UGANDA

Upon your arrival at Entebbe International Airport, clear immigration and customs. After baggage collection, walk to the arrival area where our representative holding a paging board with your name on it awaits to transfer you to the hotel. Check into the hotel.

Overnight: Protea Hotel Entebbe or Similar

This Gorilla Safari has an activity rating of difficult; travelers should be physically fit and prepared for multiple hours of forest hiking over uneven and steep terrain. You’ll be trekking mountain gorillas for about 1 to 6 hours through the thick jungle at elevations reaching 8,000 feet, and participants must be older than 15 years. The high altitude can cause altitude sickness for some travelers and make it difficult for physical activities.

Pack For Purpose – We require all travelers to save some space in their luggage and carry something they would happily give away to someone in need. Like a pair of trousers, shirt, sweater, jacket, reading book for kids, off-the-counter pills, or any scholarship material. The porters are always happy to get something. 

We also encourage all travelers to hire a porter for gorilla trekking. You not only contribute directly to the communities around the parks but also get so much-needed help during the arduous trek. Also, you can support the communities by stopping by the community gift shops and buying a souvenir. We discourage giving money to anyone that hasn’t offered a service or product.

Check out of the hotel and you are transferred to Entebbe International Airport to catch your morning flight to Kihihi.

You will fly over central Uganda’s beautiful plains, fading into the rolling hills of the southwestern region. The stunning flight goes over cultivated terraces, tropical rainforest, bamboo forest, and the majestic chain of the Virunga Volcanoes.

Welcome to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, situated in the south-western part of Uganda and one of the most biologically diverse areas in Africa. As well as being home to over half the world’s population of mountain gorillas, Bwindi contains over 120 species of mammals, 220 butterflies and 350 bird species, making it a paradise for bird lovers and wildlife photographers.

Upon arrival at Kihihi airstrip, you will be met by the Bwindi Lodge representative then transferred to the lodge.

Check in and spend the rest of the afternoon at leisure around the lodge and experience the jungle ambiance; relaxing will gather some energy for the physically demanding gorilla trek the following day.

Accommodation: Bwindi Lodge or similar

Early morning depart from the lodge to the trailhead at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for your mountain gorilla trekking experience.

After the briefing (touches on aspects of gorilla behavior, details on the gorilla family you’ll trek as well as safety precautions) your adventure will start!

Gorilla trekking can be strenuous, and a certain level of fitness is required. Trekking can take from 30 minutes to three-quarters of the day, so one needs to prepare for both.

Coming face-to-face with a mountain gorilla is one of the most memorable wildlife encounters in Africa, if not the world. Mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) are a critically endangered species. At least 400 mountain gorillas inhabit the Bwindi Mountains and live at altitudes from 1,160m - 2,607m above sea level. There is a feeling of mutual understanding as you watch them in their home, going about their daily business. Youngsters will often show off, jumping to demonstrate their motor skills. Silverbacks may beat their chests as a sign of dominance, an exhilarating experience! Or they may sit peacefully as a family, chomping on bamboo and grooming each other, watching you with the same intrigue you are showing them. Gorilla trekking is for sure a life-changing and once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Daily visits have an impact on gorilla activity patterns and are a source of animal stress – therefore the firm justification for the "only spend one-hour” rule. This is adequate time for photography and observing these great primates in their natural habitat.

PLEASE NOTE:

• Please note that anyone with flu or a cold is not permitted to trek, and it is advisable that you talk to your guide if you are likely to have any symptoms. 
• Bring your passport for ID check.
• Your group will be led by a head ranger and an assistant allocated to your group at the headquarters.
• The warden is the only person who can decide which group you will trek. Only 8 trekkers are allowed per gorilla family. 
• The warden generally knows how far the gorilla groups are from the park. They will be spread over different mountains so you will have to drive to the base to start the trek.
• Porters may be hired for the trek to carry your backpack and gear. The cost is approximately US$10 per person. We advise that you utilize this service.
• You will also receive a wooden walking stick for which you do not need to pay but you may buy it at the end of the trek as a memento or return it to the ranger.
• We want you to enjoy this trek so do not rush and do take a rest while climbing as the slopes are steep and the altitude will tire you out. When you do find the gorillas, you will have an hour to observe them. The head guide will instruct you on what to do and where to go while you observe the gorillas. Please listen to your experienced guide.
• When your trek ends, you will receive a certificate and will perhaps want to tip the guides and porters (tipping guidelines are provided). 

Later walk back to your waiting vehicle and return to the park offices to receive a gorilla trekking certificate. Return to your accommodation and freshen up.

Dinner is included at the lodge.

Accommodation: Bwindi Lodge or similar

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

KENYA

After an early breakfast, check out of the lodge and you are transferred to Kihihi airstrip (takes approx... 90 minutes) for your scheduled light flight (baggage allowance is strictly 15 kg in soft sided duffel bags).

