Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Kenya and Uganda: the Masai Mara and the Mountain Gorillas
13 days from Nairobi to Entebbe: three nights in the Masai Mara, the Kazinga Channel and Ishasha, three nights at Bwindi with a gorilla permit included, and Lake Bunyonyi.
13 days · Nairobi to Entebbe · up to 12 guests
A lioness in the long grass of the Masai Mara Photo: harish tikadia harish1977, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Masai_Mara_Game_Reserve,_Kenya_(Unsplash_aqKgV2jVKVM).jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 13 days, 12 nights
- Start and end
- Nairobi to Entebbe
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Activity level
Active
Most days are game drives with short walks. The gorilla trek on day 9 is the hard one: 2 to 6 hours or more on steep, muddy forest slopes at about 1,200 to 2,000 m, with no paths in places and a porter for each guest. The Mara walking safari is about 2 hours on flat ground, and the Bwindi waterfall walk about 3 hours; both can be swapped for a rest.
- Meals included
- 12 breakfasts, 11 lunches, 11 dinners
- Room of your own
- + CAD 1,905 (estimated price)
- Season
- June to September
Highlights
Why this trip
- A full day across the Masai Mara from dawn, with a picnic lunch out on the plains
- A morning on foot with a Maasai guide, then a sundowner on the last Mara evening
- Flying from the Mara to Entebbe in a day instead of the two-day overland haul
- Hippos and buffalo from the water on the Kazinga Channel boat
- Looking for lions in the fig trees of Ishasha
- An hour with a mountain gorilla family in Bwindi, permit and porter included
- Three nights at Bwindi, so the trek day is never rushed
- A late-afternoon boat among the islands of Lake Bunyonyi
What makes this trip different
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 1,905 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Nairobi
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to your hotel in Nairobi
- Dinner
- Stay in Nairobi
- Drive about 1 h
Fly into Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) any time today. A driver meets you in the arrivals hall and takes you to the hotel, about 20 km and up to an hour in Nairobi traffic, door to door with no shared shuttle or bus station. Nairobi sits at about 1,700 m, so evenings are cooler than most people expect, even in July. If you land early, rest after the long flight or take a walk near the hotel. At 6 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a briefing on the two weeks ahead: how the light aircraft and the soft-bag limit work, what a day in the Mara looks like, and what to expect on the gorilla trek, from boots and gloves to the porters.
Evening
Then we sit down together to a welcome dinner of Kenyan dishes at a local restaurant.
Included
- Pick-up at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO)
- Welcome briefing with your guide at 6 pm
- Welcome dinner
Free time: Free until the evening briefing
Giraffes, orphaned elephants and a flight to the Mara
Nairobi to the Giraffe Centre and the Sheldrick nursery in Langata, then Wilson Airport to the Masai Mara by light aircraft
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Masai Mara
- Drive about 2 h
Morning
We start at the Giraffe Centre in Langata as it opens in the morning (we confirm opening times and booking at booking), before the school groups, where Rothschild's giraffes lean over the feeding platform at eye level. Late in the morning the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust opens its elephant nursery to the public for one hour, and we confirm the time and any booking at booking: the keepers bring the orphaned calves out for their milk feed and a mud bath while a keeper explains how each one was found.
Afternoon
After a sit-down lunch nearby we drive about ten minutes to Wilson Airport for an early-afternoon light-aircraft flight to a Mara airstrip, about 45 to 60 minutes, instead of a five to six hour drive on the road. Our 4x4s with pop-up roofs and our driver-guides meet the plane, and the game drive starts on the airstrip: the road to camp is the first look at the Mara, in the low afternoon light.
Evening
Dinner is at camp, our home for three nights.
Included
- Giraffe Centre in Langata at opening
- Sheldrick Wildlife Trust elephant nursery public hour (time and booking confirmed at booking)
- Sit-down lunch in Nairobi
- Light-aircraft flight from Wilson Airport to the Masai Mara
- Afternoon game drive from the airstrip to camp
Activity: We confirm the Giraffe Centre and Sheldrick nursery opening times and booking at booking. The light aircraft takes a soft bag of about 15 kg per person, hand luggage included. A bigger bag stays at the Nairobi hotel and meets you at the airport on day 5.
