This East Africa Safari is a special Safari that will take you around East Africa’s most visited destinations which are congested with animals that will catch your eyes, you will Visit Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania. This Safari is composed of more game drives, birdwatching, nature walks, scenic viewing.
You will visit 9 National parks in total. In Uganda you will visit; Murchison Falls National Park, Kibale Forest National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, in Rwanda you will visit Volcanoes National Park for golden monkeys and other primates, in Tanzania you will visit Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire National Park. In Kenya; you will visit Lake Nakuru National Park, Lake Manyara National Park and end with Masai Mara National Reserve. The safari starts in Uganda and ends in Kenya with Maasai Mara National Park.
East Africa Safari Highlights
- Day 1. Transfer Kampala to Murchison Falls National Park
- Day 2. Game drive and Boat cruise to the bottom of the falls
- Day 3. Transfer to Kibale Forest National Park and Bigodi Swamp tour
- Day 4. Chimpanzee trekking and transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
- Day 5. Game drive and boat cruise on Kazinga channel
- Day 6. Game drive and transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park
- Day 7. Gorilla trekking and transfer to Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda
- Day 8. Golden monkey tracking and fly to Tanzania.
- Day 9. Full day game drive in Tarangire National Park
- Day 10. Game drive and transfer to Lake Manyara National Park
- Day 11. Full day game drive
- Day 12. Transfer to Ngorongoro Crater
- Day 13. Full day game drive in Ngorongoro Crater
- Day 14. Game drive and transfer to Serengeti National Park
- Day 15-16. Full day game drive in Serengeti National Park
- Day 17. Game drive and transfer to Maasai Mara National Reserve
- Day 18-19. Full day game drive in Maasai Mara National Reserve
- Day 20. Transfer to Lake Nakuru National Park and game drive
- Day 21. Transfer to Nairobi for departure
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1. Transfer Kampala to Murchison Falls National Park
Welcome to the starting day of your long trip, arise early in the morning, have breakfast and meet your Safari driver who will brief you about the journey and set off. You will drive to the Northwest of Uganda where the park is located, you will drive for about 5-6 hours with an en-route to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary to track rhinos, you will track rhinos for an hour’s, have lunch and embark on the journey to Murchison. Arrive in the evening hours, check-in the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 2. Game drive and Boat cruise to the bottom of the falls
Arise in the morning and head to the wilderness, you will be searching for wildlife like lions, leopards, buffaloes, elephants, giraffes, bushbucks, hyenas among other animals and birds. You will find these animals very active in the morning looking for food, enjoy their presence, you will meet some primates like baboons and monkeys, head back to the lodge for have breakfast, relax as you wait for lunch and boat cruise in the afternoon.
This boat cruise starts at 3 pm, cruising through schools of hippopotamus and crocodiles, water birds, animals like elephants and herds of buffaloes always seen at the River bank. Murchison falls are the strongest waterfalls in the whole world, you will be shocked to see how the Nile forces it’s water into a narrow river gorge producing thunderous sound. You will hike the top of the falls to get a clear view of the falls and to enjoy the sunset. You will take pictures, enjoy the fresh breath. Go back to the lodge for a scrumptious dinner and overnight.
Day 3. Transfer to Kibale Forest National Park and Bigodi Swamp tour
Wake up in the morning, have breakfast and check-out of the lodge and set off for Kibale. You will go through rolling hills that have nice scenic view, you can always ask your Safari driver to stop for photographs since the trip is private.
Have lunch en-route in a decent local restaurant and proceed to Kibale Forest National Park, arrive in the evening, check-in the lodge and go for cultural tour. You will visit this swamp which is a haven of birds over 200 species of birds including the great blue Turacos, Abyssinian, kingfishers, weavers, swamp gonolek to mention but a few. You will meet some primates like blue monkeys, baboons. Retire to your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 4. Chimpanzee trekking and transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
Arise in the morning, have a cup of coffee/tea and head to the park headquarters for briefing. You will be briefed about the trekking etiquettes, and be guided on how to conduct yourself to capture more moments in the jungle, you will be allocated the chimpanzee family to track. Trekking usually takes about 2 to 4 hours, depending on how far the chimpanzees slept last night. You will be with an armed ranger guide who will lead you to meet these beautiful primates.
