East Africa is not one trip, it is six different countries with different animals, different costs and different road conditions. Uganda gives you gorillas and chimps in forest, Kenya gives you open plains and huge herds, Tanzania gives you the Serengeti migration and Zanzibar's beaches, Rwanda gives you a compact, well-run gorilla trip, and Burundi remains largely off the tourist map. This page is an honest starting point for each country, with real costs and the trade-offs nobody puts in the brochure.
Uganda is the region's primate country. You can track mountain gorillas in Bwindi and chimpanzees in Kibale in the same week, then add savannah game in Queen Elizabeth or Murchison Falls National Park without long internal flights. Roads link most parks by vehicle, which keeps costs down compared with fly-in safaris elsewhere.
Best months: June to September and December to February are driest and easiest for trekking. April, May and November are wetter, but permit prices drop.
Visa note: the East African Tourist Visa costs USD 100 and covers Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda on one visa, useful if you are combining countries. A single Uganda visa is also available on its own.
Reality check: gorilla permits cost USD 800 per person in 2026, dropping to USD 600 in the low season months of April, May and November. Chimp tracking permits cost USD 300. Book permits months ahead in peak season, they do sell out.
Uganda forum: /forums/forum/uganda/ Uganda hotels and lodges: /st_location/uganda/
Kenya is the classic big-game safari country, with the Masai Mara offering some of the highest wildlife densities in Africa outside migration season and enormous herds during it. It also has a developed tourism infrastructure, meaning more choice of camps, easier logistics and a wider range of budgets than some neighbours.
Best months: July to October for the Mara migration, January to February for calving season further south in the Serengeti ecosystem.
Visa note: the East African Tourist Visa (USD 100) covers Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. A Kenya-only e-visa is also available.
Reality check: the Mara gets crowded around the river crossings in peak migration weeks, and popular camps book out a year ahead for that period. Nairobi traffic can also eat hours out of a tight itinerary, plan transfer times generously.
Kenya forum: /forums/forum/kenya/ Kenya hotels and lodges: /st_location/kenya/
Mainland Tanzania holds the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and the bulk of the wildebeest migration for much of the year. Parks are large and often further apart than in Kenya, so many safaris here involve light aircraft transfers between them rather than long road days.
Best months: June to October for dry-season game viewing, December to March for the southern Serengeti calving season.
Visa note: Tanzania is not covered by the East African Tourist Visa. You need a separate Tanzania visa, available on arrival for many nationalities or in advance online.
Reality check: park fees and conservation levies add up fast here, and many camps in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro are priced well above neighbouring countries. Build these costs into your budget before you fall for a beautiful camp photo.
Tanzania forum: /forums/forum/tanzania/ Tanzania hotels and lodges: /st_location/tanzania/
Zanzibar is Tanzania's beach add-on, and for many travellers the reason to extend a mainland safari rather than a standalone destination. Stone Town offers genuine history and a UNESCO old town, while the east and north coasts offer beach resorts, diving and kite surfing.
Best months: June to October and December to February are driest. March to May brings the long rains, when many smaller lodges close or discount heavily.
Visa note: Zanzibar uses the same Tanzania visa as the mainland. It is not covered by the East African Tourist Visa.
Reality check: tides on the east coast swing a long way, so a beach that looks perfect in photos can be mostly sand at low tide. Check tide times against your travel dates if swimming matters to you.
Zanzibar forum: /forums/forum/zanzibar/ Zanzibar hotels and lodges: /st_location/zanzibar/
Rwanda offers the most compact gorilla trekking trip in the region. Volcanoes National Park is a two to three hour drive from Kigali, so it is realistic to fly in, trek and fly out within a short trip, something that is harder in Uganda's more spread-out parks.
Best months: June to September and December to February for drier trekking conditions.
Visa note: the East African Tourist Visa (USD 100) covers Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya.
Reality check: Rwanda's 2026 gorilla permit costs USD 1,500 per person, almost double Uganda's standard rate. You pay for convenience and a well-organised system, not a cheaper trip. Decide whether that premium matters to your budget before booking.
Rwanda forum: /forums/forum/rwanda/ Rwanda hotels and lodges: /st_location/rwanda/
Burundi sits on Lake Tanganyika and remains one of the least visited countries in the region, with a tourism infrastructure that is far less developed than its neighbours. Travellers who do go are usually drawn by the lake itself, Kigali-adjacent overland routes, or specific interest travel rather than a standard safari circuit.
Best months: June to August and December to February are driest, mirroring the regional dry seasons.
Visa note: Burundi is not part of the East African Tourist Visa. A separate Burundi visa is required, check current requirements before you travel as rules change.
Reality check: infrastructure, health facilities and tourist services are limited compared with Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania or Rwanda. Check current government travel advisories before planning a trip, and travel with a local operator who knows the current situation on the ground.
Burundi forum: /forums/forum/burundi/ Burundi hotels and lodges: /st_location/burundi/
Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania are the three classic safari choices, and they suit different trips. Uganda is the primate country: gorillas and chimps in forest, plus decent savannah game as a bonus, all reachable by road within a single circuit. Kenya and Tanzania are the big-herd countries, built around the Masai Mara and Serengeti and their seasonal wildebeest migration, with wide open plains rather than forest.
Cost tells a similar story. Uganda's gorilla permits at USD 800 (or USD 600 in low season) sit well below Rwanda's USD 1,500, and Uganda's park fees and lodge rates generally run lower than Tanzania's Serengeti and Ngorongoro camps. Kenya sits in between, with a wide spread from budget camps to very high-end options in the Mara.
Road time is the other big variable. Uganda and Kenya safaris are often driven between parks, which keeps costs down but adds hours on the road, some of it on rough surfaces. Tanzania's Serengeti and Ngorongoro are large and spread out, so many itineraries use light aircraft between camps, which is faster but adds meaningfully to the budget. If you want primates and are comfortable with road transfers, choose Uganda. If you want the classic migration and can afford flying safaris, choose Tanzania. If you want big game with more flexibility on price and logistics, Kenya sits comfortably between the two.
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