Contiki is returning to Uganda. The youth travel brand, aimed at travellers aged 18 to 35, has added the country back into its line-up with a new set of East Africa wildlife adventures launching in May 2027 — and bookings are already open.

There are three itineraries to choose from. The shortest is a seven-day Uganda: Gorilla & Chimp Trekking trip, from £2,505 per person, which squeezes the country's headline wildlife moments into one week: gorilla and chimpanzee trekking, game drives in Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls National Parks, a stop at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary and a visit to the source of the River Nile.

If you want to pair Uganda's primates with classic big-game safari, the 11-day Uganda, Gorillas & Maasai Mara itinerary, from £3,565, adds Kenya to the mix. After tracking mountain gorillas and chimps, travellers cross the border for game drives in the Maasai Mara — lions, elephants and cheetahs on the list, and depending on the season, a shot at catching the Great Migration.

The flagship is a 19-day overland epic, Best of Uganda, Kenya & Tanzania, from £6,025. It covers mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, chimpanzee tracking in Kalinzu Forest, the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary and a Nile cruise, then rolls on to Kenya's Maasai Mara and Amboseli, and finishes with Tanzania's Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. Three countries, and arguably East Africa's greatest-hits wildlife route in a single trip.

All three prices include accommodation, select meals, experiences, internal transport and a full crew — a Trip Manager, Trip Driver, Chef and Camp Manager. Flights are extra. First departures leave on 2 May 2027.

One detail worth noting: Contiki has introduced a flexible accommodation setup on its East Africa trips. On the same departure, you can pick between camping and chalet-style lodging while still travelling with the same group. That's a genuinely useful option if you're torn between keeping costs down and having a solid roof after a day of trekking.

For young travellers who've always assumed gorilla trekking was a bespoke, big-budget affair, this is a signpost. Mountain gorilla permits are famously expensive anywhere in the region, but splitting overland costs, transport and on-ground logistics with a group — with meals and a crew included — brings a three-country African safari into the realm of a single big trip. The seven-day option also makes Uganda doable for people with limited annual leave, and the 19-day version rewards anyone who can block out the time. All trips are bookable now via travel agents, with agent tools at agents.ttc.com.

Story via Breaking Travel News.