This is the complete version of our flagship route — every leg of the 18-day itinerary, with Samburu’s northern desert wildlife added to the Kenya section and Tarangire’s elephants and baobabs added before the Serengeti in Tanzania. Three weeks is enough to properly absorb each destination rather than checking it off.
Detailed Itinerary
DAY 1
Your driver-guide meets you at Entebbe International Airport for the drive north via Kampala’s Northern Bypass and the Kampala-Gulu highway, with a stop at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for guided rhino tracking on foot — Uganda’s only wild rhino population. Arrival by evening after crossing the Nile at Karuma Bridge.
Arrive Entebbe, Transfer to Murchison Falls
Accommodation Options
BudgetFort Murchison
Mid-rangePakuba Safari Lodge
LuxuryParaa Safari Lodge
Meals: Lunch, Dinner
DAY 2
An early game drive across the park’s northern delta plains for lion, giraffe, elephant and buffalo, then an afternoon boat cruise upriver to the base of the falls, where the entire Victoria Nile forces through a gap barely seven metres wide before dropping 43 metres in a roar of spray.
Game Drive and Nile Boat Cruise, Murchison Falls
Accommodation
As above
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 3
A drive south to Kibale Forest National Park through tea plantations and past Fort Portal’s crater lakes.
Transfer to Kibale Forest
Accommodation Options
BudgetChimpanzee Forest Guest House
Mid-rangeKibale Forest Camp
LuxuryKyaninga Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 4
Briefing at Kanyanchu visitor centre, then tracking a habituated chimpanzee community through Kibale’s forest for a strict hour once your group finds them.
Chimpanzee Trekking, Kibale Forest
Accommodation
As above
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 5
A drive south to Bwindi via Queen Elizabeth National Park’s Ishasha sector, scanning the fig and euphorbia trees for the sector’s famous tree-climbing lions.
Transfer to Bwindi via Ishasha
Accommodation Options
BudgetBuhoma Community Camp
Mid-rangeEngagi Lodge
LuxuryBuhoma Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 6
7:30am briefing at park headquarters, then the trek itself through dense rainforest — thirty minutes to six hours — followed by a strict hour with your gorilla family.
Gorilla Trekking, Bwindi
Accommodation
As above
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 7
The drive to the Cyanika border post, a standard land-border process generally under an hour, before a Rwanda-based driver-guide continues you on to Kinigi.
Cross Border to Kinigi, Rwanda
Accommodation Options
BudgetKinigi Guest House
Mid-rangeMountain Gorilla View Lodge
LuxuryVirunga Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 8
A 6am wake-up for the 7am briefing opening with a performance by the Kinigi intore dancers, then the trek through increasingly misty forest on the volcanic slopes and the strict hour with your second gorilla family.
Gorilla Trekking, Volcanoes National Park
Accommodation
As above
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 9
A longer drive south through Rwanda’s terraced hills and past Huye to Nyungwe Forest, one of the oldest rainforests in Africa.
Transfer to Nyungwe Forest
Accommodation Options
BudgetGisakura Guest House
Mid-rangeNyungwe Top View Hill Hotel
LuxuryNyungwe Forest Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 10
An early trek following a habituated chimpanzee community through Nyungwe’s dense montane forest, followed by Africa’s highest canopy walkway in the afternoon.
Chimpanzee Trekking and Canopy Walk, Nyungwe
Accommodation
As above
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 11
A scenic drive west to Rwanda’s largest lake, with the afternoon free to relax lakeside — swimming, a boat trip, or simply resting after ten days of trekking and game drives.
Transfer to Lake Kivu
Accommodation Options
Mid-rangeCormoran Lodge
LuxuryLake Kivu Serena Hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 12
A transfer to Kigali International Airport for a flight via Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, connecting on to Samburu National Reserve in Kenya’s arid north — a genuinely different Kenya, red-earth scrubland cut through by the green ribbon of the Ewaso Nyiro River.
Fly Kigali to Nairobi to Samburu
Accommodation Options
Mid-rangeSamburu Sopa Lodge
LuxuryElephant Bedroom Camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 13
A full day along the Ewaso Nyiro’s riverbanks tracking Samburu’s distinctive “special five” — Grevy’s zebra, reticulated giraffe, Beisa oryx, gerenuk and Somali ostrich, species found nowhere in Kenya’s southern parks — alongside elephant, lion and leopard drawn to the river’s permanent water.
Full Day Samburu Game Drives
Accommodation
As above
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 14
A light aircraft transfer south via Nairobi to Amboseli, Kilimanjaro visible from the air on the final approach on a clear day, in time for an afternoon game drive.
Fly to Amboseli
Accommodation Options
BudgetAmboseli Sopa Lodge
Mid-rangeAmboseli Serena Safari Lodge
LuxuryTortilis Camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 15
A morning game drive among Amboseli’s elephant herds beneath Kilimanjaro before the mountain typically clouds over, then a light aircraft transfer to the Maasai Mara for an afternoon game drive on arrival.
Fly to Maasai Mara
Accommodation Options
BudgetEnchoro Wildlife Camp
Mid-rangeSarova Mara Game Camp
LuxuryAngama Mara
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 16
A full day across the Mara’s plains for lion, leopard and, in season, migrating wildebeest herds.
Full Day Maasai Mara Game Drives
Accommodation
As above
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 17
A cross-border flight from the Mara via Kilimanjaro International Airport to Tarangire’s own airstrip, a genuinely efficient way to connect Kenya’s savanna to Tanzania’s northern circuit without the long road route through Namanga and Arusha. Afternoon game drive on arrival among the park’s dense elephant population and ancient baobab trees.
Fly to Tarangire National Park
Accommodation Options
BudgetTarangire Sopa Lodge
Mid-rangeTarangire River Camp
LuxuryOliver’s Camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 18
The drive to the Serengeti climbs through the Ngorongoro highlands and descends onto the plains via Naabi Hill gate.
Transfer to Serengeti National Park
Accommodation Options
Mid-rangeSerengeti Serena Safari Lodge
LuxuryFour Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 19
A full day across the Serengeti’s endless plains for lion, leopard and, seasonally, the Great Migration.
Full Day Serengeti Game Drives
Accommodation
As above
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 20
The drive to the crater rim, with a full afternoon descent onto the crater floor for lion, elephant, buffalo and one of East Africa’s most reliable black rhino sightings.
Transfer to Ngorongoro Crater
Accommodation Options
Mid-rangeNgorongoro Serena Safari Lodge
LuxuryNgorongoro Crater Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 21
A transfer to Arusha and Kilimanjaro International Airport for your onward international flight.
Departure
Meals: Breakfast
Permits & Costs
| Uganda gorilla permit | $800 per person |
| Rwanda gorilla permit | $1,500 per person |
| Samburu National Reserve fee | ~$100 per person per day |
| Tarangire park entry | ~$60 per person per day |
| Ngorongoro Conservation Area fee | ~$70 per person per day, plus crater descent |
Who This Itinerary Suits
Travellers on the trip of a lifetime who want to see East Africa properly, not in outline — every major ecosystem across all four countries, with real time to enjoy each one.Tour Includes
- All ground transport in 4×4 safari vehicles
- Nile boat cruise at Murchison Falls
- All regional flight segments
- Professional English-speaking driver-guides in each country
- All accommodation per itinerary
- Meals as specified
- All permits, park entry & crater descent fees
Tour Excludes
- International flights
- Visas
- Tips & gratuities
- Travel insurance