Elephant herd walking through savanna woodland with observer
Guest observing gorilla in dense rainforest vegetation
Modern hotel building lit at dusk with palm trees, Kigali Serena Hotel, Kigali, Rwanda
Terracotta-roofed lodge nestled in misty mountain valley, Virunga Lodge, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda
Safari camp with canvas tent beneath acacia trees, Serengeti Green Camp, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
Illuminated safari tent at dusk with tall trees nearby, Kicheche Mara North, Maasai Mara, Kenya
Candlelit deck overlooking savanna at twilight with pool, Ol Donyo Lodge, Amboseli and Chyulu Hills, Kenya
Canopy bed with cream drapes in spacious bedroom, Sheba’s Secret Garden, Nairobi, Kenya
Resort pool area at dusk with surrounding buildings and trees, Kigali Serena Hotel, Kigali, Rwanda
Volcanic mountains rise above forested hillsides and settlement, Virunga Lodge, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda
Staff member arranging bedding in safari tent interior, Serengeti Green Camp, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
Luxury safari tent with guests dining at dusk overlooking savanna, Kicheche Mara North, Maasai Mara, Kenya
Outdoor dining table set with savanna wildlife visible beyond, Ol Donyo Lodge, Amboseli and Chyulu Hills, Kenya
Bartender smiling behind wooden counter with ornate window, Sheba’s Secret Garden, Nairobi, Kenya

inspiration

rwanda, tanzania & kenya: gorillas, herds and the chyulus

Private Safari
From $24,290 pp
2 guests
14 nights

trip highlights

  • Trekking to a habituated mountain gorilla family in Volcanoes National Park, where a permit grants one hour and eight visitors per gorilla family each day.
  • Guided walking safaris on the northern Serengeti plains, led by armed guides with a national park ranger at a pace no vehicle allows.
  • Off-road game drives and dawn balloon flights in Mara North Conservancy, where no more than five vehicles may gather at a sighting.
  • Horseback safaris across Maasai-owned land in the Chyulu Hills, with a waterhole in front of camp that draws elephant, giraffe, zebra and antelope.
Scroll for the full itinerary
Cyclists riding past elephants on African savanna, Ol Donyo Lodge, Amboseli and Chyulu Hills, Kenya

Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya Overland

Three countries over 14 nights, beginning in Kigali, Rwanda’s clean and orderly capital. The route climbs into Volcanoes National Park for the mountain gorillas, crosses to the northern Serengeti where the plains run toward the Mara River, then reaches the Maasai Mara’s Mara North Conservancy and its predators. It ends in the Chyulu Hills, where safaris are ridden below Kilimanjaro, with a final night in Nairobi.

You travel by a mix of road and air transfers, with private driver-guides and 4x4s. Days hold gorilla trekking, guided walks, game drives and horseback riding, at a pace set by the season. The accommodation runs from an established city hotel to a ridge-top lodge, a mobile walking camp, a small conservancy camp and a hosted farmhouse, each chosen for its place.

plan your safari

Daily Itinerary Breakdown

Kigali, Arrival in the Capital

Kigali spreads across ridges and valleys at the centre of Rwanda, a clean, orderly capital of memorials, markets and arts. A single night settles you after the flight, with the Kigali Genocide Memorial at Gisozi and the textile stalls of Kimironko Market within an easy drive by private driver-guide. Set on Boulevard de la Révolution, the Kigali Serena Hotel is the city's established five-star address, built around a polished granite atrium of Rwandese art and roughly twenty minutes from Kigali International Airport.

Volcanoes National Park and the Gorillas

From Kigali you travel northwest into the Musanze District and the rainforest of Volcanoes National Park, home to Rwanda's mountain gorillas. Trekking begins at Kinigi Park Headquarters, where groups assemble by 7am before climbing through farmed foothills and forest; a permit grants one hour with a habituated family, and a trek can run from two to seven hours depending on where the gorillas have moved. Golden monkeys, endemic to the Virunga region, also live here. High on a ridge between Lakes Bulera and Ruhondo, reached by a drive of around an hour from the park headquarters, Virunga Lodge looks west to the volcanoes, its ten hand-built bandas each with a private terrace.

