On arrival at Kigali International Airport, you will be helped by our VIP meet and greet representative who will help you with the direction to the arrival Covid – 19 testing Centre inside the Airport. After the test, you will be helped by our representative to your driver guide who will pick you up and transfer you to your transit hotel for check-in, dinner and overnight. Your extraordinary Tanzania & Rwanda Wildlife Up-Close adventure is about to begin!

Main destination: Kigali City

Accommodation: Kigali Serena Hotel

After breakfast, your driver guide will be at the hotel reception for your briefing and go over today’s schedule and activities and later transfer to Kigali Genocide Memorial Museum.

Kigali Genocide Memorial

This is an extremely moving, challenging, educational, and ultimately inspiring memorial and a great place to understand the cause, tragedy, and successful rebuilding post-genocide. The reconciliation and rebuilding have been miraculous, and these memorials are built to inform, educate and prevent such a tragedy to ever occur again.

The tour is very transparent and educational but very somber and humbling when you realize that over 250,000 deceased are buried on the site of the memorial. Guaranteed you will feel every emotion during this visit. The most common question that goes through your mind is “would I be capable of that level of forgiveness if I found myself in this situation”. That’s a true inspiration.

After the visit, we will go to the Heaven restaurant for lunch and later we embark on our vehicle for our 2.5 hours scenic transfer to Volcanoes National Park.

Transfer to Volcanoes National Park. (3 hours)

After lunch, we will embark on our 3-hour transfer will ascend through the endless mountains and hills and provide excellent opportunities for scenic photographs as you pass through the local villages and farms.

On arrival, you will be welcomed with a glass of fresh juice by the team, check-in, and relax with the Lodge facilities as you wait for dinner.

Main destination: Volcanoes National Park

Accommodation: Virunga Inn Resort & Spa

After an early breakfast, we will depart at 6:30 am as we head off to the Volcanoes National Park Headquarters for a truly life-changing experience trekking Mountain Gorillas. There are only just over 1063 Mountain Gorillas left in the wild with Rwanda hosting approximately 1/3 of them.

Arriving at park headquarters you will be briefed on the trek rules and basics of Mountain Gorilla behavior by the park rangers before departing for your trek starting point. Off your head across the farmlands and into the thick mountain forests of the Virunga Massif and ascend the mountains in search of your troop.

The trek can take between 2-6 hours as Mountain Gorillas are nomadic, but the effort will be worth it as you approach and get to watch these magnificent creatures for an hour. Mountain Gorillas share 98% of their DNA and have the same blood type as humans, which then means it will be no surprise to recognize some humanistic traits in their behavior.

After descending back down the Mountain head back to your lodge for a lunch of truly great memories. After lunch and freshen up, we will proceed for our afternoon Ellen DeGeneres of the Dian Fossey fund.

Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Diana Fossey Gorilla Fund

The Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund is an expansive, 12-acre property that rests adjacent to the Volcanoes National Park in northern Rwanda. The campus showcases the best in sustainable architecture, local resourcing, and environmentally responsible practices and will offer state- of-the-art laboratories, a scientific conservation library, and meeting space for large groups. The goal of the campus is to inspire everyone who visits, to cherish gorillas and encourage a lifetime of conservation.

After we will return to your accommodation and relax with the accommodation facilities as you wait for dinner.

Main destination: Volcanoes National Park

Accommodation: Virunga Inn Resort & Spa

After breakfast, you will overland to Kigali International Airport for your flight to Tanzania. Enjoy to the fullest on your Tanzania & Rwanda Wildlife Up-Close expedition!

On arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport, you will be met and welcomed by our Nature in Spirit Travel guide and transfer to Arusha, a journey that takes approximately 1h30m. If the weather is good you will get to see a glimpse of Mount Kilimanjaro on the way. You will also see people alongside the road conducting their normal daily activities. Feel free to tell your driver to stop the vehicle in case you see anything interesting that you need clarity on.

Main destination: Arusha City

Accommodation: Arusha Coffee Lodge

Today’s Tanzania & Rwanda Wildlife expedition starts after breakfast with a drive to Lake Manyara National Park, one of the beautiful parks famously known for its tree climbing lions. The park offers scenic woodland, grassland and swamps ecosystem. Flamingos along with more than 350 other bird species are the park’s highlights. Though small, the Park is noted for its good number of buffalos, elephants, giraffes, impalas, hippos and many species of smaller animals.

You will have lunch in park’s picnic sites by the hot spring then continue touring this park marked off by lush green vegetation. The tall trees of the groundwater forest are homes to troops of baboons and blue monkeys that will leave you with a feeling of calmness and tranquil.

In late afternoon when you’re done with game viewing, you will drive to the Camp. How you spend the evening is entirely up to you, whether it is in your room or by the bar having a drink as you wait for dinner.

Main destination: Lake Manyara National Park

Accommodation: Ngorongoro Crater Lodge

After breakfast you will depart the lodge at 07:00am and head out with picnic lunch to Ngorongoro Crater, a multiple land use where animals and people have managed to co-exist together in harmony. You will descend down this self-sustaining 600-meter-high caldera. Ngorongoro Crater, which is only 10 miles across, was created as a result of volcano activities. You will venture the floor of the crater in search for game viewing opportunity as this place has a variety of wildlife species to offer.