Spend an hour in their presence, take as many pictures and videos as possible with flashlight off. You will later go back to Kanyanchu the headquarters of the Park where you will find your driver guide and transfer you back to the lodge. Have breakfast, and check-out of the lodge and head to Queen Elizabeth National Park. You will have lunch en-route, arrive at the lodge in the evening hours, do some game drive to spot the Big 4, lions, leopards, buffaloes and elephants. You will sort other animals like antelopes, warthogs, birds. Get back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 5. Game drive and boat cruise on Kazinga channel
Arise in the morning and get to the jungle to catch the animals when they are very active in the morning hours. You will meet herds of elephants, buffaloes, drive to Kasenyi peninsula also known as the mating ground where you will meet a lot of impalas, buffaloes and you will meet lions, hyenas and leopards being attracted by their preys.
Head back to the lodge for breakfast, enjoy swimming, take a rest as your lunch gets ready and after lunch you will head to the boat cruise. Kazinga channel boat cruise is one of the best water cruises in East Africa, it’s long and stretches to some good miles, it’s always congested with animals especially the hippopotamus, crocodiles and water birds. Return back to the lodge after the sunset, enjoy your dinner and overnight.
Day 6. Game drive and transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park
You will wake up in the morning, have breakfast and set off for to Bwindi via Ishasha sector to meet the tree climbing lions and leopards, you will meet other wildlife and proceed to Bwindi, you will have lunch enroute, arrive at the lodge in the evening, check-in and go for Batwa cultural tour, Batwa are the shortest people they are also known as pygmies.
They are famous for being short, having forest life experience and they are the kings of the forests. They will welcome you with big smiles, songs, dances, they will tell you stories about their lives in the bush. You will enjoy this group, go back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 7. Gorilla trekking and transfer to Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda
Arise in the morning, have breakfast and go for the briefing at the Park headquarters, you will be allocated a gorilla family to trek and you will go with an armed ranger guide to protect you and lead you to the gorillas as well. Trekking always takes about 2 to 5 hours, enjoy the gorilla presence for an hour, take pictures, videos, enjoy how they feed their young ones, how they play when they see people.
Return to the park headquarters to meet your guide and transfer you to the lodge and checkout after lunch. Arrive at Volcanoes National Park in the late evening, have dinner and overnight stay.
Day 8. Golden monkey tracking and fly to Tanzania.
Overnight stay in Tarangire National Park. You will arise in the morning, have breakfast and go to the park headquarters to receive a briefing about tracking golden monkeys, you will shortly find these monkeys in the Bamboo forests, you will meet a lot of birds especially the Albertine endemics, you will later return to the lodge, have your luggage loaded in the Van and check-out. You will return to the lodge, checkout and transfer to Kigali for a flight to Arusha in northern Tanzania. Have lunch on arrival in Kigali and board a flight to Arusha from where you will meet a safari guide / driver for onward transfer to Tarangire National Park. Arrive in the evening hours, check-in the hotel and have dinner and overnight stay.
Day 9. Full day game drive in Tarangire National Park
Wake up in the morning and immediately go to the jungle to catch the animals when they are very active, Tarangire is famous for hosting millions of elephants, buffaloes, leopards, lions, cheetahs, gazelles, antelopes, hippopotamus crocodiles are always seen in River Tarangire. You will enjoy spotting these animals in their natural habitat, you will enjoy picnic lunch as well overlooking River Tarangire which is a meeting centre for all animals in Tarangire National especially during afternoon hours when they come to drink water and swim as well. Retire to the lodge in the evening, have dinner and overnight stay.
Day 10. Game drive and transfer to Lake Manyara National Park
Arise in the morning, have breakfast, load your luggage in the Van, checkout of the lodge and go for a game drive with hopes to spot strange species that you didn’t spot in the previous game drive. You will use the trail that will lead you out of the park as you head to Lake Manyara National Park. You will arrive during lunchtime hours, check-in the lodge accommodation, have lunch, relax and by 3 pm, you will go for evening game drive to spot some animals like wildebeests, zebras, cheetahs, lions, leopards among other animals. Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 11. Full day game drive
You will have your scrumptious breakfast, get your lunch packed and embark on the game drive where you will spend the whole day in the jungle exploring Lake Manyara National Park. It’s a haven for birds over 400 species of birds, herds of elephants, zebras, hippopotamus and crocodiles in Manyara and also the flamingos that are always on the lake shore.
