13 Days Ngorongoro, Serengeti, Masai Mara & Gorilla Safari

Safari Duration: 13 days

13 Days Ngorongoro, Serengeti, Masai Mara & Gorilla Safari

A journey from crater to crater, across lion country and into the green highlands of gorilla land

Itinerary Overview

This isn’t just a safari. It’s a passage across Africa’s greatest wildlife zones — from Tanzania’s volcanic plains to Kenya’s rolling savannahs and into Uganda’s emerald mountains. Along the way, you’ll watch lions in the Mara, rhinos in Nakuru, elephants along the Kazinga Channel, and mountain gorillas deep in Bwindi.

You start wide. You end close. The experience keeps narrowing — until it’s just you and a silverback sharing the same forest air.

Tour Summary

  • Countries: Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda
  • Destinations: Arusha, Ngorongoro, Serengeti, Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Queen Elizabeth NP, Bwindi, Lake Bunyonyi
  • Duration: 13 Days / 12 Nights
  • Start: Arusha, Tanzania.
  • End: Entebbe, Uganda.
  • Style: Overland safari with border crossings, luxury or mid-range lodges.
  • Activities: Game drives, crater visit, boat safari, gorilla trekking, scenic drives, chimpanzee trekking.

Itinerary Gallery

Day-by-Day Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival in Arusha, Tanzania

Arrive in Arusha and settle in beneath the slopes of Mount Meru. You’ll be picked up from the airport and transferred to your lodge to rest from the journey. Depending on your time of arrival, you may embark on Arusha city tour to explore nearby attractions.

Meals: Dinner

Accommodation:

  • Charity Hotel
  • Arusha Planet Lodge
  • Arusha Coffee Lodge

Day 2: Arusha to Ngorongoro – Afternoon on the Crater Rim

Today, you wake up early morning and embark on a drive west takes you through Maasai land — red shukas against golden hills. You arrive at the Ngorongoro rim by afternoon and immediately a satisfying game drive in the Ngorongoro crater that stretches below like an ancient bowl holding secrets.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

  • Rhino Lodge
  • Ngorongoro Serena Lodge

Day 3: Ngorongoro Crater Descent – Transfer to Serengeti

You descend at first light in the morning, the Mist. Lions. Buffalo, herds of elephants, warthogs, antelopes, etc. A full ecosystem in one place. After hours on the crater floor, you ascend and head toward Serengeti — crossing into the open plains by late afternoon.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

  • Embalakai Camp
  • Kubu Kubu Tented Lodge

Day 4: Full-Day Safari in Serengeti

Explore the Serengeti plains today, Other possible sightings include buffaloes, giraffes, leopard, cheetah, antelopes, and many more, A lion pride beside the road. Cheetahs perched on a rock. Wildebeest, nervous in the wind. It’s a long day but definitely a rewarding one.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation

  • Embalakai Camp
  • Kubu Kubu Tented Lodge

Day 5: Northern Serengeti – Game Drive to Isebania Border – Enter Kenya

Your vehicle rolls north through quieter tracks and before midday, you cross the Isebania border into Kenya to meet a new guide and begin your transfer to Masai Mara, a new rhythm. You settle near the edge of the Masai Mara lodge for relaxation and overnight.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

  • Mara Chui Lodge
  • Mara Big Five Camp
  • Ashnil Mara Camp

Day 6: Full-Day Safari in Masai Mara

The Mara doesn’t whisper and today, you will discover that. Today is a full day on the plains — lions, hyenas, possibly a hunt, many wildlife here. You pause near the river, watch hippos, scan for leopards in the branches.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation

  • Mara Chui Lodge
  • Mara Big Five Camp
  • Ashnil Mara Camp

Day 7: Masai Mara to Lake Nakuru – Afternoon Game Drive

You depart after breakfast and drive through the Rift Valley into Lake Nakuru National Park. The afternoon brings your first look — flamingos sweeping the lake’s edge, rhinos in the grass, leopards hiding in yellow-barked acacias.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

  • Lake Nakuru Lodge
  • The Cliff Nakuru

Day 8: Lake Nakuru – Full-Day Safari

You spend the full day in this compact but incredibly rich park. The light here is different. Softer. Birds flash through the forest. Monkeys chatter above. And the sight of rhinos — calm, immense — never loses its weight.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

  • Lake Nakuru Lodge
  • The Cliff Nakuru

Day 9: Lake Nakuru to Nairobi – Cross into Uganda

After an early breakfast, you’re driven to Nairobi for your transfer and upon arrival in Nairobi, you await your flight to Uganda. You arrive in the evening and overnight at your Entebbe lodge.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

  • Pumba Safari Lodge
  • Buffalo Lodge
  • Kyambura Gorge Lodge

Day 10: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park – Evening at Leisure

You shall transfer by road to Queen Elizabeth national park, arriving in the early afternoon just in time for an incredible boat ride in the famous kazinga channel as you observe hippos everywhere. Buffalo lining the banks. Fishermen in dugouts slicing through reflections.

The land here hums — wetland, woodland, and open plains in one place. You can relax or opt for a short evening game drive.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

  • Pumba Safari Lodge
  • Buffalo Lodge
  • Kyambura Gorge Lodge

Day 11: Queen Elizabeth to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

Early morning, you shall go for a rewarding chimpanzee trekking experience before you head south of Queen Elizabeth— a quiet drive through tea plantations and rolling hills. The land starts to rise. The forest thickens and after a possible tree-climbing lion encounter, you you arrive at the edge of Bwindi — and proceed to your lodge for relaxation as you await the next chapter of your adventure.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

  • Ride 4 a Woman Lodge
  • Buhoma Lodge
  • Mahogany Springs

Day 12: Gorilla Trekking – Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi

You begin early and immediately after breakfast, you go to the gorilla trekking starting point. The hike is real — steep, muddy, wild. Then you finally locate the gorillas. A silverback, iinfants tumbling and possibly a mother watching.

You have an entire hour to watch them play, communicate and feed. After the trek, you drive to Lake Bunyonyi. The lake welcomes you with stillness. You check in, exhale, and  spend the rest of the evening relaxing.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation:

  • Lake Bunyonyi Rock Resort
  • BirdNest Resort

Day 13: Lake Bunyonyi to Entebbe – Departure

You leave the lake and begin your journey back to Entebbe. The drive is long, but the scenes outside — terraced hills, banana markets, laughing children — keep it human. You arrive at the airport in time for your departure.

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

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