Planning Your Safari to Rwanda & Tanzania

Last month, we took a trip that reshaped our definition of adventure, traveling across Rwanda and Tanzania for a private tour that included gorilla trekking, safari, cultural experiences, and lots of wildlife photography. Savvy travelers and comfortable in remote destinations, we were less experienced with navigating developing countries and the fish-out-of-water feeling that comes with that. Though you don't want to completely over-plan a trip to the point that there's no spontaneity, here's how we went about it — including a sample itinerary that worked perfectly for us.

From Down Under to Dian Fossey

I started planning this adventure in my head on the plane home from our last big trip across Australia, when we traveled by camper to three territories from Far North Tropical Queensland, into the insanely wild Kakadu region in the Northern Territory, and finally down to the heart of the Red Center at Uluru in the Outback. I had seen gorilla trekking on YouTube as one of those impossible bucket list items like crossing the Drake Passage, and watched the heartbreaking Virunga documentary the year before. As a lifelong fan of Dian Fossey (complicated though she was), this seemed like the ultimate must-do for adventure lovers and wildlife photographers, and the next logical step after Oz.

Initially, we looked into Uganda, where gorilla trekking permits are half the cost of Rwanda, but recent safety concerns and government policies gave us pause. However, Rwanda seemed fascinating and the perfect "training wheels" entry point for our first foray into Africa. It’s modern, safe, and relatively well-off. And then there was Tanzania — which my husband and I had romanticized since childhood. Louis and Mary Leakey, Robert Sapolsky, Jane Goodall... we wanted to walk in the footprints of these scientific giants — and among the actual giants of the Serengeti itself. Well, maybe not so much “walk” as watch from a distance in the safety of a Land Cruiser. Seeing Ngorongoro Crater, Olduvai Gorge, and at least touching the mythical Kilimanjaro seemed an impossible dream in these initial conversations.

So once these were decided, a little more than six months out, the work began. It was daunting for sure — there are more tour companies to choose from than actual gorillas in Africa, it seems. And giving up control to a tour company can be almost as stressful as executing the planning process yourself. Most people visit the Serengeti and Maasai Mara in late June and early July, so that's what we chose. If you are considering doing something similar, here's our step-by-step guide to getting started. Note that some of these requirements may vary for other nationalities — we are based in the USA so double check requirements for your country.