Before the introduction of our motorcycle safaris through East Africa, you’d have to arrange an African vacation with a luxury travel company to experience what we’ve included in our Heart of Africa Adventure.
This 14-day “Luxury Motorcycle Safari” begins and ends in Nairobi, Kenya and offers travel through four different countries that can be described as “the heart of Africa”. In addition to stunning riding, amazing landscapes, upscale accommodations and delicious meals, the Adventure includes several of Africa’s most popular wildlife experiences – features available only with Ayres Adventures.
Highlights include:
- Two full days “on safari” in the Serengeti. Approximately seventy large mammal species are found in the Serengeti, including elephant, rhino, lion, leopard, hippo, buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, and giraffe. The Serengeti is also famous for it’s large population of lion.
- A visit to the Ngorongoro Crater, adjoining the Serengeti. This conservation area has the densest known population of lion as well as large numbers of leopards and elephant.
- A free day in Rwanda, including an exclusive gorilla safari. Beginning at our luxurious home base in the jungles of Rwanda, we’ll set off on foot to track down the magnificent animals in their natural environment. It’s a sight experienced by only a few.
- Stunning views of the Great Rift Valley, which extends more than 3,000 miles from Syria to Mozambique.
- Several crossings of the Equator, as we pass back and forth between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
Although this Adventure takes place almost entirely on paved roads, road conditions are poor at times and we’ll encounter some occasional hectic traffic and poor drivers. The tour is intended for experienced riders with a keen sense of adventure and a taste for the unusual.
At a Glance Your Heart of Africa Adventure
Welcome to Nairobi. Your tour leaders will arrange your transport from the airport to the hotel from which the tour will start. During the afternoon the tour leaders will hand over the bike to you (This is a non riding day) after which we will enjoy a short briefing about the tour before heading out for our first group dinner together at a great local restaurant.
Our first day of riding takes us on a north westerly direction out of the city.
Highlights: Our first stop will be a stunning overview of the Great Rift Valley which extends over 3,000 miles from Syria to Mozambique. Then we’ll head west through the rift valley to the town of Narok. From Narok we head north through tea plantations to Kisumu where we will spend the night at a pleasant local hotel near the shores of Lake Victoria.
Highlights: Our first photo stop will be at the Equator sign, as we go from the Southern to the Northern Hemisphere. We’ll cross the border into Uganda and go through the town of Jinja where we will ride over a dam wall. To our left we’ll see Lake Victoria, and to our right, the Nile river – the longest north flowing river in the world. Tonight we’ll stay in Kampala – the capital city of Uganda.
After leaving the hustle and bustle of Kampala, we will enjoy great open roads as we head towards Kabale and on to Lake Bunyonyi where we will spend the night at a stunning privately owned lodge right on the banks of Lake Bunyonyi. We will also cross over the Equator today with great picture opportunities a long the way.
Todays short ride will take us over the border from Uganda into Rwanda. (Be sure to return to the right side of the road).
Highlights: Once we are through the border, the riding in Rwanda is absolutely spectacular. We’ll be surrounded bu rolling green hills and extinct volcanoes. We will spend two nights at a small lodge, strategically located near the entrance to Volcanoes National Park where we’ll do the gorilla safari in the morning.
Ruhengeri Free Day. Gorilla Safari! We’ll be up early to enjoy one of the most amazing wildlife experiences in the world. Our trek to find the gorilla’s will be led by local guides who will take us into the forest to track and find the gorilla’s. Once we have found them, we can spend an hour with these amazing creatures. You will have plenty of time to photograph them, and to simply enjoy watching them – only a few meters away.
This is a short day, but the ride into the capital city of Kigali is stunning.
Highlights: Our hotel for tonight became famous after 1,268 people took refuge inside the building during the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. The story of the hotel and its manager at that time, Paul Rusesabagina, was used as the basis of the film Hotel Rwanda.
From Kigali it’s a spectacular ride to the border, where we will cross into Tanzania, a good days riding.
A long ride today, through rural areas of Tanzania.
