Ultimate East Africa: Self-Launched Gorillas, Serengeti & Zanzibar

Land at Jomo Kenyatta International (JKIA). Take the airport shuttle bus or a metered taxi (approx £12-18) to a hostel in Westlands or Karen-adjacent Kilimani — not central CBD, which is quiet and slightly sketchy at night. Sort cash (ATMs at the airport), buy a Safaricom SIM/eSIM with data, and download the Bolt and Little apps for cheap rides. Join a free hostel walking group or just eat at a local nyama choma joint.

🚌Airport taxi or shuttle ~£14

🛏Hostel dorm or private room, Westlands/Kilimani (approx £12-16 dorm)

• →Airport transfer and SIM card
• →Settle in, hostel briefing on Nairobi safety
• →Evening street food / nyama choma

Optional morning at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust elephant orphanage (£20-25, book online; open 11am-12pm). Then take an afternoon Easy Coach or Modern Coast bus from Nairobi to Eldoret (~6-7 hrs, £10-12) — you'll roll through the Great Rift Valley escarpment with the classic views. Eldoret is a functional highland town; cheap guesthouses near the bus stage and a decent evening market scene.

🚌Easy Coach/Modern Coast bus Nairobi-Eldoret ~£11

🛏Simple guesthouse near Eldoret town centre (approx £12-15)

• →Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage (optional, ~£22)
• →Scenic bus ride across the Rift Valley

Continue by bus or shared shuttle from Eldoret to the Malaba border (2-3 hrs, £4-6), walk the crossing on foot, then pick up a Ugandan matatu or coach to Kampala (4-5 hrs, £6-9). Have your yellow fever certificate ready — Uganda enforces it. Get a Ugandan e-visa in advance or USD 50 cash at the border. Kampala's hostels cluster around Kololo and Muyenga; the Baba/Bushpig-type dorms are sociable and cheap.

🚌Bus to Malaba £5 + matatu/bus to Kampala £8

🛏Kampala hostel dorm, Kololo/Muyenga (approx £10-14)

• →Border crossing at Malaba
• →Afternoon in Kampala — explore Kabalagala or Muyenga

A long travel day: link Kampala to Mbarara by coach (4-5 hrs, £7-9), then a shared taxi or boda to Kalinzu/Queen Elizabeth's northern edge (1.5 hrs, £5) where you'll overnight in a forest-edge lodge or camping banda. Enjoy the Ugandan countryside out of the window — tea estates, banana plantations, crater lakes. Pre-book your Kalinzu chimp permit (~£55) direct through the reserve office.

🚌Coach + shared taxi ~£13

🛏Kalinzu forest-edge lodge/campsite (approx £14-18)

• →Cross-country drive through western Uganda
• →Evening forest-edge walk

Early-morning chimpanzee tracking in Kalinzu Forest (2-4 hrs in the forest with a ranger, permit ~£55) — sightings of habituated groups are good, and the forest birding is superb. Afterwards stop at a roadside tea plantation for a tour and tasting (£5-8). Then continue south to Kabale and down to Lake Bunyonyi (2-3 hrs, £6-8), one of Africa's most beautiful crater lakes. Stay in a lakeside guesthouse or eco-camp with views over the terraced hills.

🚌Shared taxi to Kabale/Bunyonyi ~£7

🛏Lakeside guesthouse/eco-camp, Bunyonyi (approx £14-18)

• →Chimpanzee tracking, Kalinzu Forest (~£55)
• →Tea plantation visit (~£7)
• →Arrive Lake Bunyonyi

The big one. Transfer to your assigned Bwindi trailhead (Buhoma, Ruhija or Nkuringo) by boda or shared 4x4 transfer (£10-15). Gorilla permits must be booked directly with the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) months in advance — USD 700 foreign non-resident, around £550. Briefing at 7.30am, then 1-6 hours of steep, muddy hiking with trackers before your allocated hour with a habituated family. Pack old long trousers, gardening gloves, gaiters, rain jacket and water. Stay two nights in Buhoma so you have a buffer day.

🚌Shared 4x4/boda transfer to trailhead ~£12

🛏Buhoma guesthouse (approx £15-20)

• →Gorilla trekking permit, UWA direct booking (~£550)
• →Ranger-guided trek in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

A buffer/rest day after the trek — no early alarm. Swim in the lake (bilharzia-free and croc-free, unusually), rent a dugout canoe (£8), take a motorboat tour to the islands (£28), do a morning bird walk (£7) or hike up for sunset views. Alternatively add a Rwanda day trip to Kigali's Genocide Memorial if you've bought the East Africa visa (£45-60). Wash your trekking kit and put your feet up.

