19 Days Tanzania and Uganda Safari
This 19 Days Tanzania and Uganda Safari is a genuinely comprehensive East Africa package, taking travelers across both countries to explore their top highlights through a wide range of safari activities. Along the way, you will enjoy gorilla trekking in Bwindi, chimpanzee tracking in Kibale National Park, and extensive game drives across Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania.
This trip is ideal for travelers hoping to witness the Great Wildebeest Migration in the northern Serengeti and Mara area, and is best undertaken between July and October for that experience. Please note that this itinerary can be customised to fit your own schedule and preferences.
Highlights: 19 Days Tanzania and Uganda Safari
Day 1: Transfer to Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Walking Safari in Ngorongoro
Day 2: Olduvai Gorge and Museum Visit, Maasai Bomas Visit
Day 3: Ngorongoro Crater Drive and Lake Magadi
Day 4: Transfer to Serengeti, Game Drive
Day 5: Game Drive in Central Serengeti National Park
Day 6: Full Day in Northern Serengeti
Day 7: Another Day of Wildebeest Migration
Day 8: Hot Air Balloon Experience, Game Drive Toward Central Serengeti
Day 9: Transfer to Arusha, Flight to Entebbe, Uganda
Day 10: Transfer to Jinja
Day 11: Half-Day White Water Rafting (Grade 5)
Day 12: Drive to Lake Mburo National Park, Guided Walking Safari
Day 13: Drive to Bwindi National Park – Buhoma
Day 14: Gorilla Trekking Experience, Eco Project Participation
Day 15: Eco Project Participation
Day 16: Fly to Murchison Falls National Park via Entebbe
Day 17: Morning Game Drive, Afternoon Boat Cruise
Day 18: Transfer to Entebbe, Ziwa Rhino Tracking En Route
Day 19: Departure
Detailed Itinerary: 19 Days Tanzania and Uganda Safari
Day 1: Transfer to Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Walking Safari in Ngorongoro
You will be met by your Tanzania safari guide at your hotel in Arusha, or at the airport, upon arrival. He will welcome you to the safari and brief you on the trip ahead before transferring you to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, where you will enjoy a walking safari, giving you the chance to come close to a variety of animals under the guidance of an armed ranger.
You will return to your lodge after the walking safari for dinner and an overnight stay.
Accommodation: Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge
Day 2: Olduvai Gorge and Museum Visit, Maasai Bomas Visit
After breakfast at the lodge, visit Olduvai Gorge and its museum, learning about the archaeological discoveries made there by the Leakeys and their significance to the history of humankind. You will also visit a Maasai boma, home to a community that continues to live in the wilderness alongside the region’s wildlife, and learn about how they coexist with nature. Return to the lodge for dinner and an overnight stay, as above.
Day 3: Ngorongoro Crater Drive and Lake Magadi
After breakfast at your lodge, descend into the Ngorongoro Crater for a game drive in search of wildlife such as eland, zebra, warthog, wildebeest, buffalo, and elephant, among others. Take in the beautiful views around the crater and look out for flamingo along the shores of Lake Magadi, a salt lake found within the crater itself.
Afterward, return to your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay, as above.
Day 4: Transfer to Serengeti, Game Drive
After a hearty breakfast at the lodge, transfer to Serengeti National Park through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. As you drive to your lodge, keep an eye out for the park’s varied wildlife.
Enjoy your packed lunch out in the wilderness, followed by a wonderful game drive introducing you to the savanna grassland and plains of the Serengeti. Continue to your lodge later for dinner and an overnight stay.
Accommodation: Central Serengeti Tanzania Bush Camp (Mid-Range)
Day 5: Game Drive in Central Serengeti National Park
After breakfast, head out into the open savanna plains of central Serengeti to take in beautiful scenery, such as the kopjes, where lions can often be seen watching over their prey. You will also see wildlife such as elephant, buffalo, warthog, hyena, giraffe, wildebeest, antelope, and impala, among others, during your game drive. Enjoy your packed lunch, then continue your game drive in search of further wildlife, including zebra, gazelle, lion, hippo, cheetah, leopard, and eland, among many others. Dinner and overnight stay at the lodge, as above.
Day 6: Full Day in Northern Serengeti
After breakfast, set out for a full day of wildebeest migration viewing in the northern Serengeti, with the chance, if fortunate, to witness the iconic Mara River crossing. Enjoy a game drive with your packed lunch in hand. Expect to see wildebeest, lion, elephant, giraffe, zebra, monkey, baboon, hippo, rhino, and antelope, among many others, alongside a wide variety of birdlife. Dinner and overnight stay at Mara River Camp by Tanzania Bush Camp.
Day 7: Another Day of Wildebeest Migration
Enjoy an early breakfast, take your packed lunch, and head out on a game drive around the Mara River to witness the migration once more, as herds cross from the Serengeti into the Masai Mara on the Kenyan side. Spend the day looking out for wildlife such as hippo, elephant, buffalo, giraffe, lion, hyena, cheetah, antelope, hartebeest, and zebra, among many others. Later in the evening, return to the lodge for a bush dinner and an overnight stay, as above.
