Self-Launched Kenya & Uganda Gorilla Overland: Forests & Wildlife Spotting

Land at JKIA and take the local airport bus or an Uber/Bolt (roughly £8-12) to a hostel in Westlands or Kilimani — there are good backpacker options around Nairobi's leafy west side. Spend the afternoon at the Nairobi National Museum (£2-3) or the Railway Museum, and grab a cheap nyama choma or ndengu dinner. Get a local Safaricom SIM (about £1.50 plus data) and set up M-Pesa — almost everything in Kenya runs on it.

🚌Airport bus or rideshare from JKIA (~£8)

🛏Hostel dorm in Westlands/Kilimani (£10-14)

• →Settle in and buy Safaricom SIM + set up M-Pesa
• →Nairobi National Museum (£2-3)
• →Nyama choma dinner

Book a shared 4x4 safari van transfer to the Mara through a Nairobi hostel or a local operator — expect £40-60 per person for the transfer, or slightly more if bundled with park fees. Leave early (6-7am) and drive down through the Great Rift Valley viewpoint, arriving mid-afternoon. Check into a budget tented camp near the Talek or Sekenani gate and head out for a late-afternoon game drive. Masai Mara reserve entry is roughly $100 USD per day for non-residents plus a conservancy vehicle fee — budget for it upfront.

🚌Shared 4x4 safari van transfer from Nairobi (~£50)

🛏Budget tented camp near Talek/Sekenani (£18-25)

• →Rift Valley viewpoint stop
• →Late-afternoon game drive in the Mara

A full dawn-to-dusk day out with a shared safari vehicle and guide — the Mara is big-cat country, so keep an eye out for lions, cheetahs and leopards, plus elephant herds and plains game. If you want the balloon safari (the G Adventures optional is $499), book directly with a Mara balloon operator at around £370-420. Cheaper alternative: a guided walking safari with a Maasai guide (£15-25).

🚌Shared 4x4 safari vehicle and guide (included in daily safari day rate)

🛏Budget tented camp near Talek/Sekenani (£18-25)

• →Full-day game drives in Masai Mara National Reserve
• →Optional hot-air balloon safari (~£380 direct)
• →Optional Maasai village visit (£10-20)

Rise early for one more game drive before heading north. Public transport from the Mara is slow and requires backtracking, so the easiest DIY option is a shared shuttle or a matatu combination via Narok and Naivasha — roughly £15-20 and 5-6 hours. Stop at the Ubuntu Cafe near Maai Mahiu (the community project G Adventures visits) for a farm-to-table lunch, then continue to Nakuru. Enter the park for an afternoon drive among flamingos, white rhino and Rothschild's giraffe — entry is around $60 USD.

🚌Shared shuttle/matatu via Narok and Naivasha (~£18)

🛏Guesthouse or budget lodge in Nakuru town (£15-20)

• →Morning game drive
• →Lunch at Ubuntu Cafe, Maai Mahiu
• →Afternoon game drive in Lake Nakuru NP

Do an early-morning game drive in Nakuru for buffalo, impala and the park's famous tree-climbing lions and leopards, then take a matatu or coach from Nakuru to Eldoret — roughly 3-4 hours and £6-9. Eldoret is a functional but friendly highland town; use it as a cheap overnight stop before the Ugandan border. Grab a plate of ugali and sukuma wiki and rest up for a long travel day.

🚌Matatu or coach Nakuru to Eldoret (~£8)

🛏Budget hotel in Eldoret town (£12-18)

• →Morning game drive in Lake Nakuru NP
• →Local market wander in Eldoret

Take a matatu or shared taxi to Malaba or Busia on the Kenyan border (£4-6), clear immigration on foot, then pick up a Ugandan coach or shared taxi to Kampala (£8-12, roughly 5-6 hours). Carry USD cash for your Uganda e-visa payment if not pre-paid. Arrive into Kampala late afternoon, check into a hostel near Kabalagala or Kololo, and eat a rolex (the Ugandan street wrap, not the watch) for dinner — about 60p-£1.

🚌Matatu to Malaba/Busia (~£5) + Ugandan coach to Kampala (~£10)

🛏Hostel dorm in Kampala (£10-14)

• →Land border crossing at Malaba/Busia
• →Evening in Kabalagala
• →Rolex street food

Take a coach or shared minibus from Kampala to Kabale (5-7 hours, £10-15) and then a boda-boda or short taxi to Lake Bunyonyi. You'll cross the equator on the way — a classic photo stop. Bunyonyi is a croc- and hippo-free lake ringed by 29 islands and steep terraced hills, so it's one of the few places in East Africa where you can actually swim safely. Settle into a lakeside guesthouse or lakeside tent and watch the sun set over the water.

🚌Coach/minibus Kampala to Kabale (~£12) + boda to lake (~£2)

🛏Lakeside guesthouse or permanent tent at Lake Bunyonyi (£12-20)

• →Equator crossing photo stop
• →Swim in Lake Bunyonyi
• →Sunset over the islands

The big day. Arrange your gorilla permit in advance through the Uganda Wildlife Authority (around $800 USD for foreign non-residents, ~£630), and book a shared 4x4 lift from Bunyonyi to your assigned Bwindi sector (Rushaga, Buhoma, Nkuringo or Ruhija) — permit allocation dictates which sector you trek from. Trekking starts with a ranger briefing and can take anywhere from 2 to 8 hours through steep, muddy rainforest. Bring old long trousers and gardening gloves. No trekking if you're unwell — permits are not refunded. Return to Bunyonyi in the evening.

