8 days gorillas and Mafia Island vacation is a fantastic safari that is going to expose you to mountain gorillas and chimpanzees in Uganda and thereafter you will cross to Tanzania’s Mafia Island which is 130 miles from Tanzania’s mainland. Mafia Island is part of Tanzania’s Mafia Archipelago in the Indian Ocean. The large swaths of the Island’s southern coastline and the surrounding area are protected by the Mafia Marine Park. This island is famous for coral reefs, sharks, sea turtles, at the southern part, it has beaches such as Ras Kisimani, Utende beach at the edge of Chole Bay. The safari will start from Uganda and end in Tanzania.
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to Kibale
Upon arrival, our driver representative will pick you from the hotel and transfer you to Kibale Forest National Park which is famous for hosting the largest number of chimpanzees in the world. It’s also known as the primate capital. The transfer from Kampala to Kibale will take you about 5 to 6 hours but you will have a stopover in Fort-Portal where you will have lunch and then embark on the journey to Kibale, arrive in the evening, connect to the lodge accommodation, have dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi
Arise in the morning, het a scrumptious breakfast and head to the park headquarters for a briefing about the chimpanzee trekking. This is where you will be told the dos and don’ts while tracking the chimpanzees, and again you will be assigned a chimpanzee family to track, and also a ranger guide who will lead you to the thick forests of Kibale which is the best place to track chimpanzees in the whole world. After you have met these chimpanzees, you will spend an hour with them, take pictures and videos, you will be entertained by how the chimpanzees feed their young ones, thereafter this magical experience, return to the lodge for freshening and in the evening, head to the Bigodi wetland which is the breeding area for shoebills and other species such as sitatungas, blue monkeys, mangabey, birds among other species. You will retire to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Transfer to Bwindi
Arise in the morning, enjoy a mouthwatering breakfast and head to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park a home to the giant mountain gorillas. This is another day for you to explore the beauty of Uganda, you will drive in the countryside as you catch feelings for the nature and admire how people are settled. You will arrive in the evening hours, head to the lodge accommodation, have dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Gorilla trekking and transfer to Kigali
This is the long awaited day, arise in the morning, and greet your intestines with a delicious breakfast, get your lunch packed and head to the park headquarters where you will be briefed bout gorilla trekking etiquettes. After the briefing, you will head to the thick forests with a ranger guide who will help you to locate the gorilla family that you will be assigned to track. Then spend an hour with the gorillas, take pictures and videos as you enjoy the sweet melodies from the birds that will be singing for you in the tree brunches. You will later transfer back to the lodge to fresh up, check-out of the lodge and head to Kigali where you will get a flight to Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam.
Day 5: Fly to Mafia Island
On this day, you will arise in the morning, enjoy a delicious breakfast, do city tour in Tanzania’s capital city, where you will be visiting different markets, artisans, you will interact with locals, taste their dishes and thereafter you will head to the country’s south, cross to Mafia Island. You arrive in the evening, connect to your accommodation, check-in, have dinner and overnight.
Day 6&7: Snorkeling and swimming
These 2 days for you to experience the beauty of Mafia Island which is surrounded by the blue waters of the ocean? After a scrumptious breakfast, you will head to the endless ocean to enjoy snorkeling, swimming and other beach games. You will be swimming with dolphins, enjoy beach foods, white sand among other fun.
Day 8: Check-out and departure
This is your last leg of the trip, arise in the morning, have a hefty breakfast, check-out and transfer back to Dar es Salaam where you will board a flight back home or to other destinations and this will mark the end of your safari.
