13-Day Popular Savannah and Forest Birding Trip

Day 1: Arrival                                                                                                                                          Arrive at Entebbe International Airport, meet & greet by your driver guide and transfer to accommodation.

Main destination: Entebbe Town

Accommodation: Protea Hotel

Meals and drinks: No meals included

Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Day 2: Mabamba Swamp

After an early breakfast and with packed lunch, we will head out to the Mabamba Wetlands on the shores of Lake Victoria to look for the nighty shoebill

There will of course be a good selection of classic East African water birds to observe along the way like Pink-backed Pelican, Long-tailed Cormorant, Squacco Heron, Yellow-billed Duck, Malachite Kingfisher, Long-toed Plover, Blue-headed Coucal, Blue-breasted Bee-eater etc.

Bird your way back to Entebbe looking out for birds like African open billed Stork, Grey Kestrel, African Green Pigeon, Great Blue Turaco, Ross’s Turaco, Red-headed Lovebird, Swifts, Sunbirds, Weavers, Finches among other birds. Dinner and Overnight in Entebbe.

Main destination: Entebbe Town

Accommodation: Protea Hotel

Meals and drinks: All meals included

Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Day 3: Bird to Kibale National Park

After breakfast, bird your way to Kibale getting there in the late afternoon. While on the road, look out for birds like Striped Kingfisher, Great blue Turaco, Eastern-grey Plantain Eater, Lizard Buzzard, Lesser stripped swallows, greenbuls, cisticolas, grey-backed shrinke, common fiscal, stonechat, flycatchers, starlings, widowbirds, weavers and other birds. sleep near the forest.

Main destination: Kibale National Park

Accommodation: Kibale Forest Camp

Meals and drinks: All meals included

Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Day 4: Bird Kanyanchu                              

Today we proceed to bird the vicinity of Kanyanchu looking out for the Green-breasted Pitta and other birds like Yellow-billed Barbet, African Emerald Cuckoo, Black-billed Turaco, Narina Trogon, Blue-shouldered Robin-chat, Chestnut Wattle-eye, Narrow-tailed Staring among other birds. Primates like Red Colobus, Black and white Colobus, Grey-cheeked Mangabey, Olive Baboon, Red-tailed Monkey, and L’Hoest’s Monkey among others. Dinner and overnight as before.

Main destination: Kibale National Park

Accommodation: Kibale Forest Camp

Meals and drinks: All meals included

Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Day 5: Birding at Bigodi and transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park

After breakfast, proceed to bird the Bigodi swamp, lunch, and then bird as you head towards Queen Elizabeth National Park driving along the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains crossing the Equator. Game drive en route to accommodation where you will be spending your nights. The park, which is named after Queen Elizabeth who visited it in 1954, is the second largest national park in Uganda, and ranks highest with respect to overall diversity, with a bird species list exceeding 600. The park has a mosaic of habitats from the moist forest at Imaramagambo to wild savannah excellent for Lions, Leopards, Elephants, Hyenas, Ugandan Kobs, Baboons, Giant Hogs, and Warthog among others. Look out for birds like White-spotted Flufftail, Yellow-billed Barbet, African Emerald Cuckoo, Black-billed Turaco, Kingfishers, Lesser Striped Swallow, Cisiticolas, Shrikes, Starlings, and Widowbirds among other birds. Dinner and Overnight in Queen. 

Main destination: Queen Elizabeth National Park

Accommodation: Enganzi Safari Lodge

Meals and drinks: All meals included

Drinking water (Other drinks not included)                                                                                                                       

Day 6: Bird Queen Elizabeth National Park and Boat Cruise

Breakfast then we will set off for a game drive with our packed lunches. In the afternoon go for a boat trip on the Kazinga Channel to see a variety of wildlife, hundreds of hippos, crocodiles, and bird life from the boat for two hours. Look out for birds like Pelicans, Green-backed Heron, Storks, African Spoonbill, Kittlitz’s Plover, Senegal Plover, Wattled Plover, Larks, Yellow-throated Longclaw, Babblers, Sunbirds, Weavers, and Widowbirds among others. Look out for mammals like Uganda Kob, Bushbuck, Defassa Waterbuck, Buffaloes, Elephants, Warthog, and when lucky a leopard, spotted Hyena, and Lion among others. Dinner and overnight as before. 

Main destination: Queen Elizabeth National Park

Accommodation: Enganzi Safari Lodge

Meals and drinks: All meals included

Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Day 7: Bird as you transfer to Bwindi

 Look out for species like Raptors, Bee Eaters, Kingfishers, Barbets, Tinkerbirds, Woodpeckers, Apalises, Honeyguide Greenbul, Swallows, Larks, Cisiticolas, Pipits, Chats, Shrikes, Starlings, and Widowbirds among other birds. Dinner and Overnight around the Park.

Main destination: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Accommodation: Haven lodge Buhoma

Meals and drinks: All meals included

Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Day 8: Bird Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

After an early breakfast,  we will enter the forest looking out for birds like Black Bee-Eater, Tinkerbirds and Barbets, Woodpeckers, African Broadbill, Greenbuls, White-bellied Robin-Chat, Red-throated Alethe, Chapin’s Flycatcher, Red-faced Woodland Warbler, Grauer’s Warbler, Mountain Masked Apalis, Bocage’s Bush-shrike, Luhder’s Bush-shrike, Pink-footed Puffback, Petit’s Cuckooshrike, Starlings, Sunbirds, Black-billed Weaver, Brown-capped weaver, among other birds. Dinner and Overnight as before.

