The overview
This 18-day Uganda and Tanzania safari tour begins in Entebbe, Uganda, and ends in Arusha, Tanzania, with activities and explorations in some of these two countries’ most famous national parks, including Kibale National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, Mgahinga National Park, and the Nile River in Uganda, and Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater Area, and Tarangire National Park in Tanzania.
The safari highlights
- Witness the Great Wildebeest Migration.
- Explore the magnificent Ngorongoro Crater
- White water rafting
- Boat cruises on River Nile, Kazinga channel
- In Tarangire National Park, you may get up close and personal with large herds of elephants.
- Observe Big Cats (Lions, Leopards, and Cheetahs) during exciting hunts
- Mountain Gorilla Tracking in Bwindi Impenetrable forest national park
- Track the Golden monkeys in Mgahinga National Park Uganda
- Track the Chimpanzee in Kibale Forest national park
- Search for the tree-climbing lions in the Ishasha sector
- Spotting the big five animals
Detailed Itinerary of 18 days of Uganda and Tanzania primates and wildlife safari
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to Kibale national park
After a leisurely breakfast, the driver will pick you up from your hotel and drive you to Kibale National Park, which is approximately 320 kilometers away and takes 5 to 6 hours to reach. Along the way, you will have lunch and enjoy stunning views of the beautiful scenery, landscape, and tea plantation, among other things.
When you arrive at Kibale National Park, check into your hotel for relaxation, supper, and an overnight stay.
Meal plan: All meals are included
Day 2: Chimpanzee habituation in Kibale Park
After an early breakfast, Chimpanzee habituation begins early in the morning with an introduction at the park headquarters. The habituation is done in semi habituated Chimpanzee families that still have more wildlife traits. After the briefing, you will be led by the game ranger to the jungle of Kibale Forest National Park. The habituation begins around 6:00 am-6:30 pm in the morning, when the chimps are just getting ready to begin their daily routines. It’s fascinating to watch the chimps awaken early in the morning. The mothers rousing their infant Chimpanzees in search of the day’s meal. The entire procedure takes a full day, but after meeting the chimps, you will spend 4 to 5 hours with them.
Chimp habituation experience is an activity in which visitors can join scientists from the Uganda Wildlife Authority on their day’s quest to habituate a chimp group in their natural habitat, through following the chimp group during their daily routines, from sunrise after they wake up to begin their day until evening when they begin to build their nests before retiring at the end of the day.
You will return to your lodge for dinner and a good night’s sleep
Meal plan: All meals are included
Day 3: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park
After breakfast, check out and drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda’s most famous tourist destination. You will be driven for about 3 hours to Queen Elizabeth National Park, stopping along the way at the Equator and the crater lakes for photos to commemorate your crossing of the equator. Proceed to the park to see creatures such as Uganda Kobs, Savanna Elephants, and Waterbucks, among others. Check into your Lodge for lunch and rest.
In the late afternoon, you will embark on an evening game drive via the Kasenyi Savannah Plains, with varied scenery of wide savannah, shady forests, and wetlands, and you will see classic big game animals such as buffalos, elephants, lions, leopards, and many more. The Park also has 10 primate species, including chimps in the Kyambura Gorge. The stunning Rwenzori Mountains form the park’s backdrop, completing the vista of Queen Elizabeth National Park. Keep an eye out for big cats, who become more active in the nighttime hours as they prepare for the night’s hunt. Return to your lodge for dinner and overnight after the wildlife drive.
Meal plan: All meals are included
Day 4: Game Drive and afternoon Boat Cruise
Following an early breakfast, you will meet your driver guide and go for a morning game drive experience in Kasenyi Plains. Various animal species such as leopards, lions, elephants, kobs, waterbucks, buffaloes, bushbucks, warthogs, hyenas, bush pigs, and various bird species such as the papyrus gonolek, white-backed night heron, yellow-throated cuckoo, red chested sunbird, and white-winged warbler will be visible during the game drive. Return to your lodge for lunch and relaxation after the wildlife drive.
