Serengeti Rubondo Extension

Rubondo Island

From the plains to Lake Victoria

Depart your Serengeti camp for the confirmed flight to Rubondo Island. Your guide meets you at the island airstrip for the transfer to camp.

Meet your island guide and continue to camp after landing on Rubondo. Settle in and take in the change from open safari country to forest and lakeshore. The arrival afternoon is an introduction to the environment, with the exact activity shaped by flight timing and local conditions.

Discuss the forest programme, walking requirements and available water activities before dinner. Keep sturdy shoes and rain protection accessible. Chimpanzee tracking requires patient searching and appropriate permissions; it is not a guaranteed close encounter or a fixed-length stroll from camp.

Rubondo Island

A day in the island forest

If confirmed for your stay, set out with the tracking team to search for chimpanzees. Follow the briefing carefully, keep a respectful distance and let the guides decide the route and pace. The forest itself is part of the experience, even when the animals are difficult to locate.

After the outing, return to camp to rest. A boat activity may offer a different view of the lakeshore if weather and arrangements allow, or enjoy time watching birds near camp. Tracking success and duration vary, so avoid attaching another tightly timed excursion to the same day.

Rubondo Island

Explore the lakeshore and woodland

Use this full day to discover another aspect of Rubondo with your guide. A forest walk or an island excursion can focus on plants, birds and the signs of animals moving through thick vegetation. Decide the programme after considering yesterday’s activities and the current weather.

Boating or fishing may be available by separate arrangement, with equipment, rules and any additional costs confirmed before departure. Another chimpanzee outing requires its own availability and permit check rather than being automatically included. Spend your last evening beside the lake preparing for the next flight.

Your onward flight connection

Your onward journey

Transfer to Rubondo’s airstrip for the booked onward flight. The destination and any connection are confirmed around the rest of your journey; international departure is not assumed to be possible immediately after leaving the island.

Enjoy breakfast and a final look at the setting before your collection, subject to the departure time. A last wildlife activity is only possible when the transfer schedule genuinely leaves enough room; it is not automatically included on a flying day. Keep passports, medication and valuables in your hand luggage.

Before confirming international flights, let us check the complete connection, including any airport change, baggage collection and immigration requirements. If the timings are too tight, an additional overnight stop should be arranged rather than relying on a rushed transfer. No accommodation is scheduled for tonight in this itinerary.