Trip Info
-
open-sided 4x4 vehicle, pop-up roof 4x4 vehicle, pop-up roof minivan & boat
-
2-20
-
To be provided for during the trip
-
game drives, evening/night game drives, gorilla trekking, chimpanzee trekking, nature hikes/walks & boat trip
-
Kigali
-
English, French, Chinese, Arabic, Spanish
-
To be provided for during the trip
Overview
This 11-day safari adventure takes you into the heart of gorilla territory, combined with an exciting chimpanzee trek in the thriving Kalinzu Forest. You’ll also explore Uganda’s remarkable savanna parks—Lake Mburo and Queen Elizabeth National Park—for unforgettable wildlife encounters. The journey continues with a serene canoe ride on Lake Bunyonyi, followed by thrilling back-to-back activities in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, including the Bisoke hike and golden monkey trekking. The tour concludes with a guided city tour of Kigali, offering a perfect finish to your East African exploration.
Trip Highlights
- Budget tour: This budget tour uses lodges and hotels.
- Private tour: This tour will be organized exclusively for you. However, wildlife viewing activities are run by the lodges/camps and will be shared with others.
- Can start any day: If availability permits, this tour can start on any day.
- Can be customized: You can request changes to this tour.
- Suitable for solo travelers: Solo travelers can book this private tour.
- Minimum age of 15 years: The minimum age for this tour is 15 years.
Itinerary
On your arrival at Kigali International Airport, you will be met by the Dav Safaris staff who will brief you and transfer you to your hotel for relaxation, and dinner. You will relax and refresh from the long jet lag and prepare for the next day’s adventure.
Main Destination:
Kigali (Rwanda)
Accommodation:
Five to Five Hotel
Budget hotel located in Kigali (Rwanda)
Dinner (Breakfast & lunch not included)
Drinks not included
You will be picked up by your safari guide who will give you a short briefing about this 7-day safari. You will start your 6-hour drive to Lake Mburo National Park from Kigali and across the Rwanda-Uganda land border. Upon arrival, you will have lunch and get prepared for a brief evening game drive where you'll encounter the true zebra magnet alongside other animals like buffalos, giraffes, and elands. From there, you will check in at the lodge, for relaxation and dinner. Immediately after dinner, you will go for the nocturnal game drive which starts at 6:00 p.m. in the evening till late. On this game drive, you may encounter various nocturnal animals such as leopards, hyenas, jackals, civets, genet cats, and serval cats.
Main Destination:
Lake Mburo National Park (Uganda)
Accommodation:
Hyena Hill Lodge
Budget lodge located just outside Lake Mburo NP (Uganda)
All meals included
Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
After your breakfast, you will head out for the morning, game drive through Lake Mburo National Park and feed your eyes as you spot amazing wildlife species and bird species alongside the scenic savannah grasslands. After the game drive, you will drive out of the park with a stopover along the way for lunch. The meal plan includes breakfast and lunch in Mbarara Town. Later, you will proceed to Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Main Destination:
Queen Elizabeth National Park (Uganda)
Accommodation:
Enshama Game Lodge
Mid-range lodge located just outside Queen Elizabeth NP (Uganda)
All meals included
Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
On this day after breakfast, your guide will take you to track man’s closest cousins the chimpanzees. This is an obviously amazing experience to mark done on your bucket list. After chimpanzee tracking, you will transfer to your lodge for relaxation as you enjoy the scenic landscape views. After lunch, you will embark on an amazing launch cruise on Kazinga Channel where you will have an exciting and memorable adventure. This water sail provides a magnificent platform for photographing and 360-degree game viewing. After the boat cruise, you will drive back to the hotel for your dinner and overnight stay.
Main Destination:
Queen Elizabeth National Park (Uganda)
Accommodation:
Enshama Game Lodge
Mid-range lodge located just outside Queen Elizabeth NP (Uganda)
Meals & Drinks:
All meals included
Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
After an early breakfast, your driver will take you for the morning game drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park. This is an amazing experience with a great opportunity to spot a wide range of wildlife such as cape buffalos, Uganda kobs, African elephants, hippos, lions, leopards, waterbucks, warthogs, and antelopes. After the successful game-viewing adventure, you will transfer to the lodge for lunch and then kick-start your journey to the famous Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The park is famous for its endangered mountain gorillas. The drive to the park is incredibly scenic, going through the remote and hilly plains covered by lush green. Upon arrival at Bwindi, it is visible that the park has the most appreciative ecosystems in Africa and the diversity of the wildlife species is also portrayed on sight. The park is home to about 120 species of mammals and 348 species of birds. Later on, you will check in at the lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
Main Destination:
Ishasha Sector (Queen Elizabeth NP, Uganda)
Accommodation:
Rushaga Gorilla Lodge
Mid-range lodge just outside Rushaga (Bwindi Impenetrable NP, Uganda)
All meals included
Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
You will set off early morning with your packed lunch to the gorilla trekking park headquarters for the mandatory briefing. All tourists are put in groups of 8 people and allocated to the gorilla families and the ranger escorts on duty. You will explore and traverse nature and wilderness. Shortly after your gorilla trekking and wilderness experiences activity in Bwindi, your guide will transfer you back to the lodge.
Main Destination:
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Gorillas)
Accommodation:
Itambira Island Resort
Mid-range hotel located at Lake Bunyonyi (Uganda)
Lunch & dinner (Breakfast not included)
Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
Today, you're spending the entire day at a glance at the scenic Lake Bunyonyi. Here, you will have a boat ride through the lake where you will visit various islands and learn about their traditional significance. You will see multiple bird species and other wildlife species. The island consists of 29 islands and is the most scenic place in Uganda and Rwanda. You will spend your evening at the resort enjoying the beauty of the area.