You will have lunch in one of the designated areas then continue with game drive on the self-sustaining ecosystem where you will come across a variety of wildlife species and if lucky you will be able to see rare black rhino. High predator population can also be found in this self-sustaining ecosystem. You will also visit Lake Magadi, a large but shallow alkaline lake in the southwestern corner, which is one of the main features of the crater where large number of flamingos, hippos and other water birds are found.

During the evening you will ascend the crater and drive back to camp for dinner and overnight.

Main destination: Ngorongoro Crater

Accommodation: Ngorongoro Crater Lodge

You’ll begin the day with the scenic drive towards the Serengeti. Along the way you’ll pass through the rainforests of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area where you might encounter wild animals like baboon, vervet monkeys, warthogs, buffalo etc. As you enter Serengeti you will be welcomed by beautiful endless plains with wildebeest, zebras, and impalas roaming the grassy plains.

You will drive to the camp to check-in, have lunch and rest before you head out for an afternoon game drive. Serengeti has a lot to offer so prepare yourself to explore this rich ecosystem full of game viewing opportunities.

As dusk draws close, you will drive to the camp whilst enjoying the views of sunset for dinner and overnight.

Main destination: Serengeti National Park

Accommodation: Four Season Lodge

Today you have an opportunity to go for balloon safari that starts at 04:30 am and ends with a champagne breakfast in the mist of the Serengeti plains. You will then proceed with morning game drive a good opportunity to explore the iconic savanna plains of Serengeti National Park. With luck you will get to see a good number of wildlife but also see the Serengeti Kopjes, one of the attractions in Serengeti. You will journey from open plains to the kopjes, volcanic rocky outcrops that provide protection and shelter for a wide variety of animals. This diverse and interesting landscape will provide you with the ultimate game viewing opportunities. Serengeti is home to the great migration over the huge flat plains, you are likely to come across predators like lions, cheetahs, leopards, hyenas and many other small predators. You will have lunch with the great view of the horizon in one of the designated picnic sites. After a successful day of game viewing, you will drive back to lodge for dinner and overnight.

Main destination: Serengeti National Park

Accommodation: Four Season Lodge

After breakfast you will head out for a full day game drive. You will journey from open plains to the kopjes, volcanic rocky outcrops that provide protection and shelter for a wide variety of animals. This diverse and interesting landscape will provide you with the ultimate game viewing opportunities. Serengeti is home to the great migration over the huge flat plains, you are likely to come across predators like lions, cheetahs, leopards, hyenas and many other small predators. You will have lunch with the great view of the horizon in one of the designated picnic sites. After a successful day of game viewing, you will drive back to lodge for dinner and overnight.

Main destination: Serengeti National Park

Accommodation: Four Season Lodge

Today is one last adventure in the Serengeti, as you drive to Seronera airstrip to catch your flight to Lake Manyara Airstrip. Upon arrival you will be met by your guide and be transferred to Tarangire National Park. You will be welcome by medieval baobab trees that are very common in the park and a good number of primates at the entrance. The park is known for large numbers of elephant. Its primary landscape is dry, open woodland scattered with hundreds baobab trees. There is a significant population of common wildlife as well as few localized and unusual species including gerenuk and fringe-eared oryx.

You will have lunch in one of the designated areas then proceed searching for game viewing opportunities in other areas of the park. Animals tend to concentrate along the Tarangire River, which provides the only permanent water supply in the park hence a good chance to view a lot of animals at once during game drives. After the game drive, you will enjoy the beautiful view of the sunset as you drive to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Main destination: Tarangire National Park

Accommodation: Tarangire Treetops

Today marks the end of your Tanzania & Rwanda safari, however, one last adventure is left as you drive to Arusha. You will get to Arusha at noon and have lunch at Arusha Coffee Lodge. After lunch you will have a short transfer of 10 minutes to Arusha Airport where you will catch your flight to Zanzibar.

Upon arrival to Zanzibar, you will be met and welcomed by our representative and transfer to the hotel for dinner and overnight

Main destination: Zanzibar

Accommodation: Melia Zanzibar

Today, you will be in the driver’s seat and plan any activity of your choice at the beach. This gorgeous beach has a lot of ventures and offer including walking tours, diving excursions, and parasailing, just to name a few. The hotel organizes a lot of pursuits like diving, snorkelling, village tours and others that you can book and pay for directly. Hotel is booked on full board basis

Main destination: Zanzibar

Accommodation: Melia Zanzibar

After breakfast you will have the morning on your own to explore Nungwi beach, home to powdery white sand, crystal blue waters, and exotic flora and fauna. This paradise island is one of the best destinations as it has warm temperature throughout the year, opportunity to experience nature up close at Mnarani Natural Aquarium and get local flavors by testing local dishes and vibrant nightlife.

During the afternoon you will have lunch at the hotel as booked on full board basis.

In the late afternoon at 4:30 pm to pm you will go for a Splendid sunset cruise in Nungwi beach that ends at 6:45. The sunsets viewed from a dhow are beautiful and timeless, making a spectacular and unforgettable experience as you cruise along the coast. After the cruise you will transfer to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Main destination: Zanzibar

Accommodation: Melia Zanzibar

Morning in Leisure, Lunch at your Hotel and afternoon transfer to the airport for your flight home.

Main destination: Zanzibar

The memories you’ve created on your Tanzania & Rwanda Wildlife Up-Close expedition are to be cherished forever!