7 Days Rwanda Gorillas, Masai Mara & Diani Beach

Seven days in East Africa are ideally enough to enable any curious traveler to hit some of the region’s beautiful and most visited places. The trip takes you to Volcanoes national park for gorilla trekking in Rwanda.

Visit the Maasai Mara national reserve in Kenya for the big five and wind off this amazing trip with a relaxation trip to the beautiful white sand beaches in Mombasa.

TRIP DETAILS.

Day 1: Travel to Volcanoes national park.

After a palatable breakfast at the lodge in Kigali where you slept, be picked by our driver guide. He will brief you about the trip and then start the journey to Volcanoes national park. It takes about two to three hours to travel from Kigali to the park, enjoying the beautiful scenery and driving through the well paved roads rolled in the hills and valleys of Rwanda.

The journey gives you spectacular views of the thousand hills of Rwanda. Arrival is in the afternoon for lunch and a cultural retreat at Iby’iwachu cultural village. This is the best one stop center to encounter almost everything that is Kinyarwanda. From the Twa, Hutu and Tutsi, nothing you will fail to see. Returning to the lodge is very late in the evening for dinner and overnight.

Day 2: Gorilla trekking and back to Kigali.

On waking up to a delicious breakfast, in the jungle and to the sweet sounds of the birds in the surrounding trees, head to the park station for a brief orientation from the local ranger. He takes you through the guidelines of gorilla trekking.

Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes national park involves a simple hike on the lower slopes of the volcanoes in search of the gorillas in the forest. Trekkers walk through the slippery trails, holding onto tree branches for support and avoiding thorny trees just to spend the magical hour in the presence of these great apes. Trekking the gorillas in Volcanoes takes 1-6 hours depending on the movement of the gorillas and the speed of the trekkers.

After the one hour of watching the gorillas and taking pictures, slope back to the park station and out of the park to start the journey back to Kigali.

Day 3: Fly to Nairobi and travel to Maasai Mara national reserve.

Early morning, have breakfast and proceed to Kigali international airport for the flight to Nairobi in Kenya. Upon arrival in Kenya, our driver guide will already be waiting to receive you and transfer you to Maasai Mara national reserve.

It’s a six-hour journey that feeds your eyes with extraordinary sights of Kenya’s countryside and several beautiful features. Arrival is in the evening for check in, relaxation, dinner and overnight.

Day 4: Full day game drive in Maasai Mara national reserve.

Today have a full day game drive in the park. Upon waking up, have breakfast and embark on a safari vehicle for a game drive through the park. Maasai Mara national reserve is famous for the gigantic golden savanna grasslands that home numerous wildlife species including Africa’s big five; the lions, rhinos, buffaloes, elephants, and leopards. Other animals to spot are zebras, giraffes, warthogs, wildebeests, waterbucks, gazelles, antelopes and many others.

You will also drive towards that migration to trail for the great wildebeest migration experience. Lunch will be in the wild among the lions and other animals. Returning to the lodge will be very late in the evening.

Day 5: Travel to Mombasa.

Immediately after breakfast, travel back to Nairobi and connect to Mombasa with either a flight or train. Mombasa is a famous city in Africa for its extremely beautiful white sand beaches that were commonly known to Miami.

Connecting from Maasai Mara to Mombasa roughly takes a full day, so arrival will be in the late evening to just check in at the lodge, dinner and overnight.

Day 6: Full day beach relaxation.

Have a full day relaxation at the Diani beach, engage in swimming, sport fishing, beach sports, sunbathing and many other refreshing activities at the white sand beach. Alternatively, choose to first have a walk around Mombasa town and then relax at the beach in the afternoon or evening, depending on your trekking speed.

Day 7: Departure.

Have breakfast and drive to Mombasa airport for your flight back home. Drive through the town at your convenience as the guide shows you around some of the important buildings and monuments. That will be the end of the seven days in East Africa.

Top East African Safari Packages

Some of the continent's most iconic wildlife experiences happen here in Eastern Africa; ranging from the Great Migration on Maasai Mara and Serengeti Plains, incredible herds of elephants in Amboseli and Tarangire national parks, back dropped by the snowy crown of Kilimanjaro. Select a tour package among our safari samplers, or tailor your own with the help of our professional safari experts.

