18 Days Classic Uganda & Kenya Safari Adventure

Arrive at Entebbe International Airport and receive a warm welcome from a professional safari guide, who will brief you about your journey through Uganda’s premier wildlife and primate destinations. Travel through picturesque countryside to your accommodation in Entebbe where you can relax after your flight. Depending on arrival time, you may visit the Entebbe Botanical Gardens or the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre.

Overnight: Entebbe Hotel (Mid-range or as preferred)

Meal Plan: Dinner

After breakfast, depart for Kibale Forest National Park, passing through tea plantations, local villages, and the lush Fort Portal region. The park is renowned for its population of 13 primate species, including chimpanzees. Settle into Kibale Forest Camp for lunch, then spend the afternoon relaxing or exploring the lodge surroundings with birding and scenic photography.

Drive Time: Approx. 5–6 hours

Overnight: Kibale Forest Camp

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Begin with an early breakfast before heading to Kanyanchu Visitor Center for an exhilarating chimpanzee tracking experience. Spend an hour observing the chimpanzees in their natural habitat. In the afternoon, explore the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary, a community-led ecotourism project, to witness diverse birdlife, including the Great Blue Turaco, and interact with the local Bigodi community.

Overnight: Kibale Forest Camp

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Drive south through the crater lakes region to Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda’s most renowned savannah park. After lunch at your lodge, embark on a boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel, observing elephants, hippos, buffaloes, crocodiles, and an array of birdlife at the water’s edge.

Overnight: Acacia Wilderness Safari Lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Enjoy a sunrise game drive in the Kasenyi Plains, ideal for spotting lions, elephants, leopards, Uganda kob, and buffaloes. Continue through the Ishasha Sector, known for its tree-climbing lions, and have a scenic picnic lunch. Proceed to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, home to endangered mountain gorillas, and check in to Gorilla Leisure Safari Lodge.

Overnight: Gorilla Leisure Safari Lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

After breakfast, receive a briefing at the park headquarters before trekking through dense rainforest to find a gorilla family. Spend an hour observing their behavior. In the afternoon, visit the Batwa community, Uganda’s ancient forest dwellers, and enjoy their stories, music, and dances.

Overnight: Gorilla Leisure Safari Lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Drive to Lake Bunyonyi, known for its tranquility and scenic beauty. Stay at Arcadia Cottages with panoramic lake views. Enjoy leisure activities such as canoe rides, swimming in bilharzia-free waters, or relaxing as the sun sets over the hills.

Overnight: Arcadia Cottages

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Travel to Lake Mburo National Park, a compact but wildlife-rich destination. Check in at Kigarama Wilderness Lodge, then take a guided nature walk in the park to encounter zebras, impalas, giraffes, and elands up close.

Overnight: Kigarama Wilderness Lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Begin the day with a sunrise game drive in Lake Mburo’s acacia plains. After breakfast, drive to Entebbe International Airport, stopping at the Equator Line for souvenirs and photos. Fly to Nairobi, Kenya, marking the completion of the Uganda segment of your adventure. Upon arrival, a safari representative greets you and transports you to your hotel amid Nairobi’s vibrant cityscape.

Accommodation: Tamarind Tree Hotel

Meals: Dinner

Experience Kenya’s culture, conservation, and urban life. Visit the Daphne Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage to observe rescued baby elephants. Explore the Karen Blixen Museum for colonial-era history, browse Nairobi City Market for Maasai beadwork and crafts, and meet Rothschild giraffes at the Giraffe Centre.

Accommodation: Giraffe Centre Manor Hotel

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Depart Nairobi and travel through the Great Rift Valley to Lake Nakuru National Park. Enjoy an afternoon game drive around the soda lake and acacia woodlands, spotting white and black rhinos, tree-climbing lions, flamingos, waterbuck, impala, buffalo, leopard, colobus monkeys, and distinctive vegetation.

Accommodation: Sarova Lion Hill Lodge Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Journey through wheat fields and Maasai homelands to Kenya’s iconic wildlife sanctuary, the Masai Mara. Explore the open savannah on an evening game drive and observe elephants, buffalo, giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, cheetahs, and leopards.

Accommodation: AA Lodge Masai Mara

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Dedicate a full day to tracking the Big Five—lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant, and rhino—in the Mara’s wildlife-rich plains. Witness predator-prey interactions, visit the Mara River with its Nile crocodiles and hippos, and enjoy a scenic picnic beneath an acacia tree. Explore short-grass plains and riverine forests teeming with birdlife.

Accommodation: AA Lodge Masai Mara Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Begin with a sunrise safari, observing lions in the early morning light. Visit a Maasai village to meet the warriors in their traditional red shukas, learn about beadwork symbolism, tour homesteads, enjoy energetic dances, and hear stories of lion encounters and traditions.

Accommodation: AA Lodge Masai Mara

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Fly to Ukunda or Mombasa and transfer to Diani Beach, celebrated for its pristine sands and palm-lined coastline. Check into a resort set amid tropical gardens with views of turquoise water and powdery white sand.

Accommodation: Baobab Beach Resort

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Enjoy a relaxing day swimming in the Indian Ocean, snorkeling vibrant coral reefs, indulging in spa treatments, and browsing local craft markets filled with Swahili artifacts.

Accommodation: Baobab Beach Resort

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Choose from island excursions to Wasini Island and Kisite Marine Park, sailing on traditional dhows, snorkeling among coral gardens, spotting dolphins, and savoring fresh seafood in a Swahili village. Alternatively, relax on Diani’s sands beneath palm trees.

Accommodation: Baobab Beach Resort

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Transfer to the airport, departing with memories of roaring lions, towering elephants, pink flamingos, ocean breezes, and the unparalleled natural beauty of Kenya.

The End