Africa · Five Destinations
Lisbon to Cairo to Serengeti to Mauritius to Rwanda — a singular arc across the world's most magnificent continent, arranged without compromise.
About This Expedition
“Conceived for those who have seen the world's finest hotels — and still feel the pull of Africa's eternal light.”
This private jet expedition traces a path across three continents that no standard itinerary would dare attempt. From the cobbled elegance of Lisbon to the gilded antiquity of Cairo, from the infinite plains of the Serengeti to the powder-soft shores of Mauritius, and finally to the misty volcanoes of Rwanda where the last mountain gorillas roam — this is Africa as it was always meant to be witnessed.
Every transfer is by private jet or private charter. Every property has been personally inspected by the Martins Travel team. Every experience — from after-hours pyramid access to a private gorilla tracking permit — is arranged in advance through relationships that have taken two decades to build.
No two itineraries are identical. This is a framework; the final journey is yours entirely.
What Is Included
Day by Day
Every day has been sequenced to create a natural rhythm — arriving rested, departing enriched, and never once conscious of the machinery moving beneath you.
“The best journeys are felt in the body before they are understood by the mind.”
Lisbon, Portugal
Your private jet departs from a terminal of your choosing — no queues, no announcements, no shared departure lounges. Lisbon receives you in the amber warmth of the late afternoon. The Bairro Alto Hotel, perched above the city's most distinguished quarter, has been reserved. That evening, a private electric car tour of Belém reveals the monastery, the tower, and the tidal light on the Tagus at sunset — followed by a reserved table at Solar dos Presuntos, where the wine list was assembled by a single family over three generations. The second day belongs entirely to you: the Gulbenkian, the Alfama, a late lunch in a courtyard tiled in 17th-century azulejos, and a final nightcap at Topo Bar as the terracotta rooftops cool beneath a violet sky.
Bairro Alto Hotel, LisbonCairo, Egypt
At dawn on Day 3, the Great Pyramid stands in absolute silence. Your private Egyptologist — one of fewer than a dozen scholars permitted access to the plateau before public hours — leads you through chambers that most visitors never see: the relieving chambers above the King's Chamber, the ancient graffiti of the workers who built the world's oldest surviving wonder. The weight of 4,500 years settles around you in the dark. Evenings are spent at the Four Seasons at Nile Plaza, where your suite commands an unbroken view of the river and the lit minarets on the opposite bank. Day 4: a private felucca on the Nile at sunset, the Khan el-Khalili bazaar navigated by your guide at the exact hour the copper-smiths cease work and the spice merchants light their lamps.
Four Seasons at Nile Plaza, CairoThe Serengeti, Tanzania
The private jet descends over a landscape that looks exactly as it did a million years ago. At Singita Grumeti — the most celebrated safari property in the world, occupying a private 350,000-acre concession within the Serengeti ecosystem — the philosophy is seamless. Your game vehicle departs when you are ready, not at the hour when it suits the schedule. Your ranger has tracked these plains for thirty years; he reads the grass the way a sailor reads the sea. Three nights in a private villa, each morning different: the resident male lion at 6am, a cheetah kill at noon, and on the last evening, the river crossing of ten thousand wildebeest, watched from a private elevated platform with a glass of Singita's own-label wine.
Singita Grumeti — Private Villa, SerengetiMauritius
A deliberate softening. Three nights at One&Only Le Saint Géran — the lagoon impossibly turquoise, the service impossibly light, the noise of the world entirely absent. Breakfast is served on your private terrace as egrets pick their way across the reef at low tide. A private sunset catamaran circumnavigates the northern peninsula as the island turns amber. Day 9 is entirely free. Day 10 offers an option: a private helicopter to the black river gorge at sunset, or a scuba dive in the marine reserve with a private instructor and no other divers within sight. Both are arranged in advance. Neither requires a decision until you wake that morning.
One&Only Le Saint Géran, MauritiusRwanda
The final act is the most profound. In the mist-shrouded forests of the Virunga massif, your Singita Kwitonda guide — a former tracker who has spent fifteen years with the Hirwa gorilla family — leads you to within metres of a silverback and his family. An hour passes in complete silence, watching the infants tumble, the mothers groom, the patriarch rest. No other moment in travel recalibrates the human perspective so completely. The following days offer volcano hikes above the cloud line, a private visit to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund research centre, and a final evening at Kwitonda's outdoor dining table set on the edge of the forest, the stars of the Southern Hemisphere overhead, the sound of the jungle below.
Singita Kwitonda Lodge, RwandaWhere You Will Stay
Signature Property · Tanzania
Serengeti Ecosystem, Tanzania
A private 350,000-acre concession within the Serengeti ecosystem. No other vehicles, no shared game drives, no compromise. Three lodges; we reserve the private villa exclusively.
Signature Property · Mauritius
East Coast, Mauritius
The original luxury resort of the Indian Ocean, set on its own peninsula surrounded by a lagoon of extraordinary clarity. The marine biologist on staff will arrange a private reef dive at dawn.
Signature Property · Rwanda
Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda
Eight suites on the edge of the Virunga forest, at the intersection of three countries. No hotel in the world offers access to mountain gorilla families of this quality, this reliably.
Private Enquiry
This itinerary is a point of departure, not a fixed schedule. We will adapt every element to your preferences, your travel party, and the season of travel. Submit your details and a Martins Travel advisor will respond personally within 24 hours.