A full day in the Masai Mara
Camp to the Masai Mara National Reserve and back
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Masai Mara
Morning
We leave camp at about 6:30 am, with coffee and a snack, because the first hours after dawn are when lions and cheetahs are most active and the light is soft. A picnic breakfast comes later, out on the plains. This is a whole day in the reserve with two 4x4s, so nobody sits in a middle seat and the driver-guides can split up and share sightings by radio. We head towards the Mara River, where from about July the wildebeest and zebra herds may gather to cross; crossings happen on the animals' timetable, so we wait at a sensible distance and move on if nothing stirs. Elephants, buffalo, giraffes, topi and hippos in the river pools are likely; leopards are a matter of luck.
Evening
Lunch is a picnic in the shade of a tree, and we are back at camp in the late afternoon for a shower before dinner.
Included
- Full-day game drive in the Masai Mara National Reserve, reserve fees included
- Picnic breakfast and lunch on the plains
- The Mara River, when the herds are there
Easier option: Come back to camp at midday with one vehicle and spend the afternoon resting.
Free time: Late afternoon at camp
Activity: A game-drive day of about 8 to 10 hours with stops; bumpy tracks, little walking.
On foot with a Maasai guide, and a Mara sundowner
Camp, community land beside the reserve and an evening game drive
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Masai Mara
Morning
A slower morning. If you have booked the optional balloon, you are collected before dawn and float over the plains at sunrise, then join the group for breakfast. After breakfast a Maasai guide and an armed ranger lead a walk of about two hours on community or conservancy land next to the reserve, where walking is allowed: tracks in the dust, the medicinal plants, and the small things you miss from a vehicle. Later the guide takes us to a Maasai homestead whose families welcome visitors, where we hear how cattle, school and conservation fit together. The middle of the day is yours at camp, in the shade.
Evening
In the late afternoon we drive out once more and stop on a rise for a sundowner as the light goes gold over the grass, then back for dinner and the night sounds of the Mara.
Included
- Walking safari of about 2 hours with a Maasai guide and ranger
- Visit to a Maasai homestead
- Late-afternoon game drive with a sundowner
Optional experiences
- Hot-air balloon over the Mara at sunrise, with a bush breakfast (price shown at booking)
Easier option: Skip the walk and stay at camp until the afternoon drive.
More active option: Take the optional sunrise balloon before the walk.
Free time: Midday free at camp
Activity: The walk is on flat ground at an easy pace; the ranger sets the route by what animals are about.
From the Mara to Lake Victoria
Masai Mara airstrip to Wilson Airport, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, then Entebbe
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Entebbe
- Drive about 1.5 h
Morning
One last short game drive takes us to the airstrip for a mid-morning light-aircraft flight back to Wilson Airport in Nairobi.
Afternoon
From there it is about 20 km to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, where your bigger bag meets you, and we have lunch at the airport before the regional flight to Entebbe, about an hour and a quarter over Lake Victoria. Overland trips take two long days to drive this far, with a slow land border; flying makes today a travel day, not an endurance test. Kenya and Uganda share the same time zone, so there is no clock change. Our Ugandan guide team and the 4x4s meet us in Entebbe for the short drive to a hotel on the lake shore.
Evening
The evening is free: walk down to the water, or eat at the hotel or nearby.
Included
- Short game drive to the airstrip
- Light-aircraft flight from the Masai Mara to Wilson Airport
- Transfer from Wilson Airport to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport
- Lunch at the airport
- Flight from Nairobi to Entebbe
- Transfer to your Entebbe hotel
Free time: Evening free in Entebbe
Activity: Have your Uganda visa approval and yellow fever certificate in your hand luggage for arrival.
Fly west to the Kazinga Channel
Entebbe to Kasese by domestic flight, then by road over the equator to Queen Elizabeth National Park
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Queen Elizabeth National Park
- Drive about 1.5 h
Morning
A short morning flight takes us west to Kasese, at the foot of the Rwenzori Mountains, in about an hour and a quarter; the road would be seven to eight hours. Our Ugandan 4x4s, which have driven out with the bigger bags, meet the plane. It is about an hour to the lodge, crossing the equator on the way, where we stop at the marker for a photo. Queen Elizabeth National Park spreads between Lake George and Lake Edward, joined by the Kazinga Channel.
