15 Days Uganda & Kenya Safari: Best Gorillas, Big 5 & Wildebeests

Overview – 15 Days Uganda & Kenya safari

15 Days Uganda and Kenya safari is a complete 2-week travel itinerary designed for you to explore and experience the best of Uganda and Kenya. You will have the most of what East Africa has to offer the world from the endangered mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park to big 5 game tours and cultural immersion with the Batwa & Maasai people. This comes with an ultimate comfortable stay in a camp/lodge in or near your safari destinations.

15 Days Uganda & Kenya safari

Destinations to visit on Uganda safari: Murchison Falls National Park, Bwindi, Queen Elizabeth & Kibale National Park. In Kenya, wildlife tour destinations to explore include the Maasai Mara National Reserve and Lake Nakuru National Park.

Brief Itinerary – 15 Days Uganda & Kenya Safari

Day 1: Arrival at Entebbe –EBB (Uganda)

Day 2: Entebbe –Murchison Falls National Park (Northeastern circuit)

Day 3: Game drive & boat cruise (Murchison Falls Park)

Day 4: Kibale Forest N/Park (Western circuit)

Day 5: Go to track chimpanzees & visit Queen Elizabeth NP

Day 6: Queen Elizabeth N/P- Game drive/lion tracking + launch cruise

Day 7: Kasenyi sector- Bwindi via Ishasha

Day 8: Trekking gorillas & the Batwa visit

Day 9: Bwindi to Entebbe –by road

Day 10: Fly from Entebbe to Kisumu & drive to Lake Nakuru NP

Day 11: Explore Lake Nakuru NP- full-day game viewing

Day 12: Lake Nakuru to Masai Mara Reserve

Day 13: Discover Maasai Mara Reserve –full-day

Day 14: Drive to Nairobi city

Day 15: Depart

Details -15 Uganda & Kenya Safari

Day 1: Arrival at Entebbe –EBB (Uganda)

Entebbe International Airport (EBB) is Uganda’s only international airport although construction of the second one is in its final stages –Hoima International Airport. You will be picked up at the Entebbe airport which is found astride the Equator, central Uganda.

Meet & greet your driver guide who will pick you up and transfer you to a comfortable place for relaxation in Entebbe. If you land at EBB early, you may proceed with a city tour and this includes visiting the Uganda Wildlife Education Center- UWEC/Zoo. An overnight stay at Hotel NO. 5 located in Entebbe.

Day 2: Entebbe –Murchison Falls National Park (Northeastern circuit)

Leave Entebbe city for Murchison Falls National Park (MFNP), a 6-7 hours drive. Get there on the Kampala-Gulu highway which includes a stopover at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary to track rhinos.

Ziwa is the only spot to find rhinos in their natural environment and sits on a land area of 70,000 ha. Other animals can be spotted, especially bushbucks, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, bushbucks, birds, and others.

After the 2-hour trek to see rhinos, leave for lunch at a hotel in Masindi or Amuka Lodge. You will continue with your journey to Murchison Falls National Park via Kichumbanyobo gate, and proceed straight to the top of the falls.

Day 3: Game drive & boat cruise (Murchison Falls Park)

Enjoy a hefty breakfast and after, go game drive along the wildlife tracks on the Northern plains of Murchison Falls National Park. Spend 2-3 hours exploring the big game, birds, and other small antelopes/mammals. The animals to spot include lions, giraffes, oribis, bushbucks, waterbucks, buffaloes, elephants, and many more. Get back and lunch will be served at the wilderness lodge.

In the afternoon, go for a boat cruise taking 2-3 hours and your set off point will be at the Paraa Jetty to the base of the Murchison Falls. Maximize your time observing and taking pictures of hippos, crocodiles and birds, then the Murchison Falls photography at its base. If by the time you visit, the water levels are low, you will undertake a hike to the top 45 minutes.

Day 4: Kibale Forest National Park (Western circuit)

Travel via Hoima to Kibale National Park located in Kabarole district. Lunch in a hotel or restaurant in Fort Portal and dinner plus overnight stay at the safari lodge in or close to Kibale National Park.

Day 5: Go to track chimpanzees & visit Queen Elizabeth National Park

Wake up early for breakfast and after, you will transfer to the Kanyanchu tourism center for a briefing on rules about chimpanzee trekking. Chimpanzees are similar to humans because it shares 98% of their DNA with humans and over 1500 of them live in Kibale Forest.

