About choosing between the five

Kenya, for most couples: the widest range of things in the shortest distances, the easiest logistics, the highest density of big cats, and a coast two hours away.

Tanzania if scale is the point, or if your dates fall in February and the calving appeals.

For many couples it is the most extraordinary hour of their lives. What we would say plainly is that the trek is hard — steep, wet, muddy, up to several hours each way.

Put a soft day either side and do not schedule it for the morning after a long flight.

Rwanda if you want it comfortable and short: two hours from the airport on good roads, superb lodges, a complete trip in six nights.

Uganda if the trek itself is the point: lower permits, wilder forest, chimps at Kibale, far fewer people — and considerably more driving.

If they are genuinely different, yes — Rwanda with a Kenyan conservancy works because forest and plains are nothing alike.

Kenya with northern Tanzania does not. It is one ecosystem with a border through it.

Uganda, by a meaningful margin. Kenya next. But the cheapest country is rarely the cheapest trip, because on anything shorter than a fortnight the number of internal flights matters more than the nightly rate.

A East Africa safari is usually quoted fully inclusive: accommodation, all meals, park and conservancy fees, your guide and vehicle, and transport between parks. Most camps include soft drinks, house wine, beer and laundry.

Not included: international flights, visas or travel authorisation, travel insurance, tips, premium drinks, and extras like balloon flights and spa treatments.

For July to October — the migration months in the Masai Mara — six to twelve months is normal, and the best small camps sell out first. Christmas and New Year book up just as early.

For the shoulder months, three to four months is usually comfortable. Inside eight weeks we can still put a very good trip together, but you are choosing from what is left rather than from everything.

This site is a planning guide. When you send an enquiry it goes to Nomad Africa, our partner travel agency in Kenya, who prepare your itinerary and quote and handle the booking, the payments and you on the ground.

You deal with one team from the first email to the airport transfer home.

No. Sending your dates, getting an itinerary and getting a costed quote is free and carries no obligation. Money only changes hands when you decide to hold space at a camp.