Afternoon
After lunch at the lodge we take the afternoon boat along the channel, about two hours on the water: hippos in dense pods, buffalo and elephants coming down to drink, crocodiles on the banks and a crowd of pelicans, cormorants and fish eagles. The boat gets you closer to the animals than any vehicle can.
Evening
Dinner is at the lodge.
Included
- Domestic flight from Entebbe to Kasese
- The equator marker on the way to the park
- Kazinga Channel boat, about 2 hours
- Queen Elizabeth National Park fees
Free time: Late afternoon free at the lodge
Kasenyi at dawn and the crater lakes
The Kasenyi plains, then the explosion crater drive
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Queen Elizabeth National Park
- Drive about 2.5 h
We leave at about 6:30 am for the Kasenyi plains, where herds of Uganda kob gather and the lions that hunt them are easiest to find in the first hours of light. Elephants, buffalo and warthogs are common, and the guide watches the sky for vultures that give away a kill.
Morning
Back at the lodge by late morning for brunch, the middle of the day is free: sleep, read, or sit with binoculars over the channel.
Afternoon
In the late afternoon we take the explosion crater drive north of the channel, a track along the rims of old volcanic craters, some dry, some holding lakes, with Lake George and, on a clear day, the Rwenzori Mountains in the distance.
Evening
Dinner is at the lodge. If you would like to see chimpanzees, tracking in Kyambura Gorge is an option this morning instead of Kasenyi.
Included
- Dawn game drive on the Kasenyi plains
- Late-afternoon explosion crater drive
Optional experiences
- Chimpanzee tracking in Kyambura Gorge in place of the dawn drive (permit price shown at booking)
Easier option: Skip the dawn drive and join the group for the crater drive.
More active option: Track chimpanzees in Kyambura Gorge, a steep forested valley, in place of Kasenyi.
Free time: Midday free at the lodge
Ishasha's lions, then to Bwindi
Kazinga Channel area to the Ishasha sector, then to Buhoma at Bwindi
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Bwindi (Buhoma)
- Drive about 4.5 h
Today is the one long road day, about four and a half hours in all, and we break it in the middle.
Morning
We leave after breakfast at about 8 am and drive south for about two and a half hours to Ishasha, the park's quiet southern sector. Here we spend about two hours on a game drive looking for the lions that rest in the branches of the big fig trees, something only a few places do; they are not always up there, but the search also turns up topi, buffalo and elephants.
Afternoon
Lunch is a sit-down meal before the last two hours to Buhoma, climbing out of the plains into the green hills on the edge of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. We arrive in the afternoon at the lodge where we stay for three nights.
Evening
Your guide checks your trekking kit before dinner.
Included
- Game drive in the Ishasha sector, about 2 hours
- Sit-down lunch on the way
- Kit check with your guide at Buhoma
Free time: Late afternoon free at the lodge
Activity: About 4.5 hours of road, over our 4-hour cap, broken by the 2-hour game drive and lunch; the last stretch is unpaved.
Mountain gorillas in Bwindi
Buhoma park headquarters into Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Bwindi (Buhoma)
Morning
After an early breakfast we walk to the park headquarters at Buhoma for the 7:30 to 8 am briefing by Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers. The group splits across two habituated gorilla families, because each takes at most eight visitors a day, and every guest has a porter to carry a bag and give a hand on the steep parts.
Evening
Trackers go out ahead to find where the family nested last night, so the walk can be two hours or six, up and down slopes of thick, wet forest, sometimes cutting a way through. When you reach the gorillas you have one hour with them: the silverback feeding, the young ones tumbling, and the quiet sound of them pulling at leaves. Masks are worn close up. Lunch is packed for the forest. Back at the lodge, the afternoon is yours to rest and download your photos.
