Uganda to Tanzania Overland Adventure (Self-Launched)

Land at Entebbe and take a shared taxi or boda-boda into Kampala (roughly UGX 15,000-25,000 / £3-5). Check into a hostel in the Kololo or Ntinda area. Spend the afternoon at the Ndere Cultural Centre or wander the craft stalls on Buganda Road. Grab a role for dinner — matoke, luwombo or a rolex (chapati roll) for under £3. Sort your Ugandan e-visa in advance and pick up a local SIM (MTN or Airtel, ~£2 for data).

🚌Shared taxi/boda from Entebbe ~£4

🛏Hostel dorm or private room, Kampala (£8-14)

• →Ndere Cultural Centre
• →Kampala craft markets
• →Local food crawl

Take a bus from Kampala's Namayiba or Kisenyi bus park to Kabale (roughly 8-9 hours, UGX 40,000-60,000 / £9-14). Ask the driver to stop at the Equator crossing at Kayabwe for the classic photo — tourists crossing on foot is a free highlight. From Kabale take a boda-boda or shared taxi down to Lake Bunyonyi (£2-3). Check into a lakeside guesthouse or camp — this area is full of cheap backpacker lodges with terraced hillside views. Swim and acclimatise.

🚌Bus Kampala-Kabale ~£12, boda to lake ~£2

🛏Lakeside guesthouse/camp, Lake Bunyonyi (£8-15)

• →Equator crossing at Kayabwe
• →Lake Bunyonyi swimming
• →Sunset over the 29 islands

Your single biggest splurge: a mountain gorilla permit. Book through the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) directly, ideally months ahead — foreign non-resident permits are USD $800 (~£630). Arrange a boda-boda or shared transport from Bunyonyi to the Bwindi trailhead the night before (£8-12 round trip). Trekking lasts 1-6 hours through steep, muddy volcanic forest; bring a porter (£10 tip) and gardening gloves. You'll get one hour with a habituated gorilla family. If it's your only permit, book as early as possible — daily slots are capped at 8 people per family.

🚌Boda-boda to Bwindi trailhead ~£10 return

🛏Lakeside guesthouse/camp, Lake Bunyonyi (£8-15)

• →Mountain gorilla trekking with UWA permit
• →Bwindi Impenetrable National Park hiking

Recover from the trek. Hire a canoe (£5-8) or take a motorboat tour of the islands (£30-40 through your lodge). Optional bird watching walk (£8) — the lake is named 'place of many little birds' for a reason. Hike to a viewpoint for the classic terraced-hill panorama. Dinner at the lodge and an early night; tomorrow is a road day.

🚌Walking

🛏Lakeside guesthouse/camp, Lake Bunyonyi (£8-15)

• →Canoeing
• →Motorboat island tour
• →Bird watching walk
• →Hillside viewpoints

Shared taxi or bus back up to Kabale, then a bus toward Mbarara/Queen Elizabeth National Park and on to Kalinzu (roughly 6-7 hours total, ~£12-16). Kalinzu sits right beside Queen Elizabeth National Park and has a low-key forest camp. Book your chimp permit through the Uganda Wildlife Authority or a local operator at the forest station (~£60-90 for chimp tracking; verify current rate on arrival and reserve a slot a day ahead). Afternoon free to walk the forest edge.

🚌Bus/shared taxi Kabale-Kalinzu ~£14

🛏Forest camp/guesthouse near Kalinzu (£8-15)

• →Kalinzu Forest Reserve arrival
• →Forest-edge walking

Early morning chimpanzee tracking in Kalinzu Forest with a ranger — small groups, easier to arrange last-minute than Bwindi. Ask your camp to arrange a tea plantation visit nearby (usually a few dollars or free with lunch). Then travel onward to Lake Mburo (roughly 3-4 hours, ~£8-10). Book a Lake Mburo boat safari through the park or your lodge in the afternoon (~£25-30), or simply walk with a ranger (~£20).

