Kenya
46
Uganda
21
Tanzania
28
Rwanda
20
Ethiopia
25
Photo: EgorovaSvetlana / CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Multi-Country & Grand Tours · 15 days / 14 nights
Kenya + Tanzania + Uganda in one grand 15-day overland adventure.
Few journeys on earth can match the sheer breadth of wild Africa packed into a single trip. This 15-day grand circuit carries you from Kenya's iconic Rift Valley escarpment through the rolling golden plains of Tanzania and on into the lush, mist-draped highlands of Uganda — three countries, six of Africa's most celebrated protected areas, and a cast of wildlife that reads like a greatest-hits of the continent. From the moment your 4×4 rolls out of Nairobi and the flamingo-pink shores of Lake Nakuru appear on the horizon, you sense you are somewhere entirely out of the ordinary.
In Kenya, the Maasai Mara needs no introduction. Vast savannah grasslands, bisected by the serpentine Mara River, host the annual wildebeest migration and a year-round density of lion, leopard, elephant, and cheetah that is unrivalled anywhere in Africa. The Mara's Maasai communities add a living cultural dimension — warrior homesteads, beadwork traditions, and the enduring relationship between herder and wild animal that has shaped this landscape for centuries.
Crossing the border at Isebania and sweeping south into Tanzania, the Serengeti unfolds in every direction — an ancient, unbroken ecosystem that stretches to the horizon with barely a fence in sight. Depending on the season you may witness the thundering river crossings of the migration, or the calving season on the short-grass plains of the south. Either way, the big-cat concentrations here are extraordinary. Ngorongoro Crater, the world's largest intact volcanic caldera, provides a natural amphitheatre where the entire Big Five can be found on a single morning drive, set against walls draped in montane forest and a soda lake shimmering with flamingos.
A short flight from Arusha to Entebbe whisks you into Uganda, the Pearl of Africa. Queen Elizabeth National Park delivers a different savannah experience — tree-climbing lions in the fig trees of Ishasha, hippo-crowded channels on the Kazinga boat cruise, and the distant cone of Mount Nyiragongo smoking on the Congo border. Then Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage jungle of extraordinary density, brings you face-to-face with mountain gorillas — one of wildlife's most intimate and moving encounters. Fifteen days. Three countries. Two hundred species. One grand adventure.
Route: Nairobi → Nakuru → Maasai Mara → Serengeti → Ngorongoro → Arusha → fly Entebbe → QE → Bwindi → Entebbe
Your driver-guide meets you at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and transfers you to your Nairobi hotel. The afternoon is free to rest and recover from your flight, with a welcome dinner this evening to brief you on the days ahead. Nairobi sits at 1,700 metres above sea level, so expect cool, fresh evenings — a pleasant introduction to East Africa's highland climate.
After breakfast you head northwest out of Nairobi, climbing the Kikuyu Escarpment before descending into the Great Rift Valley — one of Africa's most dramatic geological features. Lake Nakuru National Park is your destination, a soda lake famous for its vast flocks of lesser flamingo and a healthy population of both black and white rhino. Afternoon game drive along the lake shore and acacia woodlands, where lion, waterbuck, Rothschild's giraffe, and buffalo are commonly sighted.
An early morning game drive captures the best of Nakuru's wildlife before you depart south, crossing the Mau Escarpment and dropping onto the vast Mara plains. The drive itself is scenic and you will pass Maasai homesteads and open farmland before the savannah takes over. Arrive in the Maasai Mara in time for a late-afternoon game drive — your first taste of the legendary grasslands and their resident lion prides.
A full day of game viewing in the Maasai Mara ecosystem, starting with an optional sunrise drive when the light is golden and predators are still active. The Mara River crossing points are focal during migration months, but year-round the Mara holds exceptional densities of lion, leopard, elephant, and cheetah. A packed bush lunch is served in the field, keeping you out for maximum viewing time across the open plains and into the Mara Triangle.
One final morning game drive in the Mara before your guide heads south towards the Isebania–Sirari border crossing into Tanzania. The border formalities are straightforward and your Tanzanian driver-guide and fresh Land Cruiser are waiting on the other side. Continue south through the Serengeti's Western Corridor, passing through Ikoma Gate as the endless plains open up around you.
