Gorilla trekking is a must do wildlife adventure if you are planning a safari trip to Africa to see her wildlife. The gorilla trekking adventure involves walking into the heart of the African jungle to meet a family of gorillas led by the enormous silverback gorilla and spend time observing the world’s biggest apes that also share up to 98% DNA with humans. It is such a life changing experience!
Uganda and Rwanda are the two popular destinations for the gorilla trekking adventure. The gorilla tour is often done as an extra tour to the big game safaris in the more famous big game countries of Kenya and Tanzania targeted mostly the great migration wonder.
But is the gorilla trek so expensive…?
Gorilla trekking is however an expensive tour and because many travelers want to think about it after planning for the big game safari, they find this extra expense too big to include on their already expensive African safari vacation.
The gorilla trekking permit/ticket in Rwanda costs a whopping $1500, while gorilla trekking ticket in Uganda costs a whole $700. These prices are for the ticket or activity alone without the other expenses of the trip such as transportation, meals, accommodation, etc… The ticket prices alone could be the total cost of a safari in Kenya or Tanzania..
So how can you plan for gorilla trekking on a budget and still be able to afford a safari?
Below I discuss some tip that could be helpful depending on low a budget you may be working with…
Gorilla trekking in Uganda vs Rwanda
Deciding the country for your gorilla may well be influenced by your budget.
Uganda which has a cheaper gorilla ticket costing $700 is in most cases more suitable for budget travelers.
Rwanda on the other hand whose gorilla ticket costing twice that of Uganda at $1500 is attracting more of the high end travelers who can easily afford the expensive ticket.
However note that Rwanda being a small country and the gorillas being located about two and half hours’ drive from the capital Kigali and the airport, it is possible to do a one day gorilla trip in Rwanda thereby cutting down on costs of accommodation and transportation of a multiday tour. This would also make the gorilla trek in Rwanda more affordable
Book a group tour
A group tour is perhaps the best option to have a cheap tour. A group tour enables you share transport cost which is perhaps the biggest cost on the trip which you cannot do away with and yet have little or no alternatives.
On the group tour you may also share accommodation reducing the cost of the trip even further.
Note that the cost of the gorilla ticket cannot be shared.
Do a self-drive
The self-drive means you hire a car and drive self on your entire trip. This lowers on the cost of the transportation as you eliminate the cost of the driver.
The self-drive trip also gives you flexibility on choosing the cheapest places to sleep and eat while on the go.
However choosing the self-drive denies you the wealth of knowledge of the country shared by a good driver guide. It also comes with fatigue from driving and stress of driving on poor roads and the difficulty of finding the right direction.
Sleep at budget lodges
Sleeping at cheaper accommodation (2-star) will help lower the cost of the gorilla trip. However note that budget accommodation in Africa is not the same standard as western budget accommodation. So once you decide to go for cheaper hotels and lodges you should lower your expectations too.
Trek during the low tourism season
The “low season” is the period with few tourist numbers. This low season also coincides with the rainy season and that is April to May, and then Oct to November. The low season comes with several lodges discounting on the prices, so you will get good accommodation at a lower cost. The gorilla permit may also be discounted (previously it was the case), but at the moment there is no discount on gorilla permits during the low season.
Book a budget gorilla trip
Browse and choose from one of the following packages and ask to be quoted budget accommodation and transportation
3 days gorilla tracking in Uganda starting from Rwanda’s Kigali