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12 Day Great Migration & Gorilla Jungle Safari

Start-Ends: Nairobi-Kigali | Visiting: Masai Mara NR, Amboseli NP, Kigali & Volcanoes NP

The Great Migration & Gorilla Jungle Safari

Overview

This 12 Day Great Migration & Africa’s Gorilla Jungle Safari is perhaps one of the soul fulfilling adventures you’ll ever take in Africa. This trip takes you to Africa’s best jungles to two of the most exhilarating scenes in wildlife, the dream wide open golden savanna landscapes of Africa’s most famous safari destination to witness the biggest animal migration in the world and into the misty mountain rainforest jungle to meet the intimidating gentle giant in the tiny country Rwanda, Africa’s mountain gorilla. Now if you haven’t considered this African safari to be a top bucket list item, I’ll forgive you for that when you book the trip. There’s no much words we can use to describe the experience, you have to find out yourself, let’s go!

Safari Route

  • Start: Nairobi (Day 1)
  • Day 2-4: Masai Mara NR
  • Day 5-7: Amboseli NP
  • Rwanda
  • Day 8: Kigali
  • Day 9-11: Volcanoes NP
  • End: Kigali (Day 12)

Tour Features

  • Luxury tour—uses lodges and hotels.
  • Private tour—will be run exclusively for you, no strangers.
  • Can start any day—depending on availability of permits.
  • Can be customized—you can request changes to this tour.
  • Minimum age of 15 years—15+ only.

Activities & Transportation

  • Activities: game drives, evening/night game drives, gorilla trekking, walking safaris (with an armed guide) & nature hikes/walks
  • Game drives: normal 4×4 vehicle
  • Getting around: normal 4×4 vehicle & air transfer
  • A transfer from and back to the airport is included

Includes

  • Park fees (For non-residents)
  • Gorilla permits (One per person, non-resident)
  • All activities (Unless labeled as optional)
  • All accommodation (Unless listed as upgrade)
  • A professional driver/guide
  • All transportation (Unless labeled as optional)
  • All Taxes/VAT
  • Meals (As specified in the day-by-day section)
  • Drinks (As specified in the day-by-day section)
  • International flights (From/to home)
  • Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour
  • Tips (Tipping guideline US$10.00 pp per day)
  • Personal items (Souvenirs, travel insurance, visa fees, etc.)

Detailed Itinerary

Arrival

You’ll be collected from the airport.
Accommodation before the tour starts can be arranged for an extra cost.

Day 1: Escape Nairobi’s traffic jams in a tranquil, colonial setting

In a world where so many hotels claim “luxury” status, this is one that delivers. The staff are welcoming and keen to oblige (you are even assigned a butler), the suites are colonially magnificent and the setting is so tranquil and lovely it’s hard to imagine you’re in the middle of a traffic-congested city. There’s not a murmur, apart from the birds and the fountains. And there’s something other-worldly about the view of Karen Blixen’s green hills from your balcony. The food is top-notch too – carnivores come miles for the steak! Hemingways lies in the peaceful Nairobi suburb of Karen. Wander around the city, with its exciting restaurants and historical sights, including the Karen Blixen Museum, the Giraffe Centre and shopping malls. Do laps in the pool and enjoy a treatment at the spa.

Main Destination: Nairobi (Kenya)
Accommodation: Hemingways Nairobi (Luxury)
Meals & Drinks: Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included), drinking water (Other drinks not included)


Day 2-4: Nairobi and Transfer to Masai Mara

If you’ve seen the film ‘Out of Africa’, a safari to the golden-hued savannah of the Masai Mara is probably near the top of your bucket list. And where better to go than the infamous spot where Meryl Streep gazed longingly at a rugged Robert Redford? This is Angama Mara, Kenya’s hottest new lodge and sited on that very kopje, high in the hills of the Oloololo Escarpment with a view so everlasting it’s startling. Designed by Silvio Rech, a man who just ‘gets it’ when it comes to lodge design and run by Nicky Fitzgerald of &Beyond fame, this is the stuff of your wildest, most romantic and evocatively perfect safari dreams.