Included
- Uganda gorilla permit, one per guest
- Ranger briefing and gorilla trek from Buhoma
- One hour with a habituated gorilla family
- A porter for each guest
- Packed lunch on the trek
Easier option: Tell the rangers at the briefing that you would like a family that is usually closer; they try to match walkers to families, but nothing is certain.
Free time: Afternoon free at the lodge
Activity: 2 to 6 hours or more on steep, muddy slopes at about 1,200 to 2,000 m. Wear waterproof boots, long trousers tucked into socks, long sleeves and gardening gloves. Minimum age 15.
Bwindi at an easy pace
Buhoma: the Munyaga waterfall trail and the village
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Bwindi (Buhoma)
Morning
A day built for the legs to recover and for the forest itself, which most trips leave the morning after the trek. After a late breakfast a park guide leads the trail along the Munyaga River to a waterfall, about three hours there and back under tree ferns, with chances of black-and-white colobus, red-tailed monkeys and some of Bwindi's many birds. Bwindi is a UNESCO World Heritage site for that richness.
Afternoon
We are back for lunch at the lodge, and the afternoon is free. Some guests walk through Buhoma village with a local guide to meet craftspeople and growers; others simply sit on the deck and watch mist come in over the trees. If you would like a second hour with the gorillas, a second permit can be requested at booking for today, subject to availability.
Included
- Munyaga waterfall trail with a park guide, park fee included
- Lunch at the lodge
Optional experiences
- A second gorilla permit for today, subject to availability (price shown at booking)
- Buhoma village walk with a local guide
Easier option: Spend the whole day at the lodge.
More active option: Trek to a second gorilla family on a second permit.
Free time: Afternoon free
Activity: The waterfall trail is about 3 hours on a forest path with some slippery sections.
Through the hills to Lake Bunyonyi
Buhoma to Lake Bunyonyi via Kanungu and Kabale
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Lake Bunyonyi
- Drive about 4 h
We leave at about 9 am for the drive south to Lake Bunyonyi, about four hours and partly unpaved, right at our daily cap, through tea estates and some of the most closely terraced hillsides in Uganda, with a stop for coffee on the way.
Evening
The lake sits at about 1,960 m in the highlands near Kabale, scattered with small islands and ringed by steep cultivated slopes, and it is cool enough here for a fire in the evening. Lunch is at the lakeside lodge, then the early afternoon is free to rest. At about 4 pm a boat takes us between the islands as the light softens, past fishermen in dugout canoes, with a stop to hear the story of Akampene, the small island once used as a punishment. Dinner is at the lodge. The lake is free of bilharzia, so a swim off the lodge's jetty is an option if the day is warm.
Included
- Drive from Bwindi to Lake Bunyonyi with a coffee stop
- Lunch at the lodge
- Late-afternoon boat among the islands
Optional experiences
- Paddling a dugout canoe on the lake (price shown at booking)
Free time: Early afternoon free
Over the Kanaba Gap and back to Entebbe
Lake Bunyonyi to Kisoro over the Kanaba Gap, then a domestic flight to Entebbe
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Entebbe
- Drive about 2.5 h
Morning
After breakfast we drive about two hours west to Kisoro on a road that climbs through the Kanaba Gap, where on a clear morning the volcanoes of the Virunga range line up along the border with Rwanda and Congo.
Afternoon
We stop at the viewpoint before dropping down to Kisoro for lunch and a short domestic flight back to Entebbe, about an hour and a half, instead of a seven to eight hour drive. Our vehicle takes the bigger bags back by road. In Entebbe you have the late afternoon free at the hotel on the shore of Lake Victoria, time to repack and rest.
Evening
In the evening we gather for a farewell dinner with your guide and the group, to share the photos and stories of the trip.
