Adventure and romance: fly in to trek gorillas in Bwindi, see tree-climbing lions and the Kazinga Channel, then fly to Zanzibar for Stone Town and six nights on the beach.
This twelve-day honeymoon combines Africa’s most moving wildlife encounter with its most romantic island. You fly to Bwindi to trek mountain gorillas together, visit Ishasha’s tree-climbing lions and enjoy a private sunset cruise on the Kazinga Channel, then fly to Zanzibar for Stone Town and six nights on the beach.
Intimate luxury lodges in Uganda, a boutique hotel in Stone Town and a romantic beach hotel on Zanzibar, with honeymoon touches arranged at each stay.
Domestic flights link Entebbe with Bwindi and Queen Elizabeth, and a regional flight via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam takes you to Zanzibar. We time every connection carefully and handle check-ins, transfers and luggage for you, so the journey between forest and beach is effortless.
You are met at Entebbe International Airport and taken to a quiet hotel on the shore of Lake Victoria. Relax by the water, enjoy a sunset drink and a candlelit dinner, and let the journey begin slowly.
Fly from Entebbe to Kihihi airstrip, about 1.5–2 hours, over the farmland of central Uganda and the Rift Valley escarpment. Your guide meets you for the short drive to your luxury lodge on the edge of Bwindi, where your room looks straight into the forest canopy. Spend the afternoon with a massage, a gentle guided walk along the forest edge or simply relaxing on your deck, listening for turacos and monkeys, before dinner by the fire.
After an early breakfast you report to the park office for the 7:30–8:00am briefing, where Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers explain the rules and assign each visitor to a gorilla family; no more than eight people visit a family each day.
You then follow your ranger guide into the forest while trackers radio the family’s position. Treks take anywhere from one to six hours over steep, muddy ground. When you reach the gorillas you leave bags and sticks with the porters, put on a face mask and spend one hour watching them feed, groom and play from at least 10 metres away, before walking back out and receiving your trekking certificate.
Celebrate back at the lodge with a massage and a dinner by the fire.
Drive south through the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park, where lions often rest in the branches of large fig trees. Your guide checks their favourite trees as you look for topi, buffalo and elephants on the open plains, then continue north to your lodge overlooking the Kazinga Channel.
Set out at dawn for a game drive on the Kasenyi plains, where thousands of Uganda kob gather on their breeding grounds and the lions of Kasenyi hunt in the early light. Look also for buffalo, waterbuck, warthog and elephants, and for leopards along the Channel Track.
In the late afternoon, enjoy a private sunset boat on the Kazinga Channel among hippos and elephants, with drinks on board.
Enjoy a last breakfast overlooking the Kazinga Channel, then fly from Mweya or Kasese back to Entebbe and on to Zanzibar via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam. You arrive in the evening and transfer to a boutique hotel in Stone Town, a restored merchant’s house with carved doors and a rooftop terrace. Dine on the terrace overlooking the old town and the sea as the call to prayer drifts across the rooftops.
After breakfast, explore Stone Town with a local guide: the narrow lanes and carved wooden doors, the Darajani market, the Old Fort, the Palace Museum area and the former slave market memorial at the Anglican cathedral, which tells the story of the East African slave trade. After lunch, transfer about 1–1.5 hours to your beach hotel on the north or east coast in time for a swim and sunset.
A free day to settle into island life. Swim and snorkel off the beach at high tide, walk along the sand at low tide to watch the fishermen and seaweed farmers, or relax by the pool. In the afternoon, take an optional spice farm tour to see cloves, nutmeg and vanilla growing, or visit Jozani Forest to see the endemic Zanzibar red colobus monkey up close.
Take an optional spice farm tour in the countryside, where guides show you cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla growing and explain how spices made Zanzibar rich, or visit Jozani Forest to see the endemic Zanzibar red colobus monkey. Spend the afternoon by the sea.
Take an optional boat trip to Mnemba Atoll, a protected marine area off the north-east coast, to snorkel or dive over coral gardens with turtles and colourful fish, often with dolphins on the way. Return for lunch and a lazy afternoon on the beach.
A final free day together on the beach: a couples’ spa treatment, a long lunch by the sea or simply doing nothing at all. In the late afternoon, sail on a private dhow as the sun sets over the Indian Ocean, followed by a romantic dinner on the beach.
Transfer to Zanzibar airport for your flight home.
Lodges shown match the quoted price. Ask us about mid-range and luxury upgrades.
By flights from Entebbe via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam; total journey time is usually 4–6 hours.
Yes, the mandatory US$44 inbound travel insurance for each visitor.
Yes. We recommend intimate luxury lodges and boutique beach hotels, and tailor them to your taste and budget.
Yes. Kigali has good connections to Zanzibar via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam.
June to September and December to February are driest for both gorillas and the beach.
Yes. Chimpanzee tracking in Kibale or a few nights at Lake Bunyonyi or Lake Mutanda add more adventure before the beach.
Quiet boutique hotels on the north-east coast around Matemwe, or a private island such as Mnemba, offer the most seclusion; the north coast around Kendwa has the best swimming and sunsets.
No. Flights replace long drives in Uganda, and six nights on Zanzibar give plenty of time to relax.
Adventure 7 daysThe only route from the north, close to the Kenyan border: quiet, drier trails, wide views over the plains and a night beneath the jagged spires of Mawenzi before the climb to Uhuru Peak.
Adventure 8 daysThe quiet western approach to Africa’s highest mountain: eight days from remote rainforest across the Shira Plateau and round the southern slopes, with the slow ascent that gives climbers the best chance of reaching Uhuru Peak.
Wildlife 7 daysAfrica’s wild south: boat safaris on the Rufiji River and wild dogs in Nyerere, then the baobab hills, kudu and huge lion prides of Ruaha, linked by light aircraft and shared with very few other travellers.
Change the dates, add a night, upgrade a lodge or combine it with Rwanda or Kenya. Tell us what you have in mind and we’ll send a revised plan and price.
