Name: Congo, Uganda, Rwanda Gorillas & Safari
Start: 2023-08-18T00:00:00.000Z
End: 2023-08-24T00:00:00.000Z
Location: Congo, Uganda, Rwanda

My Life's a Travel TRIBE

28 reviews

Aug 18 - 24, 2023

Group size: 12 - 30

Congo, Uganda, Rwanda Gorillas & Safari

Congo, Uganda, Rwanda

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My Life's a Travel TRIBE

28 reviews

Aug 18 - 24, 2023

Group size: 12 - 30

One of our absolute top bucketlist adventure group trips is back thanks to popular demand! And next year it's going to be even more epic than ever, because we're adding in a safari game drive, and a stop in a beautiful lake town in Rwanda!

You'll get to experience THREE countries on this trip, with the main attraction of Gorilla Trekking up in the mountain jungles! Our guide; a former Congolese refugee-turned-entreprenuer and expert guide will lead us the way, and Alyssa will be there to enjoy this epic experience alongside you!

Day 1
Day 1
Arrivals in Uganda
Today you'll arrive in your first of the three countries; UGANDA! You should have already gotten your East Africa visa which covers Uganda and Rwanda, and if you'd like to take money out at the airport or grab a SIM card, feel free!

Otherwise your airport transfer will take you from Entebbe to Kampala (about 1.5 hour drive) where you'll check into the hotel and relax for a bit depending on what time you get in.

If you arrive early, we will be offering an optional city tour of Kampala, along with a visit to an NGO that helps at risk youth women learn trade skills, which is also where you can pre-order some dresses to be made (we will send you all the info later!).

After everyone has arrived, we will have our Welcome Dinner at the hotel and our briefing for the trip!

Hotel: Best Western Kampala
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Day 2
Day 2
Drive To Lake Mburo
DEPART AT: 7am

DISTANCE from Kampala to next hotel: 4 hours 20 mins

What to wear tips: comfortable clothes

We have a bit of a drive today, but with plenty of awesome stops along the way! First we'll stop at the Equator sign for photos of us standing right in the middle of the planets lateral line!

Then we will head to Masaka Children's Center to learn about how the center helps underprivileged and orphaned children by raising money for them through our donations, and teaching them life skills that are necessary to live happy and healthy lives. Please consider purchasing something here or donating directly!

Later we will have a cultural evening at Mbarara before heading to our hotel finally for dinner and an early night, since we also have an early morning!

Hotel: Igongo Hotel
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Day 3
Day 3
Safari Drive!
DEPART AT: 7am

What to wear tips: Safari outfits or anything you want for pics, maybe comfy clothes for the drive

We'll wake up super early for our SAFARI to catch the animals before they go hide from the heat! The morning game drive is only about 45 minutes from the hotel, so the earlier we leave, the better!

Later we will start our long drive to the main event; Bwindi Impenetrable Forest! It's about a 6 hour drive but we will make plenty of stops along the way!

When we finally arrive, we'll have a delicious dinner before an early night since we'll be waking up super early again to see the GORILLAS!

Stay at Ingoro or Broadbill Lodge
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Day 4
Day 4
Gorilla Trekking!
DEPART AT: 6am

What to wear tips: Your gorilla trekking outfits (Mandatory checklist: click here)

We'll wake up SUPER early, because after the gorillas are done eating in the morning, they tend to go hide for nap time! It will be a close drive though since we're staying in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, where the trekking takes place!

Be sure to follow our Gorilla Trekking gear recommendations, because we WILL be climbing through the jungle for several hours and it is essential that everyone is dressed appropriately and prepared!

Rangers, trackers, and guides will lead us to a couple different families of gorillas (we will likely need to split our group in two and visit two different families), where we will have about an hour to observe them and take allllllll the photos and videos! Time is limited to one hour to prevent disturbing the gorillas!

After we're done checking off your bucketlists, we'll start the drive towards RWANDA!

This year we are including an overnight stay in Rwanda in Gisenyi, right on the beautiful Lake Kivu! You can kayak, paddleboard, and even swim in this beautiful lake, and of course relax after a super long and exciting day!

IMPORTANT NOTE: If we don't finish our gorilla trek early enough in the day, there is a chance we will need to stay an additional night at the lodge in Uganda. This is because the land border closes at 6pm, so we have to cross before then. Also if it's too late, there won't be time for lake activities anyway. We will still transit through Rwanda though the next day!

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Day 5
Day 5
Tchegera Island
DEPART: 8am

Distance: 1 hour plus 15 minute boat ride

After we cross the land border into D.R. Congo; your THIRD country of the trip (!!), we'll continue driving for about an hour to get to the area where we'll take a small wooden boat ride to get to Tchegera Island!

Tchegera Island is actually an extinct volcano rim (AKA a "caldera") which is now a part of Virunga National Park!

On the island you can feel free to explore by foot, or you can use the kayaks or paddleboards, or go for a swim! Or if you want to just relax and take in the views of the stunning massive volcano in the background...that's DEFINITELY an option!

Gourmet and extremely delicious Breakfast and lunch are included on the island!

We will spend the entire day on the island, and then we will got back to Goma to sleep at the Karibu Hotel
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Day 6
Day 6
Goma City Tour
Today we will do a slightly chaotic city tour of bustling Goma! In Goma you'll see women dressed in fabulous fashions, busy markets selling heaps of grocery items, and the recently naturally created site; the lava field from when Nyiragongo erupted in 2021 (2 weeks before Alyssa's solo travels there).

Finally we will have our farewell sunset bon voyage dinner and drinks (not included sorry!) at Le Chalet -- a hotspot for the UN workers and expats in Goma.

