A Customizable Bespoke Luxury Great Migration and Gorilla Trekking Itinerary for Family, Couples & Friends
This 21-Day Bespoke Luxury Uganda Kenya Tanzania Safari itinerary is a private Africa safari tour that takes you to encounter two of Africa’s iconic Wildlife experiences the gorilla trekking in Bwindi and Great Migration Mara river crossing in Serengeti National Park and Masai Mara game reserve. The bespoke luxury Uganda Kenya Tanzania safari combines personalized experiences, exclusive accommodations, seamless travel and expert guiding across East Africa’s iconic parks of Bwindi, Serengeti and Masai Mara which offers you an ultimate Gorilla trekking and great migration mara river crossing experience of wildlife in their natural habitat creating an unforgettable journey that will stay with you forever.
The bespoke luxury Uganda Kenya Tanzania safari itinerary begins in Uganda’s Kibale National Park where you will trek with Chimpanzees once before heading to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park to witness the endangered mountain gorillas with a double gorilla trekking opportunity. You will then head to Tanzania where you will have game drives in Serengeti National Park (North and Central) in search of big 5, predators and witness the famous wildebeest migration across the Mara River later flying to Masai Mara to explore the vast the savannah and experience the great migration on the other side of the river in Kenya. Finally, you will spend the last two nights of your bespoke luxury Uganda Kenya Tanzania safari tour at the Giraffe Manor an iconic and exclusive hotel in Nairobi with a resident herd of wild giraffes who tend to visit every morning and evening.
The bespoke luxury gorilla trekking & Great Migration safari can be designed to your specific preferences including the duration, activity focus and pace of the trip. Please note that you can customize your trip with unique activities like hot air balloon safaris over the Serengeti and Masai Mara and personalized service to fit your interests and fitness levels especially for gorilla trekking. This Bespoke luxury Uganda Kenya Tanzania Safari Itinerary is highly recommended during the Months of Late July to Early October.
A Customizable Bespoke Luxury Uganda Kenya and Tanzania safari Itinerary to Inspire You:
Day 1: Arrive at Entebbe and Transfer to Your Hotel
Welcome to Uganda the pearl of Africa. On arrival at Entebbe International Airport, you will meet and greet with a representative from Engabi Tours and Travel who will welcome you to Uganda and transfer you to your hotel for overnight. He will brief you about your upcoming trip.
Accommodation Option: Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort
Meal Plan: Bed and Breakfast and all Complimentary Offers
Day 2: Flight to Kasese Airstrip and Transfer to Kibale forest National Park
After breakfast, you will be transferred to Entebbe International for your flight to Kasese Airstrip arriving in time for a road transfer to Kibale forest national park the primate capital of the world and home to 13 species of primates including chimpanzees.
Accommodation Option: Chimpundu Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and all Complimentary Offers
Day 3: Chimpanzee Tracking
After your morning breakfast, your tour driver will lead you to Kanyanchu park headquarters for briefing from the senior park ranger. At 8:00 am you will join the rest of other trackers and transfer to the starting point which is 2 Km away from the park headquarters. Most often chimpanzee tracking goes for 3 to 4 hours.
While in the forest you may interface with primates including, Chimpanzees, the red-tailed monkey, L’Hoest monkey, baboons, white and black Colobus monkeys, grey checked mangabey, red Colobus, blue monkeys and pottos. Other animals include forest elephants unique from the common type, giant forest hogs and a striking tree species.
Accommodation Option: Chimpundu Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and all Complimentary Offers
Day 4: Stay at Leisure at the Lodge
Today you will stay at leisure either spending a quiet day lounging on a sun bed by the hotel’s free-form, infinity-edge pool or in the spa and other in-house activities and experiences. In the Evening you may go for a nature walk in Bigodi wetland sanctuary, an eco-tourism destination managed by local people.
Accommodation Option: Chimpundu Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and all Complimentary Offers
Day 5: Flight to Kihihi Airstrip and Transfer to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park
After breakfast you will be Kasese Airstrip arriving in time for a flight to Kihihi Airstrip from where you will be transferred by road to Bwindi forest National park arriving in time for check in at your Lodge. Renowned as home to half of world’s mountains gorillas, Bwindi is famous gorilla tracking destination. derived from the Rukiga word, “Bwindi” means a dark place, Bwindi rainforest has remained untouched since the last ice age 250, 000 million years ago.
Accommodation Option: Kiho Gorilla Safari Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and all Complimentary Offers
Day 6: First Gorilla trekking Experience
You will get up so early in the morning for breakfast and thereafter your driver will drive you to the Park head offices of Ruhija with your packed lunch. On reaching there by 7:30am you will be briefed about what to do and not to do while trekking after which you will be led by the ranger guides through the mist jungle. Trekking usually takes between to 8 hours or even a full day due to the location of gorillas. When you see them, it will be a great and fun time as you watch them and only 1 hour is permitted to watch them. Also ensure you carry enough water with you, hats, sun glasses, rain coats, and non-flash cameras.