🚌Shared taxi to Lake Mburo ~£9

🛏Campsite or bandas near Lake Mburo (£10-18)

• →Kalinzu chimpanzee tracking
• →Tea plantation visit
• →Lake Mburo boat safari

Long travel day: shared taxi from Mburo to Masaka, then a bus to Kampala and another to Jinja (roughly 7-8 hours total, ~£12-15). Stop for lunch in Kayabwe near the equator at the AidChild Equation Café & Gallery (a community project supporting children affected by HIV) — a great independent alternative to the tour's G for Good stop. Arrive Jinja in the evening and check into a hostel near the Nile.

🚌Shared taxis + bus to Jinja ~£13

🛏Hostel, Jinja (£8-15)

• →Equator photo stop
• →AidChild Equation Café & Gallery
• →Nile riverside evening

Book directly with a Jinja rafting operator (Nalubale, Adrift and similar outfits all run day trips) — full-day White Nile rafting typically runs £120-140 and includes lunch and transport. Cheaper alternatives: quad biking (~£60-70), sunset Nile cruise (~£25), or mountain biking in Mabira Forest (~£45). Rafting on the Nile here is one of the best-value Grade 5 experiences in the world.

🚌Local boda-bodas ~£3

🛏Hostel, Jinja (£8-15)

• →White Nile white-water rafting
• →Quad biking
• →Nile sunset cruise
• →Mabira Forest mountain biking

Cross the border at Malaba on foot — buses and matatus run Jinja to Busia/Malaba then on to Eldoret (roughly 5-6 hours total, ~£8-12). Have your Ugandan exit and Kenyan eTA sorted before you travel (Kenya requires an eTA for all nationalities). Eldoret is unglamorous but a practical overnight; there are cheap guesthouses and the elevation means cool nights. A good spot to stock up on supplies and cash before safari territory.

🚌Bus + matatu via Malaba border ~£10

🛏Budget guesthouse, Eldoret (£10-16)

• →Malaba border crossing
• →Eldoret town walk

Bus or shared shuttle from Eldoret to Nairobi (roughly 5-6 hours, ~£8-12 with Easy Coach or similar). Check into a hostel or budget hotel in Kilimani, Westlands or the CBD. Spend the evening at the Nairobi National Museum (~£8) or grab a famous Kenyan coffee and a meal of nyama choma. Sort out your Arusha shuttle booking for tomorrow.

🚌Coach to Nairobi ~£10

🛏Hostel/budget hotel, Nairobi (£12-22)

• →Nairobi National Museum
• →Kenyan coffee crawl
• →Nyama choma dinner

Take a scheduled Riverside Shuttle or Impala Shuttle from Nairobi to Arusha via the Namanga border (roughly 6-7 hours, ~£22-30). Tanzanian e-visa and the new mandatory Tanzania inbound travel insurance should be handled online before travel. Keep an eye out for Kilimanjaro as you approach Arusha. Arrive in the evening, check into a hostel in central Arusha, and confirm your Serengeti/Ngorongoro safari booking for tomorrow.

🚌Riverside Shuttle Nairobi-Arusha ~£26

🛏Hostel/guesthouse, Arusha (£10-18)

• →Namanga border crossing
• →Kilimanjaro views
• →Arusha markets

Join a small-group camping safari rather than a private one — 3-day/2-night Serengeti & Ngorongoro camping departures from Arusha cost roughly £350-500 per person including park fees, a 4x4, cook and camp (book via a local Arusha operator, Klook or GetYourGuide). You'll drive through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area to the Serengeti in the afternoon and get your first game drive en route. Camp inside or at the gate of the park; the Serengeti's mobile camps are basic (squat toilets, no showers) but you'll hear wildlife at night.

