This version inserts a stop in Amboseli National Park, famous for its large elephant herds photographed against the backdrop of Mount Kilimanjaro, into the Kenya leg of our 14-day primate and Big Five route, before continuing to the Maasai Mara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater.
Detailed Itinerary
DAY 1
Your driver-guide meets you at Entebbe International Airport for the drive west to Kibale Forest National Park through tea plantations and past Fort Portal’s crater lakes.
Arrive Entebbe, Transfer to Kibale Forest
Accommodation Options
BudgetChimpanzee Forest Guest House
Mid-rangeKibale Forest Camp
LuxuryKyaninga Lodge
Meals: Lunch, Dinner
DAY 2
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 3
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 4
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 5
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 6
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 7
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 8
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 9
A transfer to Kigali International Airport for a flight via Nairobi, connecting on to Amboseli’s own airstrip, Kilimanjaro visible from the air on the final approach on a clear day, in time for an afternoon game drive.
Fly Kigali to Nairobi to Amboseli
Accommodation Options
BudgetAmboseli Sopa Lodge
Mid-rangeAmboseli Serena Safari Lodge
LuxuryTortilis Camp
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 10
A morning game drive among Amboseli’s elephant herds — some of the biggest, most reliably visible family groups anywhere in Africa — with Kilimanjaro as a backdrop 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 11
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 12
A light aircraft crossing the Kenya-Tanzania border from the Mara straight onto one of the Serengeti’s northern airstrips, cutting what would otherwise be a full day of road transfers to under an hour in the air.
Fly to Serengeti National Park
Accommodation Options
Mid-rangeSerengeti Serena Safari Lodge
LuxuryFour Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 13
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 14
The drive to the crater rim, with a full afternoon descent onto the crater floor.
Transfer to Ngorongoro Crater
Accommodation Options
Mid-rangeNgorongoro Serena Safari Lodge
LuxuryNgorongoro Crater Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 15
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 |
| Amboseli park entry | ~$60 per person per day |
| Serengeti park entry | ~$82 per person per day |
| Ngorongoro Conservation Area fee | ~$70 per person per day, plus crater descent |
Who This Itinerary Suits
Travellers who won’t leave East Africa without their Kilimanjaro-and-elephants photograph, added to the full primate and Big Five circuit.Tour Includes
- All ground transport in 4×4 safari vehicles
- 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