Plan your safari
Tarangire · Tanzania

Little Chem Chem

Six vintage tents (one for families) among the baobabs — the safari of another era, on private land where big tuskers wander past camp.

Location Chem Chem Private Concession, bordering Tarangire
Getting there Scheduled flights to Chem Chem’s private airstrip, or about a 2.5-hour private drive from Arusha
Style Vintage tented camp
Ideal stay 2–3 nights
The lodge
Walking safaris Game drives Photography Bush dining
Plan your safari

Little Chem Chem sits on the eastern side of the same private concession as its award-winning sister lodge, hard against Tarangire National Park — baobab country, famous for some of the largest-tusked elephants left in East Africa. With just six vintage tents (one for families), it is the most intimate camp in the area: you will likely have the landscape, and the animals moving through it, entirely to yourselves.

The rhythm here is slower and more old-fashioned than a big lodge — canvas and campaign furniture, dinners by lantern light, mornings on foot. Guests often split their stay between here and Chem Chem Lodge across the concession; we can tell you honestly which suits you, or how to combine both.

A note from the founders

Our pick when a couple wants Chem Chem’s slow-safari philosophy at its most intimate — a handful of tents, one fire, and evenings that feel like a private house party.

— Evance & Jennifer
The honest pitch

Why book Little Chem Chem through NndeeAfrika

You never pay more than booking direct — usually less. And everything around the lodge is handled.

01

A better rate, more safari

As a trade partner we access preferred rates and seasonal offers the lodge doesn’t always publish — you’ll never pay more than booking direct. And a lodge can only sell you its own beds; we build the journey around it: international flights, the right nights, and where you go next.

02

Door-to-door, no gaps

A private car waiting at the airport, light-aircraft hops timed to your route, and a guide who already knows your name. Book direct and the gaps between lodges become your problem; book with us and there are none.

03

We know this lodge personally

Our Tanzanian-born team knows this concession well. We know how Little Chem Chem differs from Chem Chem Lodge, when the elephants come through the corridor, and how many nights the camp actually needs — so nothing about your stay is generic.

04

One call if anything changes

A missed flight, a weather delay, a change of heart mid-trip — you contact one person, and we re-arrange everything behind the scenes. The lodge looks after you on property; we look after the whole journey.

Get a tailor-made quote Free to inquire · replies within one business day

Epic luxury safaris and just magical. I was referred by a friend in the USA — Evance customized our trip beautifully, the accommodation was first class and our guide so professional. Will definitely be back.

★★★★★ Jimmy · 12-day safari & Zanzibar Verified review ↗
What makes it special

Highlights of Little Chem Chem

01

Just five tents

One of the smallest luxury camps in northern Tanzania — quiet, personal, and easily taken exclusively by a family or group of friends.

02

Baobabs and big tuskers

The camp faces Tarangire’s elephant country; some of the region’s largest-tusked bulls move across the private land in front of camp.

03

A safari on foot

The same private-land freedom as the rest of the Chem Chem concession — walking safaris, off-road drives and night drives that national parks don’t allow.

04

Vintage style, done properly

Classic canvas, brass and leather without the museum feel — this is the camp photographers and safari romantics ask for by name.

05

Two camps, one concession

Pairs naturally with Chem Chem Lodge on the Lake Manyara side — a bush-and-lakeshore combination without a single flight in between.

Who it suits

Little Chem Chem is best for

Second-time safari-goers

If you’ve done the big parks, this is the slower, closer version of the bush — on foot, off-road and without other vehicles.

Photographers

Low vehicle density, off-road freedom, dramatic baobab backdrops and huge elephants — a working photographer’s kind of camp.

Exclusive-use groups

Five tents make a private takeover realistic — your own camp, guides and kitchen for a family or friends’ safari.

Honeymoons on a quieter note

Less polished-resort, more castaway romance: lantern-lit dinners, private decks and nobody else around.

Best time to go

June–October is prime dry-season elephant viewing in Tarangire; November–March is green, quiet and better value.

How many nights

2–3 nights, often combined with 2 nights at Chem Chem Lodge across the concession.

Where it fits

An ideal first or second stop on a northern circuit: Arusha → Little Chem Chem → Ngorongoro → Serengeti.

Combine with

Build Little Chem Chem into a full journey

Good to know

Little Chem Chem FAQs

No — through NndeeAfrika you pay the same rate or better, never more. As a trade partner we access rates and seasonal offers not always published, and we also arrange your flights, private transfers and the rest of your itinerary, remaining your single point of contact throughout.

Little Chem Chem is smaller (six vintage tents, one for families) and sits on the Tarangire side of the concession — closer to the elephants and more classically “campy.” Chem Chem Lodge is larger, more polished, and overlooks Lake Manyara. Many guests do two nights at each; tell us how you travel and we’ll advise honestly.

Two to three nights. It pairs beautifully with Chem Chem Lodge for a four-to-five-night stay on one private concession, or works as a two-night Tarangire stop before the crater and the Serengeti.

Add Little Chem Chem to your safari.

Tell us when you want to go and what matters most to you — the animals, the food, the quiet. We’ll design your private, bespoke luxury Tanzania safari around Little Chem Chem and take care of everything in between. No pressure, ever.

Plan your safari