Main Destination: Masai Mara National Reserve (Kenya)
Best Time to Visit: June to October and September to October
Accommodation: Angama Mara (Luxury tented camp)
Meals & Drinks: All meals included, all drinks (Premium wines & liquors might be excluded)


Day 5-7: Enjoy iconic African luxury beneath Mount Kilimanjaro

Ol Donyo Lodge lies in an extraordinary setting between two of Kenya’s national parks, Tsavo East and Amboseli, in the heart of the Chyulu Hills. Presided over by Mount Kilimanjaro, this is a place of wild beauty and Masai spiritual life, and has inspired artists, photographers and writers. The lodge itself lies on a vast group ranch that is leased from its Masai owners. Set in thick woodland on a hillside with views across the plains, the lodge is so luxurious you’ll find it hard to leave, and the wildlife is even better. Take a game drive, go horse- or bike riding, visit the fascinating lava tubes, set off on a walking safari, sleep under the stars and have breakfast and dinner in the bush. Watch the animals from an open-air hide or book a fly-camping adventure. Great Plains works with the local community to protect endangered species and reduce poaching. The lodge may be expensive, but it’s good to know that a percentage of each visitor’s conservancy fee goes to the community.

Main Destination: Amboseli National Park (Kenya)
Accommodation: Ol Donyo Lodge (Luxury)
Meals & Drinks: All meals included, all drinks (Premium wines & liquors might be excluded)


Day 8: Fly Over into Kigali – Indulge in some five-star pampering

This large, modern hotel in central Kigali lies just 10 kilometres from Kigali International Airport, so it’s the perfect stopover before returning home. It’s a large hotel, popular for weddings and conferences (held fortunately in a large stand-alone conference and events centre). The rooms are quiet though, so take some down time, enjoy the variety. If you’re simply travelling overnight, you’ll probably only have time to enjoy the food, the pool and maybe a treatment at the spa. For families with young children, there’s also a baby pool. Staying a little longer? Explore Kigali (ask for advice at reception), visit the sobering Kigali Genocide Memorial and admire the bright artworks at the Inema Gallery. Enjoy the cuisine at restaurants, wander around the lush gardens and laze around the pool. And do visit the blissful spa.

Main Destination: Kigali (Rwanda)
Accommodation: Kigali Serena Hotel (Luxury)
Meals & Drinks: Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included), drinking water (Other drinks not included)


Day 9-11: Get into The Misty Jungle and Encounter The Mighty Gorilla

As wildlife encounters go, there’s not many more exhilarating, more spelling binding and more utterly mesmerising than coming face to face with a mighty mountain gorilla. And what better place to do it than in Rwanda’s gorilla hotspot, Volcanoes National Park, and from undoubtedly the hottest lodge in the area, Virunga. The location is, to put it bluntly, phenomenal, with the 10 bandas, orbited by panoramic vistas of shimmering lakes Ruhondo and Burera and the spiky crests of the Virunga volcanoes. With the ever-present layer of iridescent, swirling mist, the lodge is every bit as magical as the wildlife. The focus at the lodge is to see the mountain 
gorillas, which adds a sense of shared purpose to dinner at the candle-lit, communal table. You are typically woken at 5am; breakfast is served at 5.30; by 7am you will leave the lodge 
for the Volcanoes National Park headquarters at the base of the Virunga mountains, where everyone with a gorilla trekking permit gathers for a briefing.

Main Destination: Volcanoes National Park (Rwanda)
Best Time to Visit: Jun to Sep (It is drier and trails are easier to hike)
Accommodation: Virunga Lodge (Luxury)
Meals & Drinks: All meals included, all drinks (Premium wines & liquors might be excluded)


Day 12: Finish in Kigali

You will be chartered from Virunga Lodge to the airport for your onward journey.

Main Destination: Kigali International Airport (Rwanda)
Accommodation: No accommodation (End of tour)
Meals & Drinks: Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included). Drinks not included


End of tour

Additional accommodation can be arranged for an extra cost.
You’ll be dropped off at the airport.

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