21-Day East Africa Classic Safari

This 21-Day East Africa Classic Safari by Mega Wild Safaris is a rich and immersive journey across Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania, blending primate encounters, iconic wildlife safaris, cultural experiences, and a tropical beach escape. Your 21-Day East Africa Classic Safari adventure begins in Uganda with a visit to Kibale National Park, where you enjoy chimpanzee trekking and guided nature walks in the biodiverse Bigodi Wetland. You then proceed to Queen Elizabeth National Park for classic game drives and a scenic boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel, before heading to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for the unforgettable mountain gorilla trekking experience.

Flying into Kenya, you explore the vast plains of Masai Mara National Reserve, renowned for its abundant wildlife and dramatic predator sightings, including the famous wildebeest migration along the Mara River. Crossing into Tanzania, your 21-Day East Africa Classic Safari journey continues through the legendary Serengeti National Park, from the wildlife-rich northern plains to the central Serengeti, followed by exploration of the spectacular Ngorongoro Crater.

Cultural encounters enrich your experience with visits to Lake Eyasi to meet the Hadzabe tribe and Lake Manyara National Park for diverse wildlife and village tours in Mto wa Mbu. The safari concludes with a relaxing beach holiday on Zanzibar, featuring a Stone Town tour and leisure time on pristine white-sand beaches.

This 21-Day East Africa Classic Safari offers a perfect balance of adventure, culture, and relaxation across East Africa’s most celebrated destinations.

 

Detailed 21-Day East Africa Classic Safari

Day 1: Arrival and Transfer to the Hotel

On arrival, you will be picked by our 21-Day East Africa Classic Safari representative from Entebbe Airport and will be driven to our hotel in Entebbe. Overnight stay at 2Friends Beach hotel Entebbe

 

Day 2: Transfer to Kibale National Park

After breakfast, you will be transferred to Kibale Forest National Park driving for about 6 hours. You will enjoy the scenic features of tea plantations in Fort Portal. On arrival, you will have lunch at the lodge. After lunch, you will be taken for a nature walk in Bigodi swamp eco-tourism site in which you will also encounter beautiful flora and fauna. This walk is excellent for viewing different bird species like the Great blue Turacco, Rwenzori Turaco, Narina Trogon, and little Bulbul. You will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay. Overnight stay at chimpanzee forest lodge

 

Day 3: Chimpanzee trekking

After breakfast, you will be transferred to the park headquarters for a briefing ahead of chimpanzee tracking. The park boasts the highest number of primate species in the world, including the chimpanzees with approximately 5,000 chimpanzees living in the wild in Uganda. The park is most famous of its 13 species of primates is the Chimpanzee.

It is also a home of species like the rare I’Hoest’s monkey, the black and white Colobus, Blue monkey, Grey-cheeked mangabey, Red-tailed monkey, and the Olive baboon among others. You will then embark on chimpanzee trekking which may last 1 to 4 hours depending on the location of the chimpanzees. You will return to the lodge for lunch. In the afternoon you will enjoy a cultural tour of the surrounding communities.  Overnight stay at Chimpanzee forest lodge

 

Day 4: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National park

After breakfast, you will be transferred to Queen Elizabeth National Park, driving for about 4 hours. On arrival, enjoy a game drive in the Kasenyi sector of the park where you may have an opportunity to see the lions, leopard, giant forest hog, Cape buffalo, elephant, defassa waterbuck, Uganda kob, topi and bushbuck among others.

swimming elephants. You will have lunch at the lodge and will be taken for a boat cruise in the afternoon along the Kazinga channel, where you will have an opportunity to see a variety of birds such as the kingfisher, herons, blue oraco, and many more. You will also see many hippos, crocodiles, buffalos, and swimming elephants.  Dinner and overnight stay at Twin lakes safari lodge.

 

Day 5: Game Drive in Ishasha sector and transfer to Bwindi National park

After breakfast, you will be transferred to the Ishasha sector of the park in search of tree climbing lions and other animals. Drive for about 2 to 3 hours to Bwindi National Park after passing through the Kigezi Highlands with its terraced hillside and winding roads. Enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Kigezi terraced hills en route. You will arrive in the evening for dinner.