On arrival at Entebbe check in for your flight to Nairobi, Kenya

JAMBO - KARIBU!! Welcome to Kenya!

Upon your arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and after clearing customs and immigration; Canadian passport holders need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) to enter Kenya, pick up your checked luggage then walk to the arrivals hall. Once luggage is loaded into the vehicle, you will be driven to your hotel in Nairobi, Kenya’s colorful capital city.

Check in and enjoy the rest of your day at leisure.

Please note: Your driver will advise tomorrow’s pick-up time.

Accommodation: Hermosa Garden Hotel & Spa Nairobi or similar

Meals: Breakfast

After a hearty breakfast at the hotel, you will visit Nairobi National park, Daphne Sheldrick’s elephant orphanage & Giraffe Center.

Daphne Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage; This centre has played a significant role in Kenya’s conservation efforts. The orphanage offers hope for any orphaned baby elephant fortunate enough to be found alive and so far, it is proud to have saved over 150 orphaned infant elephants, which would otherwise have perished. The baby elephants are raised at the orphanage with the intention of gradually reintegrating them into the wild. The age range of the elephants can vary from a few months to three years. Each elephant is assigned to its own keeper, who acts as a surrogate mother and will stay with the elephant until it is released back into the wild. You can get close to the elephants. You may not feed the elephants, but you will get a chance to view the handlers feeding them.

Visit the renowned Giraffe Centre: You will be given a rare opportunity to get up close to these gentle giants in this natural sanctuary, which was founded to protect the endangered Rothschild giraffe. Here you are able to climb to the top of a platform and stand eye to eye with the giraffes and feed them with small pellets.

Return to the hotel & the rest of the day is at leisure.

Accommodation: Hermosa Garden Hotel & Spa Nairobi or similarMeals: Breakfast

Check out of the hotel after breakfast and you will be transferred to Wilson airport to check-in then fly to the famed Masai Mara National Reserve.

Your ride from the airstrip to Sand River Masai Mara Camp, a secluded spot in the southern area of reserve, is your first game drive: don’t be surprised if you meet most of the Big Five before lunch. Even if you don’t, your afternoon game drive might oblige: these acacia-dotted plains are dense with game. Keep your eyes peeled for lion, leopard and cheetah, hyena, giraffe and elephant, and 500-plus species of bird.

Raising a classic Sundowner in this classic tranche of wilderness is the perfect way to toast the day. Returning to Sand River Masai Mara is the icing on the cake – there are few more elegant places to stay than this camp, which oozes 1920s glamour. The Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Choice Awards 2020 named it one of the 50 Best Resorts in the World and seventh best in Africa.

Accommodation: Sand River Masai Mara or similar

Spend these days on safari in the reserve with morning and afternoon game drives and breakfast, lunch and dinner at the camp.

Nowhere in Africa is wildlife more abundant than the Masai Mara National Reserve

You’ll know by now the benefits of an early start: after a dawn breakfast, set off with a packed picnic hamper for a full day’s game drive, so you can delve deeper into the reserve or return to the camp for a hot lunch in between your game viewing. Nowhere in Africa is wildlife more abundant. And while the seasonal migration of two million wildebeest, zebra and gazelle crossing from the Serengeti is one of Mother Nature’s greatest spectacles, the profusion of wildlife in the Mara – from 450 species of bird to the Big Five – makes it one of the best safari spots year-round.

The area is culturally fascinating too. Much of the Greater Mara-Serengeti Ecosystem falls under the ownership of Masai communities, and a village visit – to see traditional Maasai homes and rituals, or even (for the kids) to try warrior training – makes for an eye-opening afternoon. There’s also the chance to visit a local school supported by Land & Life Foundation so you can see its work in action.

Of course, you might enjoy your best sightings without going anywhere at all. The Sand River Masai Mara, overlooking its namesake river, sits right on the annual migration route, so the drama may play out just beyond your verandah.

Accommodation: Sand River Masai Mara or similar

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

TANZANIA

Enjoy your last few hours, gazing out from camp across the watercourse and riverine forest, looking out for breakfasting beasts and birds, before driving back to the airstrip for your flights to Serengeti in Tanzania.

On arrival at Tarime Airstrip you are put on a road transfer across the border for immigrations and custom procedures, Canadian passport holders need a visa to enter Tanzania, then on to Tarime Airstrip for your connecting flight to Serengeti.

Please note: Your bags may be scanned and/or checked by custom officials.

On arrival at Seronera airstrip you will be met by your Tanzanian guide-driver who will guide you henceforth until the day you depart for Zanzibar.

Enjoy your drive to Olakira Camp where you will arrive in time for lunch.

