Ethical African Wildlife Safaris | Conservation, Culture & Bespoke Travel
Ethical African Wildlife Safaris | Conservation, Culture & Bespoke Travel
01
The Mara · Laikipia · The coast
02
Serengeti · Ngorongoro · Tarangire
03
Volcanoes NP · Kigali · Akagera
04
Bwindi · Kibale · Queen Elizabeth
Why Four Countries
We have chosen to work intensively in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda rather than offer a broader selection. Most safari companies operate across a dozen countries. That breadth comes at a cost: shallower knowledge, thinner relationships with guides and lodges, and less ability to give guests genuinely honest advice about their specific dates and conditions.
We know the Maasai Mara in July and the Serengeti in February. We know the difference between the experience on either side of the Mara Triangle. We know which Serengeti camp has the most knowledgeable resident guide, and which Rwanda lodge has made the most genuine conservation commitment. That knowledge comes from years of being in the same places — not from covering everything lightly.
Years of relationships with guides, lodges and community partners in each
Every month has an excellent safari experience somewhere across our four countries
Every destination, region and lodge is personally known before we recommend it
01 · Kenya
Kenya is where the safari as a concept was born, and the Maasai Mara remains its greatest expression. The Mara Triangle — the less-visited, privately managed western portion of the reserve — offers the same extraordinary wildlife with a fraction of the visitor numbers that crowd the main Mara during peak season. Private conservancies bordering the reserve allow activities — night drives, walking safaris — that the national park does not.
Laikipia, in Kenya’s central highlands, is a different kind of experience entirely. Owner-run ranches operating as private wildlife conservancies, walking safaris across wild terrain, and some of the most thoughtful conservation work in East Africa. It is the part of Kenya that most visitors never reach — and that our guests consistently describe as the unexpected highlight of their trip.
The Kenyan coast — and Zanzibar, just across the Tanzanian border — provides a natural conclusion to any wildlife itinerary: warm water, white sand, and the decompression that a great safari deserves.
Key regions
Big cats, the Migration, private conservancies. Best July–October for river crossings; excellent year-round.
Beach extension after safari. Diani Beach, Watamu, Lamu. Best December–March and July–August.
Best for
Wildlife density, the Great Migration, private conservancy experiences, walking safaris
Peak season
July–October (Migration & dry season)
Green season
November–May (lush, fewer visitors, excellent bird life)
From price
From $8,000 per person (7–9 days)
Flight time
8–9 hrs from London · 13–14 hrs from New York
02 · Tanzania
The Serengeti is the world’s most celebrated wildlife ecosystem — and one of the few African landscapes that consistently exceeds what guests have been told to expect. The scale is the first surprise: the plains are genuinely infinite in a way that photographs cannot convey. The second surprise is the year-round quality of the wildlife. Most guests focus on the migration season; the calving season in January and February, in the southern Serengeti, is frequently a more moving experience with a fraction of the crowd.
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area — and specifically the crater floor — offers something the Serengeti cannot: containment. The crater’s walls create a natural enclosure within which wildlife density reaches extraordinary levels year-round. Elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo, rhino — all within a compact geography that allows morning and afternoon sightings without extensive driving.
We position our guests in the central Serengeti, away from high-traffic corridors. The camps we work with have resident guides with deep, specific knowledge of the ecosystem around them. The difference between a guide who has been in one area for five years and one who moves between camps is material.
Key regions
Year-round wildlife; wildebeest calving January–March; migration July–October. The world’s greatest game reserve.
Elephant herds, baobab landscape, fewer visitors. Best July–October. Excellent addition to a Serengeti trip.
Best for
Scale, year-round wildlife density, calving season, Ngorongoro crater
Peak season
January–March (southern Serengeti — often overlooked)
Green season
June–October (good visibility, excellent predator activity)
From price
Combined Kenya + Tanzania from $12,000 pp
Flight time
Approx. 1 hr from Nairobi to Serengeti via Arusha
03 · Rwanda
Rwanda is unlike anywhere else in East Africa. Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park — spending an hour with a habituated family of mountain gorillas in their natural forest habitat — is not like any other wildlife experience. It is closer to a human encounter than an animal sighting. Most guests find it genuinely difficult to describe afterwards.
But Rwanda is not only the gorillas. Kigali — Rwanda’s capital — is a city that consistently shocks visitors who arrive with modest expectations. Sophisticated restaurants, excellent speciality coffee, contemporary art, and a culture that has processed extraordinary historical trauma with a directness and intelligence that makes every conversation about the country feel substantive. A day or two in Kigali adds a dimension to any Rwanda itinerary that no amount of wildlife experience can replicate.
