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The very best expedition for primates!
Dates: We recommend July and August but other dates are also possible
Recommended duration: 11 nights
Where: Uganda and Kenya
Arrive: Nairobi
Price: starting from 5330 USD
Recommended duration: 11 nights
Where: Uganda and Kenya
Arrive: Nairobi
Price: starting from 5330 USD
We can personalize your trip, add National Parks, and choose the level of accommodation which will suit your needs and wishes.
What the hell? We are going to Africa?
The simple answer is yes, of course, we go to Africa. The ultimate wildlife tour, the real, the traditional SAFARI is the dream of every nature lover.
You spend the days hanging out of your open safari jeep, looking for the most iconic and famous big animals of the world. Elephants, Rhinos, Lions and much more are waiting for you around every corner.
There is no dull moment on a safari. You have the mos beautiful scenery all around you, noises and smells you have never experienced before because you can only find this in the African savannah.
To make sure we get the very best of African wildlife, we will combine the traditional safari with Gorilla and Chimpanzee tracking. Yep, you heard it right, on this one single trip you will have the chance to experience it ALL!
The simple answer is yes, of course, we go to Africa. The ultimate wildlife tour, the real, the traditional SAFARI is the dream of every nature lover.
You spend the days hanging out of your open safari jeep, looking for the most iconic and famous big animals of the world. Elephants, Rhinos, Lions and much more are waiting for you around every corner.
There is no dull moment on a safari. You have the mos beautiful scenery all around you, noises and smells you have never experienced before because you can only find this in the African savannah.
To make sure we get the very best of African wildlife, we will combine the traditional safari with Gorilla and Chimpanzee tracking. Yep, you heard it right, on this one single trip you will have the chance to experience it ALL!
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The national parks
Location and timing is everything in wildlife encounters. In order to maximize the chances of all the important encounters while keeping the trip reasonably short and affordable, we chose only the very best locations and the best season of the year. For this, we had to sacrifice some comfort, which means we will have longer drives between parks and airports in order to make sure that once we are on location, we will be able to have the very best experience.
- - Nairobi National Park is a unique park. It is right outside of Nairobi so you might see animals with the city as a backdrop. This place is also a good spot to look for rhinos since it has a healthy population of both white and black rhinos.
- - The Masai Mara is one of the most famous safari game parks in the world. Here seeing all three big cats and the big five (except rhino) is probably the easiest in the world. You can expect to be absolutely blown away.
- - Kibale Forest in Uganda is the best of the best when it comes to Chimpanzee tracking and primates. It is quite a drive, but we would not track chimps anywhere else – again, chimp sightings are practically guaranteed.
- - Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is the place for Gorillas. In my experience, it is as good place as its Rwandan counterpart, and it actually has more individuals within its borders. Sometimes the terrain can be a bit more difficult than in Rwanda, but permit costs currently are 50% cheaper than in Rwanda.
- - Queen Elizabeth National Park is for Uganda what the Mara is for Kenya. Great plains, savanna, and wildlife all around you. It is a smaller park, and some species are not present, but the extra activities available here more than make up for this. We can take a boat ride, walk and even do a night game drive in this park.
Sample Itinerary
Day 0.
Arrival to Nairobi International Airport. Transfer to our lovely and comfortable hotel close to the airport. Depending on your arrival time dinner in the hotel and rest before the big adventure starts.
Day 1.
We will start the day very early, as most of the days after this one ☺. Breakfast at the hotel, then a 3-4 hours long game drive in the nearby Nairobi National Park. We will concentrate on finding rhinos and lions, but the park has an incredible array of wildlife.
After our game drive, we start a long trip to Masai Mara National Park. We will have lunch on the way there. We spend the night in a super nice lodge just outside of the gate of the national park. Best food ever in this place! ☺
Day 2.
Early wake-up and breakfast will be followed by a full day 12 hours long intense game drive. This means we will be inside the park from opening to closing, true Encounters style! We will have a picnic lunch inside the park.
We will concentrate on finding the remaining members of the Big Five, but at the same time, we will be stopping for anything and everything exciting.
We spend the night in the same lodge as the night before.
Arrival to Nairobi International Airport. Transfer to our lovely and comfortable hotel close to the airport. Depending on your arrival time dinner in the hotel and rest before the big adventure starts.
Day 1.
We will start the day very early, as most of the days after this one ☺. Breakfast at the hotel, then a 3-4 hours long game drive in the nearby Nairobi National Park. We will concentrate on finding rhinos and lions, but the park has an incredible array of wildlife.
After our game drive, we start a long trip to Masai Mara National Park. We will have lunch on the way there. We spend the night in a super nice lodge just outside of the gate of the national park. Best food ever in this place! ☺
Day 2.
