Yes, I know I am crazy to even consider such a cramped itinerary in East Africa
My main goal is tick off my childhood dream of climbing Kilimanjaro. So, my optimized itinerary has 8 days 9 nights allocated to accomplish that, with leeway for missed connections.
The next 6 days are outlandish: hiking to see mountain gorillas (Rwanda), wildebeest migration in Masai Mara (Kenya), level 5 rafting on the Nile (Uganda). Of course, not everything runs according to schedule in Africa and flights can be missed; but keeping my fingers crossed. If I manage to pull it off, it would definitely be an epic trip kicking off four bucket list items.
I would love to hear your opinion about the itinerary. Any suggestions to improve it would be really appreciated.
Tentative itinerary
| Day | Plan |
| 0 | Arrive at Nairobi,Kenya and stay the night |
| 1 | Nairobi to Moshi, Tanzania by shuttle. Overnight at Moshi |
| 2-8 | 7-day Kilimanjaro trek via the Machame route |
| 8 | Night flight to Kigali, Rwanda (via Nairobi). Reach Kigali ~midnight and stay overnight in Kigali |
| 9 | See the Genocide Memorial and drive to Virunga lodge. Overnight at Kinigi guesthouse, Ruhengeri,Rwanda |
| 10 | Hike up the Bishoke volcano to see the majestic mountain gorillas. Drive back to Kigali airport and catch red eye flight to Nairobi, Kenya |
| 11 | Early morning arrival in Nairobi, Kenya. Rent a 4*4 (with driver) and travel to Masai Mara National Park to see the spectacular wildebeest migration |
| 12 | Masai Mara game drive |
| 13 | Early morning game drive in Masai Mara and return to Nairobi airport. Late night flight to Entebbe, Uganda |
| 14 | Figure out how to get to Kampala, Uganda at 1AM. Catch shuttle to Jinja for level 5 rafting on Nile and back. Flight back to US at 1130PM |
If any of you have done part of this trip, it would be great to hear your experience. I haven’t yet booked the car rental for Kigali, Masai Mara and Jinja. Would really appreciate any help with that. The Masai Mara trip is crazy expensive since I am going solo. Wish I could split the expense with some other travelers.
Look out for my trip report in 3 months 🙂
Optriplan 
The only thing on your planned trip I’ve done is safari in Masai Mara. One and a half days there is completely inadequate
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@Alexis Totally agreed. The one full day and 2 half days I have there is inadequate. My plan is to return in a few years to Serengeti and Zanzibar for a 2 week trip. This trip, I am just taking a chance to experience the migration. Where did you stay in Masai Mara
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