🚌4x4 safari vehicle, ~6 hours driving

🛏Participation camping in/near Serengeti (included in safari cost)

• →Afternoon game drive
• →Serengeti National Park wildlife viewing

Full day of game drives across the Serengeti plains — lions, elephants, giraffe, zebra, buffalo and if you're lucky leopard and rhino. Optional hot-air balloon safari (~£450-480, book ahead with Miracle Experience or Serengeti Balloon Safaris) for sunrise over the plains with a bush breakfast — expensive but a genuine bucket-list moment. Second night camping in the park.

🚌4x4 safari vehicle

🛏Participation camping near Serengeti (included)

• →Full-day game drives
• →Optional hot-air balloon safari

Early start to descend into the Ngorongoro Crater at dawn — the densest concentration of wildlife in Africa, with a real chance of black rhino. Picnic breakfast by the hippo pool. Climb back out and drive back to Arusha by evening, where you'll rejoin your own accommodation. Optional Mto wa Mbu village walk and lunch (~£10-15) on the way back is a worthwhile local alternative to the tour's community visit.

🚌4x4 back to Arusha

🛏Hostel/guesthouse, Arusha (£10-18)

• →Ngorongoro Crater safari
• →Mto wa Mbu village walk
• →Rhino and lion spotting

Either fly (Air Tanzania/Precision Air, ~£45-80 one-way, ~1 hour) or take the luxury bus (Dar Express, ~12 hours, ~£15-20). Flying saves a day and is a reasonable use of budget on a tight itinerary. Overnight near the ferry port in Dar es Salaam; buy your Zanzibar ferry ticket for tomorrow morning at the Azam Marine or Kilimanjaro ferry office.

🚌Flight ~£60 or luxury bus ~£17

🛏Budget hotel near port, Dar es Salaam (£12-20)

• →Kariakoo market
• →Dar es Salaam waterfront

Take the morning fast ferry from Dar es Salaam to Stone Town (~2 hours, roughly £28-35 one-way with Azam Marine). Check into a guesthouse in Stone Town — converted Swahili merchant houses are lovely and cheap. Do a self-guided walk of the old town: the Old Fort, Forodhani Gardens, and a visit to the Old Slave Market and Christ Church Cathedral (~£5). Dinner at Forodhani night market — eat Zanzibar pizza, urojo and fresh seafood for under £5.

🚌Azam ferry ~£32

🛏Guesthouse, Stone Town (£15-25)

• →Stone Town heritage walk
• →Old Slave Market & Christ Church
• →Forodhani Gardens night market

Morning spice farm tour on the way north (~£15-20, arranged through your guesthouse). Continue by dala-dala (shared minibus, ~£1-2) to Nungwi or Kendwa for the island's best swimming beaches — no tide issues here, unlike the east coast. Stay in a beach backpacker lodge, swim, and watch the sunset on a dhow cruise (~£12-18).

🚌Dala-dala to north ~£2

🛏Beach hostel/bungalow, Nungwi (£15-28)

• →Spice farm tour
• →Nungwi beach swimming
• →Dhow sunset cruise

Take a shared boat snorkelling trip to Mnemba Atoll (~£25-35 including gear) — excellent coral and reef fish. Alternatively head southwest to Jozani Forest for the endemic Zanzibar red colobus monkeys (~£8 entry with a local guide; the tour's £36-160 pricing is inflated by agents). Last night on the island: seafood dinner on the beach.

🚌Shared boat / dala-dala ~£8

🛏Beach hostel/bungalow, Nungwi (£15-28)

• →Mnemba Atoll snorkelling
• →Jozani Forest red colobus monkeys
• →Beach dinner

Dala-dala back to Stone Town and a final wander through the markets before your flight or ferry out. Allow 2-3 hours before a flight to get to Abeid Amani Karume International Airport. If returning to Dar, the ferry is the cheap option (~£32). Pick up coffee, spices and kanga fabric as last-day souvenirs.

🚌Dala-dala ~£2 + airport transfer ~£5

🛏None (departure day)

• →Stone Town markets
• →Spice and souvenir shopping