12 Days Best of Uganda and Tanzania safari
The 12 days Best of Uganda and Tanzania safari is an extraordinary safari that will take you to different destinations including Ngorongoro conservation area, Tarangire national park and Serengeti national park in Tanzania where you will be able to enjoy views of animals like elephants, buffaloes, lions, leopards, hippos, zebras, warthogs, giraffes, wildebeests, elands, cheetahs, gazelle, dik dik among others during the game drives. The 12 days Best of Uganda and Tanzania safari will also take you to Kibale forest national park, Queen Elizabeth national park and Bwindi impenetrable national park where you will be able to view animals like lions, leopards, buffaloes, elephants, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, hippos, Nile crocodiles and also spend time with the endangered mountain gorillas and chimpanzees in their natural environment.
Highlights of the 12 days Best of Uganda and Tanzania safari
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to the hotel in Entebbe
Day 2: Transfer to Kibale forest national park
Day 3: Chimpanzee trekking and transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park
Day 4: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise
Day 5: Transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park
Day 6: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park
Day 7: Transfer to Kigali-flight to Kilimanjaro airport
Day 8: Transfer to Tarangire national park-game drive
Day 9: Transfer to Serengeti national park-evening game drive
Day 10: Full day game drive in Serengeti national park
Day 11: Transfer to Ngorongoro conservation area-crater drive
Day 12: Departure to Arusha
Detailed itinerary
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to a hotel in Entebbe
Depending on your arrival time at Entebbe international airport on day 1 of the 12 days best of Uganda and Tanzania safari, you will be welcomed by our driver guide who will brief you about the safari and then transfer to the hotel in Entebbe.
Day 2: Transfer to Kibale Forest National Park
After breakfast on day 2 of the 12 days best of Uganda and Tanzania safari, your driver guide will pick you up from the hotel to transfer to Kibale National Park. The journey takes about 6 to 7 hours drive and on the way you will have en-route lunch and enjoy stunning views of the farmlands, Rwenzori Mountains, tea plantations, Lake Gorge, crater lakes among others. Upon arrival in Kibale national park you will check into the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Chimpanzee trekking and transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park
Chimpanzee trekking,
After an early breakfast on day 3 of the 12 days Best of Uganda and Tanzania safari, you will meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kanyachu Visitors Centre for chimpanzee trekking briefing. After the briefing you will be divided into a group of 6 people where each group will be allocated a chimpanzee family to trek and a park guide who is well conversant with trails in the forest. Trekking of chimpanzees in Kibale forest national park takes about 30 minutes to 5 hours depending on where the chimpanzees are located because they like to move from one place to another in search of food. During trekking you will be able to spot other primates such as grey cheeked mangabey, black and white colobus monkeys, red tailed monkeys, some bird species, plants among others. Once the chimpanzees are found you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat which helps you to learn more about their behaviors, watch them feed, breastfeed, fight, hunt, enjoy the juveniles playing up in the trees, take photos and record the moments. After the face to face encounter with the chimpanzees you will trek back to the park headquarters where you will meet up with your driver guide to return to the lodge for lunch.
After lunch, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park which is the second largest national park in Uganda. The journey takes about 2 to 3 hours’ drive and upon arrival, you will check into the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise
After an early breakfast on day 4 of the 12 days Best of Uganda and Tanzania safari, your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge to go for a morning game drive/lion tracking experience where you will be able to spot different animals including elephants, buffaloes, lions, leopards, waterbucks, Uganda kobs, bushbucks, topi, warthogs, hyenas among others. After the game drive, you will drive back to the lodge for lunch.
