Detailed 19-Day East Africa Safari Itinerary
Day 1: Pickup and Kampala Tour
On arrival at Entebbe International Airport, your driver guide will meet you and give a briefing on the tour. Visit the reptile village to learn about snakes, tortoises, and chameleons.
Head for lunch in town, then visit the Uganda Museum before transferring to your accommodation for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 2: Drive to Murchison Falls National Park via Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
After breakfast, drive 5 to 6 hours to Murchison Falls National Park, home to the world’s most powerful waterfall, passing towns, plantations, and open land along the way.
Stop in Nakasongola district for lunch, then join a one hour rhino tracking session at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, home to some of the last surviving white rhinos in the world. Arrive at your lodge in the late evening for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 3: Game Drive and Launch Cruise
After breakfast at the lodge, join a 3 to 4 hour game drive in the northern sector of the park, looking for lions, elephants, buffaloes, leopards, zebras, and warthogs, along with birds and plants.
After the game drive, have lunch, then join an afternoon boat cruise to the base of Murchison Falls, where the Nile squeezes through a narrow gorge. Spot crocodiles, hippos, and water birds along the way. End the day with dinner and overnight at the lodge.
Day 4: Transfer to Kibale Forest National Park
After breakfast, check out and transfer to Kibale Forest, Uganda’s primate hub, home to over 13 primate species. The drive takes 9 to 10 hours, with lunch along the way, passing plantations and homesteads. Arrive at the lodge in the late evening for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 5: Chimp Trekking and Isunga Cultural Encounter
After breakfast, drive to the park headquarters for a briefing before a 1 to 5 hour chimp trekking experience, spotting colobus monkeys, baboons, and vervet monkeys along the way, along with birds and reptiles.
Once you find the chimps, spend an extra hour taking photos and watching them. Return to the lodge for lunch, then join a guide from the Isunga cultural community for a village walk and traditional dances. Return to the lodge at sunset for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 6: Drive to Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda
After breakfast, check out and drive to Volcanoes National Park, home to the endangered mountain gorillas, with views of the countryside along the way. Complete border formalities before continuing to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 7: Gorilla Trekking in Volcanoes National Park
Wake early for breakfast and registration at the park headquarters, followed by a briefing from park rangers on trekking rules and gorilla family assignments.
Trek to find the gorillas, following their tracks and signs. Faster trekkers may take under 7 hours, followed by an extra hour taking photos and observing the gorillas. Return to the lodge for certificates, lunch, dinner, and overnight stay.
Day 8: Golden Monkey Trekking and Visit to the Twin Lakes
After breakfast, transfer to the park headquarters for registration and briefing before golden monkey trekking, which can last over 4 hours, watching the monkeys move quickly between tree branches.
Return to the lodge for lunch, then spend the afternoon at the shoreline of the Twin Lakes, taking photos and enjoying the surroundings. Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 9: Visit Kigali Genocide Memorial Site and Flight to Nairobi, Kenya
After breakfast, check out and transfer to Kigali International Airport for your flight to Nairobi after lunch, with a stop at the Genocide Memorial site, where over 250,000 Tutsis were buried after the 1994 conflict. On arrival in Nairobi, our representative will meet you and take you to your lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 10: Nairobi to Lake Nakuru National Park
After coffee and a city tour, drive to Lake Nakuru, a birding destination, passing the Great Rift Valley for photos and open plantations along the way. Arrive at the park for lunch, then rest at the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 11: Game Drive and Bird Watching
After breakfast, join a 3 to 4 hour game drive around Lake Nakuru, looking for giraffes, elephants, buffaloes, and warthogs. After lunch, join a birdwatching session along the shoreline, spotting flamingos, kingfishers, and other bird species. The day ends with dinner and overnight stay.
Day 12: Drive to Masai Mara National Reserve
After breakfast, check out for Kenya’s top wildlife destination, Masai Mara National Reserve, passing Great Rift Valley scenery and plantations along the way. Stop at the Great Rift Valley for photos, then Narok trading center for lunch. Dinner and overnight stay end the day.
Day 13: Full Day Game Drive
After coffee, join a full day game drive in Masai Mara, home to a wide range of wildlife and over 20% of the world’s lion population. Look for wildebeest, hippos, crocodiles, hyena, zebras, cheetah, elephants, warthogs, and antelope species. The park is an extension of Serengeti National Park in Tanzania.
Have lunch at the park and explore the Mara River before returning to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 14: Cross to Tanzania, Serengeti National Park
After breakfast, check out and transfer to Serengeti National Park, home to the annual wildebeest migration. Stop for lunch at the border post, then continue across the plains to your lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 15: Full Day Game Drive
Early in the morning, head into the wild to see early risers and night hunters, including lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes, hyenas, wildebeest, and giraffes.
Enjoy a bush breakfast, followed by a two hour game drive, lunch, and a sunset drive back to the lodge for dinner and rest.
Day 16: Morning Game Drive and Transfer to Ngorongoro Crater
Start with a sunrise game drive to look for animals you may have missed the day before. After breakfast, check out for Ngorongoro Crater, stopping at Olduvai Gorge to learn about early human history.
Arrive at your lodge in the park for lunch, dinner, and overnight stay.
Day 17: Game Drive and Afternoon Descent to the Crater
After breakfast, join a game drive across the Ngorongoro Crater plains, looking for leopards, buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, and cheetahs, along with birds and primates.
Enjoy a picnic lunch, followed by a hike at the top of the crater, the largest in the world. After photos, enjoy a sunset drive to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 18: Full Day Birding Experience
Enjoy a relaxed breakfast, then spend the day exploring the area’s birdlife. Over 400 bird species have been recorded here, including bustards, flamingos, egrets, and ostriches. An experienced birder will help you identify species by name, size, sound, and color. Have lunch, then relax at the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 19: Departure
Enjoy coffee and the sunrise, then check out for the drive to the airport for your flight to your next destination.
Book this 19-Day East Africa Safari today and see mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, the wildebeest migration, and Ngorongoro Crater in one trip.