Highlights:
We’ll ride around Lake Manyara and through the Ngorongoro Conservation area. We’ll have to be alert for wildlife on the road as we ride through part of the game reserve. We’ll also begin to see Maasai people in their traditional clothing – the Shúkà. We will leave the bikes at the lodge for the next two days while we enjoy game drives through the Serengeti in 4-wheeled safari vehicles.
Free day in the Serengeti. Our Serengeti guides will pick us up from the hotel after breakfast and take us in the Serengeti National park past the Ngorongoro crater. The drive to the hotel inside the park will take most of the day. We’ll stop for lunch in the park and enjoy world-class game viewing in one of Africa’s most famous national parks.
Second free day in the Serengeti. Two days are hardly enough to do justice to the Serengeti, but we’ll give it a try!
We’ll be driven back to Karatu, where we left the motorcycles. Along the way, we’ll visit another world-class game viewing area – the basin of the Ngorongoro Crater.
For our last riding day we’ll ride through the town of Arusha and north to the border with Kenya. We’ll spend our last evening together in Nairobi.
After a relaxing breakfast at the hotel, the tour leaders will arrange your transfer to the airport for your flight home.The route consists of a wide variety of road conditions – unpaved as well as paved. Off-road experience is required.
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Please contact us about low frame and/or low seat options for our bikes.
- Includes BMW F750GS
- Additional charge of $100 for a BMW F850GS
- Additional charge of $300 for a BMW F850GS Adv
- Additional charge of $800 for a BMW R1250 GS
- Additional charge of $1,200 for a BMW R1250 GS Adv
- Personal motorcycle: deduct $2,050 from the rider price.
The pictures may include optional equipment.Seat Height: 32 inches / 815 mm (adjustable)
The pictures may include optional equipment.Seat Height: 34.4 inches / 873 mm (adjustable)
The pictures may include optional equipment.Seat Height: 34.4 inches / 873 mm (adjustable)
The pictures may include optional equipment.Seat Height: 890 mm / 35 inches (adjustable)
The pictures may include optional equipment.Seat Height: 890 mm / 35 inches (adjustable)Standard Inclusions
- Late model, low mileage motorcycle
- Upscale accommodations
- A’ la carte dining
- Two Ayres Adventures professional tour leaders
- Airport arrival/departure transfers
- Luggage handling
- Comfortable support vehicle for non-riding companions
- Comprehensive pre-trip planning and assistance
- Customized trip booklet with day-by-day itinerary and attractions
- Two commemorative shirts
- Adventurer Club travel award credit
Meals
- All breakfasts
- All dinners
- Several lunches
Special Inclusions
- Gorilla safari
- Serengeti game drive
- 4×4 safari to Ngorongoro Crater
Deposit per person: $1,600
Single room supplement – $1,7502023 Schedule
| Date | 2023 Adventures | Length | Price (USD) | Co-rider | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2 - 15 | Heart of Africa | 14 days | $11,475 | $9,000 |
2024 Schedule
| Date | 2024 Adventures | Length | Price (USD) | Co-rider | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 31 - September 13 | Heart of Africa | 14 days | $11,475 | $9,000 |
Cancellation fee and refunds
| FROM DATE OF SCHEDULED COMMENCEMENT | AMOUNT FORFEITED |
|---|---|
| More than 90 days | 50% of deposit |
| 90 days or fewer but more than 60 days | 100% of deposit |
| 60 days or fewer but more than 45 days | 50% of full tour payment |
| 45 days or fewer | 100% of full tour payment |
What a wonderful experience
Ayres Adventures has taken us to seven continents through their exciting adventure programs combined with comfort and led by professional tour guides. What a wonderful experience.
Alex and Ida's Adventures include:
Heart of Africa
Epic Journey: Riga to Hong Kong
Munich to Istanbul
Ushuaia and Antarctica
Escape to Machu Picchu (Private)
Best of Alaska/ Canada (Private)
Discover Africa (Private)
Scotland Adventure (Private)
Jakarta, Indonesia
It was incredible and exceeded our expectations.
