This is the entry point into our Grand Safari series — the shortest way to genuinely experience all four of East Africa’s flagship countries in a single trip. Ten days is enough for one full day of gorilla trekking in Uganda, one in Rwanda, two days in the Maasai Mara and a finish on the floor of Ngorongoro Crater, connected by short regional flights rather than long road transfers.
Detailed Itinerary
DAY 1
Your driver-guide is waiting inside the arrivals hall at Entebbe International Airport with an Amazing Gorilla Safaris board, for the transfer south-west to Bwindi — roughly 8–9 hours by road via Kampala’s Northern Bypass, the Equator crossing at Kayabwe and lunch at Igongo Cultural Centre near Mbarara, or a 90-minute light aircraft hop into Kihihi or Kisoro airstrip for travellers who’d rather skip the drive. Evening trekking briefing on arrival.
Arrive Entebbe, Transfer to Bwindi
Accommodation Options
BudgetBuhoma Community Camp
Mid-rangeEngagi Lodge
LuxuryBuhoma Lodge
Meals: Lunch, Dinner
DAY 2
7:30am briefing at park headquarters, rangers assigning trekking groups of up to eight to specific habituated families based on fitness and tracker reports, then the trek itself through dense, often muddy rainforest — thirty minutes to six hours — followed by a strict hour with the family.
Gorilla Trekking, Bwindi
Accommodation
As above
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 3
The drive to the Cyanika border post takes under two hours from most Bwindi sectors, through Kisoro town with the Virunga volcanoes already visible ahead. The crossing itself is a standard land-border process — passport stamps on both sides, generally under an hour barring unusual delays — and a Rwanda-based driver-guide, coordinated in advance, continues you on to Kinigi, arriving with time to settle in before an evening trekking briefing.
Cross Border to Kigali, Rwanda
Accommodation Options
BudgetKinigi Guest House
Mid-rangeMountain Gorilla View Lodge
LuxuryVirunga Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 4
A 6am wake-up for the drive to park headquarters, the 7am briefing opening with a performance by the Kinigi intore dancers before groups of up to eight are assigned to families, then the trek itself through increasingly misty forest on the volcanic slopes — noticeably different terrain from Bwindi’s rainforest two days before — and the strict hour with your second gorilla family.
Gorilla Trekking, Volcanoes National Park
Accommodation
As above
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 5
An early transfer to Kigali International Airport for the first of the day’s two flights — a short hop to Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, then, after clearing transit, a connecting light aircraft flight on to one of the Maasai Mara’s airstrips. Door to door it’s a half-day of travel rather than the multi-day road journey the same route would otherwise demand, and you’re still on a game drive by late afternoon.
Fly Kigali to Nairobi to Maasai Mara
Accommodation Options
BudgetEnchoro Wildlife Camp
Mid-rangeSarova Mara Game Camp
LuxuryAngama Mara
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 6
A full day out on the Mara’s plains, split by a picnic lunch wherever the morning’s sightings take you — lion, elephant, buffalo and giraffe across the reserve’s open, short-grass terrain, with the Great Migration’s wildebeest and zebra herds an additional draw between roughly July and October.
Full Day Maasai Mara Game Drives
Accommodation
As above
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 7
A flight from the Mara back via Nairobi to Kilimanjaro International Airport or Arusha’s smaller airstrip, then the road transfer up into the Ngorongoro highlands, climbing steadily until the crater rim comes into view.
Fly to Arusha, Transfer to Ngorongoro
Accommodation Options
Mid-rangeNgorongoro Serena Safari Lodge
LuxuryNgorongoro Crater Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 8
An early descent down the crater’s steep switchback access road onto the floor itself for a full day of game viewing — lion, elephant, buffalo, and one of East Africa’s most reliable black rhino sightings, within a genuinely compact, easily covered area roughly 260 square kilometres in size.
Ngorongoro Crater Floor Game Drive
Accommodation
As above
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 9
A relaxed drive back down off the highlands to Arusha, the afternoon left open — time to browse curio shops for Maasai beadwork and Tanzanite jewellery, or an optional visit to a local coffee farm to see the growing, drying and roasting process firsthand.
Transfer to Arusha, Free Time
Accommodation Options
Mid-rangeHatari Lodge
LuxuryRivertrees Country Inn
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 10
Transfer to 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 |
| Maasai Mara conservancy/reserve fees | ~$100 per person per day |
| Ngorongoro Conservation Area fee | ~$70 per person per day, plus crater descent |
| Domestic and regional flights | Quoted separately, four flight segments |
Who This Itinerary Suits
Travellers with limited time who still want the complete East Africa story rather than one country in depth. Flying between countries keeps ten days realistic without a single rushed day.Tour Includes
- All ground transport in 4×4 safari vehicles
- Four regional flight segments
- Professional English-speaking driver-guides in each country
- All accommodation per itinerary
- Meals as specified
- Gorilla permits, park entry & crater descent fees
Tour Excludes
- International flights
- Visas (East Africa Tourist Visa recommended)
- Tips & gratuities
- Travel insurance
- Alcoholic beverages