Travel notes

A few thoughts on Rwanda and the Serengeti

Sasakwa, the gorillas and what I’d do differently next time.

By Mr Katz · October 16, 2026

I spent a week with Singita in Rwanda and Tanzania. I am so lucky to have been able to see the gorillas as well as have incredible game drives in the Serengeti. It was amazing to experience the properties first-hand and the experiences that they offer. I wanted to share a few highlights and how I’d put the trip together.

Rwanda

We started with a night in Kigali, then two at Singita Kwitonda for the gorillas.

If you haven’t done gorilla trekking, it’s one of the best wildlife experiences you can do. It’s challenging but so rewarding. It’s almost emotional, and you feel like the gorillas are speaking to you. Well, they do share our DNA.

If I did this again, I’d spend three nights at Kwitonda. Rwanda is just such an amazing country: the food, the coffee and the people. I would have loved to have more time to relax, do some mountain biking and visit the local community. Singita has a community cooking school, which I would have loved to visit too.

Gorillas together in green forest vegetation in Rwanda.

A lodge bedroom overlooking green volcanic hills.

A gorilla seated among green forest plants.

For a private-house option in Rwanda, take a look at Kataza House.

The Serengeti

We then spent four nights in the Serengeti. Staying with Singita in the Serengeti is the opposite of Instagram - you are almost always the only vehicle around. Its private concession covers 350,000 acres in Grumeti, with very few other safari vehicles around. We stayed two nights at their Faru Faru lodge and two at Sasakwa lodge.

A safari vehicle beside a fire on the plains at sunset.

A hot-air balloon lifting above the plains.

There was something magical about this concession. It was like we were in a real-life Lion King. The number of animals we saw all together was extraordinary, as were the numerous and plentiful prides of lions. Our guide, Adas, was so amazing at teaching us about the area and Tanzania as a whole. On the lodge side, it’s Singita, and they do an incredible job. I do love how they are focusing on local African cooking now, which was a treat.

On this trip, we also got to visit Sabora camp, with its tented suites on the plains, and Singita Explore, a more pared-back camp booked privately for your group, as well as their private villas, so we can properly advise our clients.