We joined the Heart of Africa tour in September, rider with pillion. It was incredible and exceeded our expectations. The tour was led by Jason, supported by Janis, both were great, knowledgable, very capable, fun and flexible. During this trip the highlights were many - number one would be spending time with the gorilla's in Rwanda - a truly remarkable experience. The riding is challenging at times, some long days but nothing impossible - it is an adventure after all...... We would definitely recommend Ayres, Jason, Janis and this trip.
Martin and Carmel's Adventures include:
Heart of Africa
South Gloucestershire, United Kingdom
If you’ve never been to Africa, Ayres Heart of Africa tour is certainly a trip of a lifetime
If you’ve never been to Africa, Ayres Heart of Africa tour is certainly a trip of a lifetime. A word of caution: You will want to return to Africa again and again, once you’ve experienced the wonderful people, riding, wildlife and culture.
The highlight of the trip was spending time with the Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda. What a privilege to be a few feet from these magnificent animals. To be able to view, interact and take pictures of a gorilla family where the elder Silverback watches over his group is breathtaking. The young ones are very curious and may very well come right up to you for a closer look.
The safaris in the Serengeti region include the Serengeti National Park and the Ngorogoro Conservation Area. From the comfort of your private game vehicle, you’ll view and learn about the abundant wildlife.
The great riding in East Africa contains a smorgasbord of roads that carve through pristine mountain sweepers to rural villages where speed bumps are common to large cities where few road rules exist or enforced, and mix in some unpaved patches to keep things interesting and a lot of fun.
The people you’ll see and interact with are amazing, especially the children who are sweet and beautiful. The gorgeous, colorful clothes locals wear will amaze you. Beware, the motorcycles will attract a LOT of attention from the locals. We all felt like royalty, as huge crowds of locals stare, question you about the bike and snap pictures with their cell phones.
Our tour leaders were outstanding with their attention to details, their wealth of knowledge on the history of the areas and current events, and their willingness to go the extra mile. They worked tirelessly to make the tour an unforgettable experience.
Ayres Adventures will not disappoint with the premium accommodations, food and activities you’ll encounter. They simply are the best.
Paul and Lisa's Adventures include:
Call of the Wild
Prudhoe Bay Excursion
Best of Alaska/Canada
Heart of Africa
Trussville, AL
You can't go wrong by booking a tour with them.
"Adventures" is an essential part of the Ayres company name. The professionalism of the tour guides is a strong point for this company. You can't go wrong by booking a tour with them.
Gary's Adventures include:
Heart of Africa
Machu Picchu Excursion (Empire of the Incas)
Mission Viejo, California
We have NO complaints
Thanks for a great trip. We really enjoyed ourselves and we have NO complaints.
There is not much we could suggest that would have improved the experience for us.
Nick and Jool's Adventures include:
Africa Iron Butt Tour
Prudhoe Bay Excursion (Alaska)
Heart of Africa
Cheltenham, United Kingdom
How does Ayres Adventures keep coming up with these ideas?!
Recipe for an awesome motorcycle adventure: start with a destination that's on every motorcyclist's bucket list (Ushuaia, "The End of The World"), toss in a trip to Antarctica on a world-class cruise ship, and then finish it off with drop-dead gorgeous scenery in the southern Andes.
How does Ayres Adventures keep coming up with these ideas?!
I've been looking forward to this trip for 2 years, and yet, despite having been on other Ayres Adventures and knowing what an outstanding outfit they have, Ron, Barb, Mauricio, John, and Nuno again managed to exceed my expectations. So, for that matter, did Antarctica.
Well done, Ron and Ayres Adventures!
Don's Adventures include:
Escape to Antarctica (and Ushuaia)
Call of the Wild (Africa)
Brazil - Rendezvous in Rio
Heart of Africa
Don created a blog post about his Heart of Africa Adventure. Click here to read Don’s blog.
Cornelius, North Carolina
Private Tour Inquiry
We are happy to book any of our motorcycle tour as a private tour. For most tours, we require a minimum of 8 bikes, or 12 participants (riders plus co-riders). We can provide a private motorcycle tour for smaller groups, but a surcharge may apply. We can also customize any of our regular tours for a private group.