Family Uganda Trip

It’s been a long travel day, so we receive you right at the jetway. Your family is whisked through customs alongside a VIP escort, and bags are loaded into a waiting vehicle. A private driver brings you to Karibu Guesthouse. Staying in the Agama Cottage, everyone rests beneath the same roof. If you’re up for it, walk the gentle shores of Lake Victoria or nearby botanical gardens.

Fly to Queen Elizabeth National Park, famed for tree-climbing lions and the lush Kyambura Gorge—a sanctuary for chimpanzees. Arrive at Honey Bear Bush Camp via boat, situated in Kyambura Game Reserve. Revel in the seclusion of a private wilderness you share with just four other tents. Glimpse your first elephant, hippo, or zebra before enjoying dinner as a family with water views of the Kazinga Channel. 

Rise for a special encounter with chimpanzees. Follow expert trackers into Kyambura Gorge, a steep descent from grassy plains into a deep, forested chasm. Once located, spend an entertaining hour in their company. They’re a lively bunch, expressive and noisy, scrambling raucously between the forest floor and treetops. In the afternoon, a boating safari cruises along the Kazinga Channel, passing bathing elephants, honking hippos, and colorful birdlife. 

Greet the sunrise with coffee at the firepit, then drive through a mosaic of habitats (savannah, woodlands, and wetlands), scanning for lion prides, ellies, grazers, and malachite kingfishers. This afternoon, park the vehicle and follow your naturalist guide for a bush walk. On foot, it becomes a safari of the senses. Work as a family to decipher the landscape’s hidden symbols: tracks, scat, disturbed flora, scents, and sounds. 

Take a long drive through Queen Elizabeth National Park, game viewing along the way, until you arrive in the Buhoma Sector of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. This thick-knit, closed-canopy jungle is one of the most biologically diverse on the planet and a refuge for nearly half the world’s population of endangered mountain gorillas. Settle into Buhoma Lodge, located within the forest itself and alive with birdsong and L’Hoest’s monkey visits.

Today, you’ll experience one of the most poignant wildlife encounters possible. At park headquarters you’re assigned a gorilla family and guide. Drive to the trailhead and hike through a tangled forest. Once you locate the magnificent primates, spend a quiet hour in their spellbinding presence. Imagine standing mere feet from a mother cradling her infant or locking eyes with a silverback. It’s a memory your family will revisit for years to come.

Lace up your boots to hike The Ivy Trail, a route connecting the Buhoma Sector (north) with Nkuringo Sector (southeast). Along the way, your guide identifies plant life, insects, birds, and monkeys. You’ll also learn about the Batwa, Bwindi’s original inhabitants. It’s a half-day adventure rife with an aura of expedition that includes fording streams and a picnic lunch. Reunite with your luggage in a cozy, stone cottage at Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge.

Enjoy the luxury of a second gorilla trek, this time in Nkuringo or Rushaga Sector.  
The terrain is steeper and more challenging, but incredibly rewarding. Familiar with the gorilla trekking process, you’ll relax into the details you might have missed the first time. In the evening, sip sundowners as clouds drift through the valley below, cozy up to a crackling fireplace, or schedule a massage.

Fly to Jinja, Uganda’s laid-back adventure capital situated on the Nile River. You’ll stay at Wildwaters Lodge, an atmospheric property moored to Kalagala Island. Seated mid-stream within the mighty Nile, it’s only accessible by canoe, heightening the sense of adventure. Dip into the pool, sublimely cantilevered over the river, then dine al fresco on the deck to the hypnotic roar of rapids. 

Choose your own adventure. Take on the Nile with a full-day whitewater rafting adventure for a pulse-racing finale that unites teens and parents. Adrenaline-seekers can even bungee jump over the Nile. If you prefer something gentler, horseback safaris and kayaking beckon. For parents, an open-air massage on a riverside platform restores mind and body. Gather for your last family dinner on a candle-lit terrace.   

Savor an unrushed breakfast chorused by the Nile. A driver collects your family for an airport transfer. Fly back to Entebbe and later board your international flight home. You came to Uganda for the wildlife, but you’re leaving with so much more.