Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda
Family Safaris in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda
Private safaris planned around your children's ages: game drives and boat trips for young children, chimpanzee tracking at 12 and over in Uganda, gorilla trekking at 15 and over.
What children can do on a safari in East Africa, by age
We plan private family safaris in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda. The first thing we ask is how old each child is, because the parks set the age limits.
Two limits matter most. Gorilla trekking is for 15 and over, in Uganda and in Rwanda. Chimpanzee tracking is for 12 and over in Uganda, and 15 and over in Nyungwe, Rwanda.
Most of the rest is open to younger children. The Uganda Wildlife Authority publishes no minimum age for game drives, launch trips or nature walks, and Akagera in Rwanda sets none for its boat trips and game drives. Children under 5 enter the parks free in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Akagera in Rwanda.
The vehicle and the guide are yours alone, so the day runs at your children's pace. We plan fewer moves and longer stays.
Game drives with young children
A game drive is where the youngest can join in, and in a private vehicle you stop when they need to.
The Uganda Wildlife Authority publishes no minimum age for game drives, and neither does Akagera in Rwanda. A guide, a vehicle with a roof that opens, and a pair of binoculars each is most of what a child needs.
Night drives in Uganda's parks are only for guests sleeping inside the park, so if you want one, we book a lodge inside.
Children's park fees in Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania
Who counts as a child, who goes free, and what a child pays for a day in the main parks. Fees are for foreign visitors, per child, per day, and are included in our safari prices.
| Uganda | Akagera, Rwanda | Kenya | Tanzania | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enters free | Under 5 | Under 6 | Under 5 in national parks; under 9 in the Mara Triangle | Under 5 |
| Pays the child rate | Ages 5 to 15; adult rate from 16 | Ages 6 to 12; adult rate from 13 | Up to 17 in national parks; 9 to 17 in the Mara Triangle; adult rate from 18 | Ages 5 to 15; adult rate from 16 |
| Child entry, one day | USD 25 at Murchison Falls; USD 20 at Queen Elizabeth, Bwindi, Kibale, Kidepo, Lake Mburo and Mgahinga | USD 50 on the park's 2025 price list | USD 45 at Amboseli and Lake Nakuru; USD 50 in the Mara Triangle | TZS 51,100 in the Serengeti for 2026/27; USD 23.60 in Ngorongoro on the authority's 2023 tariff |
| Fees set by | Uganda Wildlife Authority | Akagera's managers, with the Rwanda Development Board | Kenya Wildlife Service; Mara Conservancy for the Mara Triangle | Tanzania National Parks; Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority |
Boat trips in Uganda, on the Nile at Murchison Falls and the Kazinga Channel
A two-hour boat trip past hippos and crocodiles, with no minimum age in the Uganda Wildlife Authority's tariff.
At Murchison Falls the launch leaves Paraa and runs upriver to the foot of the falls. In Queen Elizabeth National Park the launch runs from Mweya along the Kazinga Channel, past hippos, crocodiles and waterbirds.
Each costs USD 30 per person and takes about two hours. The Uganda Wildlife Authority sets no minimum age for either and lists no separate child rate, so we confirm what a child pays when we book. In Akagera, Rwanda, a scheduled boat trip lasts an hour, and children of 5 and under go free.
Gorillas at 15 and over, chimpanzees at 12 and over, game drives for young children
Tracking rhino on foot at Ziwa, Uganda
You leave the vehicle and walk with a ranger to white rhino grazing in the grass.
Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary lies beside the Kampala to Gulu road, 5 km before the turning to Masindi, so it fits on the way from Entebbe to Murchison Falls. The sanctuary puts a trek at one and a half to two and a half hours, depending on where the rhinos are.
Uganda's rhino breeding programme began at Ziwa in 2005, and rhinos from Ziwa have since been moved to Ajai Wildlife Reserve and Kidepo Valley National Park. Ziwa's own rates and the Uganda Wildlife Authority's tariff differ, so we confirm the price and any age rule when we book.
Children's walks, canopy walkways and a wildlife centre in Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania
Beyond game drives and boats, these are the places with something set aside for children, or open to them when the big treks are not.
- The Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Centre, Entebbe. Opened in 1952 for injured and orphaned wild animals, and, in its own words, not a zoo in a conventional sense. Open daily from 8:30 to 18:30. Visitors from outside East Africa pay USD 15, and their children aged 3 to 14 USD 10. Its Keeper for a Day Junior programme takes children aged 6 to 16, booked in advance.