Overnight stay at Gorilla Mist Camp

 

Day 6: Gorilla trekking

After breakfast, you will be transferred to the park’s headquarters in which you will be briefed about gorilla trekking. Bwindi National Park is renowned for its impressive mountain gorillas. Trekking may last 1 to 4 hours depending on the location of the gorillas. You will be given walking sticks by the park rangers. After locating the gorillas, you will be allowed to spend only one hour with them for the purpose of conservation. The 21-Day East Africa Classic Safari ranger guide will brief you on how to conduct yourself while in the presence of the gorillas.  You will return to the lodge for lunch.

In the evening, proceed to the village for an optional cultural walk to interact with the batwa pygmies and participate in captivating traditional performances. You will return to the lodge for dinner and an overnight stay. Overnight stay at Gorilla Mist Camp

 

Day 7: Transfer to Entebbe

After breakfast, you will be transferred to Entebbe driving for about 9 hours. You will have lunch in Mbarara enroue.

Overnight at 2 Friends hotel

 

Day 8: Flight to Nairobi & Transfer to Masai Mara National Reserve

After an early breakfast, you will be transferred to Entebbe Airport for your flight to Nairobi. On arrival, you will be picked up and will be driven to Masai Mara National reserve for about 6 hours, arriving in the evening. You will have a stopover at the Great Rift Valley for viewing. Masai Mara is one of East Africa’s most famous reserves. It consists of undulating hills and great rolling grasslands that sustain some of the most varied wildlife in Africa.  Dinner and overnight stay at Mara sopa lodge

 

Day 9: Game drives in Masai Mara National Reserve.

After breakfast, enjoy a full day game drive in the national reserve where you will spot lions, elephants, cheetahs, giraffes, buffalos, wildebeest, gazelle and other plains game abound, not forgetting the hundreds of species of birds. Return to the lodge in the evening.

Overnight stay at Mara sopa lodge.

 

Day 10: Game drives on Mara River

After breakfast, you will set out for game drives through the unique park which really forms the northern part of the famous Serengeti National Park.

Masai Mara supports the biggest population of cats besides other predators. You will visit the Mara river where you will spot the wildebeest annual migration. During the game drives, you will also spot elephants, lions, Cheetahs, Leopards, Giraffe, Zebras and wildebeest. You will return to the lodge in the evening for dinner and overnight stay. Overnight stay at Mara sopa lodge

 

Day 11: Transfer to Isebania border for crossing over to North Serengeti National park

After breakfast, you will be driven to Isebania border driving for about 3 hours for crossing over to Serengeti National park. After the immigration paper work, you will be handed over to your 21-Day East Africa Classic Safari guide for Tanzania and will be driven to North Serengeti NP.

You will enjoy a game drive enroute where you may spot leopards, cheetahs, big prides of lions, the rare clip-springer antelopes and others. You will embark on game drives where you will see big cats, elephants, giraffes, impalas, hippos and it is another good place to see the endangered black rhino. Several animals. After, you will be transferred to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay. Overnight stay at Tanzania Bush Camps- Mara

 

Day 12: Game drives on Mara river/Wildebeest migration

After breakfast, you will be will be driven to Lobo area in North-East of Serengeti National park with unique landscape. Have high opportunity to see leopards, cheetahs, big prides of lions, the rare clip-springer antelopes and others. You will embark on game drives where you will see big cats, elephants, giraffes, impalas, hippos and it is another good place to see the endangered black rhino. Also visit the Mara river to see the river crossings. Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay Tanzania Bush camps – Mara.

 

Day 13: Transfer to Central Serengeti NP

After breakfast you will drive for about 6 hours to Central Serengeti National Park, enjoying game viewing enroute. The Serengeti covers over 6,000 square miles of sprawling, unspoiled

landscape. On arrival, continue with the game drive in search for leopards and lions and watch in awe as zebra, wildebeest appear from amidst the woodlands and plains. Transfer to the lodge for overnight stay. Overnight stay at Tanzania Bush Camps Central Serengeti.

