Uganda Honeymoon Safari
One gorilla trek in Bwindi early in the trip, then Lake Bunyonyi and the crater lakes around Fort Portal, with whole days that have nothing scheduled.
A starting point, not a packagebuilt around your dates, your pace and how much you want to move
fromUSD 4,200per personfrom, per person, two sharing, permit included
Trek Bwindi on the second morning,
then three nights on Lake Bunyonyi.
A gorilla trek is wonderful and it is hard: steep forest between 1,160 and 2,607 metres, and nobody can tell you in advance how far the gorillas have moved overnight. Put it at the end of a honeymoon and you fly home tired. Put it near the beginning and the rest of the trip becomes the reward.
So this route puts the forest first and then slows down. In the Uganda Wildlife Authority's words, the country east of the Rwenzori is dotted with volcanic crater lakes and carpeted with tea plantations. Lake Bunyonyi is a long, island-filled highland lake for canoes and quiet decks. We stay out of the water: the snails that carry bilharzia were recorded there in 2023 and 2024.
We put the two of you in a vehicle with one guide, pick lodges where dinner is not at a shared table, and leave days with nothing in them.
Highlights
The itinerary
Kigali to Bwindi, via the Cyanika border
We meet you at Kigali International and drive north-west through the terraced hills, about four and a half hours plus the border, crossing into Uganda at Cyanika. The last stretch runs toward southern Bwindi with the Virunga volcanoes behind you.
You arrive with time to settle in before the briefing in the morning. Dinner is early, because the alarm is not.
About 4 hours 30 by road, plus the border
LuxuryForest-edge lodge, fireplace in the room
PremiumComfortable lodge near the trailhead
The hour with the gorillas in Bwindi
A briefing, then tracking starts at 8:00, with no more than eight visitors to each gorilla family. Nobody can tell you in advance how far the gorillas have moved overnight, so the walk can take under an hour or most of the day. The ground is steep and usually wet.
Then one hour with the gorillas, at least ten metres away, as the Uganda Wildlife Authority asks. The rest of the day is a fire, a bath and no plans at all.
On foot, from under an hour to most of the day
LuxuryForest-edge lodge, fireplace in the room
PremiumComfortable lodge near the trailhead
Three nights on Lake Bunyonyi
A short drive down to the lake, about an hour and a half, and then nothing scheduled for three days. Bunyonyi is terraced to the waterline and full of islands.
There is a canoe if you want one, and a walk up to the ridge for the view over the lake. There is also the option of doing none of that. We stay out of the water: the snails that carry bilharzia were recorded in the lake in 2023 and 2024.
About 1 hour 30 from Bwindi
LuxuryIsland lodge reached by boat
PremiumLakeshore lodge with a private terrace
North to Fort Portal and the crater lakes
The drive north to Fort Portal takes about four and a half hours, with the Rwenzori ahead of you. In the Uganda Wildlife Authority's words, the country east of the Rwenzori is dotted with volcanic crater lakes and carpeted with tea plantations.
Three nights here, with a walk between the crater lakes if you want it, or a tea factory visit. We stay out of the water and walk the rims and trails: a 2013 medical study recorded travellers catching bilharzia after a short swim in Lake Nyinambuga, a crater lake in western Uganda.
About 4 hours 30 from Bunyonyi
LuxuryLodge on a crater rim
PremiumLodge in the tea country
The road to Entebbe
The drive east to Entebbe takes about five hours, through Mubende and down into the lake basin. We stop where you want to stop.
If you would rather fly this leg, we price a light aircraft for you.
About 5 hours by road, or a light aircraft
Departure, or a night by the lake if your flight is early
Permits are released per day, and the best months go first.
Give us an approximate date and we check availability against it. No payment, no obligation.
What your trip includes
Gorilla permit, USD 800 per person
Full board throughout
Private 4x4 and driver-guide, the same one all trip
All park fees and government taxes
Canoe on Lake Bunyonyi
Airport collection and return
Border assistance at Cyanika
What it does not cover
International flights
Uganda and Rwanda visas
Porter on the trek
Light aircraft flights, priced separately if you want them
Spa treatments and massages
Alcohol and personal items
Tips for your guide
Not quite the trip you had in mind? Every departure is private, so the length and the lodges are yours to change. Tell us what you want.
Rwanda
Kigali is the cleanest, best-connected arrival point in the region and the reason this itinerary works: you land there in the morning and sleep beside the forest that night. Rwanda also has its own gorillas in the Virungas, Nyungwe’s chimpanzees along the canopy walk, and Akagera, the only big-five park in the country.
Uganda
Private safaris in Uganda, built around Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, which holds 459 of the world’s 1,063 mountain gorillas by the Uganda Wildlife Authority’s latest count. Uganda’s gorilla permit is USD 800, against USD 1,500 in Rwanda, and the same trip can take in chimpanzees in Kibale, the Kazinga Channel and Murchison Falls.
Pace, the gorilla trek and permit prices
What to bring
- Waterproof jacket and thick gloves for the trek
- Ankle boots with real grip
- Sandals and a sun hat for the lake days
- Something warm for the evenings, it is cold at altitude
- Insect repellent
- A good book for the lake days
- Camera, with the flash turned off
Before you ask
Is a safari a good honeymoon?
If it is built right. Moving every day makes a honeymoon tiring. This route puts the one hard morning near the start and then slows down, with three nights in the same bed at Bunyonyi and nothing scheduled.
Can we swim in Lake Bunyonyi or the crater lakes?
No. We stay out of the water. No health authority has declared Lake Bunyonyi free of bilharzia, and the snails that carry it were recorded in the lake in 2023 and 2024. In western Uganda, a 2013 medical study recorded travellers catching bilharzia after a short swim in Lake Nyinambuga, a crater lake. Enjoy the lakes from a canoe or a deck.
What happens if I need to cancel?
Nothing is paid when you enquire. Once you confirm, we buy your gorilla permit from the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) in your name, and UWA takes the full permit price when we book it. If you cancel, whether any of the permit price comes back is UWA's decision under its own rules, not ours. If your dates change instead, UWA's rules let a standard permit move up to two times, to a new date within 12 months, as long as the request reaches UWA at least 14 days before the trek (we make it for you, so tell us before then) and permits are still available on the new date. UWA charges nothing for the first move and 25% of the permit price for the second, and UWA does not refund a permit once it has been moved. Under UWA's rules, the discounted low-season permits (USD 600 in November 2026) cannot be moved. What happens to the rest of your payment is set out in your booking confirmation, and we give you your deposit amount and balance date in writing before you pay anything.
Can you arrange a surprise for the honeymoon?
Yes, and quietly. Tell us what you would like and we will have the lodge do it without an announcement in the dining room. We do not charge for it as a line item.
Do the lodges have a spa?
Not in the resort sense. Tell us if massages or treatments matter to you, and we choose lodges that offer them.
How soon will you reply?
Within one working day, with a route, a price with nothing hidden in it and an honest view on whether the days you have suit the trip you want.
Tell us roughly when
hello@wildroutetours.com
A trip designer replies within one working day.