Money
A second permit beats a better room
On a trip where the central hour is identical for everybody, what money can usefully buy is another one of them.
| Per person per night | What it buys |
|---|---|
| US$800 – 1,200 | Established camps in genuinely good locations, a private vehicle throughout, light-aircraft hops between parks rather than long road transfers, and guiding that is a profession rather than a job. The entry point to a safari that does not compromise. |
| US$1,200 – 1,800 | Camps on private land, where the rules change: off-road driving to a sighting, night drives, walking with an armed guide, and a cap on how many vehicles may attend anything. Usually the point at which people stop comparing safaris on price. |
| US$1,800 – 2,500 | The camps people name when they get home. Six to ten tents, an owner or manager who is present, a guide assigned to you for the stay, and food that would hold its own in a city. |
| US$2,500 – 4,000 | A guide who travels with you from park to park rather than being handed over at each one, private charters on your own schedule, and small camps taken whole for your party. |
| US$4,000 and up | Exclusive-use houses and villas with their own staff, mobile expedition camps built for your route, and private aircraft between countries. Bought for privacy and control rather than for thread count. |
Per person per night sharing, fully inclusive: accommodation, meals, park and conservancy fees, guiding, and transport between parks. International flights are not included. Indicative 2026/27 rates. Your quote confirms exact pricing for your dates.
Accommodation only. Permits sit on top, $1,500 a head in Rwanda and $800 in Uganda, and are frequently the largest single line on a gorilla invoice.
Where the money does most
A second permit. A trek is unpredictable and one hour, once, is a small window on something you have travelled a long way for. A second one costs $1,500 in Rwanda or $800 in Uganda and transforms the odds of the morning you are picturing.
Proximity to the trailhead. A lodge close to the headquarters buys you sleep and a shorter pre-dawn drive on a demanding day.
Warmth and drying. A fire, a hot bath and somewhere for soaked boots is worth more here than square footage. It is the one context where we would put the lodge’s practical qualities above its glamour.
Where it does least
A larger room. There is no access to buy: permits are fixed-price, group sizes are capped and the hour is an hour, so a grander lodge changes the evening rather than the morning.
The lines to expect
- Gorilla permits, per person per trek, set by the authority: $1,500 in Rwanda, $800 in Uganda.
- Chimpanzee and golden monkey permits, each separate and considerably cheaper.
- Accommodation, as above.
- Transfers, short in Rwanda, frequently long road days in Uganda.
- Porters and tips, small amounts that matter locally and are worth budgeting rather than improvising.
How we are paid
A commission from the agency that operates the trip, calculated on what you book. We earn nothing on permits. They are a pass-through to the national authority.
Which is worth knowing when you read a page recommending you spend the money on a second permit rather than a better room.
The fixed cost
The permit, both countries
Set by each national wildlife authority for foreign non-residents and identical for every operator. One permit buys one hour with a habituated family.
| Country | Permit, per person |
|---|---|
| Rwanda, Volcanoes National Park | $1,500 |
| Uganda, Bwindi and Mgahinga | $800 |
Rwanda discounts permits by 30 per cent from November to May when the trip includes two nights in Nyungwe or Akagera. Nothing else about the hour differs with what you pay: the group size is capped, the time is timed, and the most expensive lodge in the region buys you exactly the same permit as the simplest one. Indicative 2026/27 rates. Your quote confirms exact pricing for your dates.
Ready to turn this into a real itinerary?
Send us your dates, who is travelling and roughly what you want to spend per person per night. Our gorilla specialist comes back within 24 hours with a plan built around them and a costed quote.