Northern Serengeti and Walking Safaris

In the northern Serengeti the plains run on toward the Mara River, and from around July to October the camp stands in the Kogatende area within range of the crossings. Walking is the point here: armed guides, accompanied by a national park ranger, lead outings from a couple of hours to a full day, reading tracks, grasses and insect activity at a pace no vehicle allows, with morning and afternoon game drives as standard. Serengeti Green Camp is a mobile tented camp that moves with the wildebeest, its ten canvas tents opening onto the grass and its interiors drawn from Tanzanian craft.

Maasai Mara, Conservancy Predators

Mara North Conservancy borders the national reserve on Kenya's northern Mara plains, worked to a low-density model where no more than five vehicles may gather at a sighting and off-road driving is permitted to reach one. Days hold game drives in customised 4x4s morning and afternoon, guided bush walks with an armed ranger, and dawn hot-air balloon flights, on ground that carries strong predator numbers the year round. In Acacia Valley, tucked into a grove of wild olive and croton above the seasonal Olare Orok stream, Kicheche Mara Camp is a small tented camp where zebra and antelope graze within sight of the tents.

Chyulu Hills, Horseback Below Kilimanjaro

On Maasai-owned land in the Chyulu Hills, between Amboseli and Tsavo, you explore as often on horseback as by vehicle, with Kilimanjaro filling the horizon on clear mornings. Night drives, guided walks and mountain biking all belong here, none of them permitted in neighbouring Amboseli, and a waterhole in front of camp draws elephant, giraffe, zebra and antelope. The ranch is known for its large-tusked bulls. On the Mbirikani Group Ranch, Ol Donyo Lodge sits on the south-western flank of the hills, with a sunken hide that brings guests to eye level with elephant.

Nairobi, A Final Slow Day

Karen sits on the leafy south-western edge of Nairobi, some fifteen kilometres from the centre, with the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust nursery, the AFEW Giraffe Centre and the Karen Blixen Museum nearby and arranged with a vehicle on hand. A final night here lets you slow down after the bush, the day yours to shape. Sheba's Secret Garden is a hosted Cape Dutch farmhouse taken as an exclusive-use home, with its own Shagalabagala distillery where an African Dry Gin is made, a tour and tasting part of every stay.

  • Accommodation at Sheba's Secret Garden

frequently asked questions

Less than three countries suggest, though both international legs go by air.

Rwanda is road: Kigali to the volcanoes takes two and a half to three hours, with the lodge about an hour beyond the park headquarters.

Between Rwanda and Tanzania our page does not fix the routing, and we would not want it to before we see when you are going, so that connection is settled as we build the plan.

The Serengeti to the Maasai Mara cannot be driven straight across, because the two parks share no border post that visitors may use; the scheduled safari aircraft route through the border airstrips instead and take roughly three to five hours strip to strip.

Those flights allow 15 kilograms each, soft-sided, with cabin bags counted in, and they often call somewhere on the way.

Two, if you use the joint one.

Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda share one visa, issued once and good for several entries, so it can carry both your arrival in Kigali and your return into Kenya after Tanzania, which is what makes it worth the paperwork on a route shaped like this.

Tanzania sits outside it and runs a visa of its own, best obtained online in advance, which is what both the British and the Tanzanian government sites tell you to do.

If you would rather hold separate visas, Kenya now runs an electronic travel authorisation that has to be applied for in advance, with two weeks ahead the official suggestion. Passports need six months left and blank pages.

What applies depends on the passport you hold, and we set out the current requirements for yours at the time of booking.

Not expert, which is unusual for riding in big game country.

