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... leave when you're ready. The guide. A guide who reads animal behaviour, knows the rangers and trackers by name, and adjusts the day to your energy matters more than thread count. Space and setting. Fewer rooms, rooms spaced well apart, and a view you'd happily spend a free afternoon looking at. Timing. Permits, park fees and transfers arranged so nothing waits on paperwork at a gate. Food and small touches. Meals that work around a 6 a.m. trek, a packed lunch that is actually good, laundry returned the same day after a muddy forest walk. What doesn't alway ...

... $10–20 per guest, handed to the ranger to share, or to each person directly. Porters on a trek: the porter fee is paid at the start; many guests add $5–10 on top if the porter helped a lot. lodge staff: most lodges have a shared tip box; about $10–15 per guest per night is common. Small US dollar notes printed after 2013 are easiest, as older notes are often refused. Uganda shillings and Rwanda francs are also welcome. Your turn: how did you handle tipping on your trip, and did anything surprise you?

... that is still getting used to people, instead of the usual one hour. A private boat on the Nile or the Kazinga Channel, timed for late-afternoon light. A bush breakfast or sundowner set up in the park, away from the lodge. A spare night. One unplanned day after a trek is the luxury people mention most afterwards. What would you add to this list? And was there an extra you paid for that wasn't worth it?

Both can use the same lodges, so the difference is in how the days run. On a private safari The vehicle and guide are yours alone, so start times, stops and photo breaks follow you. Easy to add a rest afternoon, swap a game drive for a walk, or extend a night. Ideal for families, photographers and anyone with a slower or faster pace. On a small-group tour A fixed itinerary and departure date with other travellers. Usually cheaper per person, but less flexible. In Uganda and Rwanda the gorilla trek itself is always in a group of up to eight visitors per ...

... quiet island stay on Lake Bunyonyi. Both countries: a double gorilla trek, then the open savannah of Queen Elizabeth or Akagera to finish. Tell your planner it's a honeymoon. lodges often add a private dinner or room touches, and it helps when choosing rooms. Planning a honeymoon or anniversary? Share your dates and ideas and the community can help shape them.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has four trekking sectors, and your permit is tied to one of them, so choose before you book. Buhoma (north): the original sector, with the most lodges and an easy link to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Ruhija (east): the highest sector, cooler and quieter, and good for birders. Rushaga (south): the most gorilla families and the most permits, and the usual home of the habituation experience. Close to Lake Bunyonyi and the Rwanda border. Nkuringo (south-west): dramatic views of the Virunga volcanoes, but some of the steepes ...

Both offer an hour with a habituated mountain gorilla family. The differences are elsewhere. Rwanda (Volcanoes National Park) About two to three hours' drive from Kigali, so a gorilla trip can be very short. The permit costs more: US$1,500 per person. lodges range from comfortable to some of Africa's most exclusive. Uganda (Bwindi and Mgahinga) A longer journey, by road or by a short scheduled flight. The permit is US$800, with a reported lower rate in the low season. Easy to combine with chimps in Kibale and big game in Queen Elizabeth or Murchison Falls. Which did you choose, and would you choose it again?