Early wake-up and breakfast will be followed by a full day 12 hours long intense game drive. This means we will be inside the park from opening to closing, true Encounters style! We will have a picnic lunch inside the park.
We will concentrate on finding the remaining members of the Big Five, but at the same time, we will be stopping for anything and everything exciting.
We spend the night in the same lodge as the night before.
Day 3.
We start the day a bit earlier (really early) than the day before since we have to pack all our luggage, have breakfast and be at the gate of the park by 6:30 am. We will do a nice long morning game drive and arrive at lunchtime to our new lodge inside the national park right on the side of the famous Mara River.
We will have lunch in the lodge, but we will not waste any time, after the meal, we hop back in the Land Cruisers and do a long afternoon game drive until sunset. We head back to the lodge for dinner and a good night sleep with the sounds of the savanna all around us.
Day 4.
Another 12 hours long game drive in the Mara, with the addition of visiting the Mara Triangle, which is a privately managed part of the Mara on the other side of the river.
The aim to visit the triangle is to see the rare black rhinos, which are breeding there and also to get close to the river while avoiding crowds. Since the triangle needs an extra permit and payment (included in the trip fee) most of the regular tours avoid it. In the high season, this means the triangle is the only place with fewer cars and people, so for sure worth a day!
After sunset, we head back to the lodge inside the park for a well-deserved dinner and rest.
Day 5.
After an early morning game drive, we exit the Masai Mara and start our long trip to Nairobi International Airport. We will have lunch on the way and dinner at the airport.
We will catch an evening flight from Nairobi to Entebbe in Uganda. We will be staying in a simple but nice and comfortable hotel close to the airport.
Day 6.
After breakfast, our drivers and Land Cruisers will come to pick us up at the hotel. We start our long drive to Kibale National Park, with a lunch stop on the way.
We stay in a beautiful lodge with great views just a few minutes away from the ranger station. There will be a chance to do an optional guided night walk in the forest looking for nocturnal primates (bush babies) and other wildlife.
Day 7.
We start the day with the chimpanzee tracking, which is without doubt one of the most amazing wildlife experiences anywhere in the world.
After the chimps, we will have lunch and a drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park where we do an excellent afternoon game drive.
We will spend the night in a lodge with incredible views of the national park.
Day 8.
This is the day that includes all the activities you can’t do in any other national park. We will start the day with a nature walk inside the park, spotting deer and monkeys along the way. The aim of our walk will be to visit a cave with bats, and hopefully with some pythons too ☺.
In the afternoon we will do a boat ride trying to get to close to hippos and other wildlife (crocodiles) and enjoying the different perspective of the savanna.
We will finish up our day with a unique night game drive with special spotlights, accompanied by a ranger.
Day 9.
After early breakfast, we will drive to the northern part of Queen Elizabeth to the Ishasha sector where will do our best to spot the famous tree climbing lions.
After this, we will continue our drive in the hills and head in the direction of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
We will spend the night at a lodge overlooking a beautiful lake. Best view ever!
Day 10.
After the long drives and long days, you deserve a little rest. And what other place would be better for this than an amazing lodge overlooking a beautiful lake in the mountains of Uganda?
There are some optional activities available of course, like a small boat tour on the lake or a visit to the local community where you can experience first hand how the locals live.
We will stay in the lodge for dinner and spend the night.
Day 11.
Gorilla tracking in the morning. Depending on the day we might have a longer and steeper walk to be able to find the gorillas. But all of this within one of the most amazing forests I have ever seen, so for me the more, the better ☺. We also had a close call with an elephant in this forest before.
We will spend a full hour in the presence of a mountain gorilla group in their natural habitat… That’s the way to finish up an already amazing trip!
After the gorillas, we drive to Kigali in Rwanda (closer than Entebbe) and spend the night there.
Day 12
In the morning we all fly back to our homes. Depending on available flights it might be better to fly to Nairobi first.
A sad moment, since we will all have to say goodbye until the next adventure together. ☹
We start the day a bit earlier (really early) than the day before since we have to pack all our luggage, have breakfast and be at the gate of the park by 6:30 am. We will do a nice long morning game drive and arrive at lunchtime to our new lodge inside the national park right on the side of the famous Mara River.
We will have lunch in the lodge, but we will not waste any time, after the meal, we hop back in the Land Cruisers and do a long afternoon game drive until sunset. We head back to the lodge for dinner and a good night sleep with the sounds of the savanna all around us.
Day 4.
Another 12 hours long game drive in the Mara, with the addition of visiting the Mara Triangle, which is a privately managed part of the Mara on the other side of the river.
