21 Day Guided Motorcycle Tour around East Africa with Game Drives and Boat Trips

• Total distance by motorcycle: 3,592 km
• Total distance by van: 1,327 km

There will be a 10-minute break / stop, every 45 minutes of riding to relax, refresh, drink water, enjoy the view, take pictures, and meet local people along the road.

Skill levels required for this tour: Intermediate and advanced

Intermediate:

• Can ride for three to four hours
• Average riding experience
• Little assistance required
• Comfortable with extreme curves and leans
• Average experience with unsurfaced roads
• Steep ascents and descents

Advanced:

• Can ride for five to six hours
• Extensive riding experience
• Assistance on demand (if required)
• Experienced with riding a variety of motorcycles
• Comfortable with any terrain and weather conditions

Itinerary

Day 1: From Kampala to Murchison Falls National Park

• Departure: 05:30
• Arrival: 16:00
• Distance: 310 km / 196 mi (all paved)
• Accommodation: Nkundwa Safari Lodge
• Highlights: Rhino tracking (optional)

Murchison Falls National Park is the biggest national park in Uganda and is one of the biggest in Africa. You will have the option to track rhinos at Zziwa Rhino Sanctuary, and you will have lunch there. All the way from Kampala to Murchison Falls is tarmac.

Be ready, as it will be a long day, with lots of stops, breaks, and delays everywhere, and the weather will not be friendly at all, so bring lots of water with you for this day.

Day 2: Stay in Murchison Falls National Park

• Departure: 06:00
• Distance: 170 km (100 dirt) / 105 mi (62 dirt)
• Accommodation: Nkundwa Safari Lodge
• Highlights: Game ride and boat trip to the bottom of the Murchison Falls

On this day, you will wake up at 06:00, have breakfast, and head out for the national park. Sit in a safari car, go for a game drive, and come back at 11:00, then get rest, have lunch, and after lunch, you will head to the top of the falls on your motorcycle. Return to the lodge at around 17:00. Go swim in the pool or just rest, have dinner at 20:00, and then head to bed.

Day 3: Murchison Falls to Kibale Forest

• Departure: 09:00
• Arrival: 16:00
• Distance: 370 km / 230 mi (all paved)
• Accommodation: Isunga Lodge (shared room)
• Highlights: Views, culture, and local food

Enjoy one of the most beautiful views in Uganda along the Rwenzori Mountains. You will also pass through some small villages, see Lake Edward, which borders Congo, and you will have lunch at Fort Portal town before arriving at your lodge at around 16:00.

Day 4: Kibale Forest (a day for relaxing or doing some other activities)

• Accommodation: Isunga Lodge (shared room)
• Highlights: Culture, local food, chimps tracking (optional), and hiking

This day, everything will depend on you. You can either go for chimp tracking in Kibale Forest, hike in the mountains, walk around the local villages to see and meet local people, enjoy walking around the crater lakes, or just sit back, relax, and enjoy the view of the mountains from the lodge.

Day 5: Kibale Forest to Queen Elizabeth National Park

• Departure: 10:00
• Distance: 200 km / 124 mi (all paved)
• Accommodation: Kazinga Wilderness Camp (shared room)
• Highlight: Potholes, Rwenzori Mountains, Uganda equator, evening game ride

This day, you will cover the shortest distance, but it can take about four hours because of the road conditions. You will arrive at the lodge and settle in, have lunch and freshen up, then head out for an evening game ride at around 16:00 and be back at the lodge at around 16:30. Enjoy the evening and dinner.

Day 6: Stay in Queen Elizabeth National Park

• Departute: 06:30
• Arrival: 18:00
• Distance: 150 km / 93 mi (dirt)
• Accommodation: Kazinga Wilderness Camp (shared room)
• Highlight: Morning game drive and boat trip

This day, the morning game drive will start at 06:30, and you will arrive at the park gate at 07:00. Enter the park and ride around for three to four hours, trying to find tree climbing lions, which are very rare in Africa. You will see some herds of elephants, lots of antelopes, and if lucky, you can spot a leopard.