🚌Local walking / boda

🛏Lakeside guesthouse/eco-camp, Bunyonyi (approx £14-18)

• →Swimming and canoeing on Lake Bunyonyi (~£8)
• →Island boat tour (~£28)
• →Birdwatching walk (~£7)

Retrace the route north: shared taxi to Kabale, then a coach to Kampala (~8 hrs total, £14-18). Break the journey at Kayabwe on the Equator for the obligatory photo straddling the line — there are craft stalls and a decent cafe. Arrive Kampala in the evening; overnight in the same hostel to keep it simple.

🚌Coach Kabale-Kampala ~£16

🛏Kampala hostel dorm (approx £10-14)

• →Equator crossing photo stop at Kayabwe
• →Evening in Kampala

Short hop east to Jinja by coach or shared taxi (2 hrs, £4-5) — the source of the Nile. Check into a riverside backpackers' (Nile River Explorers-style) with dorms and a terrace over the water. Spend the afternoon walking to the Source of the Nile viewpoint (£3) and wandering the old colonial streets of this former Asian trading town.

🚌Coach Kampala-Jinja ~£5

🛏Riverside backpackers dorm, Jinja (approx £8-12)

• →Source of the Nile viewpoint (~£3)
• →Jinja town wander

Full day on the water. Grade 5 white-water rafting on the Nile with a reputable outfitter (approx £80-95 including lunch and photos) is the classic Jinja activity; kayak school (£90) and bungee jumping over the Nile (£85) are alternatives, or you can mountain-bike to Mabira Forest (£32). Book direct with the operator a day or two ahead — midweek departures are easier to get onto.

🚌Operator pickup included

🛏Riverside backpackers dorm, Jinja (approx £8-12)

• →White Nile rafting, grade 5 (~£88)
• →Alternative: bungee (~£85) or Mabira Forest MTB (~£32)

Travel day: coach or shared shuttle from Jinja back to the Malaba border (£5), cross into Kenya, then bus on to Eldoret (£5-7). It's a long, bumpy day — bring snacks and a book. Overnight again in a simple Eldoret guesthouse.

🚌Jinja-Malaba £5 + Malaba-Eldoret £6

🛏Simple guesthouse, Eldoret (approx £12-15)

• →Border crossing back into Kenya

Low-key bus day back south to Nairobi (~6 hrs, £10-12). Overnight near the bus station or in Westlands, buy supplies for the Tanzania leg, and eat well. Optional evening at a live music venue if you've got energy.

🚌Coach Eldoret-Nairobi ~£11

🛏Nairobi hostel/hotel (approx £12-16)

• →Bus day, rest and repack

Agencies such as Riverside Shuttle run a morning Nairobi-Arusha minibus crossing at Namanga (6-8 hrs, £22-28 including assistance at the border). Tanzania visa: get the e-visa in advance or pay USD 50 in cash on arrival. Arusha is safari-central — use the afternoon to compare operators in person, confirm your Serengeti/Ngorongoro dates, and buy a SIM. Stay in a backpackers with a garden in Arusha town.

🚌Namanga shuttle ~£25

🛏Arusha backpackers/hostel (approx £12-16)

• →Namanga border crossing
• →Confirm safari operator and permits

Take a dala-dala or bus towards Mto wa Mbu (2 hrs, £3) and join a community-run Maasai village visit in the Monduli District — several Arusha-based operators and the Mto wa Mbu cultural tourism programme run these (£30-45), including the clean cookstove demonstration that G Adventures supports. Add the Mto wa Mbu village cycling tour (£28) or a community lunch. Overnight in Mto wa Mbu or push on to Karatu.

🚌Dala-dala/bus ~£4

🛏Guesthouse, Mto wa Mbu/Karatu (approx £14-18)

• →Maasai village and clean cookstove project visit (~£38)
• →Optional Mto wa Mbu cycling tour (~£28)

Join a small-group scheduled safari with a budget operator (budget camping safaris of this length run £450-650 per person for the Serengeti/Ngorongoro loop, covering 4x4, guide, park fees, camping and food — book through an Arusha operator or GetYourGuide). Drive via the Naabi Hill gate into the Seronera area, game-driving en route for lion, elephant, buffalo, giraffe and, in season, the migration herds. Camp in a public campsite inside the park — basic squat toilets, no showers, wildlife wandering through at night. Magical.