The Western Corridor of the Serengeti shelters the Grumeti River, whose pools are home to enormous resident crocodiles and huge pods of hippo. Wildebeest and zebra push through here between May and July in some of the most dramatic river-crossing action in Africa. At any time of year the woodland-savannah mosaic harbours lion, leopard, and a remarkable variety of antelope including topi, kongoni, and Thomson's gazelle.
Drive east into the heart of the Serengeti, the Seronera Valley — arguably Africa's finest wildlife corridor. The Seronera River sustains a year-round concentration of predators: leopard drape themselves over sausage-tree branches, while cheetah scan the short-grass plains for Thomson's gazelle. Full-day game drives cover the central plains and valley systems, with a picnic lunch beneath an acacia tortilis.
Morning game drive in the Serengeti, then depart east, climbing out of the plains and ascending through highland forest onto the rim of Ngorongoro Crater — a World Heritage Site and one of the wonders of the natural world. The caldera is 19 kilometres across and 600 metres deep, sheltering roughly 30,000 large mammals. Evening on the crater rim with spectacular views as the sun sets over the caldera.
Descend into the crater at dawn for a full day in this extraordinary natural enclosure. The Big Five — lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, and both black rhino — are present, along with hippo pools, flamingo-fringed Lake Magadi, and huge Maasai cattle herds that still graze this ancient caldera under a special co-existence agreement. Your guide will navigate the crater floor to maximise sightings before ascending in the late afternoon.
After a leisurely breakfast descend from the crater rim and drive north to Arusha, set beneath the snow-capped silhouette of Mount Meru. Check in for your afternoon scheduled flight from Kilimanjaro or Arusha airport to Entebbe, Uganda's principal gateway. Arrive at Entebbe on the northern shore of Lake Victoria and transfer to your lakeside hotel, with the sound of African fish eagles echoing across the water.
Depart Entebbe and drive west through the fertile Ugandan countryside — rolling tea estates, banana plantations, and crater lakes dotting the landscape — to Queen Elizabeth National Park in the Albertine Rift. Arrive in time for a late-afternoon game drive across the Kasenyi plains, where large herds of Uganda kob perform their striking lek displays and elephant, buffalo, and lion are regularly encountered.
Morning boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel, a 40-kilometre natural waterway linking Lake George and Lake Edward, where hippo laze on the banks, Nile crocodiles bask, and an astonishing variety of waterbirds — African skimmer, pied kingfisher, goliath heron — occupy every vantage point. Afternoon drive south to Ishasha, the remote southern sector where Queen Elizabeth's famous tree-climbing lions drape themselves across the horizontal branches of fig trees.
A morning game drive in Ishasha searching for the elusive tree-climbing prides before the road climbs steeply into the Kigezi highlands — the 'Switzerland of Africa' — towards Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The landscape transforms dramatically: terraced hillsides give way to dense montane jungle, and the air cools noticeably as you ascend above 1,800 metres. Evening is spent with a briefing on tomorrow's gorilla trek and an introduction to Bwindi's extraordinary biodiversity.
The highlight of the entire journey. After a pre-dawn briefing and assignment to a habituated gorilla family group, you set off with your tracker team into Bwindi's dense jungle. The trek can take anything from 45 minutes to four hours depending on where the gorillas have moved overnight. Once found, you spend a privileged one hour in the presence of these gentle giants — silverbacks, mothers nursing infants, juveniles tumbling through the undergrowth — an encounter that leaves virtually every traveller speechless. Afternoon is free to explore Buhoma village or relax with a celebratory sundowner.
After a final breakfast in the highland mist, depart Bwindi for the five-hour scenic drive back to Entebbe, descending through the crater lake region of western Uganda. Your driver-guide will drop you at Entebbe International Airport in good time for your onward international flight, with memories of three countries, six parks, and one grand East African adventure.
This price is for the tour/adventure only. International & domestic flights and hotels are not included — we'll gladly suggest trusted options that you book directly.
Photo: Brihaspati / CC BY 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Kenya
A Big-Five game drive within the Nairobi city limits — the perfect arrival-day tour.
Kenya
A cultural half-day — hand-feed giraffes and tour the 'Out of Africa' farmhouse.
Kenya
Rhinos, flamingos and Rift Valley views — a perfect Nairobi-to-Nakuru escape.
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