🚌Shared 4x4 lift to Bwindi trailhead and back (~£25)

🛏Lakeside guesthouse or permanent tent at Lake Bunyonyi (£12-20)

• →Mountain gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable NP with UWA rangers
• →Ranger briefing and community-village walk (optional, £10-15)

A slow day to recover from the trek. Swim, rent a dugout canoe (£4-6), take a motorboat out to one of the islands (£15-20), or hike one of the terraced hillsides. Birders should do an early morning walk — Bunyonyi means 'place of many little birds'. The cross-border drive to Kigali is possible but a long day, so probably skip it. Eat at one of the lakeside lodges and swap gorilla stories with other travellers.

🚌Walking, canoe, boda-boda

🛏Lakeside guesthouse or permanent tent at Lake Bunyonyi (£12-20)

• →Canoe rental (~£5)
• →Motorboat tour of the lake (~£18)
• →Birdwatching walk (£5-8)
• →Hill hiking

Travel back through Kabale and Mbarara towards Kalinzu, which sits just outside Queen Elizabeth National Park — roughly 5-6 hours of coach plus a boda ride (£12-16). Stay at a budget camp or guesthouse near the forest gate. Kalinzu is open savannah and swamp edging into Maramagambo Forest, with good odds of seeing colobus monkeys, baboons and plenty of birdlife even before the chimps. Take an afternoon walk around the forest edge.

🚌Coach Kayabwe/Kabale to Kalinzu area (~£14)

🛏Budget camp/guesthouse near Kalinzu (£10-16)

• →Forest edge walk
• →Colobus and bird spotting

Book a chimpanzee tracking session directly with the Kalinzu Forest Reserve office — around $60 USD (£45) per person for the morning slot. Trackers lead you into the forest to find a habituated chimp community, typically 2-4 hours. Afterwards, visit a nearby tea plantation (small tip to the farm) and continue by matatu or shared taxi to Lake Mburo (2-3 hours, £8-10). Lake Mburo is Uganda's smallest savannah park and the only one with zebra and impala in the west — a late-afternoon boat cruise (£25) is a good way to see hippos, crocodiles and shoebills.

🚌Matatu/shared taxi Kalinzu to Lake Mburo (~£9)

🛏Budget banda or camp outside Lake Mburo (£12-20)

• →Chimpanzee tracking in Kalinzu Forest (~£45 permit)
• →Tea plantation visit
• →Optional Lake Mburo boat cruise (~£25)

Take a morning nature walk in Lake Mburo (£20, guided — expect zebra, topi and warthog) then head east. A coach from Mburo via Kampala to Jinja takes 5-6 hours (£10-14). Cross the equator again at Kayabwe and stop at the AidChild Equation Café & Gallery near Masaka — a worthwhile community project G Adventures uses. Arrive in Jinja, Uganda's adventure capital, and check into a backpacker lodge or hostel near the Nile.

🚌Coach Mburo to Kampala to Jinja (~£12)

🛏Backpacker lodge dorm in Jinja (£10-16)

• →Morning nature walk in Lake Mburo
• →Equator crossing at Kayabwe
• →AidChild Equation Café & Gallery stop

Pick your Nile activity. White-water rafting on the Nile is the headline act and the G Adventures optional at $140 is roughly what you'd pay booking directly with a Jinja rafting outfit — around £110-120 for a full day including lunch. Cheaper options: sunset boat cruise (£20-25), kayaking (£90-110), quad biking (£70-80), or bungee jumping at the Adrift tower (£100-110). Guided water activities are strongly recommended — don't swim the Nile on your own.

🚌Boda-boda or walking in Jinja

🛏Backpacker lodge dorm in Jinja (£10-16)

• →Optional Nile white-water rafting (~£115)
• →Optional sunset Nile cruise (~£22)
• →Optional bungee jump (~£105)
• →Optional kayaking or quad biking

Long travel day back to Nairobi. Book a coach with a reputable operator (Easy Coach, Modern Coast or similar) from Kigali/Nairobi routes — the standard route goes via Kampala and Busia/Malaba, roughly 12-14 hours and £22-30, usually overnight. Cross back into Kenya at the border. Alternatively, if you want to save the day, budget airlines fly Entebbe-Nairobi one way for around £90-130 — worth checking if you're short on time. You'll arrive in Nairobi evening or next morning depending on your choice.

🚌Overnight coach Jinja to Nairobi via Kampala and Malaba (~£26), or flight Entebbe to Nairobi (~£100)

🛏Hostel dorm in Nairobi (£10-14)

• →Border crossing back into Kenya
• →Settle into Nairobi hostel

A relaxed last morning. Optional: Karen Blixen Museum (£12-15) or the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage (book ahead, about £15). Do any last shopping at the Maasai Market if it's the right day of the week. Take a rideshare to JKIA (£8-12) and fly out. Book departures no earlier than 21:00 if you want a full day, as per the original G Adventures schedule.

🚌Rideshare to JKIA (~£10)

🛏None (departure day)

• →Optional Karen Blixen Museum
• →Optional David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage
• →Maasai Market shopping