About This Journey
Kenya has no gorillas. It has no wild population, no trekking permit, and no forest they could live in — the mountain gorilla's entire range is the Virunga massif and Bwindi, roughly a thousand kilometres west. What Kenya has instead is the finest open-savanna game viewing on the continent, and a two-hour flight to the country that does have gorillas.
That combination is the whole point of this itinerary. Eleven days give you a full gorilla trek in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, then Kenya's greatest hits in sequence: Amboseli's big-tusked elephants under Kilimanjaro, the flamingo lakes and rhino of the Rift Valley, and two nights in the Masai Mara for the predators.
The trip is built around one flight rather than a long overland slog. You fly into Entebbe, take a light aircraft to the airstrip nearest your gorilla sector, then connect Entebbe to Nairobi on a short scheduled hop before starting the Kenyan circuit. Private guiding throughout, and one East Africa Tourist Visa covers both countries.
Trip Highlights
- A full hour with a habituated mountain gorilla family in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
- Amboseli's elephant herds framed against Kilimanjaro — the classic photograph, done properly
- Rhino and vast flamingo flocks at Lake Nakuru, plus a boat safari on Lake Naivasha
- Two nights in the Masai Mara for lion, cheetah and leopard on open ground
- One flight instead of two days of driving between the gorillas and the savanna
- A single East Africa Tourist Visa covering both countries
Day by Day
Land at Entebbe on the shore of Lake Victoria and be met on the airside walkway. Your hotel is ten minutes from the terminal, which matters when the trip starts with an early flight.
Your guide runs through the days ahead over dinner — in particular the trek briefing, the packing that actually matters, and what the two border formalities involve.
- LuxuryProtea Hotel by Marriott Entebbe · Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort · Hotel No.5 Entebbe
- Mid-rangeBest Western Premier Garden Hotel · Boma Hotel Entebbe · 2 Friends Beach Hotel
- BudgetAirport Guest House · ViaVia Entebbe · Elementis Guesthouse
- Meals
- Dinner
A light aircraft carries you south-west to the airstrip nearest your permitted sector — Kihihi for Buhoma and Ruhija, Kisoro for Rushaga and Nkuringo. It is a little over an hour in the air against most of a day on the road, and the view down over the crater lakes and the Rift escarpment is worth the seat on its own.
Your lodge sits on the forest edge. The afternoon is deliberately unstructured: a village walk, a short forest trail, or nothing at all before tomorrow.
- LuxuryBuhoma Lodge · Bwindi Lodge · Mahogany Springs Lodge
- Mid-rangeEngagi Lodge · Buhoma Haven Lodge · Gorilla Forest Camp
- BudgetBuhoma Community Rest Camp · Trekkers Tavern Cottages · Bwindi Backpackers Lodge
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
An early breakfast, then the ranger briefing at the sector headquarters. You are assigned to a gorilla family in a group of no more than eight, and set off behind trackers who have been with the family since first light.
The walk can take one hour or six — the forest is steep, wet and genuinely impenetrable in places, and a porter is money well spent. What follows is one hour with the family: a silverback at close range, juveniles working out what you are, and a stillness that is very hard to describe afterwards.
Back at the lodge by mid-afternoon, usually filthy and quiet. Certificates are handed out over dinner.
- LuxuryBuhoma Lodge · Bwindi Lodge · Mahogany Springs Lodge
- Mid-rangeEngagi Lodge · Buhoma Haven Lodge · Gorilla Forest Camp
- BudgetBuhoma Community Rest Camp · Trekkers Tavern Cottages · Bwindi Backpackers Lodge
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Fly back to Entebbe, then connect to Nairobi — a short scheduled hop of a little over an hour, with several departures a day on Uganda Airlines and Kenya Airways.
Arrive in the afternoon with time for the Sheldrick elephant orphanage or the Karen Blixen house if you want them, or simply a hot shower and a proper meal after the forest. Your Kenyan guide and 4×4 meet you this evening.
- LuxuryHemingways Nairobi · Giraffe Manor
- Mid-rangeEka Hotel Nairobi · Ole Sereni
- BudgetBoma Inn Nairobi
- Meals
- Breakfast, Dinner
Drive south towards the Tanzanian border and into Amboseli, a park of dry lake bed, swamp and dust that holds some of the last really big-tusked elephants in Africa.
An afternoon game drive takes you out onto the pans as the light drops and — cloud permitting — Kilimanjaro emerges above the northern slopes.
