Wild dreams come true on this 11-day Uganda Tanzania Safari. Meet the Batwa Pygmy tribe and learn about their ancient way of life. Enter the world of wild mountain gorillas in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and spend a day trekking and observing these marvelous creatures.
Marvel at the baobab wonders and witness a spectacle of elephant concentrations in Tanzania’s Tarangire National Park. Experience the endless plains of Serengeti, which boasts a Great migration of wildebeests and zebras.
Learn about archaeology, history, and our ancient hominid ancestors at Olduvai Gorge Museum, before traveling onwards to the largest intact caldera on Earth; the Ngorongoro crater. The crater offers unique Big 5 game viewing opportunities and even the chance to see flocks of pink flamingos and families of hippos in the crater wetlands.
This comprehensive tour is diverse in everything it has to offer. And instills a passion for wildlife while igniting an admiration for authentic African landscape, culture, and biodiversity.
Highlights
- Experience mountain gorilla trekkingin Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
- Explore the Ngorongoro Crater
- See big cats like lions, cheetahs, and leopards in Serengeti
- Chance to witness the great migration of wildebeest and zebras
- See the Big 5 in the famed Ngorongoro Crater
- Cultural encounters with the Batwa people
- Visit Olduvai Gorge
- View large herds of elephants at Tarangire
- Visit the Uganda Equator monument
- Great photographic opportunities
- Stay at comfortable lodges and safari camps
- Enjoy a picnic lunch in the world’s largest intact volcanic caldera
- Dedicated private guide throughout
Summary
Day 1: Arrive In Entebbe
Day 2: Fly to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Batwa Cultural Experience
Day 3: Mountain Gorilla Trekking & relaxation at the lodge
Day 4: Transfer back to Entebbe by road
Day 5: Fly to Kilimanjaro International Airport & Drive to Arusha
Day 6: Tour Tarangire National Park
Day 7: Drive to Serengeti National Park & afternoon game drive
Day 8: Unlimited game drive in Serengeti National Park Central Area
Day 9: Another full day of game drives in Serengeti National Park
Day 10: Drive to Ngorongoro Crater via Olduvai Gorge. Evening Crater rim walk
Day 11: Extensive Game drive in Ngorongoro Crater & transfer back to Arusha.
Details
Day 1: Arrive In Entebbe
Welcome to the Pearl of Africa!
After arriving at Entebbe International Airport, our company representative will be waiting for you in the arrivals hall of the airport with your name on a signboard. After loading your luggage into the vehicle, you’ll be taken on a short drive to your comfortable hotel in Entebbe.
Entebbe is a small, quiet town on the shores of Lake Victoria, the world’s largest tropical lake. The town is located in central Uganda, about 40km from the capital, Kampala. ┬á
After checking into your room and taking some time to refresh, you may choose to visit the beautiful Entebbe Botanical Gardens for a leisurely walk. You can also opt to tour the local markets and craft shops to buy souvenirs.
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Protea Hotel Entebbe/Hotel No.5/Serena Lake Victoria Resort
Mid-range: Boma Hotel Entebbe/2 Friends Beach Hotel Entebbe
Budget: Airport Guest House
Meal Plan: Dinner
Day 2: Fly To Bwindi
After a good night’s rest, you’ll be driven back to Entebbe Airport for your scheduled domestic flight to Kihihi Airstrip. The flight time is just over 1 hour depending on the type of aircraft used and route taken. On arrival, our representative will take you on a short drive to your lodge on the edge of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest – a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The road trip takes about one and half hours. And it is a chance to witness a significant stretch of dense jungle vegetation and remote rural communities of Uganda.
Upon arrival, you’ll have to relax and enjoy a delicious lunch. In the afternoon a local guide will take you to visit one of Bwindi’s Batwa pygmy villages.
The Batwa used to live a traditional hunter-gatherer life inside Bwindi Impenetrable Forest until the national park was established and they were kicked out. 
Now they live near the park and earn money by welcoming visitors and demonstrating their fascinating ancient way of life. A visit is a great chance to learn all about them and help support the community. If you want to know more, here’s the article I wrote about the Batwa People.
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Gorilla Forest Lodge/Buhoma Lodge/Volcanoes Bwindi Lodge
Mid-range: Haven Lodge Buhoma/Gorilla Mist Camp/Agandi Eco Lodge
Budget: Trakker’s Tarven Cottages/Buhoma Community Rest Camp
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 3: Mountain Gorilla Trekking
Day three of your 11-day Uganda Tanzania Safari will kick off with a hearty breakfast at around 6.30 am. Then it’s off to Bwindi National Park offices for a briefing before setting off on your gorilla trek. At about 8 am, you will enter the “Impenetrable Forest” to track one of the 21 habituated gorilla families that call Bwindi home.
Once you locate a family, you’ll be given one hour to watch these incredible creatures as they interact with one another and their environment.
