8 Days Serengeti & Uganda Gorilla Safari

Day 1: Arusha to Serengeti – Afternoon Game Drive

After breakfast, drive toward the Serengeti. The road rolls through Maasai villages and eventually opens into wide plains of the Serengeti. You enter the park in time for an afternoon game drive where you get to explore the massive wildlife of the Serengeti.

See elephants, leopards, giraffes, hippos, rhinos, cheetahs, and take note that lions are common here — stretched under trees, watching. Herds move like wind across the savannah. By sunset, you’re at camp.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation Options:

Mid-range: Serengeti Heritage Camp

Luxury: Kubu Kubu Tented Lodge / Four Seasons Serengeti

Day 2: Full-Day Safari in Serengeti

Spend the day moving through different sections of the Serengeti — grasslands where cheetahs hunt, riverbanks thick with hippos, and kopjes where leopards lounge in the sun.

You carry a picnic and follow where the animals lead. There’s no need to rush. The Serengeti always delivers and if you prefer, considering a balloon safari experience give you a unique and unforgettable experience of the Serengeti.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Same as Day 2

Day 3: Serengeti to Ngorongoro – Optional Stop at Olduvai Gorge

After a short morning drive, exit Serengeti and journey toward Ngorongoro. You can stop at Olduvai Gorge — one of the most important human fossil sites on Earth or make a stopover at the Maasai boma to learn more about the masai culture, dance and food.

Reach the crater rim by late afternoon. The view from your lodge — a green bowl filled with wildlife — sets the tone for tomorrow.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation Options:

Mid-range: Rhino Lodge

Luxury: Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge / Neptune Ngorongoro

Day 4: Crater Descent – Cross into Uganda – Overnight near Queen Elizabeth NP

Before sunrise, descend into the Ngorongoro Crater and encounter the highest concentration of wildlife on earth. Enjoy rhe sightings as you see lions walk open. Rhinos move in silence. Flamingos stand in pink rows on the soda lake.

After the game drive, begin the transfer to Arusha for your scheduled flight to Entebbe in Uganda. Upon arrival, your Uganda safari guide shall take you to your lodge for dinner, relaxation and overnight.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation Options:

Mid-range: Enganzi Lodge / Bush Lodge

Luxury: Kyambura Gorge Lodge

Day 5: Game Drive – Kazinga Channel Boat Safari

Start with an early morning drive to Queen Elizabeth where you arrive in the early afternoon and immediately embark on an exciting boat cruise in the Kazinga Channel.

Crocodiles sun on the banks. Hippos yawn in the shallows. Buffalo stand knee-deep in water. The boat ride is quiet, but wild. After the experience, proceed to your lodge for relaxation and overnight.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Same as Day 5

Day 6: Transfer to Bwindi – Arrive at the Edge of the Forest

Today, you shall have a remarkable chimpanzee safari before you start a drive south through the Ishasha sector (famous for tree-climbing lions) and continue toward Bwindi.

The terrain sharpens. Mist hangs in the valleys. By late afternoon, you arrive at Bwindi – your gorilla trekking forest tomorrow.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation Options:

Mid-range: Ride 4 a Woman / Gorilla Valley Lodge

Luxury: Mahogany Springs / Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge

Day 7: Gorilla Trekking – Transfer to Entebbe (Optional Flight or Drive)

This is the day everything slows down. After briefing, you hike through dense forest — guided by trackers who know where the gorillas were seen last.

Then, you find embark on a trek to the jungles of Bwindi in search of the Uganda gorilla, after a hour or so, you finally meet them. One silverback, then two. Infants wrestling and playing. A mother holding still. You stay for an hour as you watch them play, communicate and feed.

After the trek, transfer for a relaxing evening in the Lake Bunyonyi.

Day 8: Transfer to Entebbe

Today is when your adventure comes to an end. Start your day with breakfast and later your guide shall drive you for your return flight back home. You make a stopover at the Uganda’s equator before finally landing at Entebbe International airport.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Travel Tips

Gorilla Permit (Uganda): USD 800 per person (book early)

Masai Mara Entry Fee (if added): USD 200 per person

Visa: Use East Africa Tourist Visa for seamless cross-border travel

Packing Essentials:

For game drives: hat, sunglasses, light clothing, binoculars

For gorilla trekking: hiking boots, gloves, long sleeves, rain jacket