Main destination: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Accommodation: Haven lodge Buhoma

Meals and drinks: All meals included

Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Day 9: Bird as we transfer to Ruhija via the Neck

After breakfast, bird as you transfer to Ruhija via the neck look out for birds like Black Bee-eater, Red-throated Wryneck, Mountain Wagtail, Toro Olive-Greenbul, White-starred Robin, Olive Thrush, Cassin’s-grey Flycatcher, Red-faced Woodland Warbler, Grauer’s Warbler, Chubb’s Cisticola, Banded Prinia, Mountain Masked Apalis, Chestnut-throated Apalis, Collared Apalis, Stripe-breasted Tit, Grey Cuckoo-shrike, Sharpe’s Starling, Regal Sunbird, Strange Weaver, Dusky Twinspot, Yellow Bishop, Black-throated Seedeater among other birds. Dinner and overnight in Ruhija.   

Main destination: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Accommodation: Bakiga Lodge

Meals and drinks: All meals included

Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Day 10: Bird at Mubwindi Swamp

After breakfast, walk down to the Mubwindi Swamp looking out for specials including the Black-billed Turaco, Western Green Tinkerbird, Fine-banded Woodpecker, African Green-Broadbill, Mountain Greenbul, Yellow-streaked Greenbul, African Hill Babbler, Mountain Illadopsis, Yellow-eyed Black Flycatcher, Mountain Yellow Warbler, Red-faced Woodland Warbler, Grauer’s Warbler, Chestnut-throated Apalis, Collared Apalis, Stripe-breasted Tit, Rwenzori Batis, Doherty’s Bush-shrike, Bar-tailed Trogon, Blue-headed Sunbird, Regal Sunbird among other birds. Certainly one of the highlights of any birding trips in Uganda, this walk is physically challenging, but taken slowly it is quite manageable. Dinner and overnight as before.

Main destination: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Accommodation: Bakiga Lodge

Meals and drinks: All meals included

Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Day 11: Birding at Lake Mburo

After breakfast, bird to Lake Mburo looking out for birds like Bateleur, Handsome Francolin, Crested Francolin, Emerald-spotted Wood Dove, Brown Parrot, Bare-faced Go-away-bird, Blue-napped Mousebird, African Grey Hornbill, Spot-flanked Barbet, Mountain Masked Apalis, Yellow-breasted Apalis, White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher, Stripe-breasted Tit, Mountain Masked Apalis, Rwenzori Batis, Fork-tailed Drongo, Black-crowned Waxbill, and Black-headed Waxbill among other birds. Dinner and Overnight in Lake Mburo.

Main destination: Lake Mburo National Park

Accommodation: Rwakobo Rock Lodge (Main house)

Meals and drinks: All meals included

Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Day 12: Birding at Lake Mburo national park and boat cruise

Whole day birding at Lake Mburo National Park looking for birds like the Black-bellied Bustard, Emerald-spotted Wood Dove, Brown Parrot, Bare-faced Go-away-bird, Blue-napped Mousebird, African Grey Hornbill, Spot-flanked Barbet, Long-tailed Cisticola, Yellow-breasted Apalis and more. Before dinner, try the African Scops Owl, Swamp Nightjar, and Black-shouldered Nightjar among others. Look out for animals like the gorgeous Eland, Zebra, Impala, Buffalo, Reedbuck, Topi, Waterbuck Bushbuck, Hippos, Oribi, Bush-duiker among other birds. Dinner and Overnight as before. 

Main destination: Lake Mburo National Park

Accommodation: Rwakobo Rock Lodge (Main house)

Meals and drinks: All meals included

Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Day 13: Departure

After an early breakfast, transfer to the Airport in time for your departure flight.

Main destination: Entebbe International Airport

Accommodation: No Accommodation

Meals and drinks: Breakfast and other meals are not included

Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Included

• Park fees (for non-residents)
• All activities mentioned (unless clearly labelled as optional)
• Meals (as specified in the day-by-day description)
• All accommodation (unless clearly labelled as an optional upgrade)
• Round-trip airport transfers
• A professional bird driver/guide
• All transportation mentioned (unless clearly labelled optional)
• All taxes/VAT

Excluded

• International flights (from/to the client’s home country)
• Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour
• Personal items (souvenirs, travel insurance, visa fees and other personal items) 
• The government imposed an increase in taxes and/or park fees
• Tips: tipping guideline is $10 per person per day

Please note:

It is not possible to ‘reserve’ gorilla tracking permits. Therefore we can only purchase them after you have booked and down-payment made. 

The bookings with the lodge are mentioned in the itinerary depending on availability. Reservations will only be made after your booking. Just in case the hotels listed are fully booked during the requested period, we will let you know and then book a hotel of the same standard for you

Transport

Our standard safari vehicle offered for budget and mid-range tours is a 4wd Safari Van with pop-up sun roof with each passenger can have a seat near a window.

If you wish to up things a bit and get an even smoother ride, then you can opt for an upgraded vehicle for your travel. For this, we use a full-size 4wd Toyota Land cruiser

Travelling with 1-4 people are often preferred and suitable for African safari because of the terrain besides that, it is an elevated durable and pop-up roof that will reward you with a great view.

We also have a 4wd Extended Toyota Land Cruiser Travelling which seats 5-6 people and is spacious, elevated, and strong with a pop-up sunroof for exceptional views and a fridge inside to keep our drinks cool.