Rainforests & Reefs: Self-Launched Kigali to Zanzibar

Land at Kigali International Airport the day before if you can (a guesthouse near Nyabugogo bus park costs £15-25). Set off early: take a moto-taxi or bus to Nyabugogo bus park and catch a Volcano Express or Ritco bus to Musanze (~2.5 hrs, £5), then a shared minibus or boda-boda to the Cyanika border (~£4) and another shared taxi to Kisoro town (~£3). Alternative: book a direct shuttle Kigali-Kisoro through your Kisoro guesthouse (~£25-30). Border crossing on foot is straightforward — bring small USD for the Uganda visa if you need one. Settle into a Kisoro guesthouse, sort out gorilla permit paperwork for tomorrow and eat a cheap local dinner of matoke and beans.

🚌Ritco/Volcano Express bus plus shared minibus and boda-boda, ~£12-15

🛏Kisoro guesthouse or hostel dorm, £12-18

• →Cyanika border crossing on foot
• →Kisoro town wander
• →Optional Lake Mutanda sunset viewpoint

The big one. Gorilla permits in Uganda cost USD 800 (~£630) and should be booked months ahead through the Uganda Wildlife Authority (ugandawildlife.org) or a reputable local agent — Uganda's permits are substantially cheaper than Rwanda's USD 1,500. Meet your ranger at the UWA briefing point at 7:30am, hike for anywhere from 1 to 5 hours through bamboo and montane forest, then spend one unforgettable hour with a habituated gorilla family. Hire a porter (£8-10, worth every penny) and bring gloves, long trousers, gaiters and 2+ litres of water. Afternoon: recover over coffee and a hot meal.

🚌Boda-boda or shared taxi to the park gate, £4-6

🛏Kisoro guesthouse or hostel dorm, £12-18

• →Mountain gorilla trek (permit USD 800 / ~£630)
• →Porter hire and ranger tips ~£12

A second flexible day in the Virungas. Cheapest option: hike to Lake Mutanda (~£5 entry plus a boda-boda ride) for canoeing (£12-15) and volcano views. Or trek golden monkeys in Mgahinga (permit ~USD 100 / £79), or spend a morning with a Batwa community group (£10-15) and a local coffee tour (£8-10). Rest your legs, do laundry, and buy snacks for the long transfer days ahead. Ask your guesthouse to confirm the bus timings for Kigali tomorrow.

🚌Local boda-bodas, £3-5

🛏Kisoro guesthouse or hostel dorm, £12-18

• →Lake Mutanda canoe trip ~£15
• →Or golden monkey trek ~£79
• →Batwa community visit and coffee tour ~£20

Retrace the road south over the Cyanika border and up through the terraced hills of northern Rwanda to Kigali (~5-6 hrs total, ~£12-15). Check into a hostel or guesthouse in the Kibagabaga/Muhima area (£18-25 for a private room). Afternoon is for Rwanda's craft scene: basket-weaving cooperatives and banana-beer brewing experiences around town run £8-15. Evening: Kigali's cafe and bar scene in Kimihurura, where a beer costs £1.50 and a plate of brochettes under £5.

🚌Shared minibus and bus back to Kigali, ~£15

🛏Kigali hostel or budget guesthouse, £18-25

• →Basket-weaving workshop ~£10
• →Banana beer tasting ~£5

A sobering but essential morning at the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Gisozi — free entry, audio guide ~£8, allow 2-3 hours; the children's room stays with you. Afterwards walk through the Nyamirambo neighbourhood, visit the Kandt House Museum (~£4), and eat at a local buffet restaurant (£3-4 for a full plate). Use the afternoon to sort onward transport: buses from Kigali to Mwanza via Rusomo are infrequent, so confirm tomorrow's departure today (Ritco/Volcano/Kameli — roughly £15-20, 8-9 hrs).

