Best of Rwanda & Kenya (Gorillas & Great plains) – 4 Star

Upon arrival at Kigali Airport disembark from the aircraft, VIP meet and greet service and proceed to clear customs and immigration formalities.

You will under a COVID-19 test before you exit the arrivals lounge and expect to receive your test results within 24 hours.

After testing, you will be assisted to your waiting transfer vehicle. Transfer to Kigali Serena Hotel, where you self-isolate until you get your results. Dinner and overnight at the hotel

After breakfast, our Driver/guide will meet you at your Hotel in the morning at around 10h00 – a short briefing about your full day city tour.  Proceed for a city tour in Kigali, Rwanda's capital city which was named in 1907 by Dr. Richard Kandt, the first colonial resident governor of Rwanda. Kigali city is surrounded by lush hills of green. On the tour through the city, expect to see the following:

You will start with the major historical and cultural sites of Rwanda where will visit Kandt house or museum of natural history where Dr. Richard Kandt the first German colonial resident of Rwanda resided. His residence at the base of Mount Jali and Mount Kigali in the heart of the city is now the Natural History Museum in honor of his work, and is one of the stops on the tour. You will learn the history of city and country’s pre-colonial and colonial period as well as the colonial masters in Rwanda. Continue to visit the old Kigali and also the Muslim quarter.

Later proceed to visit the old Kigali and also the Muslim quarter; and continue to the genocide memorial site, a grim reminder of a senseless massacre of innocent’s lives in 1994. From here you will learn more about Rwanda’s history from pre-colonial times to the genocide and how Rwanda has dealt with that past.

• You will later drive through the suburb area of this city and pass by the Hotel de Mille Colline (Named Hotel Rwanda in the Famous Movie “Hotel Rwanda”) for lunch and after lunch you shall proceed to visit the campaign against the genocide museum and from here you will learn much about how the genocide was stopped.
• Thereafter this tour ends with seeing the new developments in Rwanda; the recovery has been incredible, a testament to humankind’s resilience.
• If you are still interested and (time permitting) you can visit one of the biggest art and crafts market in Kigali and later transfer to the Volcanoes National in the north western part of the country; the area commonly known for the home of the Mountain Gorillas.

Return to Kigali Serena Hotel for overnight

After a leisurely morning breakfast at 09:00 am, you will be picked up by your driver/guide drive to the Volcanoes National in the north western part of the country; the area commonly known for the home of the Mountain Gorillas.

Volcanoes National Park is situated along the border with neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. The international boarder stretches across the whole Virunga Range, The parks boundary in Rwanda extends over some 65 km from the Congo border near Gisenyi all the way near Uganda border near Kisoro. The Volcanoes National park covers an area of 16000 hectares and is the home for the famous habituated Mountain Gorillas where 10 Gorilla families are available for trekking and 3 Families are for research.

The drive is through beautiful rolling hills, awesome landscape, bypassing coffee and banana plantations on a comfortable paved road and is approximately 3 hours from Kigali to your lodge.

Upon arrival to your lodge you will check in, have lunch and the reminder of your day at leisure enjoying the beautiful nature of the surroundings of the Lodge.

An early breakfast, served at the lodge, before departing by road to the Parc National des Volcans headquarters at approx. 6:30am.  Here you will be allocated a guide for one of the habituated Mountain Gorilla families and given a safety briefing.  You will then be taken by vehicle to a starting point, to commence your gorilla trek in the forest.  The amount of time spent walking is dependent upon which family of Gorillas you are allocated to and where they are to be found on that day.  Once the family is sighted you will spend a maximum of one hour with the Gorilla family.  After this phenomenal wildlife experience, return to your vehicle on the edge of the forest, returning to the lodge for late lunch. Afternoon at leisure.

06h30 - Early morning breakfast prior to departing for your second gorilla trek, with the possibility of visiting a different Gorilla family.  Return to the lodge for lunch. 

You will undergo another COVID-19 test arranged at the hotel. This is required prior to departure from Rwanda and for entry into Kenya

In the afternoon, relax or take a drive to the bustling market town of Ruhengeri, nearby, or visit the beautiful lakes of Kivu, Burera, Ruhondo and Karago.  Return to the lodge for lunch, dinner and overnight.

Breakfast at Amakoro Songa Lodge

Transfer back to Kigali by road arriving in time for your scheduled flight to Nairobi, Kenya.

Board your scheduled commercial flight to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

On arrival, VIP and fast track through immigration formalities.

You will be assisted to your transfer vehicles. Transfer by road to your hotel. 

Breakfast at the Hotel

Thereafter transfer to Wilson Airport for your scheduled flight on Governors Aviation departing at 08h00 to Mugie Airstrip in Laikipia.

