12 Day Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania Safari

Transfer from Entebbe or Kampala to Kibale Forest National Park

Your safari begins with an early pickup from Entebbe International Airport or your confirmed hotel in Entebbe or Kampala. After meeting your private driver guide and receiving a short briefing, begin the journey west towards Kibale Forest National Park. Allow approximately 5 to 7 hours or longer, depending on your pickup location, road conditions and stops.

The road takes you through western Uganda's countryside, passing towns, small trading centres and farming communities before reaching the Fort Portal region. Enjoy lunch along the way and watch the landscape become greener as you approach the tea plantations and forest-covered hills around Kibale.

Kibale is well known for its chimpanzees and remarkable diversity of other primates. Its mature rainforest, swamp forests and woodland provide an excellent setting for the first trekking experience of your journey.

Arrive at your lodge in the late afternoon, check in and enjoy a relaxed evening. Your guide will confirm the next morning's chimpanzee trekking permit, reporting point and equipment. A late flight arrival in Entebbe will require an additional overnight stay before beginning this journey.

Mid-range: Chimpanzee Forest Lodge

Luxury: Primate Lodge Kibale

Meals: Lunch and dinner

Chimpanzee Trekking in Kibale and Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park

After an early breakfast, travel to the designated Kibale trekking briefing point, usually Kanyanchu Visitor Centre. Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers will explain the forest rules and lead you into the rainforest to search for a habituated chimpanzee community.

Tracking may take approximately 2 to 5 hours or longer depending on the chimpanzees' location and movement. As you walk beneath the tall forest trees, listen for calls and watch for movement through the canopy. Other primates and forest birds may also be encountered along the way.

Once the chimpanzees are located, spend up to one hour observing them. You may see individuals feeding, grooming, climbing and communicating through calls and gestures. Their active behaviour makes chimpanzee tracking an exciting introduction to East Africa's primates.

After the trek, enjoy lunch and begin the journey south towards Queen Elizabeth National Park. The drive generally takes around 3 to 4 hours, depending on road conditions and your lodge's location. Along the way, you may enjoy views of crater lake country and the distant Rwenzori foothills when visibility allows.

Arrive at your lodge for check-in, dinner and overnight.

Mid-range: Buffalo Safari Lodge

Luxury: Elephant Plains Lodge

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Queen Elizabeth Game Drive and Kazinga Channel Boat Cruise

Wake up early for a morning game drive through the Kasenyi plains of Queen Elizabeth National Park. These open grasslands offer opportunities to see elephants, Cape buffaloes, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, warthogs and other savannah wildlife.

Your safari guide will also search for lions, which often hunt around areas where Uganda kobs gather. Leopards occur in the park but are more elusive. The cooler hours of the morning are particularly rewarding for wildlife watching and photography.

Return to your lodge for breakfast or lunch, depending on your early departure arrangements, then travel to the Mweya area for an afternoon boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel. This natural waterway connects Lake George and Lake Edward and is one of Uganda's best places to watch animals from the water.

During the approximately two-hour cruise, look for large groups of hippos, Nile crocodiles along the banks and elephants or buffaloes approaching the shoreline. Waterbirds are abundant, including African fish eagles, kingfishers, herons, cormorants and pelicans.

After the boat trip, meet your driver guide and return to your lodge for relaxation, dinner and overnight.

Accommodation: Same selected lodge as Day 2

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Ishasha Tree-Climbing Lion Search and Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi

After breakfast, check out and begin the journey south through Queen Elizabeth National Park towards the Ishasha sector. This relatively quiet region is known for its tree-climbing lions, sometimes seen resting in the branches of large fig trees.

Your guide will explore appropriate game-drive tracks and check areas where lions have recently been seen. Although sightings cannot be guaranteed, Ishasha also provides opportunities to observe elephants, buffaloes, topis, Uganda kobs and other wildlife.

After the game drive, continue through southwestern Uganda's scenic countryside towards Kabale and Lake Bunyonyi. The route passes villages, cultivated hills and mountain landscapes. Enjoy lunch along the way and allow approximately 5 to 7 hours or longer for the day's travel from the main Queen Elizabeth area, including the Ishasha stop and onward transfer.

On reaching Lake Bunyonyi, check in at your lakeside lodge. The lake is surrounded by steep terraced hills and dotted with small islands, offering a peaceful change of scenery after the savannah game drives.

Spend the evening enjoying the views, cool highland air and calm atmosphere before dinner and overnight.

Mid-range: Arcadia Cottages Lake Bunyonyi

Luxury: BirdNest Resort Bunyonyi

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Lake Bunyonyi Boat Trip and Cross into Rwanda via Cyanika

After breakfast, head onto Lake Bunyonyi for a guided boat excursion. The lake is famous for its beautiful island scenery, green hills and long history of local communities living around its shores.