Later return to the lodge and in the afternoon, you may go for a walk in the communities
Accommodation Option: Kiho Gorilla Safari Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and all Complimentary Offers
Day 7: Second Gorilla Trekking Experience
Today you will have a second chance to spend another one hour with the gorillas in another family different from the previous one or in Buhoma sector depending on your fitness which will give you additional opportunity for photography and experience. Later return to the lodge for lunch and spend the rest of the evening relaxing and later dinner and overnight.
Accommodation Option: Kiho Gorilla Safari Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and all Complimentary Offers
Day 8: Stay at Leisure at the Lodge
Today you will stay at leisure either spending a quiet day lounging in your room or in the spa and other in-house activities and experiences. You may choose to take a walk in the nearby communities.
Accommodation Option: Kiho Gorilla Safari Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and all Complimentary Offers
Day 9: Flight from Kihihi Airstrip to Entebbe International Airport
After breakfast, you will transfer to Kihihi Airstrip for your flight to Entebbe International Airport arriving in time for check-in and overnight.
Accommodation Option: Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort
Meal Plan: Bed and Breakfast and all Complimentary Offers
Day 10: Flight to Kilimanjaro International Airport-Tanzania
On arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport in Tanzania, you will meet and greet with representatives of Engabi Tours and Travel who will transfer you to your place of Accommodation in Arusha where you can relax as you get ready for the upcoming days of the safari. Dinner and Overnight.
Accommodation Option: Arusha Coffee Lodge
Meal Plan: Bed and Breakfast and all Complimentary Offers
Day 11: Flight from Arusha To Kogatende Airstrip
From your hotel in Arusha, you will meet your dedicated driver from Engabi Tours and Travel who will transfer you to Arusha air port for your flight to Kogatende Airstrip in Serengeti North which will depart around 7am and arrive at 10am for a game drive in Northern Mara. On arrival at Kogatende Airstrip, you will be received by your dedicated driver/guide from Engabi Tours and Travel who will transfer you to your hotel with an en-route game drive. In the afternoon you will go out for a game drive and to witness the great migration mara river crossing.
Serengeti, among other incredible wildlife and stunning views is famed for the annual migration of over 1.5 million wildebeest and hundred thousand of zebras, a frenzied bout of territorial conquests and mating happening from July-October. Witness an actual survival of the fittest as these animals plunge through crocodile-infested waters. The wildebeest produces more than 8,000 calves daily before the 1,000 km (600 mile) pilgrimage begins again. Dinner and Overnight at your lodge.
Accommodation Option: Lemala Kuria Hills Tented Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and all Complimentary Offers
Day 12: Full Day in Northern Serengeti
After breakfast, you will head out for a game drive viewing the great migration Mara River Crossing. River crossings at Kogatende start in Late July as the mega herd settles into the area. Between Late July- October, game viewing is at its best with river crossings pretty much guaranteed every day. There is no distinct movement as the herds tend to cross back and forth over the river, following the rains and subsequent fresh grasses.
Accommodation Option: Lemala Kuria Hills Tented Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and all Complimentary Offers
Day 13: Another Game Drive in the Serengeti Plains (North to Central Serengeti)
Today you will have another day of adventure in Serengeti with chances to see predators chasing their pray and enjoy their kill. Central Serengeti offers amazing game-viewing in Africa with great herds of buffalo, predators, smaller groups of elephant and giraffe, and thousands of eland, topi, kongoni, impala and Grant’s gazelle all year around.
Accommodation Option: Mapito Safari Camp
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 14: Option Hot Air Balloon Safari and Stay at Leisure at the Lodge
If you choose to do an optional hot air Balloon at an extra cost of around $600per person, today you will be transferred to the starting point of the balloon safari at as early as 6:00am from where you will a Start Balloon Safari and fly with it to explore the beauty of Serengeti National Park and view the wild animal up to 7:30 am. You will then take a bush breakfast until 9:30 am and continue with your short game drive as you transfer back to the lodge.
You will stay at leisure either spending a quiet day lounging on a sun bed by the hotel’s free-form, infinity-edge pool watching elephants gather for a drink at the nearby active watering hole beneath an endless turquoise sky or in the spa and other in-house activities and experiences.
Accommodation Option: Mapito Safari Camp
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and all Complimentary offers
Day 15: Flight from the Serengeti Seronera Airstrip to Tarime (Tanzania)-Migori Airstrip and to Masai Mara
Depending on the schedule of your flight, you will head to Seronera Airstrip for your flight to Tarime Airstrip-Tanzania. Upon arrival at Tarime airstrip, you will meet and greet with a representative of Engabi Tours and Travel who will drive you on a short distance to the Sirari/Isebania Border Post for immigration processing and once cleared you will be transferred by road to Migori Airstrip (Kenya) on an approximately 15 minutes drive.
You will then take a short flight from Migori Airstrip to Keekorok Airstrip arriving in time for a road drive to the lodge. On arrival in Masai Mara, you will check-in and start your Masai Mara safari with afternoon game drive. This vast grassland is teeming with life; plains, game including wildebeest, gazelle, topi, zebra and buffalo abound in the rolling savannah and never far away lay the predators such as cheetah, lion and hyena. By the end of today we hope that you will have learnt a huge amount of knowledge about Masai Mara’s resident wildlife as you game drive through the park.