 

Day 14: Transfer to Ngorongoro Crater

After breakfast you will drive to the Ngorongoro Crater for about 2 hours.

This park is one of the most densely crowded wildlife areas in the world and is home to an estimated 30,000 animals. You will enjoy game drives in the crater rim where you will spot large herds of zebra, wildebeest, lions and many animals. At dawn, the endangered black rhino will return to the thick cover of the crater forests after grazing on the dewladen grass in the morning mist.

Just outside the crater’s ridge, tall Maasai herd their cattle and goats over green pasture and through highland slopes. They live alongside the wildlife here as they have done for centuries. You enjoy a cultural tour of these Masaai people to learn about their culture and enjoy their traditional dance. Dinner and overnight stay at Hhando coffee lodge.

 

Day 15: Transfer to Lake Eyasi

After breakfast, you will be transferred to Lake Eyasi. On arrival, you will be taken to visit the beautiful Lake Eyasi, a shallow lake on the floor of the great rift valley.  After that, you will be guided to visit the Hadzabe tribe, one of the last true nomadic tribes in Africa. You will have a chance to join them in their daily morning activities. You can either join the men in their daily hunting, or the women in their fruit gathering session. In either of them, you will learn about many aspects of the hadzabe way of living. Overnight stay at Lake Eyasi safari lodge

 

Day 16: Transfer to Lake Manyara National park

After breakfast, you will be transferred to lake Manyara NP. The park’s namesake is a shallow, Salt Lake. It covers a large area of the park, flooding and drying with the seasons and is home to thousands of flamingos and over 500 other bird species. Enjoy game drives where you will spot monkeys, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, buffalo, elephant and with some luck and lions lounging in the trees.

The park is known for its diverse landscapes that include open grassy. Have lunch and after enjoy. In the afternoon, enjoy a cultural tour or Mto Wambu village. Enjoy biking, tours of banana plantations, visiting local farms, tasting traditional banana beer or explore woodcarving workshops and art. Return to the lodge after.

Overnight stay at Hhando coffee lodge

 

Day 17: Transfer to Arusha for a flight to Zanzibar.

After breakfast, you will be transferred to Arusha for a flight to Zanzibar, driving for about 2.5 hours. On arrival at Zanzibar Airport, you will be picked up and taken for a tour of Stone town and the markets. Later, transfer to the lodge. Overnight stay at Tembo Apartments

 

Day 18-20: Transfer to the Beach. Enjoy the beach at leisure

Enjoy swimming, snorkeling or bungee jumping at an extra fee, arranged by the hotel.

Dinner and overnight stay at Sunset Kendwa Beach Resort

 

Day 21: Half day Beach and Transfer to Zanzibar Airport

After breakfast, you will be transferred to Zanzibar Airport for departure.

 

21-Day East Africa Classic Safari Inclusions and Exclusions

Safari Inclusions

• Airport transfers
• Ground transportation in a 4×4 safari vehicle
• Domestic and regional flights (Entebbe–Nairobi, Arusha–Zanzibar)
• Professional English-speaking guide/driver
• Accommodation as per itinerary
• Meals as specified in the itinerary
• Park entrance fees
• Game drives
• Chimpanzee trekking permit
• Gorilla trekking permit
• Boat cruise on Kazinga Channel
• Cultural tours and community visits
• Hadzabe tribe experience
• Mto wa Mbu village tour
• Stone Town tour
• Bottled drinking water during safari
• Border crossing assistance
• All scheduled activities as per itinerary

 

Safari Exclusions

• International flights
• Visa fees (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania)
• Travel insurance
• Tips and gratuities
• Personal expenses
• Optional activities (snorkeling, diving, etc.)
• Alcoholic and soft drinks
• Laundry services
• Medical expenses
• Additional accommodation before/after the safari
• Extra activities not listed in the itinerary
• Items not mentioned in inclusions

Tailored Wildlife Adventures & Tour Holidays in Africa – Mega Wild Safaris