After breakfast, we leave Entebbe and drive north towards Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, Uganda's only sanctuary where rhinos can be tracked on foot. We stop for lunch along the way before continuing to the sanctuary. The journey takes us through Uganda's countryside, with opportunities to see local villages and agricultural landscapes.

Driving: Approx. 200 km / 3–4 hours

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Overnight: Amuka Lodge

We start the morning with a guided rhino tracking experience on foot. Accompanied by experienced rangers, we walk through the sanctuary in search of the resident rhinos while learning about their conservation and the work being done to protect them.

After lunch, we drive towards Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda's largest national park. We arrive in the afternoon and settle into our lodge.

Driving: Approx. 150–180 km / 3–4 hours

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Overnight: Pakuba Lodge

We head out early for a morning game drive, exploring the northern sector of Murchison Falls National Park. We look out for elephants, giraffes, lions, buffaloes, antelopes and, with luck, leopards.

After lunch, we take a boat excursion along the Victoria Nile towards the base of the magnificent Murchison Falls. The cruise offers excellent opportunities to see hippos, crocodiles and abundant birdlife along the riverbanks.

Driving: Game drives, approximately 3–4 hours

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Overnight: Pakuba Lodge

We leave Murchison Falls after breakfast and begin our scenic drive south-west towards Fort Portal. This is one of the longer driving days of the itinerary, so we carry a packed lunch and make stops along the way.

We arrive in the Fort Portal area later in the afternoon and settle into our lodge, surrounded by the beautiful landscapes of western Uganda.

Driving: Approx. 330–370 km / 6–7 hours

Meals: Breakfast, packed lunch and dinner

Overnight: Isunga Lodge

After breakfast, we head into the forest for our chimpanzee tracking experience. We follow the sounds and movements of the chimpanzees while learning about the forest ecosystem and its other inhabitants. Chimpanzees are not the only attraction, the forest also provides opportunities to see other primates and forest bird species.

After lunch, we drive towards Queen Elizabeth National Park, arriving in time to settle into our lodge and enjoy the surroundings.

Driving: Approx. 100–120 km / 2–3 hours, excluding chimpanzee activity

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Overnight: Buffalo Lodge

We spend the morning exploring the Kaseny/Queen Elizabeth game-viewing areas, driving across open grasslands and woodland in search of wildlife.

We can expect to encounter Uganda kobs, buffaloes, elephants, warthogs, waterbucks and other antelope, while keeping an eye out for the park's predators particularly lions and leopards. Hyenas are also present.

After lunch at Mweya Safari Lodge, we take one of the highlights of the park: a boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel. The channel connects Lakes Edward and George and attracts enormous numbers of animals to its shoreline. From the boat, we often get close views of hippos and crocodiles, while buffaloes and elephants gather along the water's edge. The channel is also exceptional for birding, with hundreds of species recorded in the park.

Driving: Game drives, approximately 3–4 hours

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Overnight: Buffalo Lodge

We leave Queen Elizabeth and travel south towards the Ishasha sector, famous for its unusual tree-climbing lions. If conditions and timing allow, we will look for these lions resting in the branches of large fig and acacia trees.

We then continue towards the Ruhija sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, carrying a packed lunch for the journey.

As we climb into the highlands, the open savannah gives way to thick montane forest. Ruhija sits at around 2,300 metres and is particularly beautiful, with views across forested ridges and towards the Virunga volcanoes. It is also an excellent area for forest birding and primates.

Driving: Approx. 120–150 km / 4–5 hours

Meals: Breakfast, packed lunch and dinner

Overnight: Bakiga Lodge

Today we experience one of Africa's most extraordinary wildlife encounters: mountain gorilla trekking.

After an early breakfast, we head to the park headquarters for our briefing before entering Bwindi's ancient rainforest. We hike through dense vegetation and steep forested terrain in search of our allocated gorilla family.

Once we find them, we have the opportunity to observe their social interactions, feeding and movements from a respectful distance. The trek itself can take several hours depending on where the gorillas have moved.

After the trek, we have lunch before driving to Lake Mutanda, where we spend the evening overlooking its spectacular volcanic landscape.

Driving: Approx. 60–80 km / 2–3 hours, excluding trekking

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Overnight: Lake Mutanda Resort

After the intensity of gorilla trekking, we take a slower day at Lake Mutanda.

We can relax at the resort and enjoy views across the lake towards the volcanic peaks, or choose an optional activity such as a boat excursion or fishing. The lake's setting makes this a perfect opportunity to simply enjoy the scenery and recover from the previous day's trek.

Driving: None planned

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Overnight: Lake Mutanda Resort

We leave Lake Mutanda at around 9:00 am and drive towards the Cyanika border, where we complete immigration formalities before crossing into Rwanda.