Less experienced riders are welcome on a quiet ride, and there is a weight limit of 95 kilograms. That is gentler than the riding safaris in the Okavango or on the Mara plains, where you need to be able to gallop out of trouble, and it comes from the ground itself: open hills, good footing and long views.

Confident riders can go further and faster. The reason to be on a horse at all is that zebra, giraffe and antelope treat you as another grazing animal and let you come closer than a vehicle can.

If nobody rides, the same days work on foot, on a mountain bike or from the vehicle.

Often, but never to order.

The mountain makes its own weather and spends much of the day under cloud. We find it shows itself most reliably in two windows, at sunrise and at sunset, which is exactly when you are out on a horse or back on the deck with a drink.

Three nights give you six of those windows, so the odds over a stay are good even when a particular morning comes up blank. The trick is to wait for it and not chase it.

Clear mornings come more often in the dry months, which is when we would put this route anyway. The waterhole in front of camp gives you something to watch while the cloud makes up its mind.

Slow and close up, and it is the reason the Tanzanian nights sit where they do.

The park allows walking in its northern and eastern reaches with an armed ranger alongside the camp's own guide, and its published tariff splits walks into short ones of one to four hours and long ones beyond that, which is the range our days describe.

Distance is not the point. A morning may cover a few kilometres with long stops at tracks, dung, bones and the small things you would never notice from a vehicle, so ordinary fitness and boots you have already worn in are enough.

The park prices walks for children of 12 and over, and camps set their own limits on top of that, so tell us the ages. Game drives still run morning and afternoon.

Three months do all the work here.

July, August and September are rated at the top of our scale at every stop, which is rare on a route this long: dry trails on the volcanoes, the herds in the northern Serengeti and then on the Mara plains, and clear air over the Chyulu Hills.

October holds up well in Kenya and Tanzania as Rwanda turns wetter. June is a halfway month, strong in Rwanda and the Chyulus and early for the herds.

January and February are dry and rate well for the gorillas, the Mara and the Chyulus, but the wildebeest have moved to the southern Serengeti by then, so we would shift the mobile camp's nights to follow them.

April and May are the months to leave alone. The wetter months bring easier gorilla permits, green plains, newborn antelope and fewer vehicles.

Ed Charles photographing wildlife

Ed Charles, BBC Producer

Fitzroy are true specialists in accessing the wilderness. They know where to go and importantly, when to go there. Highly recommended.

Ed Charles

Bafta & Emmy award winning film producer of BBC’s Planet Earth 2 and A Perfect Planet

looking for inspiration?

Leopard face close-up in tall green grass, Magashi Camp, Akagera National Park, Rwanda Modern white lodge buildings lit at dusk with landscaping, Hemingways Retreat Kigali, Kigali, Rwanda Stone farmhouse with warm lighting at golden hour sunset, Farmhouse Rwanda, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda Guest relaxing on canvas deck overlooking savanna landscape, Ubuntu Migration Camp, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania Waterfront lodge with canvas tents lit at dusk, Magashi Camp, Akagera National Park, Rwanda Safari tent at sunset with acacia trees and savanna, Namiri Plains, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania Illuminated pool area with lounge chairs and dining table at dusk, Hemingways Retreat Kigali, Kigali, Rwanda Wooden deck dining area under acacia tree at dusk, Magashi Camp, Akagera National Park, Rwanda Contemporary farmhouse with manicured lawn and mountain backdrop, Farmhouse Rwanda, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda Canvas safari tent with acacia tree at golden hour, Ubuntu Migration Camp, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania Sunset view from lodge deck with infinity pool overlooking savanna, Namiri Plains, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania Courtyard with illuminated colonial-style buildings and tropical plants, Hemingways Retreat Kigali, Kigali, Rwanda Illuminated lodge pavilion under large acacia tree at dusk, Magashi Camp, Akagera National Park, Rwanda Bedroom with dark wood bed frame and stone accent wall, Farmhouse Rwanda, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

rwanda & tanzania

three parks and the serengeti

Fifteen nights across Rwanda's parks and the Serengeti, from Akagera and the gorillas to the calving plains and cheetah country.

