Simba Cottages (KWS)
Self-catering cottages · Inside the park, one of the five KWS Mbugani Homes units; exact site not published · Kenya Wildlife Service
A drawing, because nobody has sent us a photograph of Simba Cottages (KWS) yet. Send five and this page changes the same week.
Budget
Inside the park
Park-run (KWS)
Two small KWS cottages for two people each, let by the unit through KWS's Mbugani Homes programme. KWS's reservation page for Simba 1 describes two single beds, a kitchenette, electricity and a caretaker, and confirms the price: KSh 6,000 for citizens and residents, $110 for non-residents. For a couple with a vehicle that is the cheapest roof inside Amboseli, at $55 each before the conservation fee. KWS says its five Amboseli units have views of Kilimanjaro and of elephants in their swamp habitat from an observation point, but it does not publish where in the park they stand. You cook for yourselves, so arrive with everything you need for your stay.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Cheapest roof inside the park, $55 each for two
- Kitchenette, electricity and a caretaker
- Booked direct with KWS, so the money goes to the park
- Inside the park, with no gate to clear in the morning
Cons
- Sleeps only two per cottage
- Self-catering: bring all your own food
- KWS does not publish where in the park it stands
- Conservation fee of $90 per adult per day extra
What's here
- Solar or 24h power
- Self-catering
Arranged from the lodge:
- Game drives
Read from Simba Cottages (KWS)'s own website in July 2026. Anything not listed we could not confirm, which is not the same as it being absent.
What the park charges on top
The rate above buys you a bed. Amboseli National Park charges its own entry fee for every day you are inside. Here is what that adds up to.
- Park entryThe non-resident rate, per entry of up to 24 hours, flat all year since 1 October 2025.
- $90per person, per day
- VehicleKSh 600 a day for a car under six seats, about $4.60 at KSh 129.45 to the dollar.
- $5per vehicle, per day
Three nights means three days inside, so two adults sharing one vehicle pay $555 in park fees before anyone pays for a bed.
Leaving the park and driving back in buys a new ticket, so a lodge outside the gate can mean more fee days than nights.
The full fee schedule for Amboseli National ParkRates at Simba Cottages (KWS)
From $110 per cottage. KWS Mbugani Homes 2025 rate card, per cottage per night, not per person: $110 for non-residents and KSh 6,000 for citizens and residents. Each cottage sleeps two, so that is $55 a head. Self-catering. The KWS conservation fee of $90 per non-resident adult per day (October 2025 card) is extra.
Self-catering. You cook. Nothing else is included unless the entry says so.
Every figure on this page is in US dollars.
Rates checked on 4 October 2026 from each property's own website or rate card and from KWS's October 2025 conservation-fee card and 2025 Mbugani Homes rate card. Angama's 2026 rate comes from an archived copy of its rate page (captured August 2025), because the live site blocks automated reading. None of the figures is a reseller or agent rate; where a property publishes nothing, the entry says Rates on request, and the Budget, Mid-range or Top-end label then follows the style the property describes rather than a price. Booking.com was not checked for any property. Watch the basis: most camps quote per person sharing, the KWS units per unit and Kibo Villa per villa, and the KWS conservation fee of $90 per non-resident adult per day (October 2025 card) is extra almost everywhere, plus conservancy fees at the conservancy camps.
Questions about Simba Cottages (KWS)
How much do the KWS Simba Cottages cost?
$110 per cottage per night for non-residents and KSh 6,000 for citizens and residents, on KWS's 2025 Mbugani Homes rate card, which was still the card linked from the KWS Amboseli page on 4 October 2026. The price is for the cottage, which sleeps two. The conservation fee of $90 per non-resident adult per day is charged separately.
Are children allowed at the KWS cottages in Amboseli?
We found no published child policy for the Mbugani Homes. Each Simba cottage has two single beds, so a family needs a larger unit such as Kibo House or the Kilimanjaro Guest House. Non-resident children pay a conservation fee of $45 a day.
How do I book a KWS cottage in Amboseli?
Through KWS reservations: the Mbugani Homes pages on reservations.kws.go.ke, reservations@kws.go.ke, or the direct line and WhatsApp +254 113 434 304; the toll-free number is 0800 597 000. Park entry is paid separately on KWSPay.