Included
- The Kanaba Gap viewpoint over the Virunga volcanoes
- Lunch in Kisoro
- Domestic flight from Kisoro to Entebbe
- Farewell dinner
Free time: Late afternoon free in Entebbe
Entebbe gardens and home
Entebbe Botanical Gardens, then Entebbe International Airport
- Breakfast
- Drive about 15 min
Morning
A gentle last morning. At about 9 am, after breakfast, a local guide walks the group through the Entebbe Botanical Gardens on the shore of Lake Victoria, laid out in 1898, where black-and-white colobus monkeys and great blue turacos are often seen in the old trees and fish eagles call over the water. The walk takes about an hour and a half on flat paths, and you can leave it early if you prefer to pack. We are back at the hotel by late morning, then it is about ten minutes to Entebbe International Airport (EBB). Your guide sees you to the terminal and checks your flight before saying goodbye.
Evening
Book a flight leaving after about 1 pm to join the gardens walk, or ask us for a late checkout or an extra night if your flight is in the evening.
Included
- Entebbe Botanical Gardens walk with a local guide
- Drop-off at Entebbe International Airport (EBB)
Easier option: Skip the walk and rest at the hotel until your transfer.
Activity: Book a flight leaving after about 1 pm to join the gardens walk.
- Nairobi1 night
- Masai Mara3 nights
- Entebbe1 night
- Queen Elizabeth National Park2 nights
- Bwindi (Buhoma)3 nights
- Lake Bunyonyi1 night
- Entebbe1 night
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: June to September is the dry season in both countries: tracks are firmer, grass shorter for game viewing and the Bwindi slopes less slippery, though rain can fall in the forest any month. The wildebeest herds usually reach the Mara from about July; the exact timing changes every year.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- Travellers who want the Masai Mara and the mountain gorillas in one trip, without the two-day overland drive between them
- People who would rather pay for a flight than spend a day on the road
- Guests who can walk several hours on steep, muddy ground for the gorillas
- Solo travellers who want a small group and an upfront single price
Not for you if you want
- Travellers on a tight budget: the flights and the gorilla permit make this a premium trip
- Anyone under 15, the gorilla trekking minimum
- People who want to camp under canvas on the ground
- Travellers who want Rwanda or the chimpanzees of Kibale (see our other trips)
Minimum age: 15
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
12 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Nairobi1 night
- Masai Mara3 nights
- Entebbe1 night
- Queen Elizabeth National Park2 nights
- Bwindi (Buhoma)3 nights
- Lake Bunyonyi1 night
- Entebbe1 night
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 12 nights: 1 in Nairobi, 3 at a permanent tented camp or lodge in the Masai Mara with proper beds and its own bathroom, 2 in Entebbe on Lake Victoria (days 5 and 12), 2 near the Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park, 3 at Buhoma on the edge of Bwindi, 1 on Lake Bunyonyi
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
Transport
- Pick-up at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) and drop-off at Entebbe International Airport (EBB)
- Light-aircraft flights from Wilson Airport to the Masai Mara and back
- Flight from Nairobi to Entebbe
- Domestic flights from Entebbe to Kasese and from Kisoro to Entebbe
- 4x4 safari vehicles with pop-up roofs and drivers in Kenya and Uganda, with a window seat for every guest
- Kazinga Channel and Lake Bunyonyi boats
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide for the whole trip, with local driver-guides in the Mara and Uganda, a Maasai guide on the walk, Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers on the trek and a park guide at Buhoma
Activities
- One Uganda gorilla permit per guest and the trek from Buhoma, with a porter for each guest
- Giraffe Centre and the Sheldrick elephant nursery, Nairobi
- Full-day game drive in the Masai Mara National Reserve, with reserve fees
- Walking safari with a Maasai guide and a Maasai homestead visit, Masai Mara
- Sundowner game drive, Masai Mara
- Kazinga Channel boat, Queen Elizabeth National Park
- Kasenyi dawn game drive and the explosion crater drive, Queen Elizabeth National Park
- Ishasha game drive
- Munyaga waterfall trail, Bwindi
- Lake Bunyonyi island boat
- Kanaba Gap viewpoint
- Entebbe Botanical Gardens walk
- All Ugandan park fees
Meals
- 12 breakfasts
- 11 lunches, including a picnic in the Mara and a packed lunch on the trek
- 11 dinners, including a welcome dinner in Nairobi and a farewell dinner in Entebbe
Not included
- International flights to Nairobi and from Entebbe
- Kenya eTA and Uganda visa fees
- Travel insurance, which must cover medical evacuation
- Vaccinations and malaria tablets
- Dinner in Entebbe on day 5
- Drinks
- Tips for guides, drivers, porters and lodge staff
- Optional activities: the Mara balloon, Kyambura Gorge chimpanzees, a second gorilla permit, canoeing on Lake Bunyonyi
- Personal expenses
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 1,905 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
Prices in these answers apply from Jan 1, 2027. Black Friday offer: 15% off the small-group price for requests received by Dec 1, 2026. From CAD 8,895 per person. Dec 2 to Dec 31: from CAD 9,630. From Jan 1, 2027: from CAD 10,465.