  • Private Safari
  • From $26,105 pp
  • 2 guests
  • 15 nights
View Safari
Male lion with full mane resting on ground, Serengeti Plains Camp, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania Guest observing gorilla in dense rainforest vegetation Modern hotel building lit at dusk with palm trees, Kigali Serena Hotel, Kigali, Rwanda Stone farmhouse with warm lighting at golden hour sunset, Farmhouse Rwanda, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda Illuminated safari tent with wooden deck at dusk, Serengeti Plains Camp, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania Guests in infinity pool overlooking vast savanna landscape with distant mountains, Laba Grumeti Art Lodge, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania Resort pool area at dusk with surrounding buildings and trees, Kigali Serena Hotel, Kigali, Rwanda Contemporary farmhouse with manicured lawn and mountain backdrop, Farmhouse Rwanda, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda Person sitting on rocks overlooking savanna at dusk, Serengeti Plains Camp, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania Infinity pool and sun loungers on wooden deck overlooking savanna landscape, Laba Grumeti Art Lodge, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania Luxury bedroom with red headboard and balcony view, Kigali Serena Hotel, Kigali, Rwanda Bedroom with dark wood bed frame and stone accent wall, Farmhouse Rwanda, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda Luxury safari tent camp at golden hour in grassland, Serengeti Plains Camp, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania Canopy bed suite with valley views from private deck at sunrise, Laba Grumeti Art Lodge, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

rwanda & tanzania

a farm, gorillas and the serengeti

Twelve nights from Kigali to the Virunga gorillas and on to the eastern and western plains of the Serengeti.

  • Private Safari
  • From $16,650 pp
  • 2 guests
  • 12 nights
View Safari
Couple bathing in vintage tub by river at dusk, Kimya Kimya Camp, Maasai Mara, Kenya Guest observing gorilla in dense rainforest vegetation Swimming pool with loungers and stone terrace surrounded by hedges, Villa Kigali, Kigali, Rwanda Elevated wooden lodge nestled among tall trees with curved pathway, Gorilla’s Nest, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda White colonial manor with swimming pool and manicured grounds, Karen Gables, Nairobi, Kenya Riverside lodge at dusk with hippos in water, Kimya Kimya Camp, Maasai Mara, Kenya Illuminated treehouse lodge reflected in water at night, Sarara Treehouses, Northern Kenya, Kenya Infinity pool overlooking savanna landscape at dusk, Ol Malo Lodge, Laikipia Highlands, Kenya Rectangular reflecting pool with colonial mansion and mature trees, Sirai Beach, Kilifi, Kenya Swimming pool with loungers and manicured gardens, Villa Kigali, Kigali, Rwanda Infinity pool overlooking forested landscape with loungers, Gorilla’s Nest, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda Whitewashed colonial lodge exterior illuminated at dusk with courtyard approach, Karen Gables, Nairobi, Kenya Dining deck overlooking river with savanna landscape, Kimya Kimya Camp, Maasai Mara, Kenya Guest relaxing in infinity pool overlooking forested valley, Sarara Treehouses, Northern Kenya, Kenya

rwanda & kenya

gorillas and a private beach house

Seventeen nights from Rwanda's gorilla forests through Kenya's conservancies to a private house on Kilifi Creek.

  • Private Safari
  • From $50,570 pp
  • 2 guests
  • 17 nights
View Safari

rated five stars by our clients

Planning a journey together

our approach

remote, exclusive
& personal

Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.

Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.

Every journey starts with a conversation. We favour a direct, personal approach: understanding your vision before anything else.

Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape a journey that is both thoughtfully considered and expertly delivered.

Get in touch to start planning yours.

get in touch
destinations ideas & inspiration our process about us contact us