The 16 Days Rwanda-Uganda-Kenya and Tanzania Safari is a well-curated safari package that is that combines four of the top tourist destinations in East Africa. This 16 Days East Africa Safari is a Primates, wildlife and Big Five Combo, designed to allow you to experience the mountain gorilla trekking, a wildlife viewing in the best national park, and cultural experience of the most famous cultures in East Africa. This 17 Days Rwanda Uganda Kenya and Tanzania Safari starts in Rwanda – also known as a country of a thousand hills where you will experience and learn more about the genocide that caused a lot of damage to Rwanda as a country, visit the Volcanoes national park which is a home of the mountain gorillas and Golden monkeys in Rwanda.
Thereafter, cross to Uganda, which is very close to the borders, while in Uganda, meet the most interesting apes – the Mountain gorillas in Bwindi impenetrable national park as the best destination for gorilla trekking. The Batwa are one of the most interesting indigenous tribes in Africa, they lived in the impenetrable forest along with the gorillas. Their stories are intriguing and visiting them, will be one of you best moments of the safari.
Thereafter, you will connect to Africa’s best – Masai mara national reserve in Kenya which borders Serengeti national park in Tanzania, these 2 park have been ranked as the best destinations in Africa because of their annual wildebeest migration experience that happens from June, July, August, September and October. They are also home to the Big 5 game, the wild cats such as the cheetah, leopards and lions. Masai Mara is best visited in June, July and August for the wildebeest migration, however, other animals like the big 5 are available throughout the year. While Serengeti national park in Tanzania is best visited in July, August, September and October for the wildebeest migration experience. Additionally, your wildlife visit in the Ngorongoro conservation area where we find the larges crater filled with resident animals of all kinds and finally also visit Tarangire national park best known for having large populations of elephants.
Safari Highlights
Day 1: Pick up Kigali – City tour and transfer to Volcanoes National Park
Day 2: Golden Monkey tracking experience and community tour
Day 3: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park – Batwa community tour
Day 4: Gorilla trekking experience
Day 5: Fly from Kihihi airstrip to Entebbe – Fly to Nairobi (Own booked flight)
Day 6: Transfer to Masai Mara national park – afternoon/evening game drive
Day 6: Full day game drive/Hot air balloon safari – Masai Mara plains
Day 7: Visit Crescent island visit – transfer to Nakuru national park
Day 8: Full day game viewing – Nakuru national park
Day 9: Transfer to Amboseli National Park
Day 10: Full Day Amboseli national park
Day 11: Transfer to Arusha – Tanzania via Namanga Border
Day 12: Transfer to Tarangire national park – Full day game drive
Day 13: Transfer to Ngorongoro conservation area – Game drive in Crater
Day 14: Transfer to Serengeti national park – Northern Serengeti
Day 15: Northern Serengeti Wildebeest Migration
Day 16: Fly from Kogatende airstrip to Zanzibar
Detailed itinerary
Day 1: Pick up Kigali – City tour and transfer to Volcanoes National Park
Depending on your location in Kigali, meet your safari driver, do a brief Kigali city tour visiting the genocide memorial site, Kandt museum and Kimoronko market before you proceed to Volcanoes national park in Musanze. It’s about 3 hours’ drive arriving late afternoon. Check-in your lodge for relaxation, dinner and overnight stay at Da Vinci Gorilla lodge for mid-range/Hotel Amikus for budget option
Day 2: Golden Monkey tracking experience and community tour
