This 21-Day East African Safari Adventure gives you the chance to get close to wildlife and take in the landscapes and cultures of East Africa. It combines gorilla and primate trekking with genuine encounters with local communities, covering some of the best destinations in the region.
We have selected the places to visit on this itinerary and built the route around them. Please note that this itinerary is not flexible as listed, but if there are other places in Africa you want to add, we will adjust the package for you.
Highlights include the Big Five in Murchison Falls, Serengeti National Park, Maasai Mara National Reserve, and the Ngorongoro Crater. See the detailed itinerary below.
21-Day East African Safari Highlights
- Day 1: Arrival and transfer to Murchison Falls National Park
- Day 2: Game drive and boat cruise
- Day 3: Transfer to Kibale Forest National Park
- Day 4: Chimpanzee trek and Bigodi Wetland tour
- Day 5: Visit Semuliki National Park, hot springs tour
- Day 6: Fort Portal tour, overnight in Queen Elizabeth National Park
- Day 7: Game drive and boat cruise
- Day 8: Transfer to Ishasha, afternoon game drive
- Day 9: Drive to Lake Bunyonyi, sunset boat cruise
- Day 10: Sunrise cruise and transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
- Day 11: Gorilla trekking and transfer to Volcanoes National Park
- Day 12: Golden monkey trekking and Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village visit
- Day 13: Dian Fossey hike and transfer to Lake Kivu
- Day 14: Boat cruise and transfer to Kigali
- Day 15: Kigali city tour and flight to Arusha, Tanzania
- Day 16: Transfer to Ngorongoro Conservation Area, then to Serengeti National Park
- Day 17: Full-day game drive
- Day 18: Morning game drive and transfer to Maasai Mara National Reserve
- Day 19: Full-day game viewing drive in Maasai Mara
- Day 20: Game drive in other sectors of Maasai Mara
- Day 21: Transfer to Nairobi and visit the Giraffe Center
Detailed 21-Day East African Safari Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival and Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park
Welcome to Uganda. Early arrival at Entebbe Airport, pickup, and an immediate transfer toward Murchison Falls National Park.
En route, you have the option of a rhino trekking excursion at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, about 3 hours from Kampala. After rhino trekking, stop for lunch at Amuka Safari Lodge or Kabalega Diners, then continue to Murchison Falls National Park. You can enter through the southern gate at Kanyumbanyobo via Masindi town, or through the northern gate via Karuma Falls.
Arrive at your lodge in the evening for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 2: Game Drive and Boat Cruise
Leave the lodge by 6:45 am for a game drive in the park’s north sector, with a packed breakfast from the lodge. The drive takes about 3 to 4 hours along the Buligi tracks, which run beside the Victoria and Albert Niles down to the Lake Albert Delta.
Early morning drives often bring good sightings of the park’s game and bird life, including big cats and nocturnal species.
After the game drive, gather at Paraa jetty for a packed lunch before a 3-hour boat trip along the Victoria Nile. The launch departs Paraa at 2:30 pm and follows the Nile to the base of the falls, where you disembark for a hike to the top of Murchison Falls. Expect a mix of bird life, hippos, crocodiles, and strong scenery along the way.
Day 3: Transfer to Kibale Forest National Park
Leave Murchison Falls National Park after breakfast and head south to Kibale National Park. The route crosses the western region, with views of the Albertine escarpments, and passes sugar and tea plantations before reaching Kibale, known as Africa’s primate capital.
Rest at your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 4: Chimpanzee Trek and Bigodi Wetland Tour
After breakfast, drive about 30 minutes to Kibale Forest Park headquarters for the pre-trek chimpanzee briefing. Enter the forest to track chimpanzees along paths marked by droppings and calls. Rangers and trackers help locate a troop as quickly as possible; sightings are not guaranteed but occur on roughly 95% of treks.
Once you find the chimpanzees, spend about an hour observing them as they move through the canopy.
Have lunch, then transfer in the afternoon to the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary, part of the wider Magombe swamp system. The wetland is home to numerous bird species, including the Great Blue Turaco and Papyrus Gonolek, among more than 130 others, along with butterflies and other insect life.
Return to your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 5: Visit Semuliki National Park, Hot Springs Tour
Have breakfast in Kibale, then transfer to Semuliki, about 35 km west of Fort Portal town. Along the way, stop at the Nyakasura hills, known for crater lakes, the Amabere Ganyinamwiru caves, and waterfalls.
Continue to Semuliki National Park to visit the Sempaya hot springs and learn about local traditional beliefs and the scientific explanation behind them.
Return to Fort Portal town in the evening for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 6: Fort Portal Tour, Overnight in Queen Elizabeth National Park
Take a short excursion around Fort Portal town, known as one of Uganda’s cleanest towns, with stops that may include the local Mpanga market and the king’s palace.
Continue to Queen Elizabeth National Park, a drive of over 140 km past tea plantations with the Rwenzori Mountains in view. Stop for photos at the equator on the way to your lodge for an overnight stay.
Day 7: Game Drive and Boat Cruise
After breakfast, take a game drive through the Kasenyi sector to look for the park’s resident wildlife, including elephants, buffaloes, waterbucks, Uganda kobs, warthogs, and a selection of the park’s 620 recorded bird species.
After lunch, take an afternoon boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel, which connects Lake George and Lake Edward. The cruise brings sightings of resident and migratory birds, large mammals, big cats, and reptiles along the banks.
Return to the lodge for the evening.
