8 Days Masai Mara & Bwindi Gorilla Trekking Safari

Day-by-Day Itinerary

Day 1: Nairobi to Masai Mara – Afternoon Game Drive

After your arrival in Kenya, you are picked and immediately briefed and embark on a transfer to Masai Mara leaving the city fades behind you, you begin a descend into the Great Rift Valley.

The landscape widens and by early afternoon, you’re in the Masai Mara. After lunch, the game drive begins.

Encounter various wildlife including the close elephants graze. Lions lying half-hidden under trees. You pause often — not just for sightings, but for the silence that comes after.

Other possible encounter here includes leopards, giraffes, hippos, rhnos, antelopes, warthogs and more.

Meals: Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation Options:

Mid-range: Jambo Mara Safari Lodge
Luxury: Mara Serena Safari Lodge / Ashnil Mara Camp

Day 2: Full-Day Safari in Masai Mara

The day starts early, with soft light and chilled air but immediately after breakfast, you depart to follow tracks across the plains — past herds of wildebeest, zebras, and antelope. Lions move slowly. Cheetahs keep low.

You carry a packed lunch and stay out all day, returning only when the light begins to fade after an experience you can best encounter yourself.

You shall see lions, guraffes, leopards, rhinos, hippos, elephants,, warthogs, wildebeests, and many others.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 3: Masai Mara to Lake Nakuru – Afternoon Game Drive

After breakfast, you head east. The road climbs and falls through hills and farmlands until the lake appears — pale, wide, ringed with acacia.

An afternoon drive here brings close views of rhinos, baboons, and flamingos in wide arcs across the water. It’s quieter than the Mara.

But no less wild and depending on the mood, this could be your destination of choice. After the experience, proceed to your accommodation for dinner, overnight and relaxation.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation Options:

Mid-range: Lake Nakuru Lodge
Luxury: The Cliff Nakuru

Day 4: Lake Nakuru to Uganda – Cross Border & Overnight Transfer

After an early breakfast, you shall have breakfast and start your final Lake Nakuru’s encounter. You get to experience the very best of the park on foot, watch as many flamingoes, hippos and more just before you begin a transfer drive to Nairobi for your flight to Entebbe.

Upon arrival in Uganda, your Uganda safari guide picks and takes you to your accommodation for dinner, relaxation and overnight.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation Options:

Mid-range: Bush Lodge
Luxury: Kyambura Gorge Lodge

Day 5: Queen Elizabeth National Park – Game Drive & Kazinga Channel Cruise

Wake up early morning and start a transfer to Queen Elizabeth famous game viewing destinations. You make a stopover at the equator and later have lunch just before finally arriving at Queen Elizabeth national park.

In the afternoon, float along the Kazinga Channel in a rewarding boat ride. You pass pods of hippos, buffalo wallowing in the shallows, and fishermen paddling in silence. The channel feels still, but alive and yes, this is more rewarding than you thought.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation Options:

Mid-range: Bush Lodge
Luxury: Kyambura Gorge Lodge

Day 6: Queen Elizabeth to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

You leave the plains after a morning game drive or optional chimpanzee trekking and climb into hills. Tea plantations ripple across valleys. The road narrows. Then comes forest — thick, tangled, and breathing.

After a possible tree-climbing lion encounter, you arrive in Bwindi by late afternoon, where you’ll rest ahead of tomorrow’s trek.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation Options:

Mid-range: Ride 4 a Woman / Gorilla Mist Camp
Luxury: Mahogany Springs / Bwindi Lodge

Day 7: Gorilla Trekking – Encounter in the Mist – Afternoon Rest or Cultural Walk

You begin before sunrise and yes, this is probably the day you have been waiting for. Go to the gorilla trekking starting point and immediately have a briefing, then you head into the forest with rangers. The air is heavy, the trail muddy — and suddenly, movement.

A silverback sits watching. Young gorillas tumble. A mother holds her infant close.

You spend an hour with them and later, you embark on a transfer for an evening of relaxation in the Lake Bunyonyi (lake of 29 islands).

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 8: Bwindi to Entebbe – Departure

After breakfast, with memories of unforgettable experience, you begin your journey back to Entebbe. The drive is long but beautiful — hills, lakes, villages passing by.

You arrive in time for your evening flight, with something quieter and deeper inside you than when you started.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Travel Tips

Visa Suggestion: Use the East Africa Tourist Visa for seamless travel across Kenya and Uganda
Gorilla Permit: Required in advance – USD $800 per person
Best Time to Travel: June to October or December to March

Packing Notes:
For game drives: neutral clothing, camera, sunscreen
For gorilla trekking: sturdy hiking boots, gloves, rain jacket, long sleeves