Best of Rwanda & Tanzania Tour (14 days) - Safari Tours East Africa

Best of Rwanda & Tanzania Tour (14 days).

To enquire about rates, availability or to make a booking for this safari , please email us at tours@tourseastafrica.com +44790.863.9450.

This is one of the signature TEA tours, Rwanda and Tanzania Safari Tour. It combines the very best that East Africa has to offer both safari and wildlife enthusiasts-Tanzania, the land of superlatives and Rwanda, the land of a thousand hills. This safari tour will take you to some of the best tour attractions in Rwanda and later give you a chance to immerse yourself in Africa jungle safari galore in Tanzania’s famous Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crate area-We could so easily have termed this safari, the very best of East Africa tour. Animals, wildlife, game, gorillas, big 5, scenery, flora, fauna, you name it, it is all included in this signature best of Rwanda and Tanzania tour.

This splendid combined tour of Rwanda and Tanzania is a 14days wildlife, gorillas, primates and Big 5 game safari tour that starts in Rwanda and climaxes in game rich Tanzania. In Rwanda the tour takes us to Volcanoes National park for trekking the gorillas in their natural wild, to Nyungwe forest for a date with the elusive chimpanzees. In Tanzania the safari tour takes us to the Northern circuit for game drives in Lake Manyara National Park, the vast game rich Serengeti National Park and to one of the wonders of the world, Ngorongoro Crater for a truly memorable African safari experience.

Highlights of the tour.

Rwanda-Trek the rare mountain gorilla in their natural habitat in Volcanoes National Park.

Rwanda-Track man’s closest relatives, the chimpanzees in Nyungwe Forest National Park.

Tanzania, Ngorongoro Crater. Game drives at the base of Ngorongoro Crater in search of the Big 5.

Tanzania-Serengeti, perhaps the best game viewing savanna of the world while on safari.

Tanzania-Lake Manyara National Park in search of the tree climbing lions.

Tanzania Northern Circuit for the best chances of seeing the big 5, Leopards, Elephants, Buffaloes, Rhinos and Lions.

Home visits when you meet & mingle with the local Masai and batwa pygmies. Learn about how they go about their daily lives, their cultures, norms, traditions etc.

Route-Condensed Itinerary.

Day 1 Kigali (Rwanda)

Day 2 Kigali – Depart for Nyungwe

Day 3 Nyungwe Forest-Chimp trekking

Day 4 Nyungwe Forest

Day 5  Depart Nyungwe Forest  for Kibuye

Day 6 Depart Kibuye for Volcanoes National Park

Day 7 Volcanoes National Park – Kigali- Gorilla trekking.

Day 8 Kigali – Flight – Arusha (Tanzania)

Day 9 Arusha – Lake Manyara National Park

Day 10 Lake Manyara National Park – Serengeti

Day 11 Serengeti

Day 12 Serengeti – Ngorongoro Crater

Day 13 Ngorongoro Crater

Day 14 Ngorongoro Crater – Kilimanjaro Airport

Day to day program

Day 1
Kigali (Rwanda).

Arrival at Kigali airport where you will be met by our professional guide. Your guide will brief you about your tour and then proceed to your Kigali hotel for overnight. For flights arriving before 2pm, you may time permitting and if you prefer have a Kigali city tour, prior to checking into your hotel for overnight.

Day 2
Kigali – Nyungwe Forest.

After breakfast at hotel, we depart from Kigali and head to Nyungwe Forest National Park. Lunch is envisaged in Butare after which you will proceed to Nyungwe and later check into your hotel.

Nyungwe is home to a wide number of primates including the chimpanzees, the Angolan black colobus monkeys, the blue velvet monkeys, the L’Hoest monkeys, the owl faced monkeys , mona monkeys and many more primate species.

Day 3
Nyungwe Forest.

A very early waking up on this today to go in search of the sometimes elusive chimps in Nyungwe Forest. The chimps can be quite elusive and hard to find especially on rainy days. They tend to range high up in the forest. You report at Uwinka Gisakura park headquarters for pre-trekking briefing at 6am. You are then led into the forest by experienced ranger guides.  On finding the chimps you will have a chance of observing them feeding, playing, walking and swinging on the trees. During the chimp trek, you will be able to see other primates, birds, flora and fauna. In the late afternoon, you will return to your accommodation and have the option of visiting a tea factory in the evening.

Day 4
Nyungwe Forest.