At about 3:30pm depart the camp for an afternoon game drive in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania's oldest park and one of the world's last great wildlife refuges. Covering 14,763sq km of endlessly rolling savannah plains, the Serengeti is Tanzania’s first-established, largest, and most famous park wherein tens of thousands of hoofed animals roam in a constant and unremitting search for the fresh grasslands upon which their survival depends.

After your game drive, enjoy some time at leisure before dinner is served at your camp.

Accommodation: Olakira Camp or similar

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Spend these days game-driving in the park. All meals will be at the camp. Sometimes, to enhance your safari experience, your driver-guide might recommend you go for a full day game drive so in this case you will take a packed lunch with you.

Balloon Safari  

Today’s adventure begins just before dawn.

Flames from the hot air balloon burners light the darkness as the crew inflate their craft. The first, pink tongues of sunlight flicker across the skies and the hot air balloon fills then rises. Suspended in a basket beneath the rainbow-coloured canopy, you're off for a game-viewing adventure with an entirely different perspective. Apart from the occasional hiss of the burners, a lion's roar, elephants crashing through the bush, baboons perched in the tips of the trees startled and screeching to see something above them, the flight above the Serengeti Park is magically silent.

At the end of the flight, you are treated to a champagne breakfast in the bush, complete with flowers. China and crystal are set out on the table that is placed under a convenient acacia tree. The finishing touch to the flight is a game drive back to the camp, and the possibility of seeing the same pride of lions, or herd of elephants that had been viewed while ballooning. A flight certificate is issued on completion of the balloon safari.

8:30 am: Morning game drive

1:00 pm: Lunch at camp

3:30 pm: Afternoon game drive

Game drives in the Serengeti are always a surprise. Tanzania's oldest and most popular national park, also a world heritage site and recently proclaimed a 7th worldwide wonder, the Serengeti is famed for its annual migration, when some six million hooves pound the open plains, as more than 200,000 zebra and 300,000 Thomson's gazelle join the wildebeest’s trek for fresh grazing.

Yet even when the migration is quiet, the Serengeti offers arguably the most scintillating game-viewing in Africa: great herds of buffalo, smaller groups of elephant and giraffe, and thousands upon thousands of eland, topi, kongoni, impala and Grant’s gazelle.

The spectacle of predator versus prey dominates Tanzania’s greatest park. Golden-maned lion prides feast on the abundance of plain grazers. Solitary leopards haunt the acacia trees lining the Seronera River, while a high density of cheetahs prowls the southeastern plains. Almost uniquely, all three African jackal species occur here, alongside the spotted hyena and a host of more elusive small predators, ranging from the insectivorous aardwolf to the beautiful serval cat. Visit the hippo-filled pools – you can hear their grunts and chortles.

Enjoy dinner back at camp, then sit out and listen to the eerie call of the nightjar and the whoop of a hyena, to the hippos’ belly guffaw and the lion’s nerve-trembling roar…

Accommodation: Olakira Camp or similar

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

After breakfast, check out of the camp and you are driven to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Enroute we shall visit a traditional Masai Manyatta. The Masai of Serengeti and Ngorongoro have been herding their cattle for thousands of years. A proud, nomadic warrior race who count their wealth in cattle and children, the Maasai are struggling to integrate themselves in a dwindling world. No longer able to roam as freely as before with their herds, they must restrict their activities based on Tanzania governmental policies or disrupt the fragile ecology and tourism economy of the district as counselled by its policymakers.

This is ironic since historically, the Maasai did not kill wild animals nor damaged their environment. They subsisted on the blood, meat and milk of their herds. They disapproved of agriculture on the grounds that it ruined the land for grazing. But today, they are learning to farm and to trade their crafts, their skills and their produce, cooperating with the tourist industries, taking their place as guides, drivers, trackers, cooks, assistants and managers to bring in much-needed revenue for their government and training opportunities for their young people. Friendly and generous hosts, they share their native melody, dancing and ritual wisdom with those who seek to enrich themselves by the experience. The dramatic red cloth cloaks and spears of the Morani, or Maasai warriors, contrast with the rich bead collars of their children and gap-toothed wives, as they sing, dance and enact dramas with enthusiastic joy and pride in the richness of their very different culture. Traditionally, the Maasai live in extended families in Tanzania. The men are responsible for security, fencing their circular kraal with acacia thorns to keep marauding lions from attacking their cattle. The boys act as herdsmen while women and girls build houses or Inkajijik, collect wood and water and prepare food. Today, some families often live independently. The girls are as ambitious as the boys, keen to learn trades and develop skills as cooks, housekeepers, artists, teachers and even as game guides and camp manageress around East Africa.

Continue to the world-famous Olduvai Gorge Paleolithic Museum, one of the most important prehistoric sites in the world to learn on human evolution. We will enjoy an on- site talk on the interpretation of the gorge by the resident guide.