After lunch, take a 2- to a 4-hour boat trip on the 32-kilometer-long Kazinga Channel, a natural channel that separates Lake Edward and George. Hippos, crocodiles, monitor lizards, and buffalos are all common along the canal. Elephants and antelopes frequently descend to the canal to cool off, drink, and consume the new grass. The Channel is a magnet for wildlife! Some of the more common and visible species include the Pied and Malachite Kingfisher, African Fish Eagle, Cormorants, Skimmers, Saddle-billed Stork, and Pelicans. As you float by tiny fishing communities and enjoy the peace and quiet of this beautiful African day. Return back to your lodge for dinner and a night’s stay
Meal plan: All meals are included
Day 5: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest via Ishasha Sector for a Game Drive
After breakfast, you will start on a 5-6 hour drive to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest via Ishasha sector, where you will have the opportunity to see tree-climbing lions up close. Lunch will be served end path. Then carry on to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, a dense tropical rain forest in south-western Uganda that is home to the endangered mountain gorillas. Check into the lodge for supper and an overnight stay.
Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Day 6: Gorilla tracking
After an early breakfast, you will meet your driver guide and head to the park headquarters for a briefing on the rules and regulations of gorilla trekking. Following the briefing, you will be divided into groups of eight and assigned a gorilla family to journey with. A park guide who is experienced and familiar with the forest paths will lead and guide you through the trek. Trekking the gorilla family takes between 3 and 7 hours depending on their position. Once you’ve found them, you’ll have an hour to watch and photograph these gentle giants – a truly fascinating experience. After that, return to the lodge to unwind.
Meal plan: All meals are included
Day 7: Transfer to Mgahinga national park and do golden monkey tracking
Breakfast will be served, followed by a drive to Mgahinga National Park and a transfer to the headquarters at Mgahinga National Park for a briefing about the Golden monkeys and your hiking equipment. Following the briefing, your ranger guide will accompany you into the jungle to look for Golden Monkeys. When you find them, spend an hour looking at them and taking pictures and videos. You will return to your lodge for lunch and rest after the quest.
Connect for a Batwa community visit after lunch, where you will learn about Batwa culture and be entertained by the Batwa people. Return to your lodge for a well-deserved break, dinner, and overnight stay.
Meal plan: All meals are included
Day 8: Transfer to Kampala city
After breakfast, you will begin your drive of approximately 480km and 8 to 9 hours to Kampala through Kabale, Mbarara, and Masaka. You will have en-route lunch, and upon arrival in Kampala, you will check into your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
Meal Plan: All meals are included
Day 9: Drive to Jinja and take a boat ride along the River Nile to the source of the Nile
After a leisurely breakfast, you will be transported to Jinja via Mabira forest, where you will see tea estates and sugar cane fields before checking into your accommodation. In the afternoon, take a boat ride across the Nile River, identifying various bird species and enjoying a clear view of the water, visiting the source of the Nile. Then, return to the hotel for dinner and stay.
Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and dinner
Day 10: White rafting and drive to Entebbe
You will go white water rafting after breakfast, which is a popular activity along the Nile, the world’s longest river, where you may enjoy the water rapids. Swimming is also an excellent option because the water is quiet and clear. While enjoying the exercise, there are numerous bird species to watch, and the scenery along the Nile is stunning.
In the evening, you will be transferred to Entebbe where you will have dinner and an overnight stay.
Meal plan: All meals are included
Day 11: Flight to Arusha in Tanzania
After a relaxing breakfast, you will be transferred to Entebbe International Airport for your planned flight to Arusha. When you arrive in Arusha, our representative will welcome you and drive you to the lodge where you will have dinner and spend the night.
