17-Day Uganda, Kenya,& Zanzibar Safari

This 17-Day Uganda, Kenya, & Zanzibar Safari offers an amazing itinerary, gorilla trekking permits, plenty of included game drives, and key cultural experiences. How you spend the rest of your time is up to you! Whether you’re relaxing in the wild or taking part in optional excursions, the wonders of East Africa will stay vivid in your memory long after this 17-day Uganda, Kenya, and Zanzibar safari ends.

Trip Summary

Day 1: Arrival in Uganda

Day 2:Transfer to Kibale Forest National Park

Day 3:Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi swamp experience

Day 4:Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Day 5:Gorilla trekking in Bwindi

Day 6: Explore the mighty Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

Day 7: Kigali/Kenya

Day 8:Amboseli National Park

Day 9: Game drive in Amboseli

Day 10: Lake Naivasha

Day 11: lake Nakuru

Day 12: Transfer to Masai Mara National Park

Day 13: Masai Mara National Reserve wildlife viewing

Day 14: Zanzibar Stone Town tour

Day 15:Zanzibar beach tours

Day 16:

Day 17:

Itinerary 

Day 1- Arrival in Uganda at Entebbe International Airport

Your unforgettable journey begins at Entebbe International Airport, where you will be met by our company representative of Africa Safaris Tours and transferred to your hotel. The rest of the day will be spent at leisure to explore the town of Entebbe. Additional activities and transfers arranged upon request

Accommodation options:

Lake Victoria Serena

Day 2: Transfer to Kibale  Forest National Park

After breakfast, your private transfer vehicle takes you on a scenic drive of about 6 hours to Kibale Forest—the primate capital of East Africa. You will drive past rolling hills, tea plantations, and colorful villages towards Fort Portal Town. Fort Portal rests in the shadow of the fabled Mountains of the Moon and is famous for the many tea plantations. From this lovely town, you will continue to your lodge inside or near Kibale Forest National Park. Arriving at your lodge, you can relax and unwind after your journey or take a short walk through the adjacent rain forest and Crater Lake.

Accommodation option:

Kibale Forest Camp (mid-range),

Primate Lodge (luxury), Chimpanzee Forest Lodge

Day 3: chimpanzee trekking and the Bigodi swamp

Today, Kibale Forest opens its doors for sensational chimpanzee trekking. The forest has one of the highest concentrations of primates in East Africa, with a habituated community of chimpanzees that are located 95% of the time during treks.

Spend an hour with these majestic primates, learning about their behavior and lifestyle. Once your chimp trek is wrapped up, return to the lodge for lunch and relaxation. In the afternoon, you will set out for a community-based guided tour of the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary. During this nature walk, you will learn more about this community-run initiative that aims to conserve the unique biodiversity and environmental values of the wetlands.

Alternatively, you may choose to take a village walk.  During this walk, you’ll visit the traditional doctor who will tell you more about medical plants, herbs, and spirits. You’ll also learn more about the culture and history through a home visit. The elder of the village will tell you many stories about traditional weddings, special ceremonies, and tribal life. While you walk past various villages, you will also have the chance to visit a school or church.

Day 4: Travel to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Today, embark on a long but rewarding journey to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest – the home of the endangered mountain gorillas. This fulfilling journey will take you through Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda’s premier wildlife destination, with 95 mammal species and over 600 bird species.

You will have an opportunity to spot a variety of animals, including elephants, buffalo, leopards, spotted hyenas, antelopes, and lions, which are regular sightings. From Queen, your drive will continue southwest through the Kigezi highlands with great scenery of terraced hills. Lunch will be en route or at the lodge, depending on the time of arrival.

Day 5: Gorilla Trekking

Today, you’ll experience what some people define as a life-changing adventure: a meeting with the gentle giants of Bwindi! Expect a relatively difficult hike of 2 to 6 hours through the rugged, mountainous terrain and muddy conditions, sometimes with rain overhead, before you encounter any gorillas. But the indescribable elation at coming across a family of wild gorillas is worth the effort. Spend a mesmerizing hour with the gorillas as they eat, sleep, groom and play as the male silverback watches over them, then return to the lodge for dinner and to reflect on this incredible experience.

Day 6:Exploring through Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

Today, you can opt for a second gorilla trek, but if not, your guide will offer you options and ideas on how you can spend your free day at Bwindi. You can head out on more rain forest hikes to see monkeys, take some nature walks, or if your legs are up for it, take a tough hike over the volcanoes of the nearby Mgahinga Gorilla National Park – or perhaps take a day excursion over the border to Rwanda to visit the genocide memorial, art museum and Nyamirambo women’s center. However, please ensure you have a Rwanda or East Africa visa that allows you to enter Uganda, Rwanda, and Kenya.

Day 7: Kigali

After an early breakfast this morning, take a spectacular drive of about 4 hours through the emerald green hills of Rwanda, “the Land of a Thousand Hills”. The winding roads meander through verdant rainforests, skirting hilltops (keep your eyes open for the volcanoes!) and dipping into quite rural villages before arriving in Kigali city. You will be dropped off at Kigali International Airport for your short flight to Nairobi this evening (approximately 1.5 hours). On arrival at Nairobi Airport, you will be met and transferred to your Nairobi hotel. Check in, freshen up, and get a good night’s rest.