Head back to lodge, freshen up, and prepare yourself for the boat trip that starts at 14:00 at the Kazinga Channel. It ends at around 17:00, and then you can head back to the lodge for dinner. From the boat trip disembarkation to the lodge will be around one hour.

Day 7: Queen Elizabeth National Park to Kisoro town

• Departure: 07:00
• Arrival: 14:00
• Distance: 270 km / 168 mi (tarmac)
• Accommodation: Ikaze Cottages (shared room)
• Highlights: Beautiful views of mountains, curvy roads, sharp turns, and Lake Bunyonyi

This day, you will head to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest to track gorillas, then you will arrive in Kisoro town and finish your day. Watch out the sharp turns on this beautiful road, where you will be riding through the mountains, and the altitude can get really high and get pretty cold in the nighttime and sometimes, even in the daytime too. You will also be riding around Lake Bunyonyi.

Day 8: (Border crossing in Uganda / Rwanda) - From Kisoro to Kigali

• Departure: 10:00
• Arrival 14:00
• Distance: 129 km / 80 mi (tarmac)
• Accommodations: Gorilla Golf Hotel
• Highlights: Gorilla tracking and beautiful views of the mountains, Rwanda, and hills

This day, you will be taken to the Gate of the Forest, and your guide will introduce you to Uganda Wildlife Rangers, who will then take you to track gorillas. If you manage to finish the gorilla tracking early before lunch, you will cross the border to Rwanda and head to Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda.

On the way, you will see lots of mountains, which is why Rwanda is called the "Land of a Thousand Hills."

Please do not overspeed in Rwanda, and always follow the speed signs as long as you are in the country.

You will arrive at the hotel at around 17:00 and enjoy the rest of the evening there. If you can’t finish the gorilla tracking on time, you will have to sleep another night at Gorilla Golf Hotel.

Day 9: Stay in Kigali

• Departure: 09:00
• Accommodation: Gorilla Golf Hotel
• Highlights: Kigali city tours, genocide memorials, and Kigali Museum

On this day, you will be walking or driving around Kigali City and visiting some of the most famous sites in Rwanda, including many genocide memorials and the Kigali Museum.

Day 10: Kigali to Geita

• Departure: 07:00
• Arrival: 16:00
• Distance: 430 km / 267 mi (all tarmac, few potholes)
• Accommodation: Lenny Hotel Geita
• Highlights: Mountains, border crossing, desert crossing, and long day riding

On this day, you will ride to Geita town in Tanzania. You will be on the Tarmac road most of the time today, and border crossing there takes some time, as you will have to do all the security checks, passing your luggage through machines, and waiting in line, but do not panic.

The group will try to have a few minutes' stop at the Rusumo Falls while crossing the border. The falls are located on the border of Rwanda and Tanzania.

Day 11: Geita to Singida

• Distance: 430 km / 267 mi (all paved)
• Accommodation: Regency Hotel
• Highlights: Local culture, Masai Maraa, and beautiful views

This day, you will wake up early in the morning and head to the small town of Singida. Along the way, you will meet lots of local people, interact with them, and get to know the Masai culture in this part of Tanzania. You will also arrive at the hotel early enough on this day.

Day 12: Singida to Ngorongoro Crater

• Distamce: 300 km / 186 mi
• Accommodation: Manyara Best View Lodge
• Highlights: Mountains, Serengeti, Great Migration, and wildlife

Wake up at 05:00, then head out for the Serengeti, where you will be doing a game drive until 10:00, and after the game drive, you will head out to Ngorongoro Crater. There will be very many breathtaking views on the road there.

The Ngorongoro Crater is a must-see in Africa, as it's one of the wonders in Africa where somehow, the whole wildlife gathered in this small crater and never left. In the crater, you will find all kinds of wildlife, but the views along the way and in the crater are also worth traveling through it.

Day 13: Ngorongoro Crater

• Distance: 300 km
• Accommodation: Manyara Best View Lodge
• Highlights: Mountains, Serengeti, Great Migration, and wildlife

You will see the Ngorongoro Crater.