Meal plan: All meals are included
Day 12: Transfer to Serengeti National Park
After breakfast, you will depart on an 8-hour scenic drive from Arusha to Serengeti via the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, with a picnic lunch and an afternoon game drive upon entering the Ngorongoro Conservation Area end route to Serengeti, before checking into your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Meal plan: All meals are included
Day 13: Full-day game drive in Serengeti plains
You’ll start the day with an early breakfast. After breakfast, embark on a full-day game drive through the Serengeti’s vast grasslands. You’ll retreat to your camp for lunch and some downtime before heading out on an afternoon game drive in quest of more animals and birds. You’ll leave just before dawn to go on a sunrise Serengeti tour. Because few predators hunt during the day, early morning is the best time to witness the thrill of the pursuit. It’s also an enchanted period in the Serengeti National Park, with gentle sunlight dappling the landscape, birds waking up, and a feeling of adventure beginning to emerge. Spend the entire day searching for creatures such as hippos, elephants, buffalos, giraffes, lions, hyenas, cheetahs, antelopes, hartebeest, and zebras, to name a few. Return to the lodge for supper and stay overnight.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and dinner
Day 14: Unlimited game drives in Serengeti
Spend another full day visiting the Central Serengeti of the Serengeti. The lodge will serve breakfast and lunch. The Masai refer to the Serengeti as “the place where the land runs forever.” The Serengeti has a characteristic “Out of Africa” atmosphere, with great swathes of grassland interrupted by flat-topped Acacia trees. The plains have the highest concentration of plains animals anywhere on the planet. African Wild Dog packs, Lion pride, Cheetah, Leopard, and Spotted Hyaena pride, as well as bands of Buffalo, Wildebeest, Zebra, Gazelle, Topi, Elephant, and Impala, can all be seen trailing bands of Buffalo, Wildebeest, Zebra, Gazelle, Topi, Elephant, and Impala.
Furthermore, the Serengeti National Park is home to 500 avian species, including the ostrich, Kori Bustard, Ground Hornbill, Secretary bird, and others. After another action-packed day in the Serengeti,
Meal plan: All meals are included
Day 15: Another full-day game drive at Serengeti plains
After an early breakfast, you will enter the park in quest of animals such as lions, Thomson gazelles, topis, ostriches, and cheetahs. Later in the day, you’ll enjoy a leisurely picnic lunch in the park beneath the shade of the massive acacia trees. In the afternoon, you will continue game driving through the Kopjes, which are weathered granite outcrops spread across the plains, with the majority of them serving as tiny ecosystems, offering shade and drinking water in puddles left in the rock after rain. This makes the kopjes especially suitable for observing wildlife in the dry seasons, such as lions, which like to lie in wait for animals coming to drink; afterward, you will return to the lodge for the night.
All meals are included
Day 16: Transfer to the Ngorongoro Crater area
After breakfast, depart on a 2- to 3-hour drive to Ngorongoro Conservation Area, where you will explore the world’s largest Caldera and encounter several mammals including Rhinos, Elephants, Lions, Zebras, buffaloes, Leopards, Hyenas, and many more, not to mention an encounter with the local Masai People who live in harmony with the wildlife while grazing their livestock. Upon arrival, you will check into the lodge for lunch before heading into the crater for a game drive before the sun sets. Return to your lodge for dinner and sleep.
Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and dinner
Day 17: Transfer to Tarangire national park
After an early breakfast, you will be taken from the Ngorongoro Crater area to Tarangire National Park, a four-hour and 160-kilometer journey. You’ll check into your lodge for lunch and some rest.
Arrive at your accommodation in time for lunch. After lunch, relax for a while before heading on a game drive in search of unusual animals. Tarangire’s grassy plains are dotted with majestic massive Baobabs, Africa’s largest trees, and a refuge for a diverse range of species. Elephants abound in this region, with some groups containing up to 300 individuals. Find herds of Zebras, Giraffes, Elands, Gazelles, Buffalos, Impalas, Wildebeests, Hartebeests, and Waterbuck, as well as Lions, Leopards, Hyenas, and Cheetahs that prey on them, and over 500 bird species, including the world’s largest bird, the Yellow-collared lovebird, and the Kori Bustard, the heaviest flying bird. Return to the lodge to relax for the evening and night.
Meal plan: All meals are included
Day 18: Transfer to Arusha for departure flight
After a leisurely breakfast, your driver will return you to Arusha depending on the time of your departure flight, bringing this safari excursion to a close.
Meal plan: Breakfast