During the boat trip, explore selected islands and listen as your local guide explains their history and cultural significance. One of the places you may learn about is Akampene, commonly called Punishment Island, which is associated with a difficult chapter in the area's social history.

After the excursion, return to your lodge, collect your luggage and begin the journey towards Rwanda. Follow the highland route through Kisoro before continuing to the Cyanika border crossing. Your driver guide will assist with the immigration process, but each traveller must have the appropriate Uganda and Rwanda entry documents.

Once you have entered Rwanda, continue towards Musanze, the gateway to Volcanoes National Park. Allow approximately 4 to 6 hours or longer for the afternoon road journey and border procedures, depending on the actual route and delays.

Arrive at your lodge near Volcanoes National Park for dinner and overnight. Your guide will confirm the gorilla trekking permit, briefing time and clothing needed for the next day's forest adventure.

Mid-range: Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge

Luxury: Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Mountain Gorilla Trekking in Volcanoes National Park

Today is one of the most memorable experiences of your safari. After an early breakfast, carry your packed lunch, drinking water and trekking equipment to Volcanoes National Park headquarters in Kinigi, where rangers will conduct the morning gorilla trekking briefing.

You will be assigned to a habituated mountain gorilla family before travelling to the appropriate trekking starting point. From there, follow your ranger guide into the forest. Depending on the assigned group's location, the trek may take approximately 2 to 8 hours or longer, with muddy trails, steep slopes and sections of bamboo and montane vegetation.

Once the gorillas are located, you will spend one hour observing them from the required viewing distance. You may see the dominant silverback, mothers looking after infants and younger gorillas playing, feeding or climbing through the vegetation.

Your ranger will guide the encounter, ensuring that visitors respect the gorillas and avoid disturbing their behaviour. Waterproof hiking boots, long trousers, a rain jacket and gloves are useful, and a porter can be hired locally to carry your daypack and assist on difficult sections.

After trekking, return to your lodge for lunch or refreshments, depending on the time. If the trek finishes early and you have enough energy, an optional visit to Gorilla Guardians Village, formerly known as Iby'Iwacu Cultural Village, can be arranged to enjoy traditional music, dancing and community activities.

Return to your lodge for dinner and a second overnight near Volcanoes National Park. Gorilla trekking in Rwanda has a minimum age of 15 years.

Accommodation: Same selected lodge as Day 5

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Transfer to Kigali and Fly to Tanzania

After breakfast, check out and begin the journey from Musanze towards Kigali, Rwanda's capital. The drive generally takes around 2.5 to 3 hours, depending on traffic and your lodge location.

If your flight departure allows, enjoy a short Kigali city tour. Visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial to learn about the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and Rwanda's continuing journey of remembrance and recovery. Depending on available time, you may also stop at a craft market or enjoy lunch in the city before heading to the airport.

Transfer to Kigali International Airport for your regional flight to Tanzania. This flight is not included in the standard safari package and must be arranged separately unless specifically added to the quotation. The airline, route, connection points and Tanzania arrival airport must be confirmed before travel.

On arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport, or another confirmed airport serving the Arusha region, meet your Tanzania safari driver guide and transfer to your hotel in Arusha. Enjoy a relaxed evening after the flight and prepare for the early domestic departure to Serengeti the following morning.

Dinner and overnight in Arusha.

Mid-range: Tulia Boutique Hotel

Luxury: Gran Meliá Arusha

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner as arranged around the flight

Fly from Arusha to Northern Serengeti and Begin Game Viewing

After an early breakfast, transfer to Arusha Airport for your scheduled light-aircraft flight to Northern Serengeti. The itinerary is planned around Kogatende Airstrip, although the flight schedule, routing and actual landing airstrip depend on the operating season and confirmed service.

As the aircraft approaches the Serengeti, the scenery opens into broad grasslands, scattered trees and river valleys. On landing, meet your Tanzania safari guide and begin the drive towards your selected camp, with wildlife viewing along the route.

Northern Serengeti is known for its rolling savannah, riverine woodland, resident predators and seasonal wildebeest migration. Look for elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, zebras, antelopes and, with luck, lions or other big cats.

From July through October, large wildebeest and zebra herds may gather near the Mara River as they move through the northern Serengeti ecosystem. The exact location and timing of the herds vary according to rainfall and grazing conditions, so your guide will plan activities around current wildlife movement.

Enjoy lunch at your camp or along the route, depending on your arrival time. Continue with an afternoon game drive if the schedule allows, then return for dinner and overnight.

Mid-range: Mara River Lodge

Luxury: Mara Mara Tented Lodge

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Full-Day Wildebeest Migration Safari in Northern Serengeti

Wake early for breakfast before setting out with a packed lunch for a full day exploring Northern Serengeti. This is your main opportunity to follow the movements of the Great Migration around the Mara River and surrounding grasslands.

During the northern migration period, enormous numbers of wildebeest and zebras may gather across the plains, feeding on fresh grass and moving between grazing areas. Your guide will use recent sightings, road conditions and herd movements to decide where to spend the day.