Main Destination:
Lake Bunyonyi (Uganda)
Accommodation:
Itambira Island Resort
Mid-range hotel located at Lake Bunyonyi (Uganda)
Meals & Drinks:
- All meals included
- Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
The day starts with breakfast shortly after sunrise and then a road trip to the Volcanoes begins. Upon arrival, you will have a cultural tour at Ibiwachu culture village where you will experience and learn about the historical and present day’s livelihood of the Rwandan citizens through cultural performances, village walks, and museum visits.
Main Destination:
Mount Bisoke (Virunga Mountains, Rwanda)
Accommodation:
Isange Paradise Resort
Budget hotel in Ruhengeri (City, Rwanda)
All meals included
Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
You will set off by 7:30 a.m. for the briefing at the Volcanoes National Park offices after breakfast at your hotel. It takes between 4 to 6 hours to hike Mount Bisoke. The actual hike starts at 8:00 a.m. After the briefing, you will be taken by car to the starting point. This is because the Bisoke head trail is a 3-day gorilla tour and Bisoke is a hiking distance from the park offices. It’s advisable to get yourself a porter to carry any heavy backpack or camera. The park authorities will provide you with a hiking stick. On reaching the summit, expect to view the magnificent crater lake on top of the volcano. From the summit, one can spot beautiful views of the other Virunga ranges of mountains, the Volcanoes National Park, Virunga National Park, Mgahinga National Park, and the Rwenzori Mountains. Once done with enjoying the beautiful views from the mountain top, you will descend down and head back to the starting point.
Main Destination:
Mount Bisoke (Virunga Mountains, Rwanda)
Accommodation:
Isange Paradise Resort
Budget hotel in Ruhengeri (City, Rwanda)
Meals & Drinks:
All meals included
Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
After the briefing, you will embark on the golden monkey tracking. The encounter starts at 7:00 a.m. at the park headquarters where you'll head to the forest in unlimited numbers in search of these endangered species. You'll take about 4 hours on the golden monkey tracking experience inclusive of an hour-long encounter with them where you see them roll themselves on the bamboo stems. They are not shy as it has been reduced through habituation. You will enjoy the sights of their silver patch. After the adventure with the rare monkeys, you will transfer to the Twin Lakes or Musanze caves in the evening for a more adventurous experience. You will drive to the lodge for relaxation as you wait for the next day’s adventure with dinner and an overnight stay.
Main Destination:
Volcanoes National Park (Gorillas)
Accommodation:
Isange Paradise Resort
Budget hotelless than 1hr drive from Volcanoes NP (Gorillas, Rwanda)
Meals & Drinks:
All meals included
Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
Early in the morning, you will transfer to Kigali for the city tour especially the renowned Kigali Genocide Memorial Center where you will learn about what happened during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. After visiting the genocide site, you will visit the local markets, the presidential palace museum, and a few artisan shops. Once done with the city tour, you will be taken for lunch at a suitable hotel. After some relaxation, you will embark on the transfer to the airport or your hotel of stay hence the end of your safari to Rwanda.
Main Destination:
Kigali Genocide Memorial (Kigali, Rwanda)
Accommodation:
No accommodation (End of tour)
Meals & Drinks:
Breakfast & lunch (Dinner not included)
Drinking water (Other drinks not included)
Includes/Excludes
Cost Includes
- Park fees (For non-residents)
- Gorilla permits (One per person, non-resident)
- Chimp permits (One per person, non-resident)
- All activities (Unless labeled as optional)
- All accommodation (Unless listed as upgrade)
- A professional driver/guide
- All transportation (Unless labeled as optional)
- All Taxes/VAT
- Roundtrip airport transfer
- Meals (As specified in the day-by-day section)
- Drinks (As specified in the day-by-day section)
Cost Excludes
- International flights (From/to home)
- Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour
- Tips (Tipping guideline US$10.00 pp per day)
- Personal items (Souvenirs, travel insurance, visa fees, etc.)
- Government imposed increase of taxes and/or park fees
- Some meals (As specified in the day-by-day section)
FAQs
The 11-Day Uganda–Rwanda Safari Adventure typically includes accommodation, transportation, gorilla and chimpanzee permits, park entry fees, game drives, the Bisoke hike, golden monkey trekking, canoe rides on Lake Bunyonyi, meals, and a professional guide.
The 11-Day Uganda–Rwanda Safari Adventure involves moderately strenuous activities, including gorilla trekking, chimp tracking, and the Bisoke hike. A good level of physical fitness is recommended.
The best time for the 11-Day Uganda–Rwanda Safari Adventure is during the dry seasons—June to September and December to February—when trekking conditions and wildlife viewing are optimal.
During the 11-Day Uganda–Rwanda Safari Adventure, you may encounter mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, golden monkeys, elephants, hippos, zebras, antelopes, buffaloes, tree-climbing lions, and numerous bird species.
Yes, the 11-Day Uganda–Rwanda Safari Adventure ends with a guided Kigali city tour and may include community interactions around gorilla regions and Lake Bunyonyi.
For the 11-Day Uganda–Rwanda Safari Adventure, pack hiking boots, long-sleeved clothing, rain gear, gloves, insect repellent, a hat, sunscreen, binoculars, a camera, and comfortable clothing for game drives and canoeing.



