfall so it was beautiful. I had a massage by Caroline on our tent veranda. Wonderful.
Had a lot of rain the first morning and got stuck in the mud twice. Not much fun.
Wildlife was hard to see due to the denser foliage. We did take a dip in the pool.
This camp located by the Meru national park.

Always check things on Tripadvisor, don’t rely on your memory only, double check on Tripadvisor as time flies and things change.
We stayed at Rhino River Camp some years ago so we knew it was located just outside Meru National Park, we got to the Park through Murera Gate with elephants right behind the Gate. As we were driving along a corridor with electric fence we saw baboons climb over it which looked very funny.
Eight kilometres further down the corridor there is a gate with some sort of a bell and after some time a ranger (? ) comes and unlocks it for us. We drive out of the park past the gate to Rhino camp to be greeted by Felix.
We stay in tent No 7 which is a smallish tent surrounded by the bushes. There is a double bed and behind the ugliest narrow bathroom ever, wash basin with a hot water tap which doesn’t work, in a shower the shower head is ‘fixed’ solid at an awkward angle.
Wash basin, stool, loo, shower area all squeezed tight in a straight line without any partitions.
During our previous visit we stayed at tent No 4 and it was everything you would expect, luxurious, with a beautiful bathroom, located at the end of the platform above the river. So let me keep my joyful, fantastic memory of our first visit here.
Apart from the disappointing tent, the eating area is as beautiful as before with the same blue lion and fantastic view down to where the swimming pool is, the same library room.
For dinner there is cream of celery, beef which is soft, brulee, fruit.

My husband and I traveled with a group of 13 family members to Kenya in September and October 2024 for 10 nights. Near the end of our trip, my husband and I decided we wanted to remain in Kenya for an additional 2 weeks. I reached out to our Gamewatchers representative, Wayne Hammond, asked him if it was possible and he immediately went to work on revising our itinerary. He suggested we go North to Meru National Park to see Rhinos. Wayne did such a great job recommending 3 great camps on our original itinerary, we knew we would follow his suggestions. We stayed 4 nights at the beautiful Rhino River camp. It was located along a beautiful river with small waterfalls and lush landscape. There is a beautiful pool set next to the river, perfect for relaxing after game drives. The amount of bird activity was incredible, we saw so many unique and beautiful birds. We saw so many Rhinos, Elephants, and an incredible Grevy zebra. We stayed in a beautiful private tent with view of the river. Meals were delicious. All of the staff and game drivers (Jon and Jonathon) were wonderful, caring, kind and attentive. We absolutely loved our experience at this unique lodge.

Everything was so well planned. We were in a vehicle by ourselves, so easy to see the animals. We saw lots of rhinos, and I know other companies did not. Food was excellent. Staff very helpful. We loved it. Being in a special reserve or conservancy is worth it.

Beautiful location just outside Meru National Park where we saw Rhinos every day along with elephants and so many different birds.
The camp is excellent with great food, wonderful permanent tents with hot and cold running water and en-suite facilities. The swimming pool was a plus as well!
The staff were friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. Our guide and spotter — John and Jonathan were awesome and knew so many details about the area and each animal.

Magical place! In the middle of the forest, in front a river, such a peaceful lodge… the rooms are beautiful and clean, the staff is great, kind and caring, the food delicious!
Asante sana!

Rhino River has eight guest tents, a large common dining & lounge area and a pool. The camp is located on a river and just outside of Meru National Park. All the game drives are within Meru. Saw plenty of wildlife including giraffe, hippos, crocodile, water buck, cape buffalo, impala, zebras, elands, elephants, eagle, white rhinos and more. We had a large tented enclosure on a timber platform. A solid wall separates the bathroom area from the bedroom area. The bedroom area is roughly 18’ by 18’ (5.5 m x 5.5 m). The bathroom room area is roughly 7’ by 18’. The hot water is piped in. Bedding was comfortable. There is electrical power. The food was surprising good and the chef came out to check in with the guests at every meal. Staff was great. Enjoyed our guide Fred and driver Joseph.

Well this one was a surprise! We added it in because we'd been to, and loved, many of the other Porini camps but we wanted to have really good rhino sightings and try something different.
The fact it's a lodge pool also appeals… it was the rainy season and the neighbouring river was raging which made for a spectacular sight. The tented lodges were also amazing and it was nice to have hot water on tap… bush showers are fun but this was a little treat!
Like all Porini camps, our guide and the camp team were amazing. I think it was one of my wife's favourite teams, and the food was very well done. You'll certainly be full.
As it was rainy season, everything was incredibly green which made it a bit trickier to spot wildlife and it's really about the rhinos here (although we had good elephant and other game sightings) as well as a HUGE number of bird sightings.
We highly recommend this camp as a stopover as you work your way on the circular plane route from Nairobi to Mara and stop off at a few others places like Samburu or others places. It's a nice change and very different. You just need to know it won't be as easy to see things at times because of the denser growth.
If you're looking to see a different part of Kenya, this is a very good option and it's a lovely lodge to stop off at as a new thing.

We were lucky at the last lodge we stayed in Kenya — the manager Njau Maina Benjamin turned out to be an enthusiastic naturalist, birder and photographer. Right at the lodge, he showed us the wonders of local wildlife we would've missed otherwise (like a troupe of marauding ants attacking the other ant species, an unbelievable Paradise Fly Catcher floating between the branches by the pool…)
The lodge is managed very well, including the food. Unlike at other lodges we stayed, apportioned food was served, not in a buffet stile. And it was excellent. The chef, John Bisengi, has our sincere gratitude.