Mountain Gorilla Safari: Kenya, Tanzania & Rwanda

Tour begins: Gran Meliá Arusha. A transfer from Kilimanjaro International Airport to Gran Meliá Arusha is included. Welcome to Tanzania and the start of your African safari; your hotel is set out on 18 acres of beautifully landscaped coffee and tea plantations; dine at the hotel this evening.

Set out for a five-night safari to Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti plains, traveling through Lake Manyara National Park; Lake Manyara is home to a multitude of birds, including great birds of prey. Continue on to Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, home to some 30,000 large mammals. Please join us for a welcome reception and dinner at your lodge overlooking the vast and wildlife-lush Ngorongoro Crater below.

Thought by some to be Africa's original "Garden of Eden," Ngorongoro Crater is one of the largest calderas in the world and contains a variety of ecosystems and an astounding concentration of birds and animals. Your four-wheel-drive vehicle, built exclusively for Tauck, provides an excellent mobile viewing platform when encountering massive herds of zebras, wildebeests, and gazelles. This area affords an opportunity to spot the Big Five – elephant, leopard, lion, buffalo, and rhinoceros; you'll have a picnic lunch in the crater today.

A morning flight from Lake Manyara takes you to the heart of Serengeti National Park. Fly over Oldupai Gorge, where, over 50 years ago, archaeologists Louis and Mary Leakey discovered the fossilized remains of some of the earliest known human species, an estimated 1.8 million years old. Arrive at your Four Seasons safari lodge in the Serengeti for a three-night stay – you'll stay in upgraded room, strategically positioned to offer elevated views of the Serengeti plains or the animal watering hole; they are designed with contemporary African décor, incorporating earth tones and wooden elements to create a luxurious yet authentic safari ambiance. Following an afternoon game drive in Serengeti National Park, join us this evening for a special barbecue dinner in your lodge's Boma Grill, enhanced by a Maasai traditional dance performance.

Look for wildlife in the heart of the vast savanna of the Serengeti today on both morning and afternoon game drives. Sightings might include lions, zebras, hyenas, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, hippos, buffaloes, jackals, gazelles, and giraffes. When the sunset paints the sky in the evening, watch the show from the luxury of your lodge in Serengeti National Park, and enjoy dinner tonight at your choice of restaurant.

Spend another glorious day in the spectacular Serengeti as you head out into the grasslands aboard safari vehicles for game drives in the early morning as well as the afternoon. In between, you'll have free time to relax and enjoy the amenities of your Four Seasons safari lodge, where you'll dine at your choice of restaurants tonight. 

Leave the Serengeti behind as you fly to Arusha, Tanzania en route to Kenya. Dominating the skyline, majestic Mt. Kilimanjaro peaks over surrounding landscapes from more than 15,000 feet up. After landing in Arusha, enjoy an early lunch at the Cultural Heritage Center before continuing overland into Kenya to begin a two-night at the newly renovated Elewana Tortilis Camp (named after the flat-topped, umbrella thorn tree, the Acacia Tortilis) embracing a hill in one of Amboseli's areas of Acacia Tortilis woodland, within private Kitrua Conversancy (on the southwestern edge of Amboseli National Park). Enjoy a private lecture on the elephants of Amboseli and anti-poaching efforts in Kenya prior to dinner at your leisure at the hotel this evening.

Tauck's private safari game drives in Amboseli National Park offer ample opportunity to view the elephants, hippos and buffaloes that seek out the park's natural watering holes and the graceful antelopes that graze in the flat grasslands. An early morning visit to a Maasai village precedes a morning game drive, after which you'll return to your lodge. Spend some down time at your lodge prior to lunch, then another game drive, and time to spend as you please at the lodge in the afternoon. Dinner is at your leisure this evening.