After early morning breakfast, transfer to the park headquarters for briefing from the park warden about the endangered golden monkeys. After connect to the tracking starting point and enter the forest to search for the rare golden monkey. This activity can take about 1-5 hours and is done at closer view of the other primates in the park like the red-tailed monkeys, Vervet monkeys among other. After viewing the rare golden monkeys for an hour while taking pictures and studying their behaviors. After trekking, visit the Ibya wacu village for a cultural experience. Dinner and overnight stay at lodge as above
Day 3: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable national park – Batwa community tour
After breakfast, check-out of the lodge and transfer to cross to Uganda – Bwindi impenetrable national park. It’s about 3-4 hours’ drive with en-route lunch and Batwa community tour. Later evening, check-in at your booked lodge for relaxation, dinner and overnight stay at Buhoma Community Rest Camp for budget/Buhoma Haven Lodge for mid-range
Day 4: Gorilla trekking experience
Have breakfast and transfer you to park offices for briefing about Mountain Gorilla trekking by a local guide. The time taken is usually between 2-8 hours depending on the movement of the gorillas. Meeting the gorillas unexpectedly is one of the most captivating lifetime experiences. You will have a chance to observe and take pictures at very close range. You will observe adults feeding and groaning among themselves. After an hour with the long-awaited gorillas, your guide and rangers will lead you back to the starting point where your driver will readily be waiting for you to return to the lodge. Dinner and overnight at lodge as above
Day 5: Fly from Kihihi airstrip to Entebbe – Fly to Nairobi (Own booked flight)
After breakfast, check-out of the lodge and drive to Kihihi airstrip for about 2 hours, check-in for your flight at Kihihi departing at 8:35 Hours, arriving Entebbe International Airport at 11:25 Hours. Check-in for your next flight to Nairobo – Kenya. Upon arrival at Jomo Kenyatta airport, meet your driver and connect to check-in at booked hotel for relaxation, dinner and overnight stay at Best Western Plus Hotel for budget/Tamarind Hotel for mid-range
Day 6: Transfer to Masai Mara national park – afternoon/evening game drive
After breakfast, meet your safari guide and transfer to Masai Mara national reserve. Its about 4-5 hours’ drive. Upon arrival, proceed to your booked lodge with en-route game viewing. Upon arrival at the lodge, have late lunch and check-in your rooms to rest. Dinner and relaxation and overnight stay at Zebra Plains Lodge for mid-range/Mara Sentrim Lodge for budget
Day 6: Full day game drive/Hot air balloon safari – Masai Mara plains
Wake early and be picked up by the air balloon team for your hot air balloon safari which starts in the early morning, just in time for sunrise. For about one hour, you will be floating peacefully above the ground, with a bird’s eye view of the African bush below. The capacity for this activity is limited making this a very special and exclusive experience.
Breakfast will be provided and thereafter connect head to the plains of Maasai Mara for a full day adventure in this stunning savanna vegetation of Masai Mara as you watch many animals in large numbers such as lions, elephants, cheetahs, leopards, wildebeests, zebras and many more. You will enjoy your picnic lunch and proceed for a game drive until the sun goes down. In the evening you will head back to your lodge, have dinner and stay overnight at lodge as above
Day 7: Visit Crescent island visit – transfer to Nakuru national park
After breakfast, meet your safari driver, drive to Lake Naivasha. Visit Crescent Island Game Sanctuary – a peninsula or island on the eastern side of Lake Naivasha. A short boat trip from the mainland out into Lake Naivasha gives you access to the unique Crescent Island Wildlife Sanctuary, which hosts giraffes, waterbucks, elands, wildebeests, zebras, and impalas. It is also a haven for more than 200 species of birds. The lake has a lot of hippos which you can easily spot from the island. Among the resident birds are fish eagles, ospreys, lily-trotters, black crakes, and a variety of herons.