- Children's walks in Kibale, Bwindi and Mgahinga. The Uganda Wildlife Authority's tariff lists guided short nature walks for children at USD 5, and painting, art and scout activities at USD 10, per child.
- Bigodi Wetland walk, beside Kibale, Uganda. A boardwalk through a papyrus swamp, run by the village community, with eight primate species and more than 200 bird species.
- Nyungwe's canopy walkway, Rwanda. A walkway hung 60 metres above the forest floor. We confirm the age rule for your children when we book.
- Boat trips and game drives in Akagera, Rwanda. Rwanda's savanna park, with boat trips, game drives and night drives that set no minimum age. Children of 5 and under pay no entry or activity fees.
- Lake Manyara's canopy walkway, Tanzania. Open from age 5, by the Tanzania National Parks 2023/24 tariff.
Kenya and Tanzania with children: the Maasai Mara and the Serengeti
Game drives in the Maasai Mara and the Serengeti, with lower park fees for children.
In the Mara Triangle, the western part of the Maasai Mara, children under 9 enter free. In Kenya's national parks, such as Amboseli and Lake Nakuru, the Kenya Wildlife Service charges a child rate for children up to age 17.
In Tanzania, the Serengeti charges a child rate from 5 to 15. The descent into Ngorongoro Crater is charged per vehicle, so a family sharing one vehicle pays it once. Balloon flights in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area take children aged 8 and over, and walking safaris in Tanzania's national parks take children aged 12 and over.
Kenya requires an approved Electronic Travel Authorization for every visitor, infants and children included. We tell you which documents each child needs when we send your route.
Three family safaris in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania
Typically 8 to 12 daysUgandaUganda Family Safarifrom USD 3,600per personSee the itinerary
Typically 7 to 10 daysKenyaBest of Kenyafrom USD 4,900per personSee the itinerary
Typically 6 to 9 daysTanzaniaBest of Tanzaniafrom USD 3,250per personSee the itineraryLonger, shorter, a different month, two countries in one run. Say what you have in mind and a first route and a real price come back within one working day.
Start with a dateQuestions about family safaris in East Africa
What is the minimum age for gorilla trekking?
15, in Uganda and in Rwanda. The Uganda Wildlife Authority and the Rwanda Development Board set it. If some of you are 15 or over and some are not, one adult can trek while another stays with the younger children, and we plan the days around it.
Can children go chimpanzee tracking?
From age 12 in Uganda, set by the Uganda Wildlife Authority, for the standard trek and the habituation experience in Kibale alike. In Nyungwe, Rwanda, the minimum is 15.
Is there a minimum age for game drives and boat trips?
The Uganda Wildlife Authority publishes none for game drives, launch trips or nature walks. Night drives in Uganda's parks are only for guests sleeping inside the park. In Akagera, Rwanda, the park's price list sets no minimum age for boat trips, game drives or night drives.
Do children pay park fees?
Children under 5 enter free in Uganda, Rwanda's Akagera, Kenya's national parks and Tanzania, and in the Mara Triangle children under 9 enter free. Older children pay a child rate. In Uganda that applies from 5 to 15, in Kenya's national parks up to 17, in the Mara Triangle from 9 to 17, in Tanzania from 5 to 15 and in Akagera from 6 to 12. In Akagera, children of 13 and over pay the adult rate.
What documents do children need?
Every child aged 1 or over needs a yellow fever certificate: always for Uganda; for Kenya if arriving from Uganda; and for Tanzania or Rwanda if arriving from Uganda or Kenya. Kenya also requires every visitor, infants and children included, to have an approved Electronic Travel Authorization before travelling.
Which country should we choose for a family safari?
It depends on the children's ages. If the youngest is 15 or over, Uganda or Rwanda let you add gorillas. If the youngest is 12 to 14, Uganda adds chimpanzees. With younger children, the savanna parks work, with game drives and boat trips: Murchison Falls and Queen Elizabeth in Uganda, Akagera in Rwanda, the Maasai Mara in Kenya and the Serengeti in Tanzania. Tell us the ages and we suggest a route.
How much does a family safari cost?
We price each trip for your family: how many of you there are, every child's age, your dates and the lodges you choose. Each safari's own page shows its current starting price, and we send you a full price for your exact trip.
Where can children see rhino in Uganda?
At Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, on the way from Entebbe to Murchison Falls, where you walk with a ranger to white rhino. Ziwa's own rates and the Uganda Wildlife Authority's tariff differ, so we confirm the price and any age rule for your children before we book.
Send your dates and every child's age.
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