The aim to visit the triangle is to see the rare black rhinos, which are breeding there and also to get close to the river while avoiding crowds. Since the triangle needs an extra permit and payment (included in the trip fee) most of the regular tours avoid it. In the high season, this means the triangle is the only place with fewer cars and people, so for sure worth a day!
After sunset, we head back to the lodge inside the park for a well-deserved dinner and rest.
Day 5.
After an early morning game drive, we exit the Masai Mara and start our long trip to Nairobi International Airport. We will have lunch on the way and dinner at the airport.
We will catch an evening flight from Nairobi to Entebbe in Uganda. We will be staying in a simple but nice and comfortable hotel close to the airport.
Day 6.
After breakfast, our drivers and Land Cruisers will come to pick us up at the hotel. We start our long drive to Kibale National Park, with a lunch stop on the way.
We stay in a beautiful lodge with great views just a few minutes away from the ranger station. There will be a chance to do an optional guided night walk in the forest looking for nocturnal primates (bush babies) and other wildlife.
Day 7.
We start the day with the chimpanzee tracking, which is without doubt one of the most amazing wildlife experiences anywhere in the world.
After the chimps, we will have lunch and a drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park where we do an excellent afternoon game drive.
We will spend the night in a lodge with incredible views of the national park.
Day 8.
This is the day that includes all the activities you can’t do in any other national park. We will start the day with a nature walk inside the park, spotting deer and monkeys along the way. The aim of our walk will be to visit a cave with bats, and hopefully with some pythons too ☺.
In the afternoon we will do a boat ride trying to get to close to hippos and other wildlife (crocodiles) and enjoying the different perspective of the savanna.
We will finish up our day with a unique night game drive with special spotlights, accompanied by a ranger.
Day 9.
After early breakfast, we will drive to the northern part of Queen Elizabeth to the Ishasha sector where will do our best to spot the famous tree climbing lions.
After this, we will continue our drive in the hills and head in the direction of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
We will spend the night at a lodge overlooking a beautiful lake. Best view ever!
Day 10.
After the long drives and long days, you deserve a little rest. And what other place would be better for this than an amazing lodge overlooking a beautiful lake in the mountains of Uganda?
There are some optional activities available of course, like a small boat tour on the lake or a visit to the local community where you can experience first hand how the locals live.
We will stay in the lodge for dinner and spend the night.
Day 11.
Gorilla tracking in the morning. Depending on the day we might have a longer and steeper walk to be able to find the gorillas. But all of this within one of the most amazing forests I have ever seen, so for me the more, the better ☺. We also had a close call with an elephant in this forest before.
We will spend a full hour in the presence of a mountain gorilla group in their natural habitat… That’s the way to finish up an already amazing trip!
After the gorillas, we drive to Kigali in Rwanda (closer than Entebbe) and spend the night there.
Day 12
In the morning we all fly back to our homes. Depending on available flights it might be better to fly to Nairobi first.
A sad moment, since we will all have to say goodbye until the next adventure together. ☹
This price includes the following:
o Canoe Ride on the lake in Bwindi: 15 USD
o Community visit: 20 USD
- All accommodation throughout the tour in simple but nice hotels and lodges
- All meals except on arrival day and dinner on the day of our Nairobi-Entebbe flight
- Water on all the drives and safari days
- All national park fees and permits
- All guide fees
- All transportation in private 4*4 Land Cruisers with six people plus a guide in each car. A window seat is guaranteed for everybody.
- Pre- and post-booking assistance
- Flights to and from + Nairobi to Entebbe
- Insurance (mandatory)
- Visa for Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda
- Vaccinations (yellow fever vaccination is compulsory)
- Tips
- Meals on arrival day and dinner on the day of our Nairobi-Entebbe flight
- Soft drinks, alcohol, and snacks
- Optional activities:
o Canoe Ride on the lake in Bwindi: 15 USD
o Community visit: 20 USD
Ethiopian Highlands "Add On"
The Ethiopian Highland is a much less visited but equally unique area with an equally unique and endemic primate species, the Gelada Baboons.
If you like a good hike and you appreciate spending every morning and afternoon in the company of hundreds of friendly baboons, if you enjoy observing the various birds of prey including the elusive Bearded Vulture this is your place.
With an additional five days, you can have an incredible hike between these spectacular mountains while immersing yourself to the unique wildlife here.
If you like a good hike and you appreciate spending every morning and afternoon in the company of hundreds of friendly baboons, if you enjoy observing the various birds of prey including the elusive Bearded Vulture this is your place.
With an additional five days, you can have an incredible hike between these spectacular mountains while immersing yourself to the unique wildlife here.