After en-route lunch, proceed to Lake Nakuru national park is known for its large numbers of flamingo birds. In addition, home to the famous black and white rhinos. Depending on time, take on an evening game drive and on a lucky evening, you may encounter animals like the lions, leopards, hyenas and different antelope species. Dinner and overnight stay at Punda Milia Tented camp for budget/Lake Nakuru Safari Lodge for mid-range
Day 8: Full day game viewing – Nakuru national park
Wake up early, enjoy breakfast and connect for an early morning game drive to explore more of the park’s beauty. During the game, drive spot animals like the lions, leopards, hyenas and different antelope species. Later afternoon drive to Lake Nakuru and enjoy the views of huge numbers of flamingo birds on the lake shores and other bird species. In addition to the birdlife of the park, explore the park’s wildlife spotting animals like the black and white rhinos, buffaloes, giraffes, impalas, and zebras. Return to your lodge for dinner and overnight stay at lodge as above
Day 9: Transfer to Amboseli National Park
After early morning breakfast, embark on your journey to Amboseli national park. It’s a full day drive connecting to Nairobi- Mombasa highway. The drive takes you through the open African expansive savannah plains dotted with local homesteads and colorful Masai tribesmen and their cattle. Upon arrival, proceed to check-in your lodge for dinner and overnight stay at AA Amboseli lodge for budget/ Ol Tukai Amboseli Lodge for mid-range
Day 10: Full Day Amboseli national park
Have breakfast and explore Amboseli national park. This park is a home of the famous for being the best place in Africa to get close to the savannah elephants. Among other wildlife species include; the lions, cheetah, leopards, wildebeests, buffaloes, monkeys families and rare bird species. Spend your morning and afternoon on game drives also visiting the swamp below observation hill that hosts many elephants, hippos and a variety of water fowls like Pelican and Egyptian goose. Dinner and overnight stay at Lodge as above
Day 11: Transfer to Arusha – Tanzania via Namanga Border
After breakfast, check-in out the lodge with packed lunch, meet your guide and embark on your transfer to Tanzania – Arusha. Its’ about 3-4 hours’ drive to reach the Namanga border. Upon arrival at the border, check-in into Tanzania, meet your Tanzania guide and proceed on another 4 hours’ drive to Arusha. Upon arrival, check-in at booked hotel for relaxation, dinner and overnight stay at Burka Coffee Lodge for budget/Zawedda House Lodge for mid-range
Day 12: Transfer to Tarangire national park – Full day game drive
After your breakfast, meet your safari guide to start your adventure with a transfer to Tarangire national park, which is about 2-3 hours’ drive found in the northern part of Tanzania. Tarangire national park is known for having large herds of elephants as well as ancient baobab trees. Upon arrival, connect for a game drive around Tarangire national park with your packed lunch to find wildlife species such as gazelles, impalas, zebras, waterbucks among others as well as the various bird species, which this national park is known for. You will enjoy watching the sunset in the wilderness of the national park and your guide will drive you to Karatu area. Heck-in for dinner and overnight stay at Hhando Coffee Lodge for budget/Tlowa Lodge for mid-range
Day 13: Transfer to Ngorongoro conservation area – Game drive in Crater
After your cup of tea, have our lunch boxes and connect to Ngorongoro conservation area. Descend into the crater 600m down for a game drive. The crater is one of the most famous feature in Tanzania. It is one of the biggest volcanic calderas in the world; it occupies over 1 million animals with all the big five including the rare black rhino present. Other animals include Lions, leopards, cheetahs, Elephants, Buffalos, Giraffes, zebras and others. Later afternoon/evening, drive back to your lodge for relaxation, dinner and overnight stay at as above
Day 14: Transfer to Serengeti national park – Northern Serengeti
After breakfast, check-out of the lodge and transfer to Serengeti National Park where you will arrive in central Serengeti with en-route game drive as you connect to Northern Serengeti. A game drive around the central part of Serengeti national park will reward you wildlife species like lions, leopards, elephants, buffalos, wildebeests, zebras, giraffes, cheetahs, impalas, gazelles, kudu, rhinos among others. Serengeti national park is also acts as the breeding grounds for the wildebeests, which are always seen on an annual migration between Serengeti national park in Tanzania and Masai Mara national reserve in Kenya. This migration always follows the rain patterns, dinner and overnight stay at Mara River Camp for mid-range/Mara Heritage Camp for budget
Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 15: Northern Serengeti Wildebeest Migration
After your delicious breakfast, connect for your full day game drive in the Northern sector is known for the wildebeest migration experience that happens in the July, August and September months of the year. This very common to also spot masculine lions and other cats that come to prey on the animals. Serengeti is one national park that is rich in wildlife so expect to see every kind of animals. Dinner and overnight at lodge as above
Day 16: Fly from Kogatende airstrip to Zanzibar
After breakfast, check-out of the lodge, the driver will drop you off at Kogatende airstrip to check-in for your onward flight departing at 9:20 Hours and arrival in Zanzibar at 14:15 hours via Arusha, which will bring you to the end of the 16 Days Rwanda-Uganda-Kenya and Tanzania Safari to an end.