Today, a morning flight brings you to your next destination - Mt. Kenya - and your home for the next two nights at the world-famous Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club, the former retreat of actor William Holden. Founded in 1959, the Safari Club, was once the playground of such illustrious members such as Winston Churchill and Bing Crosby. Your time in Mt. Kenya begins with a game drive through Ol Pejeta Conservancy, home to the largest black rhino sanctuary in East Africa as well as Africa's Big Five and the last two remaining northern white rhinos. Here, enjoy Tauck's special access to visit a compound where endangered black rhino are bred. Back at your hotel, an Equatorial ceremony precedes dinner at the hotel this evening.

This morning, get a glimpse at local life on a private visit to a nearby village, where villagers spin colorful tales into their handmade wool rugs, sweaters and shawls right before your eyes. Following lunch, pay a private visit to the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy and Animal Orphanage; this unique facility gives orphaned, injured, neglected, abused or frightened wild animals a second chance. The orphanage provides shelter and professional care with the goal to release these creatures back into the wild where they belong. Tonight, attend our private barbecue dinner held under the stars on the lush manicured lawns of the Mount Kenya Safari Club.

Pack your Tauck duffle bag and fly to the Masai Mara Game Reserve in southern Kenya, where you'll be welcomed by Maasai warriors. Have lunch upon your arrival, and spend the afternoon as you please at the JW Maasai Mara Lodge – an infinity pool overlooks the reserve, a serene spa is inspired by local traditions, and gourmet dining features farm-to-table cuisine crafted with fresh, local ingredients. Embark on a late afternoon game drive across the plains of "the Mara" in search of animals that make their homes here; perhaps you'll see lions, antelopes, elephants and zebras in their daily rituals. Return to camp for a briefing on tomorrow's hot air balloon flight, followed by dinner.

Today will be one that you'll always remember, as you arise before dawn to board a hot air balloon* and float over the Maasai Mara's awakening plains below as the sun rises. When you land, a special champagne breakfast will be awaiting you right there in the bush! Spectacular isn't quite strong enough a word to describe such an experience, a Tauck Exclusive on your Kenya safari! Back on the ground, look for lions, impalas, cheetahs, giraffes, and the other animals you've come to love as you return overland to the camp for lunch and an afternoon at leisure – later on, enjoy an early evening game drive in the bush.

Fly this morning to Kigali airport in Rwanda, home to Volcanoes National Park and the forested habitat of endangered mountain gorillas and golden monkeys. A late afternoon arrival at your Serena Hotel is followed by dinner at leisure.

Embark this morning on a drive through the countryside to the city of Musanze at the base of Volcanoes National Park, where eight ancient volcanoes watch over the wildlife that thrives here. Check into your grass-thatched traditional Rwandan lodge, nestled under the eucalyptus trees at the foothills of the Virunga Volcano range, and have lunch before visiting the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund Museum. Learn insights and observations about gorilla behavior in preparation for tomorrow's trek, as well as hear the fascinating story of Dian Fossey's unforgettable quest to save the mountain gorilla.

Rise early for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity you'll not soon forget. Drive to the headquarters of Volcanoes National Park where a briefing by your expert mountain guides answers any questions you may have about your trek into the wilderness and a dance performance as you eat your boxed breakfast whets your appetite for today's gorilla adventure. Climb aboard a safari vehicle as you make your way to the trailhead where your gorilla trek begins. You will be assigned a porter who will help carry your provisions and cameras and lead you to the gorilla family you are here to meet. Once the gorillas are located, you will have the rare opportunity to watch them interact with each other, and you if they choose! When your hour-long visit is up, head back to the lodge for lunch and an afternoon at leisure. A local expert presents an informative lecture this afternoon about the endangered mountain gorillas you were privileged to see. Join us tonight for a farewell reception and dinner at the lodge.

Tour ends: Kigali. Depart your hotel after breakfast for your journey back to Kigali, stopping en route to visit the Genocide Memorial Museum. Pay tribute to the 800,000 Rwandans who lost their lives during the atrocities of 1994 and discover how Rwanda was able to come together, heal and move forward into the future with hope and resilience. Continue to the Kigali Serena Hotel where Tauck has reserved day rooms for you until your flight home this evening. Airport transfers are included from Kigali Serena Hotel to Kigali International Airport. Allow a minimum of three hours for flight check in at the airport.