Island Bush Camp
Open-fronted chalets · Island in the Luangwa, 51 km south-west of the gate · Ron and Anke Cowan
High-end
Inside the park
Owner/family-run
An island camp where walking is the main event rather than an add-on, at a price well below the famous walking names. Five chalets with no front wall, cooking over wood, and a seven-kilometre walking route linking it to its sister camp.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Best-value walking camp in the whole valley
- Completely open-fronted chalets with no generator hum
- Wood-fired bush kitchen, genuinely off-grid cooking
- Seven-kilometre walking link to its sister camp
- All-inclusive rate covers meals, drinks and activities
Cons
- Minimum age twelve, no exceptions unless you privatise
- No wifi at all, solar lighting only
- Park fees of $90 per person a night, extra
- Only open 25 May to 31 October
What the park charges on top
The rate above buys you a bed. South Luangwa National Park charges its own entry fee for every day you are inside. Here is what that adds up to.
- Park entry$25 if you are in an operator vehicle instead of self-driving.
- $30per person, per day
- VehicleUnder 3 tonnes, foreign registered.
- $15per vehicle, per day
Three nights means three days inside, so two adults sharing one vehicle pay $225 in park fees before anyone pays for a bed.
There is no single park fee here. On top of the gate fee, camps pass on vehicle fees, guide fees and bed levies, and what applies depends on whether the camp sits inside the national park or in the Game Management Area alongside it. Kafunta Safaris, who charge one combined figure covering the government levies, told us it comes to $60 per person per night at their two GMA camps and $90 at their camp inside the park. Treat that as the shape of it rather than a universal rate: the amounts move with each operator's lease.
The full fee schedule for South Luangwa National ParkRates at Island Bush Camp
From $555 pppn. Up to $630. Park fees $90 pppn extra, higher than their GMA camps because this one sits inside the park. Minimum age 12. All published rates include activities; Kafunta does not sell a room-only package (Anke Swanepoel, 16 September 2026).
All inclusive. The rate covers meals, drinks, activities and the transfers named below. Park fees are charged separately.
Every figure on this page is in US dollars.
Indicative 2026 rates from operators' own rate cards, gathered July 2026. Rates change by season and year, so always confirm with the lodge. Park fees are extra almost everywhere: budget about $30 per person per day, plus vehicle fees.
Questions about Island Bush Camp
Is Island Bush Camp good for families?
Not for young children. The minimum age is twelve, the same walking-safari rule as sister camp Three Rivers, unless your group privatises the whole camp. This makes Island better suited to older teenagers and adults than families with young kids.
Can you self-drive to Island Bush Camp?
Kafunta Safaris confirms self-drive is possible generally, taking 8 to 10 hours from Lusaka or 5 to 6 from Lilongwe to reach Mfuwe. From there Island Bush Camp is a further 3 to 3.5-hour drive, so most guests fly to Mfuwe and transfer by vehicle.
What does the rate at Island Bush Camp include?
The rate includes meals, standard drinks and activities, confirmed directly by the operator, which sells no room-only package. Park fees of $90 per person a night are charged on top, higher than the Cowans' two GMA camps because Island sits inside the park itself.
When is Island Bush Camp open?
Island Bush Camp runs a single season, 25 May to 31 October, unlike Kafunta River Lodge which stays open from April into January. Outside that window the camp is closed, so a visit needs to fall inside those dates.
Is there wifi at Island Bush Camp?
No. The camp runs on solar lighting with a charging point in the main area, and there is no wifi anywhere on site. It is the most off-grid of the Cowans' three camps, in keeping with its wood-fired kitchen and open-fronted chalets.