12 more primate species also live here including the blue monkeys, vervet monkeys, l’hoest monkeys, bush babies, baboons, pottos, red-tailed monkeys, red colobus monkeys. 375 bird species make Kibale a treasured birding destination, and most birds can be spotted during the chimpanzee trek.

Retreat from a trek to view chimpanzees and lunch will be provided at the lodge in Kibale. You will check out, meet the driver guide and transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park home to the tree climbing lions and a huge profusion of elephants, buffaloes, and antelope families.

Day 6: Queen Elizabeth National Park- Game drive/lion tracking + launch cruise

You will engage in a normal game drive or lion trekking in Kasenyi Plains. On a game drive, variety wildlife including Uganda kobs, waterbucks, elephants, buffaloes, birds, and more. Lion trekking is a research experience involving you looking for lions and exploring in depth their behaviors and taking photos.

In the afternoon, a boat cruise on Kazinga will be conducted and a variety of aquatic species will be viewed. These include large numbers of hippos, crocodiles, and birds, plus some elephants, and buffaloes along the shores/banks.

Day 7: Kasenyi sector- Bwindi via Ishasha – 15 Days Uganda & Kenya safari

A hefty breakfast early in the morning and after, you will set off from Kasenyi side to Ishasha the Southern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park. You will enjoy a game drive to see the tree climbing lions and other wildlife, birds then settle for a picnic lunch. Leave Ishasha for Bwindi; check in at the lodge in Ruhija, Rushaga, and Buhoma or Nkuringo sector.

Day 8: Trekking Gorillas & the Batwa visit

After breakfast, you will be reporting to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park offices for a briefing. Get to know the rules to be observed on a gorilla trek 2-6 hours which also includes one hour of a magical encounter. The Batwa visit will be done in the evening and you will be interacting with the Batwa pygmies, the original forest keepers.

Day 9: Bwindi to Entebbe –by road – 15 Days Uganda & Kenya safari

Drive from Bwindi National Park in Kabale after breakfast and expect to take 8-9 hours driving or take a flight about 2 hours to Entebbe Airport. By road, en route, you will have time to take photos at the Equator and lunch in a classic hotel in Mbarara.

Day 10: Fly from Entebbe to Kisumu & drive to Lake Nakuru National Park

A heavy breakfast in the morning, after which, you will set off for Kisumu. From Kisumu, drive up to Lake Nakuru National Park. This park supports a huge profusion of wildlife including rhinos, lions, leopards, giraffes, birds, and especially flamingos.

Day 11: Explore Lake Nakuru National Park- full-day game viewing

Game viewing in Lake Nakuru N/Park, a long day game drive through the park with an experienced park guide. In a 4×4 tourist car, enjoy the view of flamingos, lions, leopards, wild dogs, waterbucks, elands, zebras, antelopes, and others. You will leave the lodge with a picnic lunch to enjoy the wilderness and return to relax at the lodge.

Day 12: Lake Nakuru to Masai Mara Reserve

Wake up early in the morning and take a hot cup of tea/coffee, after, drive to Masai Mara National Reserve where wildebeest migration can be experienced. You will be transferred to the lodge for lunch and relaxation awaiting the next day’s activities in Masai Mara.

Day 13: Discover Maasai Mara Reserve –full-day

Maasai Mara National Reserve is gifted with diverse animal species and today, you will embark on a game drive starting early morning. You will watch the wildebeest migration and the big 5 game in your 4×4 tourist car. A picnic lunch will be enjoyed in the magical savannas of the Maasai Mara Reserve and late in the evening, continue to the Maasai village- this is a remarkable opportunity for cultural tour lovers.

Day 14: Drive to Nairobi city

You will wake up and enjoy a leisurely breakfast. After, go for a morning game drive to see more wildlife and proceed to Nairobi city. Nairobi city is Kenya’s biggest city and takes its name from the Maasai phrase –Enkare Nairobi meaning place of cool waters. You will retire for the night in a comfortable hotel in Nairobi capital of Kenya, East Africa.

Day 15: Depart

After a leisurely cup of tea/coffee, set off for a city tour in Nairobi- East Africa’s modern city. Visit the markets, the railway museum and national museum, etc. After the city tour, get to the restaurant for lunch and proceed to the airport for departure or drop off at the hotel for relaxation and an overnight stay. Plan and book your captivating trip now

End of safari