Today you participate in a canopy walk in the morning. The canopy walk is a great way to enjoy great views of Nyungwe Forest over a suspended air bridge. In the afternoon, you may go on a waterfall walk through Nyungwe forest and along the way you may get to meet with colobus monkeys and other primates that call Nyungwe Forest home.

Day 5
Nyungwe Forest – Kibuye.

After breakfast, it is time to finally depart beautiful Nyungwe after all, all good things must come to an end, plus so much more awaits us ahead of this signature Rwanda and Tanzania safari tour. Today you transfer to Kibuye, one of the major towns located on the shores of Lake Kivu. Our road trip from Nyungwe to Kibuye takes us through great scenery that includes views of beautiful lake Kivu and tea plantations as well as meeting local Rwandans enroute going about their busy lives. You have the option of visiting a local Rwanda village along the way. Overnight in Kibuye

Day 6
Kibuye – Volcanoes National Park.

Today, we leave the beautiful and serene town of Kibuye and make our way to Volcanoes National park in Northern Rwanda for a date with the gentle giants of the Virungas-The mountain gorillas. Our safari tour will take us via Gisenyi a beautiful town on the shores of Lake Kivu and close to Goma the border town between Rwanda and DRC. Lunch is envisaged in Gisenyi. You may also get a chance to relax on the shores of Lake Kivu for a few hours before finally embarking on the 1.5hrs drive from Gisenyi to Ruhengeri. Time permitting, you may get a chance to visit a Batwa pygmy community. We arrive at Volcanoes National Park late in the evening and check into your lodge for overnight. The views of Volcanoes National Park are to die for as you get a chance to see the Virungas straddling across the 3 countries of Uganda, Rwanda and DRC. In addition, one gets majestic views of the Virunga Volcanoes of Bisoke, Karisimbi, Muhabura and Gahinga. This evening we get prepared for a once in lifetime opportunity of the tracking the mountain gorillas in their natural wild.

Day 7
Volcanoes National Park – Kigali.

After a very early breakfast, we assemble at Volcanoes National Park headquarters for a pre-gorilla trek briefing. The chief ranger warden will brief you about the gorilla trekking experience, what to expect, how to behave infront of the gorillas and the gorilla tracking do’s and don’ts. You will be divided into groups of 8 and be transferred to the gorilla trekking trailheads. From here you will proceed with the rangers into the mountains in search of the gorillas. When you find them, you get a chance to spend one hour with them observing them playing, feeding, and going about their daily lives. You will have the opportunity to take photos and videos after which you will return to the mountains base and drive onward to Kigali after lunch at the lodge.

Day 8
Fly with Rwanda Air from Kigali Rwanda to Arusha Tanzania

It is sadly time to depart from the land of a thousand hills and head for the land of superlatives-Tanzania, the safari capital of the world. You will be transferred from your Kigali hotel to Kigali airport for your departure flight with Rwanda Air to Kilimanjaro Airport in Tanzania. At Kilimanjaro airport you will be met by our Tanzania meet and greet associate and your safari driver guide and proceed to Arusha for overnight where you will be briefed about your Tanzania safari tour adventure over the next few days.

Day 9
Arusha – Lake Manyara National Park.

Your safari tour in game prolific Tanzania starts with a safari to Lake Manyara National Park. Lake Manyara is situated in Northern Tanzania on the edge of the Rift Valley with the park entrance gate only 1.5hrs and 80 miles west of Arusha and very close to Mto wa Mbu town. The birdlife in Lake Manyara stretches to 400 bird species. You will find here thousands of pink flamingos as well as other water birds including storks, pelicans and cormorants. Lake Manyara National Park is conveniently located on the way to the famous Ngorongoro Crater and the majestic Serengeti National Park. Lake Manyara is also visited for its famous tree-climbing lions as well as for its scenic beauty of a 50km stretch along the base of the Rift Valley escarpment.

In addition to the lions, Lake Manyara national park is also home to the largest concentration of baboons anywhere in the world.

Day 10
Lake Manyara National Park – Serengeti.

Today we depart Lake Manyara for more safari tour adventure and head to the majestic safari capital of the world-The Serengeti National Park. Unarguably Serengeti is the world’s best known wildlife and game destination, unsurpassed by no other sanctuaries for its splendid beauty and for having the highest concentration of game in Africa. The Serengeti hosts the greatest wildlife spectacle in the world- the wildebeest and Zebra great migration. In addition there is plenty of elephants, lions, giraffes, cheetah and birds that call the Serengeti home and make a safari tour to the Serengeti a must at least once in a lifetime.

