How to Plan Your Safari

Planning an East Africa safari can feel overwhelming. There are five countries, hundreds of lodges, dozens of wildlife experiences and an enormous range of prices. The good news is that the planning process becomes straightforward when you work through it in the right order.

This guide takes you from the initial idea to a confirmed itinerary, in the sequence that our specialists use when building proposals for clients.

Before you look at dates, destinations or lodges, answer these four questions:

• —What is the one experience you absolutely cannot miss? Gorilla trekking? The Great Migration? A specific park or lodge? Start with that and build around it.
• —How long can you travel? A 7-day safari is fundamentally different from a 14-day circuit. Shorter trips need more focus; longer trips allow more depth and more countries.
• —What is your budget range? The biggest cost variable is accommodation, not destinations. Be honest about this early to avoid building an itinerary that does not reflect your real spending ceiling.
• —Who is travelling? Solo, couple, family with children, mixed ages or a group each have different implications for lodge choice, activity selection and pacing.

East Africa can be combined in countless ways. The most common configurations are:

Uganda Only

Uganda deserves a full trip in its own right. A classic 8 to 10 day Uganda circuit covers gorilla trekking in Bwindi, chimpanzee trekking in Kibale, big five game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park, the dramatic Murchison Falls and the option to stop at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for white rhino tracking. Uganda is excellent value and remarkably diverse.

Uganda and Rwanda

Adding Rwanda to a Uganda safari is the most natural extension. Both countries offer gorilla trekking (allowing you to compare two completely different gorilla families in two different ecosystems), and Rwanda adds Nyungwe Forest chimpanzee trekking, Akagera National Park and the cultural depth of Kigali. Allow 10 to 14 days for both.

Kenya and Tanzania

The classic East Africa wildlife circuit. The Masai Mara, Amboseli, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire together constitute the world's greatest concentration of wildlife. Best from July to October for the Great Migration, but spectacular year-round.

The Full East Africa Circuit

Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania in one journey. Allow 18 to 28 days. This is for the committed safari traveller who wants the complete picture: primates in the west, great plains wildlife in the east, dramatic landscapes throughout.

How long does each destination need? As a minimum guide:

These minimums assume a reasonable pace. Rushing a safari to cover more destinations is counterproductive. Depth of experience in fewer places consistently outranks breadth across many.

Gorilla trekking permits are the single biggest booking constraint in East Africa and must be secured before anything else.

• —Uganda: $800 per person per trek. Book 4 to 6 months ahead for peak season (June to September). Permits are often available with less lead time in the green season.
• —Rwanda: $1,500 per person per trek. Book 6 to 9 months ahead for any month. Rwanda sells out faster than Uganda because there are fewer total permits available.
• —Chimpanzee trekking: Kibale Forest (Uganda) and Nyungwe (Rwanda) permits should be booked 2 to 3 months ahead.

Lodge selection is the single biggest factor in your overall experience and your overall cost. The range is extraordinary: from perfectly comfortable tented camps at $150 per person per night to ultra-luxury forest lodges at $900 per person per night, with the experience at each tier being genuinely different rather than just more expensive.

Things to consider when choosing a lodge: proximity to the activity (a 45-minute drive to the gorilla briefing is very different from a 5-minute walk), meal and beverage inclusions, vehicle type and number of other guests in your vehicle, and guide quality. We vet every lodge we use personally.

Efficient routing matters enormously in East Africa. Uganda's most popular circuit, Entebbe arrival, Ziwa Rhino, Murchison Falls, Kibale Forest, Queen Elizabeth National Park (with Equator stop), Bwindi, Rwanda, Kigali departure, flows logically north to south without backtracking. Poor routing adds unnecessary road hours and reduces the quality of the experience.

Domestic and regional flights should be considered wherever road distances are long. A 45-minute flight between Entebbe and Murchison Falls replaces a 5-hour road transfer. The cost is real but the time saved is significant on a short safari.

Entebbe (Uganda), Kigali (Rwanda), Nairobi (Kenya) and Kilimanjaro/Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) are the main international gateways. Most clients fly into one and out of another, with the routing determined by their itinerary.

We recommend booking international flights after permits and lodges are confirmed, not before. Airlines allow reasonable flexibility; gorilla permits and top lodges do not.