🚌Local buses and moto-taxis, £4-6

🛏Kigali hostel or budget guesthouse, £18-25

• →Kigali Genocide Memorial with audio guide ~£8
• →Kandt House Museum ~£4
• →Nyamirambo walk

Take an early bus from Nyabugogo to Rusumo on the Tanzanian border (~3 hrs, £6), walk across the Rusumo Falls bridge, then pick up a bus or shared minibus onward via Biharamulo toward Mwanza (~6-7 hrs, £10-12). It's a long day — bring snacks, water and cash in both currencies. Arrive in Mwanza on the southern shore of Lake Victoria and check into a cheap guesthouse near the bus stand or in Capri Point (£15-20). Dinner is grilled tilapia from the lake, £5-6.

🚌Bus to Rusumo plus onward shared transport, ~£18

🛏Mwanza guesthouse, £15-20

• →Rusumo Falls viewpoint
• →Lake Victoria shoreline walk

Slow morning: take a local boat trip out to the Bismarck Rocks and Saanane Island, or just sit in a lakeside bar watching the fishing dhows (£5-8 for a boat). Mwanza's markets and the rock-strewn streets are worth a wander. If you'd rather break the journey, catch an afternoon bus east toward Bunda (~2.5 hrs, £4) and base yourself there for the night — closer to the Serengeti gate and a popular stopover for locals. Both towns are cheap: food £8-10 a day.

🚌Local boat ~£6, or onward bus to Bunda £4

🛏Mwanza or Bunda guesthouse, £12-18

• →Bismarck Rocks boat trip
• →Mwanza fish market

Book a two-night Serengeti camping safari through a Mwanza or Arusha budget operator in advance (group join-in, typically £550-700 per person for park fees, 4x4, guide, cook and tents). If you go the independent route instead: the Serengeti park entry is USD 70/day, camping USD 30-50 inside the park, and a shared 4x4 + guide is hard to arrange last-minute — joining a small group safari is by far the best value. Today: game drive in from the western or Naabi gate, lions and elephants in the long grass, and a sundowner over the plains before tents up.

🚌Shared 4x4 safari vehicle, included in joined safari (~£600 pp total for 2 nights)

🛏Serengeti public campsite in a dome tent (via group safari), included

• →Afternoon game drive in the Serengeti

Up at dawn for the best predator viewing — the Serengeti's cats are active in the cool first hours. Drive the Seronera valley area looking for leopard in the riverine trees and cheetah on the short grass. Packed lunch in the park, then head south toward the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and camp on the crater rim or at Simba campsite — cows and zebras wander through your pitch.

🚌Shared 4x4 safari vehicle, included

🛏Ngorongoro rim campsite in a dome tent (via group safari), included

• →Morning and full-day game drives in the Serengeti

Descend into the crater on the 6am convoy — 600m of steep wall down to the soda lake floor, black rhino, huge elephant bulls and flamingos. Crater entry costs USD 300 per vehicle plus USD 70 per person (included in your group safari). Stop at a Maasai village on the way out (£10-15 donation for a visit) and roll into Arusha by evening. Budget guesthouses in Arusha town run £15-22 a night. Celebrate with a street-side barbecue of mishkaki and chips, £5.

🚌Shared 4x4 back to Arusha, included in safari

🛏Arusha guesthouse, £15-22

• →Ngorongoro Crater game drive
• →Maasai village visit ~£12

Catch a local bus or shared minibus from Arusha to Moshi (~2 hrs, £3), then a dalla-dalla up to Marangu (~45 mins, £1). Marangu sits at 1,500m at the foot of Kilimanjaro, and on a clear morning Kili fills the sky. Stay in one of the cheap guesthouses along the main street (£12-18) and walk the village's coffee and bananery trails (£5-8 self-guided or with a local guide). This is the last affordable stop before the coast — stock up.

🚌Bus to Moshi plus dalla-dalla to Marangu, ~£5

🛏Marangu guesthouse, £12-18

• →Marangu village walk and coffee farm visit ~£8

Day hike to the Marangu gate of Kilimanjaro National Park along the lower forest trail (~3-4 hrs round trip; park fees are steep for day hikers, so most budget travellers hike the village-side trails and the Ndoro waterfall instead — £5-10 with a local guide). Alternatively join a Ndoro waterfall and Chagga caves walk, which is the classic Marangu half-day. Afternoon bus back down to Moshi is fine too if you'd rather be closer to the Dar-bound transport.