We then continue to check into our camp. Enjoy lunch at the lodge then spend the day at leisure.

Accommodation: Karibu Lions Paw Ngorongoro or similar

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

After breakfast, travel to the entrance gate of the crater.

Enter the gates descend some 610 metres into the crater, which is home to an abundance of wildlife and a photogenic paradise, for a full day of game-viewing drive with picnic lunch.

Surrounded by Tanzania’s highlands, this UNESCO-listed crater is said to be the world’s largest intact volcanic caldera. The Crater teams with an abundance of wildlife permanently resident on the crater floor. Prides of lions, herds of Cape buffalo,  impala,  Thompson  gazelles,  rhino,  giraffe,  golden  &  black-backed  jackal, zebra, cheetah, leopard and the spotted hyena freely roam on the crater floor plains. Unmatched for its natural variety & breath-taking beauty, there are few places on earth where such a tremendous diversity of landscapes exist inside a region this size. Apart from its wildlife riches, the crater is also of great archaeological importance, with the remains of some of mankind’s earliest ancestors discovered in the area, also a home to hundreds of bird species, refreshing in the small lakes in the crater floor.

Enjoy a packed box lunch at the designated picnic sites on the crater floor before driving back to the lodge in the afternoon. Dinner is at the lodge.

Accommodation: Karibu Lions Paw Ngorongoro or similar

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

After breakfast, you will check out of the lodge and are driven to Arusha Airport for your flight to Zanzibar.

Note: ZANZIBAR MANDATORY INSURANCE

Zanzibar requires all foreign travelers to purchase mandatory travel insurance exclusively from the Zanzibar Insurance Corporation (ZIC) irrespective of having a travel insurance policy in place. The cost of the policy is $44 per person and is valid for 92 days. 

According to the information this new regulation aims to enhance visitor protection while on the island. The mandatory coverage extends to health services, lost baggage, accidents, emergency evacuation, passport, and document loss, and even repatriation in the unfortunate case of death. To purchase the policy prior to departure, use the following link:

www.visitzanzibar.go.tz or www.inbound@zic.co.tz

Why is it necessary to purchase this insurance if travelers already have their own travel insurance from their home country? According to the Zanzibar government this mandatory policy is designed specifically for the unique needs of visitors while they are within Zanzibar. Although many travelers may already have coverage, the terms and conditions of different insurance providers can vary significantly. The government seeks to ensure that all tourists receive standardized protection tailored to local conditions and potential risks.

This is a local government-imposed policy over which we have no control.  It is essential that you purchase this policy prior to your arrival in Zanzibar.  

Welcome to Zanzibar!

The Story of an Island Paradise: The very mention of Zanzibar - the beautiful and historic spice island lying just off the coast of Tanzania - is enough to conjure up a multitude of mental images that are both exotic and striking. It is this emotional reaction that has caused this Indian Ocean Island to become one of the world’s most sought-after holiday destinations.

Stepping Back in Time: The island’s history is indelibly stamped by hundreds of years of trade in spices - nutmeg, cinnamon and saffron to name-but-three - with itinerant merchants traveling by sailing ship from as far away as Europe, the Middle East and even China. It has been this commodity - one as valuable as gold in its time - that has driven and shaped the cultural flavors of the island.

Zanzibar’s architecture, language and religion are a reflection of both the island’s distant and recent past; with the passing dhows that constantly sail along the coastline and the murmurs of the fishermen drifting on the sea breeze, that past is seemingly not so distant. The magical island has been likened to that of a time capsule, one that has been unopened by modern tourism.

Once you have collected your luggage, exit the airport building where a staff member will be waiting for you holding a paging board with your name on it. You are welcomed then transferred to your beach hotel. All meals are included at the hotel.

Accommodation: The Royal Zanzibar beach resort or similar

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner (all inclusive)

Embark on the vacation of a lifetime at Royal Zanzibar Beach Resort. Set on the gorgeous tropical island of Zanzibar in Nungwi, our resort is an ideal spot for a romantic getaway or vacation with family and friends.

Take a tour of Zanzibar and learn about its history and culture. Participate in a range of activities at the resort or spend your entire day in quiet relaxation on Nungwi Beach, the best beach in Zanzibar. Whatever you do at our luxury resort you're sure to go back home with a host of memories and the urge to come back.

Spend these days at leisure in Zanzibar. Enjoy all your meals at the resort.

Accommodation: The Royal Zanzibar beach resort or similar

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner (all inclusive)

Enjoy breakfast at leisure.

Note: Late check out is not included so you can store your luggage and still enjoy the hotel facilities after checking out of your room.

You will be picked up at the hotel reception then transferred to Zanzibar airport to check in & board your flight home.

Meals: Breakfast