10 Days East Africa Safari from the USA: Ultimate Wildlife Expedition.
This 10 days classic East Africa safari from the USA is the ultimate bucket-list journey, combining the best wildlife destinations across four countries into one seamless combined safari adventure. Travellers will witness the legendary plains of the Maasai Mara and Serengeti, famous for the Great Migration and dense predator populations, before heading west to track endangered mountain gorillas in both Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park. With double gorilla trekking experiences across two countries, this combined safari itinerary is ideal for serious primate enthusiasts and first-time safari-goers alike who want to experience the full diversity of East Africa’s landscapes, wildlife, and cultures in just ten days.
Highlights of your safari
Day 1: Arrival in Nairobi, Kenya, and transfer to Maasai Mara National Reserve
Day 2: Game drives in the Maasai Mara
Day 3: Fly to Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
Day 4: Game drives in the Serengeti
Day 5: Fly to Kigali, Rwanda, and transfer to Volcanoes National Park
Day 6: Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda
Day 7: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda
Day 8: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda
Day 9: Transfer towards Kampala/Entebbe
Day 10: Departure from Entebbe
Detailed itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Nairobi and transfer to the Maasai Mara
After landing at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, your driver guide will receive you before taking you to the globally acclaimed Maasai Mara National Reserve, either by road via the famous Great Rift Valley (a journey lasting 5-6 hours) or by scheduled flight to minimise time. Get here in time to embark on an afternoon game drive while on a Kenya safari. You will dine and sleep at your lodge or camp tonight.
Day 2: Game drives in the Maasai Mara
This will be the day when we will go on an expedition to experience the amazing place that the Maasai Mara is, and that too in all of Africa, because of the abundance of lions, leopards, cheetahs, and elephants found there, along with the great wildebeest migration. You will do some morning and afternoon game drives and an optional visit to the Maasai village to experience the culture.
Day 3: Fly to the Serengeti, Tanzania
After your breakfast, you will be driven to the airstrip for a short flight over the border into Tanzania and touchdown at Serengeti National Park. Once you reach there, spend the afternoon driving around the vast grasslands that have plenty of wildebeest, zebras, and gazelles, as well as lions and cheetahs, while on a Tanzania tour. Spend the night at your camp/lodge.
Day 4: Game drives in the Serengeti
Spend a whole day touring various parts of the park on a game drive, depending on the changing scenery, ranging from open plains to acacia woodland with rocky outcrops referred to as ‘kopjes’. This will be one of the most thrilling days, depending on the period of the year, as you will have a chance to see amazing wildlife wonders, such as river crossings during the migration period. Spend your day having lunch in the middle of game drives.
Day 5: Transfer to Kigali, flight from Kigali to Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda
In the morning after breakfast, you will make your way to the airstrip for a scheduled flight to Kigali, Rwanda. You will land at Kigali and then be met by your driver-guide for a journey via road to Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. As you drive towards your destination, you will pass through the beautiful terrain described as the “land of a thousand hills”.
Day 6: Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda
After an early breakfast, drive to the park office, where you will have a briefing from park rangers, after which you will embark on a journey through the forested slopes of the Virunga Mountains in search of a family of habituated mountain gorillas. This Rwanda safari journey is determined by the location of the gorillas and will take you through bamboo-forested areas and areas covered by volcanoes. Once you come across the gorillas, you get to experience a thrilling hour while watching them feed and play like family. Finally, get back to the park office and be awarded your gorilla trekking permit, after which you proceed to the Uganda border area for one night.
Day 7: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda
Following breakfast, continue the trip towards Uganda, where you will cross the border and travel through the picturesque highlands of Kigezi, known as the “Switzerland of Africa”. You should arrive in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in the afternoon and spend some time relaxing in preparation for the gorilla trekking tour that follows. Dinner and overnight stay at your lodge included.
Day 8: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda
After having had an early breakfast, move to the park headquarters where you will have a meeting with the park rangers before venturing deep into the forest in pursuit of another habituated family of gorillas. The time to locate the gorillas may vary from 30 minutes to a few hours while on a Uganda tour, depending on their position on the particular day. The process will lead you through the thickets full of life where birds, butterflies, and other primates like the black-and-white colobus monkeys are abundant. Upon locating the gorillas, watch them interact, eat, and raise their babies for one hour of your lifetime memory.
Day 9: Transfer towards Kampala/Entebbe
After your breakfast, embark on the drive back to Kampala or Entebbe as you cross the southwestern part of the highlands, including the region of Lake Mburo. If time permits, you can stop briefly at a crafts market or scenic viewpoint on the way before arriving late in the afternoon in Entebbe, where you will spend a night in the hotel.
Day 10: Departure from Entebbe
After breakfast, depart for Entebbe International Airport, where you take off on your return journey home, ending the 10 Days Classic East Africa Safari from the USA through Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda.
A quotation includes
- Gorilla trekking permits (Rwanda and Uganda)
- Park entrance fees for all parks visited
- Full-time English-speaking driver guide
- Domestic/regional flights between safari destinations (Mara to Serengeti, Serengeti to Kigali)
- Accommodation as indicated in the itinerary
- All meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner)
- Airport pickup and drop-off
- 4WD safari vehicle and fuel
- Bottled drinking water
Quotation excludes
- International flight tickets and visas
- Travel and life insurance
- Optional activities not listed in the itinerary
- Tips and gratuities
- Personal expenses (souvenirs, laundry, drinks, etc.)