Sándor Jakubinyi

14:31 22 Feb 24

2019 megigazulás

12:45 21 Feb 24

We went on a two-week trip with my family, organised by Coleb from Standard Safaris.I had my concerns about organised trips, but this one didn’t justify any of those. Everything went very smoothly, even when some problems arose with one of the cars it got fixed by next morning, the accomodations were clean and comfortable, the programs were exciting and well-balanced - everything was done to a truly high standard.If you plan to visit Uganda and are looking for a guide, I warmly recommend Coleb and his team. In case you have a choice of drivers, go for Godwin, his presence made this trip even more enjoyable - cheerful, helpful, good sense of humour, generally a great person. Just look for the guy with a big smile and big heart:)

Bert Simoens

09:38 08 Jan 24

We recently embarked on a safari adventure with Standard Safaris in Uganda, which was truly exceptional. Our guide, Yonah, was outstanding - his kindness, knowledge, and discretion significantly enhanced our experience. He was the heart of our trip.The local company's planning was offering a tailor-made journey that matched our interests. We saw an array of wildlife in Murchison, enjoyed rafting at Jinja, and experienced mountain biking at Sipi. A visit to Kidepo National Park was a highlight and comes highly recommended.The vehicle provided was comfortable and reliable. We highly recommend Standard Safaris for anyone seeking an unforgettable safari in Uganda. Their professionalism and the exceptional guidance of staff like Yonah make them an great choice.

Michał Kostrzewa

00:41 15 Nov 23

We are all extremely grateful Standard Safaris for an incredible East Africa experience. I recently booked a custom trip for group of 8 people, including an 8-year-old boy, from Kampala through Queen Elizabeth National Park and on to Rwanda and Burundi. Coleb delivered on everything that was discussed and agreed upon beforehand.The car provided was in great condition and our driver Meddy went above and beyond to make sure we were comfortable, informed, and had the best possible time. He was friendly, knowledgeable, and professional. All local services were inlcuded in (reasonable) price that we agreed, so there was no need to worry about payments during the 6 day trip. Also Standard Safaris agreed took care about safety and security by helping us organize armed ranger while in the park.The whole trip was hassle-free and smooth. We saw amazing wildlife in Queen Elizabeth NP, took in the sights of Rwanda and Burundi, and made lifelong memories.I would happily book with Standard Safaris again in a heartbeat and recommend them wholeheartedly to anyone looking for the best East Africa trip. They provide top-notch service while ensuring you have an incredible, customized experience. If you want a hassle-free, flawlessly organized African adventure, Standard Safaris is the tour operator to book with.

Ivan Nammanda

18:31 27 Oct 23

Very organized travel operator who chose awesome guide to make our trip wonderful.We booked a nine days trip with Standard Safaris and all was perfect from start to finish. Coleb was very prompt at replying and easy to liaise with ahead of the trip. We had done a lot of research and had an itinerary in mind and Coleb helped us to put everything together to make this happen for a very reasonable price.  On the trip we had a private vehicle for the whole tour which was exactly what we wanted. Bryan was our driver and an amazing guide - really friendly and knowledgable, working hard to find the things that we wanted to see and quickly understanding what was of interest to us/how much information to give.Would highly recommend a trip to Uganda with Standard Safaris. We are definitely coming back soon!

MUGAIGA KENNETH

18:01 27 Oct 23

The company has very courteous tour guides with wide knowledge of fauna and frola in the whole of East Africa.The choice of safari Lodges is good with first class treatment.Game drive security is assured.Almost The whole of September I was traversing through DRC, Uganda,and Rwanda on a gorilla tour and wildlife expedition.Everything was arranged and booked perfectly by Standard Safaris.The owner, Coleb was always helpful whenever we needed to ask questions about this gorilla safari in Uganda and beyond.It was a complex expedition but Standard safaris and Coleb made it look amazingly easy.I’ll recommend Standard safaris 200%, for all gorilla safaris in Uganda, Rwanda and wildlife tours in east africa.

travel uganda

16:35 27 Oct 23

This is so far the best gorilla trekking company in Uganda, and africa, by far. I had a wonderful time with Standard Safaris as a solo traveler.My guide was excellent and our safari planner, Coleb was quick with responses and the prices were very friendly.I’ll definitely book with Standard safaris on my next gorilla tour in Rwanda and Uganda.