🚌Local walks and dalla-dalla, ~£3

🛏Marangu or Moshi guesthouse, £12-18

• →Kilimanjaro foothill hike
• →Ndoro waterfall and Chagga caves walk ~£10

The unavoidable long day. Take a morning bus Moshi to Dar es Salaam (~9-10 hrs on the good new road, £15-20) or, better, book an overnight bus so you sleep through it. Arrive in Dar and head for a cheap guesthouse in the Kariakoo or Masaki-fringe area (£15-22). Eat seafood at the Msasani or Kigamboni waterfront — grilled prawns and chips £6-8, and Zanzibar is on the horizon tomorrow.

🚌Coach bus Moshi-Dar ~£18

🛏Dar es Salaam guesthouse, £15-22

• →Waterfront seafood dinner

Walk or boda to the ferry terminal and take the fast Azam Marine or Kilimanjaro ferry to Zanzibar (~2 hrs, £30-35 one way — book online a few days ahead). In Stone Town, check into a guesthouse in the old town (£20-30) and get lost in the alleys: the old fort, the House of Wonders, the Freddie Mercury house, the Darajani market. Do a spice tour — the official Zanzibar Spice Tour from Stone Town runs ~£20-25 through local operators. Sunset at Forodhani Gardens food stalls (Zanzibari pizza and sugarcane juice for £3).

🚌Fast ferry Dar-Stone Town ~£33

🛏Stone Town guesthouse, £20-30

• →Stone Town walking
• →Spice tour ~£22
• →Forodhani Gardens night market

Morning boat to Prison Island (Changuu) to see the giant Aldabra tortoises — boat + entry ~£20-25, negotiate a shared boat at the old port. Back for lunch, then a dalla-dalla or shared taxi south to Jozani Forest for the endemic red colobus monkeys (£10-12 entry plus ~£6 transport). Continue north to Kendwa or Nungwi on the north coast in the late afternoon (£10 shared taxi) and check into a beach guesthouse or hostel dorm (£18-30).

🚌Shared boat, dalla-dalla and shared taxi, ~£20

🛏Kendwa/Nungwi beach guesthouse or hostel, £18-30

• →Prison Island giant tortoises ~£22
• →Jozani Forest red colobus walk ~£12

The reward. Kendwa's beach has no tide issues, so you can swim all day, and the sunset is the best on the island. Snorkelling trips to Mnemba Atoll run ~£30-40 including boat, gear and lunch; a two-tank scuba dive for certified divers is £45-60 and a discover-scuba intro course £60-70 (book through the dive shops right on the beach). Cheaper still: rent a mask and fins (£5) and snorkel off the reef edge. Dinner of octopus curry and coconut rice, £6-8.

🚌On foot

🛏Kendwa/Nungwi beach guesthouse or hostel, £18-30

• →Mnemba Atoll snorkelling trip ~£35
• →Or scuba diving ~£55

A second free day: swim, read, and take a sunset dhow sail from Nungwi or Kendwa (~£15-20 including drinks, the classic Zanzibar evening). If you want more wildlife, the dive shops also run turtle and dolphin trips. Alternatively head to Matemwe or Paje on the east coast by dalla-dalla (£5, 2 hrs) for kitesurfing beaches and seaweed farms — but honestly Kendwa earns its reputation. Last dinner on the sand, seafood barbecue £8-10.

🚌Local transport if heading east, ~£5

🛏Kendwa/Nungwi beach guesthouse or hostel, £18-30

• →Sunset dhow cruise ~£18
• →Optional kitesurfing lesson ~£45

Slow breakfast, final swim, then a shared taxi to Zanzibar's Abeid Amani Karume International Airport (£12-15, ~1 hr from the north coast). If you're flying home from Dar es Salaam instead, take the ferry back (~£33) and allow at least 4-5 hours before your flight from Julius Nyerere. Stock up on Zanzibar spices and coffee at Darajani market or the airport on the way.

🚌Shared taxi to Zanzibar airport ~£15, or ferry to Dar ~£33

🛏None — departure day

• →Souvenir shopping
• →Final beach swim