bwindi-gorilla
8 Days Gorilla Watching Safari

8 Days Uganda Safari combines gorilla tracking in Bwindi with game viewing in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison Falls National Park and a leisurely adventure on Lake Bunyonyi. The thrill of spending time with and observing the gorillas is a rare, moving, awesome and exciting adventure. The gorillas are shy and peaceful animals and it is an unforgettable experience to watch and photograph them as they interact with each other.

HighlightsItineraryPricesAccommodation & Transport

Day 1: Travel to Lake Bunyonyi

Day 2: Boat Ride on Lake Bunyonyi. Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

Day 3: Gorilla Tracking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

Day 4: Transfer to Quen Elizabeth National Park. Boat Ride along the Kazinga Channel.

Day 5: Morning Game Drive. Transfer to Fort Portal.

Day 6: Amabere ga Nyinamwiru Cultural Site Tour. Drive to Murchison Falls National Park

Day 7: Game Drives in Murchison Falls National Park

Day 8: Game Drive. Transfer to Kampala.

bwindi-gorillaDay 1: Morning Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi with enroute stop at the Equator for photographs, lunch in Mbarara, dinner and overnight at Arcadia cottages.

Day 2: Morning boat ride to visit different Islands on the lake, visit Batwa people and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the place, return for early lunch and transfer to Bwindi Gorilla Forest, overnight at Gorilla Forest Camp / Silverback lodge Bwindi / Buhoma Rest camp.

Day 3: Gorilla trekking adventure in Bwindi Forest, relax in the evening as you wait for dinner and overnight at the lodge.

Day 4: Morning transfer to Queen Elizabeth wildlife park, enroute game drive through Ishasha sector, a home to tree climbing lions, lunch at Mweya Safari lodge, enjoy an afternoon launch cruise on Kazinga Channel, dinner and overnight at the Mweya safari lodge / Ihamba safari lodge / Simba Safari camp.

Day 5: Enjoy a morning game drive through the park, return to the lodge for late breakfast and lunch, later embark on an afternoon game drive as we proceed to Fort portal. Dinner and overnight at Mountains of the Moon Hotel.

Day 6: Morning visit to Amabere ga Nyinawiru cultural site, later transfer to Murchison falls National park, dinner and overnight at Paraa safari lodge / Sambiya River lodge / Red Chilli Camp .

Day 7: Morning game drive in search for African Lion, Leoprads, Elephants, Buffaloes and several antelope species, return for lunch and the lodge and later gather your strength for an afternoon launch cruise to the bottom of Murchison falls. Dinner and overnight at Paraa safari lodge.

Day 8: Have breakfast and take a brief game drive, later embark on a picnic drive back to Kampala to arrive by late afternoon.

END OF THE TOUR

Guide price

USD 3,500 per person based on a group of 6 people traveling, prices are subjected to change.

Price includes:

  • ✓ 1 gorilla and 1 chimp tracking permit each
  • ✓ A private 4×4 safari vehicle (with pop-up roof) with driver/guide and fuel for this itinerary
  • ✓ Full-board, mid-range, non air-conditioned accommodation
  • ✓ All entrance and other fees for the activities included in the itinerary
  • ✓ Mineral water in transit
  • ✓ All government taxes
Price does not include:

  • ✓ International flights
  • ✓ Visas
  • ✓ Travel insurance
  • ✓ Personal expenses such as bar bills, phone calls, laundry services, gifts, crafts and personal shopping
  • ✓ Tips and gratuities (normally 5–10% and around $100 for your guide).

Why do we use guide prices?
The price for every safari depends on the number of people travelling, their ages, the time of year, whether or not international flights are included, the type of transport and accommodation used and the activities undertaken.

We calculate according to the specific dates of your booking because after we publish our itineraries some things may change. For example, hotels may increase their prices, the government may introduce new taxes or some discounts may become available. Unfortunately, we also have to pass on surcharges imposed on us by, for example, airlines when fuel prices or airport taxes are unexpectedly increased.

We would be happy to prepare a quotation, based on your requirements. We normally include most costs in the price so all you need to bring with you is ‘pocket money’ for items like drinks, tips and personal shopping e.g. souvenirs.

Insurance

AMREF flying doctors provide a medevac service in case of illness or injury during your safari. This costs $25pp for 31 days. We recommend this service and can include it in your package price.

Booking

Once you have selected one of our safari packages you need to send us a booking form. When we receive this we will check availability and inform you if any changes are necessary and issue an invoice for a 50% deposit plus the full cost of any tracking permits (in case of cancellation permit fees are non-refundable). Only once this payment is received can we guarantee availability and issue a booking confirmation. Full payment is required 70 days before travel.

Payments and cancellation

We charge in US dollars. Payment is by bank transfer into our Standard Chartered USD bank account in Uganda. You can also pay by credit card although there is a 5% administration charge. For those booking from within Uganda, cash payments are possible at our office.

When we book your safari, we have to pay non-refundable deposits on your behalf, for example to hotels. Therefore, we charge cancellation fees as follows:

30% of reservation costs if you cancel more than 50 days before your arrival date

100% of reservation costs if you cancel less than 50 days before your arrival date

We strongly recommend that you include cancellation cover in your travel insurance.

Disclaimer: We enter into an agreement with you in good faith but we sometimes encounter unexpected changes in local conditions which can affect your itinerary or price. These changes are beyond our control and we are not liable for them. While we endeavour to protect you against the effects of these changes, we reserve the right to amend the agreed itinerary and price in response to them. Such changes include but are not limited to weather conditions, road conditions, supplier price increases, fuel increases, government tax increases, supplier service changes e.g. cancellation of ferry services for river crossings or national park operations (track maintenance, animal translocations). We assure you that, we will always give you as much notice as possible of changes, suggest alternative plans and keep additional charges to a minimum.

Accommodation

To help us select the right accommodation for your safari (and in the absence of a complete national hotel classification system e.g. 1*–5*) we use four levels: high-end, mid-range, budget and backpackers. These terms can mean different things to different people but are helpful to an extent.

Air-conditioned rooms are not available in all hotels. Where AC is available, there is usually an extra charge.

Some locations have a limited choice of accommodation and so, to stay there, you must accept what is available. Where possible we prefer to work with responsible accommodation providers. This means hotels and lodges which are locally owned, employ local staff, support their community and protect the local environment.

Engagi-Lodge Lake-heights-hotel Mihingo-pool

Transport

As standard, we use a spacious 7-seater, 4×4 safari Land Cruiser, with pop-up roof, fridge and phone/camera charging facilities. This is the perfect safari vehicle.

Land-cruiser Land-cruiser Land-cruiser

Alternatively, we offer a slightly cheaper 7-seater, 4×4 safari van with a pop-up roof.

Land-cruiser Land-cruiser Land-cruiser

5-seater versions of both Land Cruisers and vans are also available.

For large group tours we use small buses called Coasters. These usually seat around 28 people, including 5 jump (fold-down) seats in the aisle. They do not have a boot/trunk so luggage is carried on the back seats which reduces the seating capacity. The overhead luggage shelves are small and can only accommodate small bags. Therefore, we recommend you do not over pack.

All vehicles include a driver/guide and fuel for your itinerary. Additional activities, not included in your itinerary, may incur an additional fuel charge. Our vehicles are comprehensively insured, in good mechanical condition and have seat belts fitted.

Please let us know if you have any special travel requirements. For example, if your group has disabled members we will do our best to accommodate your needs.

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