Start this 9-Day Bwindi Gorillas, Maasai Mara and Serengeti Safari Adventure with a gorilla trek in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, followed by game viewing in Lake Mburo and Queen Elizabeth National Parks.
The itinerary also takes you to two of the best game reserves on earth: the Masai Mara and Serengeti National Reserves in Kenya and Tanzania.
The Savannah plains of Masai Mara and Serengeti hold plentiful wildlife, including the Big Five mammals of Africa. Both reserves are known for the Great Migration, scenic landscapes, and strong big cat sightings.
9-Day Uganda Tanzania Kenya Safari Highlights
- Day 1: Arrival in Kigali
- Day 2: Transfer to Lake Mburo National Park and late afternoon boat ride
- Day 3: Morning game drive and transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
- Day 4: Morning game drive and transfer to Bwindi
- Day 5: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi and transfer to Kigali for flight to JRO
- Day 6: Transfer to Serengeti National Park and sunset game drive
- Day 7: Full day game drive in Serengeti
- Day 8: Transfer to Masai Mara National Reserve and evening game drive
- Day 9: Morning game drive and transfer to Nairobi
Detailed 9-Day Uganda Tanzania Kenya Safari Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Kigali
A representative of our company will meet you at Kigali International Airport on arrival. Refresh with a cup of coffee and, depending on your arrival time, visit some of Kigali’s sites, such as the Kigali Genocide Memorial, local craft markets, or a shopping mall, or simply take a walk around the city.
Day 2: Transfer to Lake Mburo National Park and Late Afternoon Boat Ride
Wake up in the morning and prepare for a full day of travel. Your guide will pick you up for a 5-hour journey to Lake Mburo National Park, Uganda’s smallest savannah park.
The drive includes a stop at the Equator for a cup of coffee. Continue southwest to Lake Mburo, check in to your lodge, have lunch, and head out for a late afternoon boat trip on Lake Mburo.
The boat ride gives you the chance to see hippos, crocodiles, and bird species such as the Fish Eagle and, occasionally, the shoebill stork.
Return to the lodge in the evening for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 3: Morning Game Drive and Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
After an early breakfast, head back into the park for a sunrise game drive. Lake Mburo National Park is home to Burchell’s zebras, Uganda kobs, and large herds of buffalo, eland, topi, bushbuck, and impala.
The drive lasts about 2 to 3 hours, after which you’ll leave the park and continue to Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Queen Elizabeth National Park is Uganda’s most visited protected area and its second largest, after Murchison Falls National Park. It sits in western Uganda near the DRC border, at the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains.
Arrive at your lodge in the early afternoon, check in, and continue to Mweya jetty for the Kazinga Channel boat cruise.
The cruise departs at 4 pm and takes in the park’s resident birds, mammals, and reptiles. Return to the lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 4: Morning Game Drive and Transfer to Bwindi
Have an early breakfast, then set out on a game drive across Queen Elizabeth National Park’s plains, including the Kasenyi area, a known mating ground for antelope and other large mammals.
Expect to spot elephants, buffalo, warthogs, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, impala, and big cats such as lions and leopards.
Continue south through the Ishasha sector, known for its tree-climbing lions, with a game drive along the way. Continue on to the Rushaga sector, in the east of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Day 5: Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi and Transfer to Kigali for Flight to JRO
Wake up for the day’s main event: the gorilla trek. Have breakfast at 6:30 am, then transfer to Ruhija park headquarters for a pre-trek briefing.
The trek begins by 8:00 am, moving through Bwindi’s rugged terrain, boggy sections, and unclear trails. How challenging the trek feels depends largely on your level of fitness.
Continue through dense, sometimes slippery jungle, steep slopes, and thick vegetation until you reach your assigned gorilla family.
Trekking time is unpredictable and can run anywhere from 1 to 7 hours. Once you find the gorillas, you get up to one hour with them, watching them feed, play, and go about their daily routine.
Retreat to the starting point, eat your boxed lunch, check out of Bwindi, and set off for Kigali via the Katuna border in southwest Uganda, after passing through Kabale town.
Clear the border and continue into Rwanda through some of the country’s most scenic regions, often called the Switzerland of Africa, with views over the Virunga range and rolling valleys.
Arrive in Kigali in the evening, check in at the airport, and catch a connecting regional flight to Arusha or Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, with an overnight stay in Arusha.
Day 6: Transfer to Serengeti National Park and Sunset Game Drive
Wake up to a sunrise in Arusha, have breakfast, and set out on the roughly 5-hour drive to Serengeti National Park. With a picnic lunch on board, your safari driver will choose the best route based on weather, season, and what wildlife you’d like to see along the way.
Arrive at your lodge in Serengeti, check in, and get ready for the evening game drive. As the sun sets over the Serengeti, head out on a game viewing drive across Tanzania’s best-known reserve.
The evening drive gives strong chances to see predators in action as cooler temperatures bring them out to hunt, including lions, leopards, cheetahs, and hyenas, alongside herds of herbivores heading back to shelter for the night.
A hot air balloon safari is also available, offering wide views over the Serengeti’s plains. As night falls, return to the lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 7: Full Day Game Drive in Serengeti
Wake up to breakfast and a full day of game viewing across Africa’s most well-known plains. Serengeti means “vast plains,” and the reserve lives up to the name, with a large concentration of wildlife, seasonal rivers, strong bird life, and rolling hills.
Activities today can include a morning hot air balloon safari with a bush breakfast, along with sightings of the Serengeti’s large elephant herds, buffalo, and big cats. Return to the lodge in the evening for dinner and time around the campfire under the night sky.
Day 8: Transfer to Masai Mara National Reserve and Evening Game Drive
After breakfast, depart for Masai Mara National Reserve, a drive of about 5 hours. The Masai Mara is effectively an extension of the Serengeti into Kenya, with similar landscapes and wildlife. Cross via the Isebania border, clear immigration, and continue into Kenya.
Watch for wildlife along the route to the Mara, one of Kenya’s most visited parks. Arrive at your lodge for an early check-in, and if time allows, take a short evening game drive to see the park’s resident wildlife, bird life, and rolling terrain.
Day 9: Morning Game Drive and Transfer to Nairobi
Rise before dawn for a morning game drive across the Masai Mara. After a quick coffee, head out to watch the sunrise over the Mara River, where large numbers of game gather to graze along the banks.
A hot air balloon safari is also available here, with a champagne breakfast and wide views over the Mara’s plains, including a chance to see predators from the air as they wait for prey below.
Return to your lodge for an early lunch, check out, and begin the drive to Nairobi, Kenya’s capital. Your guide will drop you at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for your outbound flight.
End of 9-Day Bwindi Gorillas, Maasai Mara and Serengeti Safari Adventure.