What does the price include?
Twelve nights in hotels, a Mara tented camp or lodge and Ugandan lodges, 12 breakfasts, 11 lunches and 11 dinners, one Uganda gorilla permit with a porter, all five flights, 4x4 vehicles with a window seat each, park and reserve fees, the Kazinga and Bunyonyi boats, the Mara walk, and your See Sight Tours guide from Nairobi to Entebbe.
Is the gorilla permit included?
Yes. One Uganda gorilla permit per guest is in the price. We buy it in your name as soon as your trip is confirmed, using your passport details, because permits for June to September sell out months ahead. It is non-refundable once bought. A second permit can be requested for day 10, subject to availability.
How fit do I need to be for the gorilla trek?
Fit enough to walk 2 to 6 hours or more on steep, muddy forest slopes at about 1,200 to 2,000 m. Every guest has a porter, walking sticks are provided, and the rangers set a steady pace with rests. The rest of the trip is game drives and easy walks, each with an option to sit out.
Why do you fly instead of driving between Kenya and Uganda?
Driving from the Mara to western Uganda takes two long days and a slow land border. We fly from the Mara to Nairobi and on to Entebbe in one day, then to Kasese and back from Kisoro, so only day 8 (about 4.5 hours) goes over four hours on the road, and day 11 sits at the four-hour cap. Light aircraft take a soft bag of about 15 kg.
How big is the group?
The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests, in two 4x4s with pop-up roofs, so every guest has a window seat. On the gorilla trek we split across two families, because each family takes at most eight visitors a day.
Who leads the trip?
A See Sight Tours guide travels with the group from Nairobi to Entebbe. Local driver-guides drive the 4x4s in the Mara and in Uganda, a Maasai guide leads the walking safari, and Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers lead the gorilla trek, as the park requires.
I am travelling solo. Do I pay more?
Only if you want a room of your own, which is from CAD 1,905 more, shown before you book. If you are happy to share, we pair you with another solo guest of the same gender and you pay the twin-share price. The flights and the gorilla permit cost the same either way.
When is the best time to go?
June to September, the dry season in both countries, when tracks are firmer, the grass is shorter for game viewing and the Bwindi slopes are less slippery. The wildebeest herds usually reach the Mara from about July. Small-group departures run in these months; December to February is possible as a private trip.
Will we see the Great Migration?
Possibly, not certainly. From about July the wildebeest and zebra herds usually move into the Mara, and our full day on day 3 heads towards the Mara River. Crossings happen on the animals' timetable and vary every year. June departures arrive before most of the herds, with resident lions, elephants and buffalo still easy to find.
Do I need a visa for Kenya and Uganda?
Yes, both countries need an online entry approval before you fly: Kenya has recently used an Electronic Travel Authorisation and Uganda an e-visa, and the East Africa Tourist Visa covers Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. Uganda also asks for a yellow fever certificate. Rules change, so we confirm them for your passport when you book and check again before departure.
How does booking work?
Choose a departure and send a request to book. We check availability and provide the final quote, itinerary and booking terms before you accept. No payment is taken when you send the request. Because gorilla permits sell out, the sooner you request, the better the chance of your preferred date; we buy the permit as soon as your trip is confirmed.
Can I travel privately or on my own dates?
Yes. The trip also runs as a private trip for your party only, on a date you choose, from CAD 18,835 per person. If you would rather travel independently on your own dates, ask us from the dates section and we will quote the same flights, lodges, permits and local guides for you.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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