Accommodation Option: Sala’s Camp
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and all Complimentary Offers
Day 16: Full Day in the Masai Mara
Today after breakfast, you head out and spend the rest of the day with game drives and activities in the Mara including the great migration Mara river crossing. In between the game drives, a short lunch will follow and then you will continue with game drives as you look out for wildlife and explore the rich landscapes of the Conservancy. You will wind up your evening with a sundowner before heading back to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Accommodation Option: Sala’s Camp
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and all Complimentary Offers
Day 17: Another Full Day in the Masai Mara
Today you will spend another full day with a picnic lunch exploring the Masai Mara and you will soon realize why this reserve is so highly regarded as the best reserve in Africa. Every year, millions of wildebeest, zebra, and Thomson’s gazelle pound their way across the savannas in an instinctual survival of the fittest. Another big draw card to the Masai Mara is its dense population of predators, which include lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs and the ever-elusive leopard which sometimes requires a trained eye to spot. Return to the lodge in evening for dinner and overnight.
Accommodation Option: Sala’s Camp
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and all Complimentary Offers
Day 18: Option Hot Air Balloon Safari over the Mara Plains and Stay at Leisure at the Lodge
If you choose to do an optional hot air Balloon at an extra cost of around $600per person, today you will be transferred to the starting point of the balloon safari at as early as 6:00am from where you will a Start Balloon Safari and fly with it to explore the beauty of Serengeti National Park and view the wild animal up to 7:30 am. You will then take a bush breakfast until 9:30 am and continue with your short game drive as you transfer back to the lodge.
You will stay at leisure either spending a quiet day lounging on a sun bed by your rooms private swimming pool, visit Masai village for a cultural experience or engage in other in-house activities and experiences.
Accommodation Option: Sala’s Camp
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and all Complimentary Offers
Day 19-Day 20: Flight to Wilson Airport-Nairobi and road transfer to Giraffe Manor
After breakfast, you will be transferred the Airstrip to catch your flight to Wilson Airport. On arrival you will meet and greet with a representative from Engabi Tours and Travel who will transfer you to the Giraffe Manor. You will spend 2 nights here experiencing with the giraffes living in a semi wild state at Giraffe Manor. The giraffes will come to a protecting wall to be fed when you can come eye to knee with the tallest animal in the world.
Make most use of your visit by following the Giraffe Centre nature trail up until the Gogo river. This is fascinating place to walk in the nature with bushes on either side and birds giving the most wondrous songs. Reach down to the river and search for giraffes in the wild as well but be careful as you must stay at least 15meters from the Giraffes. The trail will take about 1 hour going up and down in a relaxing pace.
Accommodation Option: The Giraffe Manor
Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and all Complimentary Offers
Day 21: Departure Flight
Depending on the schedule of your flight, you will check out and transfer to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport arriving in time to catch your onward flight marking the end of the tour.
Accommodation Option: N/A
Meal Plan: Breakfast
End of Safari
Contact Us for Information or a Customized Itinerary and Quote
What Makes the Mara River Crossings a “Bucket List” Event?
The sheer volume of wildebeest, zebras and gazelles is a wonder in itself and with 1.3 million wildebeest and 300,000 zebras taking part makes it the largest herd movement of animals in the world – so large in fact that it can be seen from space.
Patience is needed to witness this spectacle first-hand because wildebeests can take hours or even days to cross the Mara and Sand River from the Serengeti in Tanzania to the Masai Mara in Kenya. The herd eagerly waits for one of their comrades to take the first step due to the fact that the River crossing is a sacring process for animals as there are predators to watch out for with crocodiles in the river and lions and other big cats waiting on the other side of the river to pick off the weaker of the herd. There is also the muddy riverbed to navigate which increases the risk of getting stuck and some sides of the ravine may turn out to be too steep to climb up – forcing the herd back across the treacherous river to start the exercise all over again until one brave wildebeest takes their first step (or rather jump) into the river causing a cascading movement as the whole herd follows – a definite must-see event.
Why Does the Wildebeest River Crossing Happen?
The wildebeest river crossing because of the search for Food. The wildebeest follow the rains by watching the movement of the rain clouds. They know that where there is heavy rain, the grass they eat will grow soon afterward ad instinct impels them to follow the storm clouds across the Mara and Sand Rivers.
What Other Animals Migrate across the Mara and Sand River?
The other animals that migrate along side the wildebeests during the great migration are the Zebras. The zebra and Wildebeest migration in Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park and Masai Mara is one of the largest mammal migrations in the world.
Tips for a Rewarding Great Migration Mara River Crossing Experience
- For a better experience and the fact that it is hard to predict the exact movement and location of the herds, you need to maximize your river crossing sightings by planning ahead.
- Plan your safari trip at the right time of year. The wildebeest and Zebra migrate across the Mara River in late July through August and early September and then again when they travel back south in late October and early November.
- Stay in the same spot for atleast 2 nights rather than hopping from one lodge to the next.
- Talk to your guide about the best spots to look for amazing sightings; they’ve been doing this for years and will have plenty of advice and stories to share.