- LuxuryTortilis Camp · Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge
- Mid-rangeOl Tukai Lodge
- BudgetAmboseli Sopa Lodge
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
A full day in the park. Mornings and late afternoons are when Kilimanjaro is clearest and when the elephant families cross open ground between the swamps — the reason photographers come here specifically.
Beyond the elephants: lion, spotted hyena, cheetah on the short grass, and enormous numbers of waterbirds on the swamps. An optional visit to a Maasai community can be arranged through the lodge.
- LuxuryTortilis Camp · Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge
- Mid-rangeOl Tukai Lodge
- BudgetAmboseli Sopa Lodge
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
A long but scenic drive north, skirting Nairobi and climbing to the Rift Valley viewpoint before dropping to Naivasha, a freshwater lake fringed with fever trees and full of hippo.
An afternoon boat safari gets you close to hippo pods and fish eagles; the walk on Crescent Island, where you can move on foot among giraffe and zebra without predators about, is the other reason to stop here.
- LuxuryEnashipai Resort & Spa
- Mid-rangeLake Naivasha Sopa Resort · Lake Naivasha Simba Lodge
- BudgetCrayfish Camp
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
A short drive to Lake Nakuru, a fenced alkaline-lake park that has become one of Kenya's most reliable places to see both black and white rhino.
Game drives take in the lakeshore — flamingo numbers rise and fall with water levels, so we are honest about them rather than promising the postcard — plus Rothschild's giraffe, buffalo, and the leopards that favour the acacia woodland above the lake.
- LuxurySarova Lion Hill Game Lodge
- Mid-rangeLake Nakuru Sopa Lodge · Flamingo Hill Camp
- BudgetLake Nakuru Lodge
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Continue south-west to the Masai Mara, the northern extension of the Serengeti ecosystem and the most consistently productive big-cat ground in East Africa.
Settle into camp and head out for a late-afternoon game drive. Between roughly July and October the migration herds are here, and the river crossings are a matter of luck and patience rather than schedule.
- LuxuryGovernors' Camp · Sand River Masai Mara · Naboisho Camp
- Mid-rangeMara Intrepids Tented Camp · Mara Ngenche Safari Camp
- BudgetTalek Bush Camp · Oseki Maasai Mara Camp
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Out at first light with a packed breakfast, which is how the Mara is best done — the cats are active early and the light is gone by nine.
A full day gives you the range of the reserve: the Mara Triangle, the river, and the open plains where cheetah hunt. A dawn hot-air balloon flight over the reserve can be added at a supplement.
- LuxuryGovernors' Camp · Sand River Masai Mara · Naboisho Camp
- Mid-rangeMara Intrepids Tented Camp · Mara Ngenche Safari Camp
- BudgetTalek Bush Camp · Oseki Maasai Mara Camp
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
A final morning game drive, then a light aircraft from the reserve airstrip back to Nairobi — around forty-five minutes, and it saves the long road transfer on your last day.
Day rooms and transfers are arranged around your international departure. Zanzibar, the Kenyan coast, or a second gorilla trek in Rwanda all extend neatly from here.
- Meals
- Breakfast
What's Included
Included
- 10 nights' accommodation at your chosen tier, with all meals as indicated
- Uganda gorilla trekking permit, bought and confirmed before you travel
- Scheduled light-aircraft flights Entebbe–Bwindi–Entebbe and Masai Mara–Nairobi
- Scheduled flight Entebbe–Nairobi
- Private driver-guide and 4×4 pop-up-roof vehicle in each country
- All national park, reserve and conservation fees in Uganda and Kenya
- Lake Naivasha boat safari and Crescent Island walk
- All airport transfers and bottled drinking water in the vehicle
Not Included
- International airfares to Entebbe and out of Nairobi
- East Africa Tourist Visa or single-country visas
- Travel and medical insurance, including emergency evacuation cover
- Porter on the gorilla trek (recommended) and trekking-pole hire
- Hot-air balloon safari over the Masai Mara and other optional activities
- Alcoholic drinks and items of a personal nature
- Tips and gratuities for guides, rangers, trackers and lodge staff
Accommodation
Protea Hotel by Marriott Entebbe
Buhoma Lodge
Hemingways Nairobi
Tortilis Camp
Enashipai Resort & Spa
Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge
Governors' Camp
Ready to Plan This Safari?
Every trip we run is private and tailored around you — your dates, your pace, your budget. Tell us what you have in mind and one of our safari planners will craft it into a detailed, costed proposal.
Quoted per person sharing and driven mainly by which accommodation tier you pick and whether you travel in peak season. The Uganda gorilla permit is a fixed cost inside the price and is the single largest line item — see how permit pricing works before you compare quotes.