Picnic lunch served near the lake shore to get a chance to see almost all the animals in the park, proceed with the game drive, head back to the lodge after the sunset, have dinner and overnight.
Day 12. Transfer to Ngorongoro Crater
Wake up in the morning, grab a cup of coffee/tea and head to Ngorongoro Crater, you will don a game drive in the morning in Lake Manyara as you head to Ngorongoro National Park. You will proceed through the forests of Acacia hosting herds of elephants.
Arrive in Ngorongoro Crater in the afternoon hours, you will check in the lodge, have lunch and after lunch, you will go for game drive. Spot some animals especially the black and white rhinos, elephants, buffaloes, leopards, lions, cheetahs, wildebeests, zebras to mention but a few. Go back to the lodge, have dinner and overnight.
Day 13. Full day game drive in Ngorongoro Crater
On the 13th day, you will explore the beauty of Ngorongoro Crater the tallest in the whole world and it has the beautiful sceneries when you hike it. You will enjoy the beautiful animals, birds, the terrain of the park. You will have lunch picnic, scenic views, you will spot a lot of birds as well. Head back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 14. Game drive and transfer to Serengeti National Park
On this day, wake up in the morning, have breakfast, go for a game drive to spot animals that you missed in the previous game drive. Spot these animals in the morning when they are very active before the temperatures soar. You will find nocturnal animals like lions, leopards, hyenas, cheetahs, jackals trying to secure food for the day.
Meet grazers when they are looking for fresh grass, birds singing sweet melodies. Later head back to the lodge checkout of the lodge. Transfer to Serengeti where you will arrive at lunchtime hours, check-in the accommodation, you will go for an evening game drive to spot some wildlife like Masai giraffes, zebras, cheetahs, lions, buffaloes to mention but a few. Return to the lodge in the evening for dinner and overnight.
Day 15-16. Full day game drive in Serengeti National Park
In these 2 days, you will enjoy the Northern circuit of Tanzania exploring the Big 5 of the jungle; lions, leopards, buffaloes, elephants and rhinos. You will enjoy the endless plains of Serengeti, giving you fascinating view of animals in open savannah grasslands. You will as well see wildebeest migration crossing River Grumeti back and forth.
This is the largest animal migration in the world and it happens annually in the dry season June to September. You will enjoy lunch picnics, visit different animal view points for pictures and for stunning view.
Day 17. Game drive and transfer to Maasai Mara National Reserve
Arise in the morning, and head to the jungle to catch the nocturnal animals when they are busy going back to their dens and winding up with their night duties. You will be lucky to find lions attacking buffaloes, leopards hunting antelopes, cheetahs chasing gazelles.
immediately leave Serengeti after this short drive. You will spot other birds, hippopotamus, crocodiles and later return to the lodge and checkout. Have breath-taking views when you arrive at the Mara gate; and proceed to the park, arrive in the evening, check-in the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 18-19. Full day game drive in Maasai Mara National Reserve
Masai Mara is the most visited National Park in Kenya and in East Africa because of its vast wildlife ranging from Big 5; lions, leopards, buffaloes, elephants and rhinos. The park is also a home to other wildlife like Masai giraffes, zebras, cheetahs, hippopotamus, gazelles, impalas, hartebeests, the famous wildebeests to mention but a few.
In these 2 days you will have the best time in Mara. Viewing wildlife wildebeests traversing River Mara back and forth. If you visit this park during dry season in June to August. You will see how millions of wildebeests traverse Mara going to Serengeti looking for green pastures. This migration pulls predators from far and near from their dens and hiding places to come and pick a snack. Mostly you will see lions, cheetahs, leopards and scavengers like vultures and hyenas. These 2 days will reward you undying memories.
Day 20. Transfer to Lake Nakuru National Park and game drive
Wake up in the morning, get your luggage ready and transfer to Lake Nakuru in western Kenya near Nairobi. You will have lunch enroute, arrive at the lodge in the evening, check-in, relax, have dinner and overnight stay.
Day 21. Transfer to Nairobi for departure
Arise at leisure, have a lazy breakfast. Enjoy the cool ambiance at the lodge. Checkout and your driver guide will drop you either at the Airport or at the hotel depending on your flight time. You will have lunch en-route in Nairobi as you wait for your flight back home or to other destination.
End of 21 Days East Africa Safari (Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania)