We continue to Musanze, the gateway to Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park, with the dramatic Virunga volcanoes forming the backdrop. We stop for lunch at the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, a purpose-built conservation, research and education centre dedicated to continuing Dian Fossey's legacy and advancing mountain gorilla conservation. The campus includes research facilities and the Cindy Broder Conservation Gallery, where we can learn more about the history of gorilla research, Dian Fossey's work and the ongoing efforts to protect mountain gorillas.

After lunch, we continue with an exciting river rafting experience on the Mukungwa River before heading to our accommodation in Musanze.

Driving: Approx. 60–80 km / 2–3 hours, excluding border formalities and rafting

Meals: Breakfast lunch dinner

Overnight: La Locanda

After breakfast, we leave Musanze and drive towards Rushel, enjoying the beautiful Rwandan countryside along the way. We stop for lunch before taking a boat excursion to Comoran, offering another opportunity to experience Rwanda's landscapes and waterways.

Driving: Approx. 100–150 km / 3–4 hours, depending on the route

Meals: Breakfast lunch dinner

Overnight: Comoran

We have an early breakfast before driving to Kigali, Rwanda's clean and vibrant capital. We enjoy a city tour before visiting the Kigali Genocide Memorial, followed by a visit to Inema Arts Center to experience Rwanda's contemporary art scene.

After an optional lunch, we leave Kigali and drive towards Lake Muhazi, where we spend the evening relaxing at our accommodation.

Driving: 57–70 km / 1½–3 hours

Meals: Breakfast and dinner

Overnight: Vintage Cottages Muhazi

We depart early after breakfast and drive towards the Rusumo border, where we cross from Rwanda into Tanzania. We continue towards Bukoba with a packed lunch for the journey.

In the evening, we board the MV Victoria for our overnight journey across Lake Victoria towards Mwanza.The overnight crossing offers a completely different experience from the safari days, giving us time to relax on board and enjoy the vastness of Lake Victoria as we travel across one of Africa's Great Lakes.

Driving: 6–8 hours

Meals: Breakfast, packed lunch and dinner

Overnight: MV Victoria | FB

We arrive in Mwanza and have the option of breakfast at Serenity before collecting our packed lunches and beginning our journey towards the Serengeti.

As we enter the park, our safari begins immediately, with game viewing along the way to our camp. The Serengeti is one of Africa's greatest wildlife ecosystems and is particularly famous for its enormous populations of wildebeest, zebra and gazelles, and exceptional predator population lions, cheetahs and leopards, as well as elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, hippos and numerous antelope species.

We continue with game viewing as we make our way to camp, arriving later in the afternoon.

Driving: Approx. 150–200 km / 4–5 hours

Meals: Packed lunch and dinner

Overnight: Serengeti Wildlands Camp – Central Serengeti

We spend the entire day exploring the Serengeti National Park on game drives. We start early when wildlife is generally most active. The cooler morning hours can be particularly rewarding for predator sightings, and we keep our eyes open for lions beginning or finishing a hunt, cheetahs scanning the open plains and leopards resting in trees or moving through the woodland.

The Serengeti is not only about predators. We can encounter huge herds of wildebeest and zebra, Thomson's and Grant's gazelles, giraffes, elephants, buffaloes, warthogs and numerous smaller mammals. Large flocks of birds also add another dimension to the game drives. We carry a packed lunch, allowing us to maximise our time in the wilderness rather than returning to camp during the middle of the day.

Driving: Full-day game drives, route dependent

Meals: Breakfast, packed lunch and dinner

Overnight: Serengeti Wildlands Camp – Central Serengeti

After breakfast, we leave the Serengeti with a packed lunch and continue towards the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

We descend into the spectacular Ngorongoro Crater for a game drive. The crater's enclosed ecosystem supports an exceptional concentration of wildlife, including wildebeest, zebra, buffaloes, elephants, gazelles, hippos, lions and hyenas. With luck, we may also spot the endangered black rhino.

We explore the crater's varied habitats, including open grasslands, woodland and the crater lakes, which can attract large numbers of flamingos and other waterbirds.After the crater tour, we ascend and continue to Karatu for our final night in Tanzania.

Driving: Approx. 150–180 km / 4–5 hours, excluding crater game drive

Meals: Breakfast, packed lunch and dinner

Overnight: Endoro Lodge

We enjoy breakfast before beginning our final drive towards Kilimanjaro International Airport for our evening departure.

Our 18-day adventure comes to an end after an incredible journey through Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania, combining wetlands and rhino tracking, Murchison Falls, chimpanzees, Queen Elizabeth, mountain gorillas, Rwanda's volcanic landscapes, Lake Victoria and the iconic wildlife of the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater.

Driving: Approx. 200–250 km / 4–5 hours

Meals: Breakfast only