On your return to the lodge, you will enjoy a good lunch and spend the rest of the day at leisure as you reflect on the day’s soul-stirring encounters the gentle giants.
READ MORE: Gorilla trekking In Uganda: A Complete Guide
Day 4: Drive Back To Entebbe
On day four of your 11-day Uganda Tanzania Safari, you wake up to the peaceful sounds of nature and enjoy breakfast. Then you will leave the lush Afro-montane rainforest behind and embark on a long but rewarding drive back to Entebbe.
Pass the rolling hills with terraces and quiet rural villages of Uganda as reflect on a newfound awareness of Uganda’s precious wildlife inhabitants and welcoming local people. Have a lunch break at Igongo Cultural Centre in Mbarara Town and another at Kayabwe Equator Monument.
Uganda is one of the few countries in the world where you can cross this imaginary geographical line on land. Observe how water swirls in opposite directions on either side of the equator, take some photos, and buy some souvenirs. From there, the journey continues and the next stop is your hotel in Entebbe for relaxation, dinner, and overnight.
Day 5: Fly To Tanzania
After a leisurely breakfast at your hotel in Entebbe, you’ll take your flight to Kilimanjaro International Airport in northern Tanzania. The airport is not called the Gateway to Africas Wildlife Heritage for nothing; you are close to some of the planet’s best-known wildlife reserves.
You’ll be met by our company representative who will transfer you to your comfortable hotel in Arusha city, less than an hour away to the west.
Arusha is Tanzania’s safari capital, situated on the southern slopes of Mount Meru, close to Mount Kilimanjaro. Built by the Germans as a center of colonial administration because of the temperate climate, Arusha is a good spot to take a day off from your safari if you have extra time.
You’ll have dinner at the hotel tonight and also learn a bit about where you are; fantastic Tanzania! It is a world-class safari destination, boasting some of the best wildlife reserves on Earth, as well as the incredible cultural richness and some very cool geographical features, not least Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest free-standing mountain on the planet.
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Impala Hotel/Arusha Coffee Lodge/Kibo Palace Hotel
Midrange: Outpost Lodge
Meal Plan: Dinner
Day 6: Arusha To Tarangire
Your day six of the 11-day Uganda Tanzania Safari will start with a delightful breakfast at the hotel and then we pack our bags and leave Arusha Town. You will be driven for approximately 3 hours in a south-westerly direction to your first safari park in Tanzania, Tarangire.
You’ll enjoy some wonderful scenery along the way today.
You’ll reach your lodge, in time for lunch. After lunch, have some time to rest before setting out into the park for a four-wheel drive (4×4) game drive. Learn more about this wonderful park as you drive along looking for the wonderful wildlife.
Tarangire is a lovely quiet park, off the beaten safari track. The park is known for its mid-year dry-season game viewing when tens of thousands of animals gather at the life-giving Tarangire River, including some of the largest herds of elephants in Tanzania.
The open savannah grasslands of this 2,850 km2 park are dotted with towering baobabs – “the bizarre upside-down trees”, the largest trees in Africa. Elephants congregate in herds of up to 600 animals, and the large numbers of game animals attract numerous predators especially lions.
Accommodation: –
Luxury: Tarangire Sopa Lodge/Oliver’s Camp
Midrange: Tarangire Kirurumu Camp
Budget: Roika Tented Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 7: Drive To Serengeti
Start your day with an early breakfast and then embark on a long scenic drive of about 5 to 6 hours north. Travel through rural Masai villages and Ngorongoro Conservation Area, skirting the mighty volcanic Ngorongoro Crater and into the famous Serengeti Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Serengeti, together with Maasai Mara of Kenya, form Africa’s most famous wildlife park. The image of Acacia trees on endless savannah plain epitomizes Africa for many. Then add a Maasai warrior and some cattle to the picture and the conversation need to go no further – this is Africa! You’ll enjoy a packed lunch and game viewing en route.
You’ll reach your camp/lodge in the central Serengeti in the afternoon and spend three memorable nights here. The picture-perfect landscape of central Serengeti is characterized by endless stretches of savannah-covered open plains, interspersed by rocky outcrops of granite, scattered with acacia woodlands, and covered in a network of streams and rivers.
Central Serengeti forms part of “the Great Wildebeest Migration”, an iconic and dramatic scene in wildlife documentaries for decades and a true Africa safari bucket list experience. This part of the park is also home to the fabulous Seronera Valley, the best place in Africa to see Lions, Leopards, Cheetahs, and Hyenas on thrilling hunts.
After settling in the lodge, you’ll go on your first official game drive in the Serengeti. You’ll learn more about this legendary game park as you drive along and look for some of the fantastic fauna and flora that call this place home.
One of the seven natural wonders of Africa, the Serengeti ecosystem is one of the oldest and most scientifically significant ecosystems on the planet. Its weather patterns, fauna, and flora are believed to have changed very little for as long as a million years or more, giving the area an incredible prehistoric presence.