Day 8: Hot Air Balloon Experience, Game Drive Toward Central Serengeti
On this eighth day of your safari, wake up early for a cup of tea or coffee, then drive to the hot air balloon launch site as early as 5 a.m. Keep an eye out for nocturnal wildlife winding down for the day. Enjoy a memorable hot air balloon experience over the Serengeti Plains, watching for wildebeest herds and one of the most spectacular sunrises imaginable, before concluding with a bush breakfast.
Return to the lodge, pack up, and, with your packed lunch in hand, set out on a game drive toward the Seronera area of the Serengeti, known for the highest animal density anywhere in the park. Dinner and an overnight stay at Central Serengeti Tanzania Bush Camp (Mid-Range).
Day 9: Transfer to Arusha, Flight to Entebbe, Uganda
Enjoy breakfast as you prepare for your drive to Arusha, with the chance for further wildlife viewing along the way. You will be dropped off at the airport in time for your flight to Uganda (Air Uganda and Air Tanzania are both good options to consider).
Upon your arrival in Uganda, you will be picked up and transferred to your hotel. Check in and relax while you wait for dinner and an overnight stay at Best Western Hotel (Mid-Range).
Day 10: Transfer to Jinja
Our driver-guide will meet you and transfer you to Jinja, home to the source of the River Nile. Visit the source before continuing to your lodge. Dinner and overnight stay at Lemala Wild Waters Lodge.
Optional Activities: Bungee jumping ($140 per person), quad biking ($55 per person).
Day 11: Half-Day White Water Rafting (Grade 5)
After breakfast, drive to the starting point for your rafting experience. You will be briefed on the activity, then given your gear and instructions, with rafting typically starting around 9 a.m. Enjoy a half-day of fun along the longest river in Africa. Return to the lodge for lunch and spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing. Dinner and overnight stay, as above.
Day 12: Drive to Lake Mburo National Park, Guided Walking Safari
After breakfast at Lemala Wild Waters Lodge, check out and transfer to Lake Mburo National Park, breaking up the long drive to Bwindi from Jinja. You will stop at the Equator in Kayabwe for the water experiment. Continue to your lodge, check in, and relax while you wait for lunch. In the afternoon, head out for a guided walking safari in Lake Mburo National Park, a chance to stretch your legs after the drive and get up close with nature and wildlife, including zebra and antelope, among much more. Dinner and an overnight stay at Mihingo Lodge.
Day 13: Drive to Bwindi National Park – Buhoma
After breakfast, drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, home to half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas, with a stopover for lunch en route. Continue through the Switzerland of Africa, spotting long-horned cattle along the way. Dinner and overnight stay at Bwindi Lodge.
Day 14: Gorilla Trekking Experience, Eco Project Participation
After an early breakfast, transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing on the endangered mountain gorillas from the park warden. With your trekking gear, drinking water, and packed lunch, your driver will drop you off at the starting point to trek with ranger guides. This activity can take between one and eight hours, depending on the gorillas’ movement, though meeting them makes it all genuinely worthwhile. You will spend up to an hour with them, observing and photographing them at close range. Afterward, your driver will take you back to your lodge to relax. Dinner and overnight stay, as above.
Day 15: Eco Project Participation
After breakfast at the lodge, your driver-guide will transfer you to your eco project of choice. Meals and overnight stay, as above.
Day 16: Fly to Murchison Falls National Park via Entebbe
After an early breakfast at the lodge, transfer to the Kihihi Airstrip in time for your scheduled flight to Entebbe, connecting onward to Murchison Falls. Upon your arrival at Pakuba Airstrip at 1 p.m., another of our Uganda safari guides will pick you up and transfer you to your lodge. Check in, relax, and later head out for an evening game drive, also visiting the top of the falls. Return to the lodge afterward for dinner and an overnight stay at Paraa Safari Lodge.
Day 17: Morning Game Drive, Afternoon Boat Cruise
Wake up for an early-morning game drive through the park in search of wildlife such as lion, elephant, and buffalo, among much more. Return to the lodge for breakfast and spend the rest of the morning relaxing. After lunch, head out for a boat safari on the Nile toward the base of the falls, looking out for crocodile, hippo, and elephant along the shore, along with birdlife on the escarpments and rocks lining the riverbank. Return to the lodge afterward for dinner and an overnight stay, as above.
Day 18: Transfer to Entebbe, Ziwa Rhino Tracking En Route
After breakfast at the lodge, check out and transfer to Entebbe, with a stopover at the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for a rhino tracking experience. Continue to Entebbe, arriving in the evening. Check in at your hotel for dinner and an overnight stay at Best Western Hotel (Mid-Range).
Day 19: Departure
After breakfast, transfer to the airport in time for your flight, bringing your 19 Days Tanzania and Uganda Safari to an end.
Price Includes
- Airport pick-up and drop-off as indicated
- Gorilla trekking permit
- All park entry fees and boat cruise
- White water rafting fees
- All accommodation as per the itinerary
- 4×4 safari vehicle with pop-up roof and fuel
- Full-time English-speaking driver-guide
- All meals as indicated, including lunches en route during transfers
- Vehicle entrance fees to the park
- Crater and concession fees
- Flight from Bwindi to Murchison Falls
- Bottled mineral water while on safari
- Uganda and Tanzania government taxes
- All activities mentioned
Price Excludes
- Tipping and gratuities
- Visa fees and air tickets
- Optional activities of your choice
- All items of a personal nature, such as travel insurance, laundry, beverages, and phone calls
- Anything else not included in the itinerary
