Protea Hotel Entebbe

Uganda

The hotel is located one kilometer from the airport, making it a convenient stop-over location for an overnight stay before starting a Ugandan safari. The hotel offers a variety of amenities, and very basic but sufficiently comfortable rooms.

About the Area
Entebbe on the shores of Lake Victoria, is just south of Kampala, and home to Uganda’s international airport. Travelers usually spend only a night or two here at the beginning or the end of trip. Although the city is fairly small, you can explore a few historic sites and markets or spend some time people watching at Aero Beach. You could also spend a day or half day exploring the capital of Kampala before heading out on safari.

About this area

Entebbe on the shores of Lake Victoria, is just south of Kampala, and home to Uganda’s international airport. Travelers usually spend only a night here at the beginning or the end of trip.

The River Station

Uganda

It is a magical spot to sit and watch herds of elephants drinking at the water's edge, with elephants often passing very close to the breakfast table.

Together with its sister camp, Honey Bear, they are the only lodges inside Kyambura Game Reserve, and guests tend to have the reserve to themselves. Most importantly, this gives a sense of exclusivity and allows the guides the flexibility to do game drives off the beaten track, go off-road and visit several "private" volcanic craters. Staying here offers the best of both worlds, as the lodge has full access to the Queen Elizabeth National Park.

When conditions are right, boating on the Kazinga channel is a fantastic way to see wildlife and the incredible bird life. Boating is the preferred method of accessing the area.

The lodge is also a great base from which to do some chimp trekking.

About this area

Kyambura Wildlife Reserve is in Western Uganda, bordering Queen Elizabeth National Park. It makes up part of the Queen Elizabeth Protected Area, along with the Maramagambo Forest and the Kigezi Game Reserve. The QEPA borders the Virunga National Park in the DRC, and together, they encircle the whole of Lake Edward. It is part of a vast natural ecosystem that includes many habitats ranging from several types of grassland to several different types of forest.

The rich habitat diversity supports a vast variety of different birds and mammals. It's a great location to see primates and birds. The highlights include remarkable extinct volcanic craters, the Kyambura gorge with its chimps, and the Kazinga channel with hippos, birds, and herds of elephants.

Volcanoes Bwindi Lodge

Uganda

The lodge features a guest lounge and dining area with a central fireplace and an outdoor terrace, which is a great spot to watch monkeys and birds flit amongst the foliage.

The eight individual bandas, each with their own view of the forest, have warm, comfortable interiors, with four poster beds and locally inspired furniture.

The Humula Forest Spa, with its sauna and massage room, are a welcome treat post-hike!

Gorilla Trekking
In the morning, you will wake early for breakfast & then transfer to the park headquarters for your gorilla trek. Hiking through sodden undergrowth up steep footpaths slick with mud to get to the gorillas is very much a part of the experience. You will be tracking through thick forest at heights up to 3,000 metres, traversing steep sided mountains – if the Gorillas are high up it can be arduous and wet.

A standard Gorilla trek is a strenuous hike that can take anywhere from one hour to most of the day.

You must be fit, in good health, and adequately equipped. This is not a technical climb but it can be a scramble/slide/swing up steep inclines. You follow as the gorillas make their way through the forest; giant trees, clinging vines, and undergrowth add to the challenge of swift streams and slippery red mud underfoot. Where the gorillas go, you must follow! The guides carry machetes to help clear a path when the undergrowth gets dense. Each visit is by permit and limited to one hour with the gorillas once you find them. You will be accompanied by a professional gorilla tracker who will coach you on the safety rules and body language required to come close to the gorilla troops.

We recommend staying 2 or 3 nights in Bwindi and doing two gorilla treks.

Gorilla permits are subject to availability and paid for in full at the time of booking. Please note the minimum age for gorilla permits is 15.

About this area

At just 330 square kilometres, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is small, an island of magical forest surrounded on all sides by small-scale agriculture. The area hosts almost half of the world's wild mountain gorillas, with an estimated 400 individuals in 20 groups, of which 9 are habituated to the presence of humans, which means that they can usually be approached without being scared off. The forest is one of the most biologically diverse areas on the planet and has been designated a World Heritage Site for its biological significance. It contains 163 species of trees, 104 different species of ferns, over 1000 flowering plant species, 120 mammal species (of which ten are primates), 348 bird species and more than 220 butterfly species

Ubuntu Migration Camp - South

Tanzania

Between mid-November and mid-March, it is situated on the open southern plains. From mid-June to October, the camp is located in the northern Serengeti, where the herds are caught as they move back into the Serengeti from the Mara.

Ubuntu is a traditional safari camp; it is very simple but comfortable. The camp has 10 Meru-style guest tents (two are joined as a family unit), each with an en suite bathroom and a traditional safari bucket shower. There is a communal dining tent and mess area.

Ubuntu is an excellent option if you are looking for good value and a great location to access the migration.

We love their southern location, offering an exceptional, up-close migration experience ( if you get the timing right).

About this area

The Serengeti National Park in Tanzania is a vast expanse of sprawling grasslands crisscrossed with the green veins of seasonal watercourses and dotted with grazing herds of game. An area of roughly 15,000 km sq, it is a jewel within the Greater Serengeti ecosystem and a haven for wildlife. In this vast wilderness you feel you can explore forever and never tire of it.

Vast short-grass plains cover the south of Serengeti National Park, stretching into the north of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and Maswa Game Reserve. The majority of this area is flat open savannah, dotted with occasional small rocky outcrops, Kopjes. The plains are alive with grazing wildebeest from around late-November to April, although the precise timing of the migration is entirely dependent upon rainfall patterns each An estimated two million wildebeest, half a million zebras, and countless other herbivores traverse the ecosystem during this time.

Manta Resort

Tanzania

The lodge has 18 open-air rooms: six Seafront Villas and 12 Garden Rooms. The Seafront Villas overlook the ocean, and the Garden Rooms are built back among the tropical gardens. Inside, they are all light and airy; with 'evening breeze" cooling systems above the beds.

The bar and restaurant are open-sided, cool, and breezy, and steps from the main area lead to a swimming pool. Guests at The Manta Resort stay on an 'all-inclusive' basis, which means that almost everything, from drinks and food to laundry and even spa treatments (although limited to one per day), is included.

The on-site PADI dive centre, Dive 360, offers snorkelling and diving trips, and beginners can sign up for training courses. The lodge can arrange a variety of activities, including sunset cruises, sea kayaking, deep-sea fishing, bird-watching trips to nearby Ngezi Rainforest, spice farm and rainforest tours and visits to a local village.

About this area

The Zanzibar archipelago is set in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Tanzania, it is made up of the larger islands of Pemba and Unguja (also called Zanzibar Island).

Pemba Island is known for its lush, green hills and clove plantations, the island is off the beaten track and attracts less tourist than Zanzibar. Pemba Channel, with its coral reefs and abundant marine life, separates the island from mainland Tanzania. The main town, Chake Chake, has a ruined 18th-century fort with a museum.

Zanibar island is a treasure trove of rich culture and captivating history. Zanzibar is also known as the ‘Spice Island’ due to the huge variety of spices grown on the island’s many plantations. Stone Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, consists of a labyrinth of winding alleys and bustling markets. Look out for the beautifully carved wooden doors.