7 Days Serengeti Hot Air Balloon and Gorillas
On this 7 Days Serengeti Hot Air Balloon and Gorillas, you will embark on a mind-blowing safari adventure to one of the most visited destinations in Tanzania, Serengeti National Park, best known for its amazing wildlife viewing adventures and awe-inspiring hot air balloon safaris. It will also take you across borders from Tanzania to Rwanda, the land of a thousand hills, where you will have a memorable encounter with the magnificent, gentle and hugely endangered mountain gorillas of Africa in Volcanoes National Park.
Itinerary overview of 7 Days Serengeti Hot Air Balloon and Gorillas
- Day 1: Pick up from Arusha and transfer to Serengeti National Park
- Day 2: Hot air balloon safari
- Day 3: Full day game drive
- Day 4: Transfer to Arusha
- Day 5: Transfer to Kigali then to Volcanoes National Park
- Day 6: Gorilla Trekking
- Day 7: Departure
Detailed Itinerary for 7 Days Serengeti Hot Air Balloon and Gorillas
Day 1: Pick up from Arusha and transfer to Serengeti National Park
An expert English-speaking driver guide will pick you up from Kilimanjaro International Airport, and as you set off for Serengeti National Park, he will give you a short briefing about the destination to be visited as well as the country at large. En route you will enjoy views of the magnificent vegetation and interactions with the friendly residents of the small towns you drive through. This transfer may take about 6 hours therefore you will reach Serengeti in time for lunch. At your lodge you will check into your rooms, settle down for a hot lunch then take some rest.
Later in the afternoon, get aboard your safari vehicle and head out for some wild game viewing. During this time you will spot numerous wildlife such as Africa’s BIG 5. Since this game drive ends later in the evening, it will give you an opportunity to witness the beautiful African sunset in the wild.
Return to the lodge after game viewing, clean up and dinner will be provided before you can take your night’s rest.
Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Accommodation: Embalakai tented camp
Day 2: Hot air balloon safari
Arise as early as 5:00 am to a tea or coffee at the lodge, then your driver guide will take you to the starting point of the balloon safari. Here you will be briefed on the guidelines of this balloon experience and then the hot air balloon will set off. During this experience you will be able to have an aerial view of the park and spot a number of animals such as elephants, leopards, lions, cheetahs, zebras, giraffes, impalas, wildebeests, among others.
After the hot air balloon, you will meet your driver guide waiting then you will return to the lodge for a hot lunch. After lunch, take a rest at the lodge then later go out for another game drive and encounter more wildlife.
On returning to the lodge in the evening, dinner will be served and then you can retire for the night.
Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Day 3: Full day game drive
Early morning, the lodge will serve you a tasty breakfast and provide you with a packed lunch for the day. Before the sun rises, you’ll go out with your driver guide into the wild for more wildlife viewing. During this game drive you will spot a number of wildlife both from the day before and those that you had not yet encountered.
You will have a stop within the park for a picnic lunch then continue with the game drive until sunset. You will return to the lodge later for dinner and an overnight stay.
Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Day 4: Transfer to Arusha
After a proper night’s rest, the lodge will provide you with breakfast, then you can check out of the lodge and pick up a packed lunch as you head out. Proceed on a short game drive out of the park to Arusha where you will stay the night as you await your flight to Kigali the next day.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Accommodation: The African Tulip
Day 5: Transfer to Kigali then to Volcanoes National Park
In the morning, the hotel will provide you with a delicious breakfast. Then you will check out and head to Kilimanjaro International Airport where you will take your transfer flight to Kigali. Upon arrival at Kigali International Airport, you will meet your destination driver guide and continue on a scenic drive through Rwanda’s countryside to Kingi, Musanze town.
On arrival in Kinigi you will check into the lodge and settle down for lunch then have the rest of your afternoon relaxing and enjoying the amenities at the lodge.
Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Accommodation: Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel
Day 6: Gorilla Trekking
After a good night’s rest, wake up to a tasty breakfast at the lodge then prepare to head out for gorilla trekking. At 6:15 am, your driver guide will pick you up and you will head to Volcanoes National Park for gorilla trekking. At the park headquarters you will be welcomed with a hot cup of local Rwandan coffee as the briefing commences. During briefing you will be taught the dos and don’ts of chimpanzee trekking and what to expect. After briefing you will be grouped into 8 and each group assigned a gorilla family. In your group of 8 and in the company of a ranger guide you will penetrate the forest in search of the gorilla family assigned to you.
This search will take you between 4 to 8 hours and when you locate them you will be allowed 1 hour of observing them and taking photographs. After this, return to the starting point where you will meet your driver guide and return to the lodge. In the afternoon, you can choose to either go on another amazing experience such as a visit to the gorilla guardian village or spend the afternoon relaxing at the lodge.
Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Day 7: Transfer to Kigali
After a morning breakfast, you will embark on a return journey to Kigali. In Kigali you will stop over at the Kigali genocide memorial where you will come face to face with the story of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The driver guide will then drop you off either at your hotel or Kigali International Airport where you will catch your flight to your next destination.
Trip inclusions
- Professional driver guide
- 4×4 safari vehicle and Fuel
- Meals
- Gorilla permits
- All activities
- Transfer flight to Kigali
- Water
- Trip exclusions
- Laundry
- Tips
Donations
- Extra activities
- Drinks and cigarettes