Accommodation: –
Luxury: Serengeti Sopa Lodge/Serengeti Serena Lodge/Dunia Camp
Midrange: Serengeti Kati Kati Camp
Budget: Kijereshi Tented Camp (Bungalow)
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 8: Unlimited Game Drive In Serengeti
This morning you will enjoy an early breakfast and then set off on a morning game drive. You’ll return to your lodge for lunch and maybe a siesta in the heat of the day.
Then you will go out again in search of more animals and birds on an afternoon game drive. The Endless Plains of the Serengeti span almost 1.5 million hectares and are home to over 3 million beautiful wild animals.
These high numbers of animals are due to the diverse habitats, including riverine swamps, forests, kopjes, grasslands, and woodlands.
Packs of painted wolves, prides of African Lion, Cheetah, Leopard, and Hyenas are often seen tailing the herds of the Blue Wildebeest, Plains Zebra, Topis, and Gazelles.
Serengeti is also home to a diversity of grazers, including African Buffalo, African Elephant, Warthog, Eland, and Waterbuck. With so much on the go, it is not hard to see the full spectrum of classic African wildlife on even one game drive!
Day 9: Another Full In Serengeti
Today, you have another full day in Serengeti. You will enjoy breakfast and lunch at the camp, with morning and afternoon game drives included.
The local Maasai people have a name for the Serengeti; ‘Siringet’ which means ‘endless plains’ or ‘the land that goes on forever’. Great stretches of African savannah grassland dotted with flat-topped Acacia trees give the Serengeti that classic Out of Africa feel.
Many people say that the sunsets in the Serengeti National Park are the most beautiful on earth, with the sky turning a palette of pinks, purples, and oranges before disappearing over the horizon.
Day 10: Drive to Ngorongoro Crater
After a relaxing breakfast, you enjoy one last game drive in Serengeti, as you transfer to Ngorongoro Conservation Area – another World Heritage Site.
En route, you’ll visit the Olduvai Gorge Museum – located near the site where archaeologists Louis and Mary Leakey discovered the remains of Homo habilis, one of the earliest members of the human genus in the 1960s.
After exploring the area, you’ll have your lunch and continue to Ngorongoro. On the way, you’ll learn some cool facts about this incredible natural geological wonderland.
The name Ngorongoro actually comes from the Maasai; the Maasai pastoralists named the area after the sound produced by the cowbell (ngoro ngoro)!
The main feature of this 8,500 km2 conservation area is the Ngorongoro Crater, the largest unbroken volcanic caldera on Earth. It was formed about 2 million years when a giant volcano, almost the size of Mount Kilimanjaro exploded dramatically and collapsed on itself.
The caldera is surrounded by incredibly steep walls rising 600 m above the floor of the volcano. It’s breathtakingly beautiful and a must-visit place on any safari in East Africa.
It is also listed as one of Africa’s Seven Natural Wonders, along with the Red Sea, Mount Kilimanjaro, Sahara Desert, Wildebeest Migration, Nile River, and Okavango Delta.
Also, an International Biosphere Reserve, Ngorongoro is best known for its natural beauty and abundant wildlife. The grasslands within the crater are home to almost 30,000 large mammals, including all the Big 5. The crater offers visitors a high chance of seeing all the members of the Big 5 in one place – arguably one of the best-known Ngorongoro Crater facts.
On arrival, you will check in your lodge, and enjoy dinner before falling asleep under the vast, star-filled African sky. Enjoy!
Accommodation Options
Luxury: Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge/The Highlands
Midrange: Rhotia Valley Tented Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 11: Crater Drive & Travel Back To Arusha.
After an early breakfast, you will descend the crater and have an extensive game drive inside, enjoying a picnic lunch on the 260 km2 crater floor.
Get ready to see some spectacular fauna and flora! Most of the animals are relaxed in the presence of humans and vehicles, and the cloud-draped crater walls make for dramatic pictures and memories. After exploring the crater, you will ascend and drive back to Arusha.
End of The Safari:
Inclusions
- Gorilla tracking permit fees
- Ground transport in a 4X4 Safari Land cruiser/Van
- Domestic flight from Entebbe to Kihihi, Bwindi
- Regional flight from Entebbe to Kilimanjaro
- Crater fees
- Full board accommodation on Safari
- Bed & Breakfast Accommodation in Entebbe and Arusha
- Full-time English-speaking professional driver/guide
- Complimentary bottled water while in the vehicle
- All Park/Reserve Entry fees
- Concession fees -Serengeti
- Extra lunches as indicated in the program
- Tourism Development Levy – In Tanzania hotels
- All tour activities as detailed in the itinerary
Exclusions
- Tips
- Laundry services
- Other Beverages/ drinks
- International flights
- Visas
- Optional activities and any other extras not mentioned in the above itinerary.
- Extra meals not mentioned in the program
- Inoculations and personal insurance
- Items of personal nature such as beverages not mentioned, telephone, postage, laundry, etc.
- International/local airfares not indicated in the program