If the herds are approaching the Mara River, you may have the opportunity to observe them gathering at the banks. Wildebeest can wait for hours before attempting a crossing, and they may also turn back or cross at a different point. Because these movements are natural and unpredictable, a river crossing cannot be guaranteed.

The region is also rewarding for resident wildlife. Search the open plains for lions and cheetahs, check suitable woodland for leopards, and look for spotted hyenas, elephants, giraffes and buffaloes. Hippos and Nile crocodiles occupy parts of the Mara River, adding another dimension to wildlife viewing.

Enjoy a picnic lunch at an authorised location before continuing your game drive in the afternoon. Spend time observing animal behaviour and photographing the landscapes rather than rushing between different sightings.

Return to your camp for dinner and a second overnight in Northern Serengeti.

Accommodation: Same selected Northern Serengeti camp as Day 8

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Transfer to Central Serengeti with Game Drives Along the Way

After breakfast, check out and begin the journey south towards Central Serengeti. Carry a packed lunch because the drive is also a wildlife-viewing experience, with opportunities to stop at sightings as you move between the northern and central parts of the national park.

The landscape gradually changes from Northern Serengeti's rolling hills and river valleys to wider plains, acacia woodland and rocky granite outcrops known as kopjes. Allow approximately 5 to 7 hours or longer for the day's journey, depending on the route, wildlife sightings and road conditions.

Central Serengeti, particularly the Seronera region, is known for its resident wildlife throughout the year. Your guide will search for lions resting near kopjes, cheetahs hunting on the plains and leopards in suitable riverine woodland. Elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, zebras, wildebeest, gazelles and many other animals also inhabit the area.

Enjoy lunch during the journey and continue with game viewing through the afternoon. The broad plains and woodland provide excellent opportunities for landscape photography as well as encounters with individual animals.

Arrive at your lodge or tented camp for check-in, dinner and overnight.

Mid-range: Serengeti Heritage Tented Camp

Luxury: Meliá Serengeti Lodge

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Morning Serengeti Game Drive, Olduvai Gorge and Ngorongoro Transfer

Enjoy an early breakfast before heading out for a final morning game drive in Central Serengeti. This is another opportunity to search for lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, giraffes, zebras, buffaloes and other wildlife before leaving the park.

Your guide will explore productive grassland and woodland areas, paying particular attention to recent sightings. Early morning is a rewarding time for game viewing because temperatures are cooler and many animals are still active.

After the game drive, continue southeast towards the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The route passes through open Serengeti plains and highland scenery, with lunch arranged during the journey.

If time and opening arrangements permit, stop at Olduvai Gorge, also known as Oldupai Gorge. This famous archaeological area is closely associated with discoveries relating to early human evolution and the research of Louis and Mary Leakey. A visit to the museum or designated viewpoint offers an introduction to this important part of East Africa's history.

The transfer from Central Serengeti to your Ngorongoro or Karatu accommodation can take several hours, particularly when combined with morning game viewing and a heritage stop. Your guide will plan the day around safe driving times, park exit arrangements and the actual location of your lodge.

Arrive for dinner and overnight, ready for the crater game drive the following morning.

Mid-range: Hhando Coffee Lodge

Luxury: Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Ngorongoro Crater Game Drive and Transfer to Arusha for Departure

Wake up early for breakfast before travelling to Ngorongoro Crater for your final safari experience. From the crater rim, descend approximately 600 metres into the volcanic caldera, which covers around 260 square kilometres and contains grasslands, woodland, swamps and seasonal water sources.

Explore the crater floor with your safari guide, searching for lions, elephants, Cape buffaloes, zebras, wildebeest, spotted hyenas, gazelles and other wildlife. Ngorongoro is also an important refuge for endangered black rhinos, although these animals may remain far from the roads and sightings are not guaranteed.

Your guide may explore areas around Lake Magadi, a shallow alkaline lake where flamingos and other waterbirds can sometimes be seen, depending on water conditions. Hippos also occupy suitable pools and wetland areas within the crater.

Enjoy a packed lunch during or after the game drive before ascending the crater wall and beginning the return journey towards Arusha. From the Karatu region, the drive to Arusha generally takes approximately 2 to 3 hours, while the full journey to Kilimanjaro International Airport takes longer.

Your driver guide will drop you at your confirmed hotel, Arusha Airport or Kilimanjaro International Airport, depending on your onward arrangements. Because this day combines a crater safari and a substantial road transfer, an evening or night flight is preferable. Travellers with an earlier flight should arrange an additional night in Arusha or adjust the departure programme.

This marks the end of your 12 Day Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania Safari, after memorable chimpanzee and mountain gorilla encounters, Uganda's savannah wildlife, the Great Migration areas of Serengeti and the remarkable Ngorongoro Crater.

Meals: Breakfast and lunch