Day 8: Transfer to Ishasha, Afternoon Game Drive
After breakfast, transfer to the Ishasha sector, home of Uganda’s tree-climbing lions, in the southern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park on the route toward Bwindi.
The lions here rest along the branches of fig trees during the day, unlike lions elsewhere in the park. Sightings on an afternoon or evening game drive are not guaranteed, but the sector gives good chances of spotting them.
Transfer to your lodge in the evening.
Day 9: Drive to Lake Bunyonyi, Sunset Boat Cruise
Have breakfast and exit the park with a game drive, watching for elephants, buffaloes, antelopes, and bird life along the way.
Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi, about 8 km from Kabale town, known for its scenery, history, and its 29 islands.
Arrive at your lakeside lodge, have lunch, and take an evening boat cruise to some of the islands to learn about their history.
Day 10: Sunrise Cruise and Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
After breakfast, take a dugout canoe trip on Lake Bunyonyi to view the islands more closely and learn about local communities, fishermen, and the lake’s history.
Return to the lodge, then transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, arriving in the Ruhija sector. Have lunch and spend the rest of the day resting at the lodge.
Day 11: Gorilla Trekking and Transfer to Volcanoes National Park
After breakfast at your Ruhija lodge, attend the ranger briefing, then drive to the trailhead to begin your gorilla trek. Porters are available at the briefing point to carry your backpack and gear. The trek passes through dense, sometimes wet forest.
Once you find the gorillas, spend an hour observing them feed, play, rest, and care for their young.
Trek back to the starting point, then return to the lodge for lunch. In the afternoon, transfer to Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, home to mountain gorillas and golden monkeys, crossing via the Katuna or Cyanika border to your lodge in Musanze.
Day 12: Golden Monkey Trekking and Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village Visit
After breakfast, take a golden monkey trek to see one of the world’s most endangered primates. Return to the lodge afterward to rest, then visit the nearby Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village in the evening.
The village is home to former poachers who once lived alongside the mountain gorillas before the forest became a national park and, later, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which led to their relocation. The visit covers Rwandan history, craftwork, dance, language, and daily life.
Day 13: Dian Fossey Hike and Transfer to Lake Kivu
After breakfast, hike to the Dian Fossey gravesite, where the researcher known for her work protecting mountain gorillas was buried after her death in 1985.
Have lunch, then transfer south to Lake Kivu for an overnight stay in Gisenyi.
Day 14: Boat Cruise and Transfer to Kigali
After breakfast, take a 3-hour speedboat cruise on Lake Kivu, Rwanda’s largest lake, passing several inland islands, local fishermen, and lakeside communities.
Continue the journey to Kigali, stopping in Butare, Rwanda’s second-largest city, for a cultural visit to the King’s Palace, restored to its 19th-century state, and the nearby Ethnographic Museum of Rwanda, along with a traditional Rwandan dance performance.
Have lunch, then continue to Kigali in the evening and check in to your lodge.
Day 15: Kigali City Tour and Flight to Arusha, Tanzania
Take a short city tour of Kigali, with stops that may include the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Gisozi, the Presidential Palace Museum, and local craft markets.
Depending on your flight time, transfer to the airport for a regional flight to Arusha or Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, with an overnight stay in Arusha.
Day 16: Transfer to Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Serengeti National Park
After breakfast, leave Arusha for Tanzania’s main wildlife region, entering the Ngorongoro Conservation Area from the west and passing the Great Rift Valley on the way.
Continue past the crater rim and down onto the Serengeti plains, home to large numbers of grazing animals, predators, and bird life.
The Serengeti covers a larger surface area than Kenya’s Maasai Mara. Continue to your lodge for the evening.
Day 17: Full Day Game Drive
Have breakfast and spend the morning viewing wildlife across the Serengeti plains. After lunch, transfer up to the outer rim of Ngorongoro Crater for further game viewing.
This is a camping night on the crater rim, so bring warm clothing and hiking shoes. Ngorongoro Crater is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the largest intact calderas in Africa, covering roughly 326 square kilometers.
Day 18: Morning Game Drive and Transfer to Maasai Mara National Reserve
Take a sunrise game drive in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, then begin the journey to Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve, about 350 km north.
Along the way, look for some of Ngorongoro’s black rhinos, wildebeest, gazelles, zebras, and eland, along with its large lion population, elephants, leopards, buffalo, and other predators found in the crater’s forested rim.
Continue on to Maasai Mara, arriving in the evening for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 19: Full Day Game Viewing Drive in Maasai Mara
Spend the day on a full game drive through the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
An optional sunrise hot air balloon ride is available, giving aerial views of the reserve’s plains, vegetation, and wildlife, including large herd movements at dawn. After landing, enjoy a bush breakfast before returning to the lodge, with a further game drive in the evening.
Day 20: Game Drive in Other Sectors of Maasai Mara
Spend a full day exploring other sectors of the Maasai Mara, known for its concentration and range of wildlife compared to other parks in the region.
Cover the reserve’s plains on a full-day game drive, looking for the Big Five alongside antelope, zebra, giraffe, and a wide range of bird life.
Day 21: Transfer to Nairobi and Visit the Giraffe Center
Have a relaxed breakfast in Maasai Mara, then check out for the drive to Nairobi, about 6 hours. On arrival, have a late lunch before transferring to the Giraffe Center.
The center, set up to protect the endangered Rothschild giraffe, sits about 20 km from Nairobi in Lang’ata. Take a tour to learn about the giraffes kept here and the center’s conservation work.
Take your outbound flight in the evening, or transfer to accommodation of your choice for an overnight stay.
End of 21-Day East African Safari Adventure.
