Combining East Africa’s biggest wildlife experiences on one itinerary, this tour opens with gorilla trekking in Uganda’s teeming rainforests before flying you to the savannahs of the Masai Mara and Serengeti to marvel at the Great Wildebeest Migration. Then it is on to the Ngorongoro Crater, home to all of Africa’s Big 5 – lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo – and a host of other animals before finishing with your feet up at a coffee lodge with views of Mount Meru.
Flying between destinations reduces your travelling time to a minimum and is less tiring than driving. To make sure that the pace stays easy and convenient, there are a couple of overnight breaks at city hotels – a great time to shake the dust out of your boots and catch up with news from home. Your safari accommodation takes the form of small and intimate tented camps in prime game-viewing locations, and consists of large and luxurious tents that come complete with en suite bathrooms and outdoor areas to sit back in and soak up the views. You enjoy morning and afternoon game drives and have opportunities to interact with the local community too. Additional activities such as hot-air balloon rides can be arranged.
Rich in experience and biodiversity, this is a tour that will appeal to nature enthusiasts and wildlife photographers. The high standard of accommodation and level of service also means it is also suitable for discerning safari-goers, honeymooners and romantic travellers, too.
Entebbe, Uganda
Your adventure begins with your arrival at Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport where you are met by a tour representative and transferred the short distance to The Boma. Set near Lake Victoria, the hotel makes the ideal start to your tour. Complete with complimentary Internet access and an in-house restaurant, there is also a swimming pool if you want to have a workout after a long journey.
Bwindi National Park, Uganda
After breakfast at the hotel you are transferred back to Entebbe Airport for a flight to the town of Kihihi. Here you are met and transferred to Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp where you check in for three nights. There is time to freshen up in your suite – one of only eight at camp and each with views into the lush jungle canopy – before meeting the local community and enjoying an informative walk with local guides. The following two days are devoted to exploring the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park with expert guides. A gorilla encounter is the main focus (you have two gorilla day permits) and there are other primates to look for as well as amazing birds and butterflies. Back at camp as the night cools down, you have a roaring campfire and local songs to look forward to as well as a deep bathtub in your suite, perfect for soothing any aching muscles after a day of hiking.
Nairobi, Kenya
It is a day of travel today: after breakfast you are transferred back to Kihihi for a scheduled flight to Entebbe. You will be met at the airport and assisted onto a scheduled flight to Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport – a flight time of under 90 minutes. A tour representative will be waiting to greet and transfer you to House of Waine, a classic starting point of many Kenyan safaris over the years. The hotel is located close to the city’s top attractions such as the Daphne Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage, The Giraffe Centre, and artisanal craft shops. You check in for one night, perhaps making use of the swimming pool before dinner in the in-house restaurant.
Masai Mara, Kenya
After breakfast at the hotel you are transferred to the city’s smaller Wilson Airport for a scheduled charter flight to the Masai Mara. Your destination is Sanctuary Olonana, a luxurious tented camp set on the Mara River at the heart of the Masai Mara National Reserve. It is an excellent destination for wildlife viewing at any time of year and is especially good for predators. Between July and October it is an area that plays host to one of the Wildebeest Migration’s most dramatic chapters: the Mara River crossings. You have two full days to soak up the action, regardless of the season, on expertly led morning and afternoon game drives, returning each evening to a camp that blends ecological design and elegant comfort right down to the mini-spa and secluded swimming pool.
Serengeti, Tanzania
Pick up a picnic lunch from the lodge before you leave: it is another day of travel. A morning transfer after breakfast takes you to the Kenyan border town of Migori where you cross the border into Tanzania and the town of Tarime. You then fly from Tarime to an airstrip in the Serengeti National Park where you are met and driven to Sanctuary Kichakani Serengeti Camp to check in for three nights. With only 10 tents and moving between three locations in the Serengeti, sleek and stylish Kichakani is a Migration-specialist camp, setting up in the best places for the most dramatic views of the thundering herds and their ever-attendant predators. Make sure you recharge camera batteries in your suite – you are heading out into the thick of the action on two full-day game drives.
Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
A short flight from the Serengeti to Manyara and a road transfer takes you to the edge of the largest intact volcanic caldera in the world, the Ngorongoro Crater. Your accommodation – Sanctuary Ngorongoro Crater Lodge – lies in a wooded valley by the access road to the Crater – well located to get ahead of other vehicles. You have magnificent views from camp but even better ones the next day when you explore the Crater floor on a full-day drive. A destination known for its easy and regular sightings of the Big 5, it is also home to hippos, hyenas, flamingos and large herds of antelope and zebra. Back at camp you have a simple but comfortable tented suite with a private bathroom consisting of a hot-water bucket shower, flush toilet and basin.