Day 8: Amboseli National Park

Your driver guide will pick you up from the hotel for a drive to Amboseli National Park. En route, you’ll take in the African sun rising over the plains. Look for local homesteads and the Maasai herdsmen in their colorful wraps, tending to their cattle. Even before you arrive at Amboseli, you’ll be guided by the unmistakable summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, drawing you to the park.

You’ll arrive in time for lunch at your lodge or tented camp. After fortifying ourselves, you’ll venture out on your first game drive looking for elephants, buffalo, lions, zebras, giraffes, cheetahs, ostriches, and so many others. Amboseli is known as a park where wildlife viewing is easy and abundant. The reserve is also a photographer’s dream, framed by the snowy flanks and summit of Mount Kilimanjaro – the world’s highest freestanding mountain.

Toward the evening and sometimes early morning, the daytime clouds obscuring this tallest peak drift off, giving lucky viewers a stunning view of the mountain’s iconic summit. You’ll spend the night in the park at your choice of safari lodge or tented camp.

Day 9:Wildlife viewing in Amboseli National Park

Day 1o: Transfer to Lake Naivasha

By now, you know it is fun to rise with or even before the sun when on safari!  You’ll take an early morning game drive for some last views of the elephants and majestic Mount Kilimanjaro. Now you head for the Great Rift Valley and Lake Naivasha area attractions (approximately 340 km: 6-hour drive). You enjoy lunch and relax on an afternoon boat cruise, gliding by hippos and the rich birdlife here. You may see grazing zebra and antelope not far away, on the shore.

After the rugged terrain of the past few days, this languid freshwater lake is an indulgent retreat. While you are feeling relaxed, let’s take a guided walking safari over to Crescent Island Sanctuary amidst the gently grazing impala, zebra, and giraffe.

Day 11:Lake Nakuru

Today offers a unique opportunity for an early morning adventure! You can choose to pedal your way to Hell’s Gate National Park for a captivating bicycle safari, exploring its stunning gorges, dramatic rock formations, and serene wildlife. Alternatively, if your heart is set on witnessing magnificent flamingo displays, consider a visit to Lake Bogoria, renowned for its larger flocks compared to Lake Nakuru.

Later, a short 80km (1.5-hour) drive brings you to Lake Nakuru National Park. This beautiful park boasts wooded hills, acacia forests, and a lake teeming with diverse birdlife, including pelicans, kingfishers, ostriches, and, of course, flamingoes. Beyond the birds, Lake Nakuru is home to an impressive array of big game, such as both black and white rhinos, Rothschild’s giraffes, lions, leopards, warthogs, monkeys, and baboons.

Day 12:Masai Mara National Reserve

Enjoy unlimited game drives throughout this vast reserve. All the Big 5 are here, with a special emphasis on lions. The Mara is known for its intense concentration of wildlife – the densest in this part of Africa.  If you should happen to be here during the Great Migration season, you’ll be lucky to find even greater quantities of wildlife. This is the time when gazelle, zebra, and wildebeest by the thousands cross into the park over the Mara River in their timeless search for ever taller grasses. Here, the cycles of life play out as predators lie in wait for the multitudes of these grazers streaming into the Mara. You’ll visit the Mara River, looking for hippos, crocodiles, and perhaps waiting in the hills, lions, cheetahs, and other big cats.

If at all that wasn’t enough, you have several optional activities of which you can take advantage. There are also indigenous tribes living here – the Maasai people. You can visit their village, learn about their lives, and come away a bit richer for the experience.

If you are interested in something completely different and quite unforgettable, go for a hot air balloon ride over the Mara. You will be picked up before dawn and driven to the launch site for a safety briefing from your pilot. Then you’ll glide through the dawn, sometimes at tree height, to get some amazing photo opportunities. Sometimes you’ll ascend, getting an overview of the vastness of the plains and the early morning movements of the teeming herds. After landing, you’ll be treated to a bush breakfast, and then be returned to your campsite for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 14: Visit Zanzibar Stone Town

Wake up early in the morning for your breakfast, and then go on a morning game drive in the Masai Mara National Reserve. Then, depart for Zanzibar. Our lunch will be packed, and later board a flight to Zanzibar.

Zanzibar is a precious island in the Indian Ocean filled with idyllic beaches, vibrant markets, and a varied and sometimes dark history. This is a place rooted in slavery, where Arabian sultans once lived. Why not throw yourself into the midst of Stone Town’s maze of narrow streets? Perhaps, if you would like to hear more about this town and the island’s history, our local representative can organise an afternoon tour.

Days 15-17: visit to the Zanzibar beaches

Days 15-17 of the safari offer the perfect grand finale to your East African adventure on the beautiful beaches of Zanzibar. Relax on stretches of pristine white sand, bordered by swaying palm trees and gently touched by the warm, turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean. Spend your days swimming, sunbathing, or enjoying a rejuvenating massage. For the more adventurous, snorkeling and diving reveal a vibrant underwater world full of colorful coral reefs and diverse marine life. Consider a traditional dhow cruise at sunset for a truly magical experience, or explore charming coastal villages to soak in the island’s unique Swahili culture