🚌Shared 4x4 safari vehicle

🛏Public campsite, Serengeti (included in safari cost)

• →Scheduled small-group safari departure
• →Afternoon game drive, Seronera

Sunrise game drive, then a full day moving between the Seronera valley and the plains depending on where the herds and cats are. Optional hot-air balloon safari at dawn (approx £450-500 per person, book direct with Serengeti Balloon Safaris well ahead — the least budget-friendly splurge on the trip, and skippable). Evening back at camp with a fire and a cold Kilimanjaro beer.

🚌Shared 4x4 safari vehicle

🛏Public campsite, Serengeti (included in safari cost)

• →Sunrise and full-day game drives
• →Optional Serengeti balloon safari (~£475)

Morning game drive out of the Serengeti via Naabi Hill and the Olduvai Gorge museum (£8 entry — worth the stop for the hominin story). Climb to the Ngorongoro Crater rim and camp at Simba campsite: cold at 2,300m, so bring a warm layer and a decent sleeping bag. Sunset over the caldera is genuinely one of Africa's great views.

🚌Shared 4x4 safari vehicle

🛏Simba campsite, Ngorongoro rim (included in safari cost)

• →Olduvai Gorge museum (~£8)
• →Crater rim sunset

Early descent into the crater with a ranger — the densest concentration of large mammals on earth. Zebra, wildebeest, gazelle, buffalo, warthog, hippo, elephant and a good chance of black rhino; lions are frequently seen on the crater floor and leopards in the Lerai Forest. Picnic lunch at Ngoitokitok Springs (watch your sandwiches — the kites are professionals). Drive back to Arusha in the afternoon/evening.

🚌Shared 4x4 safari vehicle, then return to Arusha

🛏Arusha backpackers (approx £12-16)

• →Full crater-floor game drive with ranger
• →Picnic lunch at Ngoitokitok Springs

Short internal flight Arusha (ARK) to Zanzibar (ZNZ) with Precision Air or Coastal Aviation — book direct or via a consolidator, roughly £90-130 one way; buy lunch at the airport as no meal is served. Taxi into Stone Town (£6-8). Do a self-led wander through the alleys (or a licensed guide for £12-15): the Old Fort, the House of Wonders, the Anglican Christ Church built on the old slave market (£3-4), and the Sultan's Palace Museum (£3). Sunset at Forodhani Gardens with grilled seafood skewers and sugarcane juice (£6-8).

🚌Flight ~£110 + airport taxi ~£7

🛏Stone Town guesthouse/hostel (approx £15-22)

• →Internal flight to Zanzibar
• →Self-led Stone Town orientiation walk
• →Forodhani Gardens night food market

Slow morning: coffee at a Stone Town cafe, the Darajani market, spice-shop browsing. Then take a dala-dala or shared minibus north to Nungwi (£2-3, 1.5 hrs) — turquoise water, white sand, no tide issues unlike the east coast. Check into a beach banda or hostel. Afternoon swim; vendors hawk sunset dhow cruises (£15-20) from the beach, which are pleasant if you negotiate.

🚌Dala-dala / shared minibus ~£3

🛏Beach banda/hostel, Nungwi (approx £16-25)

• →Darajani market and spice shops
• →Dala-dala to Nungwi
• →Swimming and sunset dhow cruise (~£18)

A full beach day. Options: a snorkelling/sailing day trip to Mnemba Atoll (£35-50), a two-tank dive with a local PADI centre (£75-90), a Nungwi village or dhow-building tour (£15), or simply do nothing on the sand with a book. Seafood lunch at a beach shack is £6-9. Book any water activity direct with the operator the day before; check equipment and reviews.

🚌Walking / boat

🛏Beach banda/hostel, Nungwi (approx £16-25)

• →Mnemba Atoll snorkelling day (~£45)
• →Optional scuba diving (~£80)
• →Beach lounging

Shared minibus back to Stone Town in the late morning (£3), last-minute spice and kanga shopping, then a taxi to Zanzibar airport (£5-8). Note: Zanzibar airport charges a departure tax of USD 48 per person, payable in USD cash at the desk behind check-in — budget for it and don't spend your last dollars. If you're flying out the next day, keep a night in Stone Town booked.

🚌Shared minibus £3 + airport taxi £6 + departure tax ~£38

🛏None (departure day)

• →Return transfer to Stone Town
• →Last shopping and departure