Rwanda works equally well as a standalone destination (5–7 days is ample) or as a pre- or post-safari extension to a Kenya or Tanzania trip. The logistics are smooth; the contrast between the Mara savannah and the Volcanoes’ green peaks is one of the great gear-shifts in East Africa travel.
Key regions
Mountain gorilla trekking. One of the world’s greatest wildlife encounters — intimate, slow-paced, genuinely moving. Year-round.
Rwanda’s savannah park — Big 5 wildlife, boat safaris on Lake Ihema. Excellent addition for guests wanting wildlife after gorillas.
Best for
Mountain gorilla trekking, cultural depth, adding to a Kenya/Tanzania safari
Gorilla trekking
Year-round — drier June–Sept and Dec–Jan
Gorilla permit
$1,500 per person (included in our pricing)
Standalone or add-onFrom price
Both. 5–7 days standalone or 3–4 days as extension
From price
From $7,500 per personApprox. 1 hr from Nairobi to Serengeti via Arusha
04 · Uganda
Uganda is East Africa’s underrated primate destination — and for guests who want to combine gorilla trekking with chimpanzee tracking, it is the only place in the world to do both at the highest level in a single trip. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is home to over half the world’s remaining mountain gorillas. The trekking experience is comparable to Rwanda’s — sometimes more challenging in terrain, always equally moving when you encounter the gorillas — at a lower gorilla permit cost.
Kibale National Park, a few hours from Bwindi, offers the world’s best chimpanzee tracking. Kibale’s chimps are fully habituated; sightings are reliable and sustained. The contrast between spending a morning with mountain gorillas and a morning with chimpanzees — two of our closest relatives, both in their natural forest habitats — is an experience that no other itinerary in East Africa can replicate.
Uganda also benefits from being less visited than Rwanda. For guests who are cautious about crowds or who want a more intimate primate experience, Uganda’s lower visitor numbers in Bwindi feel significant on the day.
Key regions
Mountain gorilla trekking. One of the world’s greatest wildlife encounters — intimate, slow-paced, genuinely moving. Year-round.
Tree-climbing lions in the Ishasha sector, boat safaris on the Kazinga Channel, excellent bird life. Good addition to primates.
Best for
Gorilla + chimpanzee combination, primate depth, lower visitor numbers than Rwanda
Gorilla trekking
Year-round — drier June–Sept and Dec–Feb
Gorilla permit
$700 per person (vs $1,500 in Rwanda)
Standalone or add-onFrom price
Both — or combine gorillas + chimps in 7–10 days
Flight
Entebbe (EBB) — direct from London, Amsterdam, Nairobi
Every month is excellent somewhere across our four countries. Here is a straightforward month-by-month breakdown — without the optimistic framing that most safari companies apply to make every month sound perfect.
Conditions vary significantly year to year and by specific location within each ecosystem. We provide specific seasonal advice based on your preferred dates during the planning process — this calendar is a guide, not a rulebook. Gorilla trekking in Rwanda and Uganda operates year-round regardless of season.
Multi-Country Itineraries
Most popular
The classic East Africa combination — and the one that most guests describe as the complete safari experience. The contrast between the Mara’s grasslands and the Serengeti’s vast plains is striking even to guests who have travelled widely. A Purpose Day fits naturally into the Mara section, with a Serengeti extension adding scale and depth. Zanzibar or the Kenyan coast makes a natural finale.
Duration
10–14 days
From
$12,000 per person
Best season
Year-round; peak July–Oct
For primate lovers
Adding a gorilla trekking extension to a Kenya safari creates one of the most varied itineraries in East Africa — moving from the open savannah of the Mara to the dense volcanic forest of Volcanoes National Park or Bwindi, and from wildlife in vast numbers to a single intimate encounter with a gorilla family. Rwanda pairs well with a Kigali cultural interlude. Uganda pairs well with a Kibale chimpanzee addition.
Duration
12–16 days
From
$14,000 per person
Best season
Year-round; June–Oct for both
The full circuit
For guests with time and a genuine appetite for depth, a four-country circuit across Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda is one of the most extraordinary travel experiences available anywhere in the world. Typically 18–24 days — encompassing the Mara, the Serengeti, mountain gorillas and chimpanzees, Kigali’s culture, and multiple Purpose Days in communities across the region. We design these entirely bespoke, around your pace and interests.
Duration
18–24 days
From
$22,000 per person
Best season
Year-round (dates determine routing)
Tell us when you want to travel and what matters most. We’ll give you honest advice on the best destination for your specific dates and interests — and start shaping an itinerary around it.