The Serengeti can be subdivided into 3 sections, the much more popular central/southern part of Seronera which is the section with endless plains, savannah and abundant game and wildlife. You then have the Grumeti River section which is on the western front of the Serengeti and the 3^rd being the Lobo section which is perhaps the least safari’d section that connects up to the famous Masai Mara Reserve of Kenya.

Serengeti Wildebeests Migration Map

Day 11
Serengeti

Today, you will have a full day of game drives in the massive plains and savannah of the mighty safari world of Africa-The Serengeti. We go in search of the big 5 and be sure to get plenty of opportunities for sighting lions and other cats here after all Serengeti is renowned as the best place to see wildlife in their natural wild. You may also get a chance to spot game from the air when you sign up for an optional balloon safari over the expansive Serengeti wilderness.

Day 12
Serengeti – Ngorongoro Crater.

This day we have an early morning game drive in Serengeti before we depart the Serengeti and head towards the Ngorongoro Crater one of the natural wonders of the world. We shall continue to have game drives through the Serengeti enroute to the Ngorongoro. You can never get enough of the wildlife safari tour opportunities that the Serengeti has to offer, but leave we must to our next Tanzania visitor attraction where there is additional opportunities to spot more wildlife and game at the base of the Ngorongoro Crater where we continue with game drives in search of the big 5.

Day 13
Ngorongoro Crater.

After breakfast at your Ngorongoro accommodation, we descend into the Ngorongoro Crater where you will see plenty of leopards, buffaloes, lions and elephants. You take a packed lunch on this day so that you can take in as much as possible while on game drives in this wildlife rich part of Tanzania. In the afternoon, you ascend from the crater and check into your lodge where you will be catching up on memories of your safari tour over the past few days through Rwanda and Tanzania.

Day 14

Today we leave the Ngorongoro Crater and head back to Kilimanjaro Airport. All good things must come to an end. For those who do not wish for this safari tour to end with all its fond memories, it is possible to extend the tour to the sandy beaches of Zanzibar for a perfect beach holiday that would mark the ideal end to a memorable safari vacation. Alternatively, we head straight to Kilimanjaro airport for your departure flight home or to your next tour destination.

Accommodations

Day 1

Kigali (Rwanda) 

Mille Collines Hotel Kigali (BB)

Day 2 

Kigali – Nyungwe Forest

Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel (FB)

Day 3.

Nyungwe Forest

Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel (FB)

Day 4

 Nyungwe Forest

 Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel (FB)

Day 5

Nyungwe Forest – Kibuye 

Moriah Hill Resort/Cormoran Lodge  (FB)

Day 6 

Kibuye – Volcanoes National Park

Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge (FB)

Day 7 

Volcanoes National Park – Kigali

Golden hill Hotel  (BB)

Day 8

Kigali – Flight – Arusha (Tanzania) 

Hotel (BB)

Day 9 

Arusha – Lake Manyara National Park

Tented Camp (FB)

Day 10

Lake Manyara National Park – Serengeti 

Mawe  Tented Camp (FB)

Day 11 

Serengeti 

Mawe Tented Camp (FB)

Day 12

Serengeti – Ngorongoro Crater 

Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge (FB)

Day 13

Ngorongoro Crater

Endoro Lodge (FB)

Day 14

 Ngorongoro Crater – Kilimanjaro Airport. Flight (End of service)

Legend: BB = Bed and Breakfast / HB = Half Board / FB = Full Board

Per person, in USD, based on double/twin sharing

Some lodges may ask for seasonal surcharges for the Easter and Christmas Holidays

Includes

Airport transfers at Kigali and Kilimanjaro Airports.

Accommodations on meal plans as indicated.

Bottled drinking water throughout the safari tour.

Private safari 4wd vehicle with professional english speaking driver guide

Fuel for the entire safari tour.

Entrance fees to all the included National Parks for the safari tour.

bird watching, game drives, chimp tracking in Nyungwe Forest

Entrance into Ngorongoro Crater.

Excludes

International flights

Visas for Rwanda and Tanzania

All optional activities

Insurances

Meals not mentioned and beverages

Tips and personal expenses such as laundry and airtime.

To enquire about rates, availability or to make a booking for this safari , please email us at tours@tourseastafrica.com +44790.863.9450.