After lunch, you will go for an amazing boat cruise on Kazinga channel where you will be able to view large concentrations of hippos in water, view Nile crocodiles basking on the water banks, buffaloes, elephants, antelopes among others drinking water along the shores, view water birds among others. After the boat cruise, you will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park
After breakfast on day 5 of the 12 days best of Uganda and Tanzania safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park. On the way you will have a stopover in Ishasha sector where you will be able to view the tree climbing lions lying on acacia/fig tree branches if you are lucky. After the game drive in Ishasha sector, you will have en-route lunch and then continue the journey to Bwindi impenetrable national park and upon arrival you will check in at the lodge for relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 6: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi national park
Gorilla trekking,
After an early breakfast on day 6 of the 12 days best of Uganda and Tanzania safari, you will carry your lunch box and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing about the rules, regulations and expectations of gorilla trekking. After the briefing you will be divided in groups of 8 people where each group will be allocated a gorilla family to trek and a park guide who is knowledgeable about the mountain gorillas. Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park takes about 30 minutes to 7 hours depending on their location and during trekking you will be able to view forest birds, other primates, plant and tree species among others. Once the mountain gorillas are found you will be able to spend one hour with them which gives you an opportunity to learn more about their lifestyle, behaviours, habits, take photos, watch them carry out their daily activities and record the fascinating memories to show people back home.
After a breath-taking encounter with the gentle giants, you will trek back to the starting point where you will be awarded a certificate for participating in gorilla trekking and then meet up with your guide and then meet up with your guide to return to the lodge for an evening relaxation dinner and overnight.
Day 7: Transfer to Kigali for the flight to Kilimanjaro airport
On day 7 of the 12 days best of Uganda and Tanzania safari, you will have breakfast, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kigali with en-route lunch on the way. Upon arrival, your driver guide will drop you off at Kigali International airport for your flight to Kilimanjaro airport. Upon arrival, you will be picked by our driver guide and transfer to the hotel in Arusha for dinner and overnight.
Day 8: Transfer to Tarangire national park-game drive
After breakfast on day 8 of the 12 days best of Uganda and Tanzania safari, your driver guide will pick you up from the hotel to transfer to Tarangire national park which is found in the northern part of Tanzania and known for harbouring large herds of elephants and also the ancient baobab trees. Upon arrival, you will have lunch and later go for an afternoon game drive in the park where you will be able to spot animals like elephants, zebras, waterbucks, gazelle, impalas, view various bird species among others. After the game drive, you will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 9: Transfer to Serengeti national park en-route game drive
On day 9 of the 12 days best of Uganda and Tanzania safari, you will have breakfast, checkout of the lodge with your packed lunch and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Serengeti national park with stunning views of wildlife and highlands on the way. Upon arrival in the park, you will have a picnic lunch and then proceed to the lodge with a game drive en-route, evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 10: Full day game drives in Serengeti national park
After an early breakfast on day 10 of the 12 days best of Uganda and Tanzania safari, your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge to transfer to north Serengeti for a game drive which takes about 2 to 3 hours’ drive. You will be able to view animals like buffaloes, elephants, lions, giraffes, zebras, various bird species among others, explore the Mara river where you will be able to see the Mara river crossing if you are lucky. You will have a picnic lunch in the wilderness and then proceed with the game drive where after you will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 11: Transfer to Ngorongoro conservation area, Ngorongoro crater drive
After breakfast on day 11 of the 12 days best of Uganda and Tanzania safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Ngorongoro conservation area. Upon arrival, you will drive to the Ngorongoro crater where you will descend 600 meters into the crater for a game drive where you will be able to spot animals like buffaloes, zebras, warthogs, wildebeests, elephants, dik dik, lions, leopards, hyenas among others, you will also be able to view bird species like the flamingos among others. After the crater drive, you will connect to your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 12: Departure to Arusha
On the last day of the 12 days best of Uganda and Tanzania safari, you will have breakfast, check out of the lodge, and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Arusha with views of animals on the way. Upon arrival, your driver guide will drop you off at the airport for your departure flight or drop off at any place of advise.
End of 12 days Best of Uganda and Tanzania safari
Tour includes
- Gorilla trekking permit
- Chimpanzee trekking permit
- Boat cruise
- Park entrance fees/ game drives
- All activities included in the itinerary
- Services of a professional English speaking driver guide
- Full board accommodation
- Pick up from Arusha and drop off in Kampala/ Entebbe
- Vehicle and fuel
- Bottled drinking water in the safari vehicle
- All national park fees
- All meals on the safari
- Crater and concession fees
- Government taxes
Tour excludes
- Air flight tickets
- Entry Visas
- Life &travel insurance
- Tips and gratuities
- Optional activities not included on the itinerary
- Personal expenses like buying souvenirs, cigarettes, crafts, drinks, laundry services, hiring a porter, tips among others.
