
27 Days | Adventure, wildlife and relaxation in East Africa





Discover the astounding diversity of landscapes and wildlife in East Africa. Visit verdant highlands, steamy rainforests, tropical beaches and epic grasslands in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Zanzibar, enjoying unrivalled opportunity to get close to gorillas, lions, elephants, buffaloes, hippos, giraffes, flamingos and chimpanzees. This tour gives you a wicked itinerary, gorilla trek permits, plenty of included game drives and a few key cultural experiences. How you spend the rest of your time if up to you! It doesn’t matter if you’re relaxing in the wild or taking part in optional excursions, the wonders of East Africa will remain vivid in your memory long after this tour ends.
Trip overview

- Start
- Nairobi, Kenya
- Finish
- Zanzibar, Africa
- Theme
- Overland, Wildlife
- Destinations
- Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda
- Physical rating
- Indicates how physically exerting a trip is, and how fit you will need to be to enjoy it. More info on physical ratings
- Style
- Basix
- Ages
- Min 15
- Group size
- Min 1 - Max 22
- Trip code
- YXOCC
- With permits included in the price of the trip, take a trek through Uganda's steamy forests to seek out rare mountain gorillas and spend an unforgettable hour in their presence.
- Head out on an early evening game drive in Lake Nakuru National Park, which is particularly famous for its rhino population.
- Explore the Serengeti, a wildlife arena like no other, and look for lions, leopards, elephants and giraffes in this iconic park.
- Embark on a hike through the Usambara Mountains to the Irente viewpoint, then stop at a farm on the way back for a picnic lunch.
- Accompanied by a local crew — a leader, driver and cook – you'll be in excellent hands for the duration of your adventure.
- Conditions in the forest where we track gorillas can sometimes be wet, muddy and hot. But the sheer thrill of coming across a habituated group of gorillas makes up for any difficulty. You need to be prepared and fit enough to walk for up to 4 hours – up and down hills. A top tip is to pack some gardening gloves to assist with any uphill climbs. See https://www.intrepidtravel.com/au/gorilla-trekking for more information.
- We use our purpose-built overland vehicles for the duration of this trip. Please read the itinerary carefully for travel time estimates and see https://www.intrepidtravel.com/africa/overland for more info on this style of travel.
- You’ll be camping a lot on this trip, giving you access to more remote destinations at close proximity, plus the joy of staying right in the heart of the action.
- This is a participatory trip – a fancy way of saying you’re not just along for the ride, but you are part of a team! Be prepared to roll up your sleeves and help out with camp activities like food prep and washing up. It’s all about giving your new travel mates a hand, and everyone knows there’s nothing worse than trying to put up a tent on your own!
- As the early bird catches the worm, so the early camper sights the animals. There will be many early starts on this trip, either to make better use of the safari time or to beat the morning traffic on long travel days.
- You may also want to check out our Gorillas to Vic Falls trip if you have more time to explore in Africa.
Itinerary
View the itinerary for departures between 01 January 2024 - 31 December 2024
Inclusions
25 breakfasts, 17 lunches, 21 dinners
Overland vehicle, 4x4 Safari Vehicle, Ferry, Minbus
Camping (with facilities) (18 nights), Camping (with basic facilities) (2 nights), Bungalow (2 nights), Hotel (4 nights), Hotel with shared facilities (1 night)
- Lake Nakuru - Overland Vehicle Game Drive
- Lake Nakuru - Morning Overland Vehicle Game Drive
- Queen Elizabeth National Park - Overland Vehicle Game Drive
- Bwindi National Park - Mountain Gorilla Permit & Trek
- Kericho - Tea plantation visit
- Masai Mara National Reserve - 4x4 Game Drive
- Masai Mara National Reserve - Full Day 4x4 Game Drive
- Serengeti National Park - Overland Vehicle Game Drive
- Ngorongoro Crater - 4x4 Game Drive
- Serengeti National Park - 4x4 Game Drive
- Mto Wa Mbu - Village walk & local dinner
- Irente - Lushoto hike
- Irente - Local lunch
- Nairobi - City Experience Urban Adventure - USD55
- Kalinzu Forest - Chimp trek - USD100
- Queen Elizabeth National Park - Kazinga Channel boat cruise - USD30
- Kisoro - Virunga Hike - USD50
- Kisoro - Trek With Golden Monkeys Permit & Guide (from price) - USD100
- Kisoro - Sabinyo Trek / Mgahinga hiking - USD90
- Kisoro - Lake & Famstead Bicycle Tour - USD50
- Kisoro - Rwanda Day Excursion - From - USD45
- Jinja - River Nile whitewater rafting (full day) - USD140
- Jinja - Nile Boat Cruise - USD40
- Jinja - Source of River Nile tour - USD45
- Masai Mara National Reserve - Balloon ride (from price) - USD500
- Serengeti National Park - Balloon Ride (from price) - USD745
- Stone Town Tour - Dharajani Market, Joseph's Cathederal, Palace Museum, Forodhani Food Market - USD20
- Zanzibar - Prison Island Tour - USD25
- Stone Town - Handicraft & Music Urban Adventure - USD50
- Stone Town - Culinary Urban Adventure - USD29
- Zanzibar - Spice tour - USD25
- Zanzibar - Dhow Trip - USD60
- Zanzibar - Snorkelling - USD60
Dates and availability
Important notes
1. A single supplement is available if you’d prefer not to share a room on this trip. The single supplement applies to all nights of your trip and is subject to availability. Please speak to your booking agent for further information.
2.This trip requires a higher non-refundable deposit (AUD 1000, USD 1000, EUR 800, NZD 1250, GBP 650, CAD 1000, ZAR 8000, CHF 900) in order to secure the included gorilla permit. Please note that we need to confirm availability of a gorilla permit if you are booking within 45 days of departure. The additional deposit paid at time of booking will be credited to the final balance of your booking.
3. An optional sunrise balloon ride in the Serengeti National Park is possible on this itinerary. Please see the itinerary above for full details of this activity. As the balloon only holds 16 people, places are limited and we recommend you book in advance. Please inquire when booking your trip to book this optional activity.
4. This trip is a combination of YXOG YXOP and YXON our most popular itineraries. As such the make up of your group and your leader may change on days 16 and 24.
5. The Zanzibar portion of your itinerary may have a few more passengers than the maximum group size of 22 as we have a crossover of trips starting and finishing in Zanzibar.
6. This trip finishes upon arrival in Nairobi on Day 27. Please do not book any flights until after 2pm this evening.
Want an in-depth insight into this trip? Essential Trip Information provides a detailed itinerary, visa info, how to get to your hotel, what's included - pretty much everything you need to know about this adventure and more.
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