Updated Hotel: Karibu Hotel
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Day 7
Day 7
Departures or Rwanda Add On
Sadly this intense bucketlist trip is coming to an end! We hope we made all of your dreams come true and that your lives will be forever changed by these amazing interactions and memories!

For everyone departing out of Goma, we will provide transfers to the airport according to your flight times! We will have a specific airport-guide to help you through the process, since Goma airport is said to be one of the most difficult ones to navigate ;)

If you are doing the Rwanda or Burundi Add-on, we will transfer you to meet your new guides at the border around 10am, or to the airport as well for Burundi!
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Day 1

Arrivals in Uganda

Today you'll arrive in your first of the three countries; UGANDA! You should have already gotten your East Africa visa which covers Uganda and Rwanda, and if you'd like to take money out at the airport or grab a SIM card, feel free!

Otherwise your airport transfer will take you from Entebbe to Kampala (about 1.5 hour drive) where you'll check into the hotel and relax for a bit depending on what time you get in.

If you arrive early, we will be offering an optional city tour of Kampala, along with a visit to an NGO that helps at risk youth women learn trade skills, which is also where you can pre-order some dresses to be made (we will send you all the info later!).

After everyone has arrived, we will have our Welcome Dinner at the hotel and our briefing for the trip!

Hotel: Best Western Kampala

My Life's a Travel TRIBE

28 reviews

My Life's a Travel Tribe is an exclusive group trip community created by Alyssa Ramos of My Life's a Travel Movie. We have been running group trips with our audience for over 7 years now, and continue to grow to enhance your bucketlist experiences! These group trips are for like-minded travelers, which is why we aim to offer them primarily to our audience! Our itineraries are carefully curated by Alyssa, based on her own solo travels in the destinations, and we use local companies only to support them!

This was my 3rd trip with Alyssa from #MyLifesATravelTRIBE and, as always, it was epic. All accommodations were 5-star hotels with delicious meal packages included and gorgeous facilities. Transportation was also 5-star with our own private coach providing safe and clean transport for the duration of our trip. Also, Alyssa and her amazing team made sure to take care of every single detail; from answering all history questions to teaching us how to tie our sarees for our epic pictures at the Taj Mahal. 100% recommended!

By Vivian M for India Wonders & Holi Festival with #MyLifesATravelTRIBE on Apr 13, 2024

Overall I had a great time in India. With this being my first trip with the travel tribe, I had some concerns about a group trip however, the group of ladies I was with were absolutely wonderful. The bus rides were a blast, the Taj Mahal was magical (as expected), and playing Holi was such a great experience. The photos- AMAZING. I'll likely sign up for another trip with Alyssa and her team. One suggestion: include tipping kitty in the overall price of the trip or have a separate online payment portal. ATMs in India were a bit tricky (which is no fault of Alyssa and team) so having it taken care of beforehand would be amazing.

By Gwen M for India Wonders & Holi Festival with #MyLifesATravelTRIBE on Apr 01, 2024

I had a great time and experience in India . This is my 3rd trip with Alyssa and her team. I thought that the trip was a great balance of cultural diversity and fun. I love the Holi party ! My only suggestion would be to have the tipping kitty as party of an online payment before hand. Thanks for a great trip!

By Emily Z for India Wonders & Holi Festival with #MyLifesATravelTRIBE on Apr 01, 2024

Let me start by saying, what a wonderful time seeing the gorillas in Uganda! There were a couple other fun events (Tchegera Island) and the safari. But, unfortunately it was WAY too many women. 30 or so of us, it's just too much logistically, especially since they had Add-ons with some of the women. When I arrived in Uganda, after traveling 2.5 days, I was picked up by the wrong driver (even though he was waiting at the airport with a sign) & took 3 of us to the wrong hotel. After trying to sort it out at the hotel for 30-45 min, we were then taken to another hotel, also the wrong one. We got 3 - 4 hours sleep. Nobody ever talked to me about it or apologized. Then the gorilla trek, it was arranged that our specific group would take the shorter hike, maybe around two hours (we had women with - a torn ACL, back issues, respiratory infection & other medical issues). Our group was merged with another group who were "healthier" and didn't want to be slowed down by us. We ended up going on a 7 hour, extremely strenuous, very steep hike. Not two hours. It exacerbated the women's back issues, and caused one woman to literally be carried out (& charged $300). Again, not once did the leader approach me afterwards and apologize and explain what happened. Or take any responsibility. As someone leading these trips, collecting my money, I feel responsibility should be taken. We also had an extremely rude, selfish woman on the gorilla hike who made our experience very unpleasant. I know you can't help people's personalities, but since she was in the group that joined our "health compromised" group, it made for WAY too many seeing the gorillas (she refused to step aside for others to approach them). I met wonderful new friends, had a good time on several instances, but the group size should be DRASTICALLY reduced, I imagine 12-15 women would be much easier to manage (logistically). With the group size and serious inconveniences, it felt like several instances of "Instagram v. reality". Alyssa is a nice woman, but I won't be going on another My Life's A Travel Tribe trip.

By Tina B for Congo, Uganda, Rwanda Gorillas & Safari on Sep 20, 2023

This trip was just one of a kind over the top full of adventure and experience! All of the adventurers that made up our travel tribe crew were all so awesome. The activities topped each other, sunset cruise, elephant cafe, devils pool were the favorites. We did have a few hiccups with the local tour operator, but I can not wait to go on another Travel Tribe trip! Also recommend going a few days early to get in an extra fun activities as it’s a jam packed week!