You land at the Mugie Airstrip 09:25am, you will be met by the lodge vehicle and driver/guide.

With its open savannah, dotted with iconic acacia trees, scrubby bush and olive tree forests stretching to the foothills of the Larogi plateau, Mugie is diverse and home to some of the threatened and endangered keystone species, whose numbers have declined to critical levels due to poaching and habitat loss.

Mugie Conservancy provides a haven for animals, birds, and plant life. Grevy’s zebra, Jackson’s hartebeest, (which are endemic to the area), big cats, buffalo, elephants, reticulated giraffe, storks, and birds of prey, are just a few of the wonderful creatures that roam Mugie’s plains and forests. We are committed, not only to protecting them, but to ensuring a healthy future for all of the species that make up Mugie’s rich ecosystem.

Activities available include game drives, walks, hides or sleep-outs, visits to cultural villages. Helicopter flights can be arranged for those looking to venture further afield.

A visit to the Laikipia region guarantees a unique experience filled with the vibrant culture, wildlife and serenity of a landscape found at the foothills of Mount Kenya, which in itself is a spectacular site. Considered the gateway to Kenya's wild and scarcely populated northern frontier country, Laikipia’s ranches are home to both cattle and wildlife. In recent years the latter has become a valuable asset, with many of the surrounding ranches establishing guest lodges. This has resulted in a hugely positive impact on the land, its wildlife and conservation.

Securing land for wildlife is a key conservation imperative in Africa today and Mugie Conservancy provides a key wildlife access route between the Laikipia plateau, the Mathews Range and the Samburu lands to the north and east. Vast acacia-dotted savannahs, olive forests and scrubby bush are a haven to a multitude of wildlife in plentiful numbers, including key endemic northern Kenyan species such as Grevy’s Zebra, Jackson’s Hartebeet and Reticulated Giraffe

After breakfast transfer back to Mugie Airstrip. Board your Governors Aviation scheduled flight on a light aircraft and fly to Kichwa Tembo Airstrip in the Masai Mara Game Reserve. The scheduled flight departs at 11:00am and arrives at Kichwa Tembo Airstrip at 12:00.

You are now in Maasai Land where you will be met at the airstrip by the Camp vehicles and driver/guides and transfer to the camp

The Maasai Mara, is the northernmost extension of the Serengeti and a gem in itself. The camp operates throughout the year, the migration of wildebeest covers July through October, quickly followed by the birthing season from October to March. April and May offer the best opportunities for keen ornithologists and those wishing to enjoy the solitude and verdant green of the quiet season.

Besides being the setting for the ancient and often tragic spectacle of the Great Migration, other marvels of the Masai Mara include black-manned lions, rhino, cheetah, giraffe, elephant, red-tailed monkeys and a host of antelope. Twice-daily interpretive game-drives led by our highly trained and experienced rangers, bird watching and bush-walks with resident guides and naturalists reveal the wonders of the Mara. Afternoon spent participating in the activities offered by the camp. Return to your camp for overnight.

Early Morning and afternoon game drives in the MAASAI MARA NATIONAL RESERVE, Kenya’s best and most scenic game park. At the northern extremity of the unique Serengeti ecosystem, blessed with a permanent water supply, the Maasai Mara has a thriving, permanent population of plains game, augmented in the dry season by the migration of two million gnus and zebras from the vast, parched Serengeti plains. Of the hunter’s "big five," elephant, buffalo, lion, and leopard are quite common, while even the much rarer rhino might come out of the thicket for you. Hyenas are plentiful and the cheetah, a 60-miles-per-hour daytime hunter, is often seen. Besides being the setting for the ancient and often tragic spectacle of the Great Migration, other marvels of the Masai Mara include giraffe, elephant, red-tailed monkeys and a host of antelope. Twice-daily interpretive game-drives led by our highly trained and experienced rangers, bird watching with resident guides and naturalists reveal the wonders of the Mara. Optional excursions at an additional cost include: Bush walks, Maasai community visits and hot air ballooning.

NB: For those who require a covid-19 negative certificate on departure, a test will be conducted at Kichwa Tembo Camp on day 10.

After breakfast, say good-bye to the Mara plains and transfer back by road to Kichwa Tembo Airstrip for a scheduled flight back to Nairobi. Gain an overview of Africa on your plane ride back to Nairobi

Kichwa Tembo Airstrip – Wilson Airport: ETD 11:00 ETA 12:20

You will be met and assisted to transfer to your hotel (Emara Hotel Ole Sereni) where a room has been reserved for day use until departure.

Private road transfer back to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to catch your departure flight back home.