Day 14: Ngorongoro Crater to Mount Kilimanjaro

• Departure: 11:00
• Arrival: 15:30
• Distance: 260 km (200 km tarmac, 50 km off-road) by van / 162 mi (124 mi tarmac, 31 mi off-road) by van
• Accommodation: Salinero Hotel Kilimanjaro
• Highlights: Beautiful Views, nice tarmac road, Masai Mara, Arusha town

On this day after lunch, you will start your journey to Mount Kilimanjaro. You will still be in the Masai Mara Region of Tanzania, so expect to see lots of Masai people around you. As you drive to Kilimanjaro, you will pass through a town called Arusha, which is very famous for its culture and history. You will enjoy lots of mountain views as you drive to Mount Kilimanjaro.

Day 15: (A day for relaxing or doing some other activities) - Stay in Mount Kilimanjaro

• Accommodation: Salinero Hotel Kilimanjaro
• Highlights: Resting, swimming, walking in the local villages, meeting locals, discovering Masai culture

On this day, you will have options to just sit back and rest, or you can do many small local activities, like walking around the Masai villages, meeting locals, learning how Masai people live life in this region, and learning the history of their culture.

It’ll basically be a day wherein you can choose to do nothing or just do some small walks in and out of the hotel. Also enjoy the view of Mount Kilimanjaro from your hotel.

Day 16: (Motorcycle - Border crossing in Tanzania / Kenya) - Mount Kilimanjaro to Nairobi

• Deptarture: 10:00
• Arrival: 16:00
• Distance: 350 km / 217 (all tarmac) by van
• Accommodation: Silver Springs Hotel
• Highlight: Masai Mara Region, border crossing, Nairobi City

On this day, you will enjoy another border crossing as you head to Kenya's capital city, Nairobi. You will be staying in the heart of Nairobi and spend two days wandering around the city. Expect everything that a busy African capital city has to offer: noise, busy life, traffic, and chaos. You will also find your bikes, which you'll leave in Geita town, parked, washed, and waiting for you.

Day 17: (A day for relaxing or doing some other activities) - Nairobi (Nairobery)

• Accommodation: Silver Springs Hotel
• Highlights: Nairobi city life, walking around town, shopping, food, city life

On this day, you can wake up any time and get ready to explore Nairobi City, by foot or by car - it will depend on you. Do shopping, try local food, enjoy riding on Boda Boda in town, or just simply walk around the city.

Day 18: Nairobi to Eldoret

• Departure: 11:00
• Arrival: 16:00
• Distance: 350 km / 217 mi (all tarmac)
• Accommodation: Grand Swiss Hotel
• Highlights: Nairobi traffic, Lake Naivasha, Great Rift Valley, savannah

Head to Kisumu town, where on this day, you will be riding through valleys and mountains before you cross Lake Naivasha's town. Keep your heads up for some breathtaking views along the road and watch out for your speed limits, as traffic police will be standing alert on this road and waiting for you to make a small mistake.

Day 19: (Border crossing in Kenya / Uganda) - Kisimu to Jinja

• Departure: 10:00
• Arrival: 15:00
• Distance: 350 km / 217 (all tarmac)
• Accommodation: Nile River Explorer
• Highlights: Border crossing, forest, Nile River, source of the Nile

This day, you will ride from Kisimu to Jinja town (Uganda). You will cross the Kenya / Uganda border and head to Jinja. It will all be tarmac road, and border crossing can be hectic, but your guide will make sure that all the processes go smoothly and easily. Arrive in Jinja and enjoy the sunset on the Nile River.

Day 20: (A day for relaxing or doing rafting) - Stay in Jinja (Nile River rafting)

• Departure: 07:00
• Arrival: 16:00
• Accommodation: Nile River Explorer
• Highlights: Rafting, rafting, rafting, and getting wet

On this day, you will spend the whole day white water rafting and enjoying the River Nile.

Day 21: Jinja to Kampala

• Departure: 11:00
• Arrival: 16:00
• Distance: 120 km / 75 mi (all tarmac)
• Highlights: Mabira Forest, traffic

On this day, you will be heading back to Kampala. On your way, you will pass by Mabira Forest. Be very careful with the traffic on the road. Traffic jams are very common on this route, so be ready for some stressful riding.