Is It Safe to Go on Safari in East Africa Right Now?

By Chris Ronneseth, 10 June 2026 Posted in: Blog, East Africa

Ebola, Risk, and What Actually Affects Your Trip

By Chris Ronneseth, The Safari Partners
Last updated: 10 June 2026

THE SHORT ANSWER
As of June 2026 there is an active Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with a small number of imported cases in Uganda’s capital, Kampala. Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda have zero cases and sit hundreds of kilometres away across international borders. These are the areas I would focus on right now. For gorilla trekking I am currently steering clients to Rwanda rather than Uganda, not because the Ugandan parks are unsafe, but for practical reasons I explain below. Most people planning a safari today will not travel for at least nine months to a year, and Ebola outbreaks have historically been contained in well under that. This is a situation to plan around thoughtfully, not a reason to put your plans on hold.

Every few years a health story out of Central or East Africa reaches the international press, and my inbox fills with the same fair question: should I still go? I would rather you have the facts than a reassuring brush-off, so here is how I read the current Ebola situation, where it actually is on the map, and what it does and does not change for a safari in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda or Rwanda.

For context, we are a full-service safari consultancy based in Vancouver, working with clients across Canada and the US to plan trips throughout East and Southern Africa. I have spent a lot of time on the ground in this region, and a large part of what we do is help people separate real risk from headline risk. The two are rarely the same size.

What is actually happening, as of June 2026?

On 17 May 2026 the World Health Organization, together with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, declared the current Ebola outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The virus involved is the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is no licensed vaccine or specific treatment yet, although candidates are being tested.

As of 10 June 2026, the Democratic Republic of the Congo had reported 598 confirmed cases and 115 confirmed deaths, with the large majority in Ituri Province in the country’s remote northeast. Uganda had reported 19 confirmed cases and two deaths, concentrated in the capital, Kampala, and linked to travel from the affected area of the DRC. Those are real numbers and a serious situation for the communities affected. They are also, geographically, a long way from where safaris happen.

Where is the outbreak, and where do safaris actually take place?

This is the part that matters most, and it is the part the headlines almost never explain. The heart of the outbreak is Ituri Province in the northeastern DRC, a remote region more than 1,000 kilometres from Kinshasa that borders Uganda and South Sudan. The US Centers for Disease Control recommends avoiding nonessential travel to Ituri and North Kivu provinces. No reasonable safari itinerary goes anywhere near there.

Now consider where you would actually be. Kenya’s Maasai Mara and Tanzania’s Serengeti, the two regions most people picture when they think of an East African safari, sit on the far side of the entire width of Uganda and across at least one international border, well over a thousand kilometres from the outbreak zone. Uganda’s gorilla parks, Bwindi and Mgahinga, are in the country’s far southwest, more than 600 kilometres from the affected districts. Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park is further still. None of these areas has a recorded case in the current outbreak.

Are Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda affected?

No. There are no Ebola cases in Kenya, Tanzania, including Zanzibar, or Rwanda, and these countries do not border the DRC’s affected provinces. A classic Mara and Serengeti safari, the migration, the Ngorongoro Crater, a beach finish on the Tanzanian coast, gorillas in Rwanda, all of this is running exactly as normal.

This is not luck. Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda have come through many regional Ebola outbreaks over the decades without a confirmed case taking hold, and their surveillance and border-screening systems are well practised as a result. When the DRC has an outbreak, these countries activate established protocols at airports and land crossings. During the current outbreak, Kenya’s only Ebola scares have been suspected cases that tested negative. The track record is genuinely reassuring, and it reflects health systems that take this seriously precisely because they live next to it.

It is also worth saying plainly: to our knowledge, no safari tourist on a mainstream East African safari has ever been infected with Ebola, let alone died from it. The virus spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person, which is simply not part of the experience of a fly-in safari among wildlife and well-run camps.

What about gorilla trekking? Choose Rwanda over Uganda for now

Gorilla trekking is the one area where the current situation does change my advice, so this deserves a clear answer rather than a blanket one. The Ugandan cases have been in Kampala, the capital and main international gateway, imported by people travelling from the DRC. The gorilla regions in the far southwest, Bwindi and Mgahinga, have not recorded a case and the parks remain open.

Even so, for trips being planned right now I am steering clients to Rwanda rather than Uganda for their gorillas. This is not about an immediate Ebola threat in the Ugandan parks. It is about the practicalities. The Government of Canada currently advises against non-essential travel to Uganda, and from 30 May to 29 August 2026 it has temporary border measures under which travellers returning to Canada who have been in Uganda, the DRC or South Sudan in the previous 21 days are assessed on arrival and can be required to comply with public health measures, including mandatory quarantine. A quarantine on the back end of your holiday, or an advisory that complicates your travel insurance, can derail a carefully built itinerary, and none of that is worth it when there is an excellent alternative next door.

That alternative is Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, which is fully open, unaffected, and in my view one of the best gorilla experiences in Africa. The trekking is superb, the conservation story is genuinely inspiring, and Rwanda pairs beautifully with a Kenya or Tanzania safari. For the foreseeable future, when a client wants mountain gorillas, Rwanda is where I am pointing them. If you have your heart set on Uganda specifically, we can revisit it closer to your travel date with current information.

If you are planning now, you are probably travelling nine months to a year from now

This is the piece of perspective I most want clients to hold on to. Almost nobody books a safari for next week. Most people plan their safaris at least nine months to a year in advance, because the best camps, the migration windows and the limited gorilla permits all need that kind of lead time. So the real question is not whether there is an outbreak today, but what the situation is likely to be when you actually travel.

History is encouraging here. Ebola outbreaks have typically been brought under control within a matter of months, historically lasting no more than four months once the response is underway. The large 2014 to 2016 West African epidemic was the painful exception, and it was an exception precisely because the virus reached dense urban areas before the response caught up. The point is that an outbreak flaring now will very likely be contained long before a trip you book today departs.

So I would plan forward, not freeze. Putting your plans on hold tends to cost you the best camps and permits without reducing any real risk. We build the itinerary now, keep an eye on the situation as it evolves, and retain flexibility so we can adjust the rare detail that might need adjusting closer to departure.

There is even an upside that is easy to miss. A regional health story tends to make some travellers hesitate, which means camps that are normally fully committed a year out can have space, and the competition for permits and the best tented suites eases off. If you are comfortable looking down the line, this can be one of the better moments to lock in availability that is usually very hard to get. By the time the situation settles and everyone starts planning again, they are all chasing the same scarce space at the same time, and you are already booked.

What does an outbreak hundreds of kilometres away actually change for my trip?

For a Kenya or Tanzania safari, in practical terms, very little. The most likely thing you will notice is enhanced health screening at airports. On 18 May 2026 the US announced enhanced entry screening and public health measures for travellers connected to the affected region, and several countries have similar steps in place. That can mean temperature checks or a health questionnaire on arrival or return. It is a minor inconvenience, not a barrier.

The more useful change is on the planning side. When there is any regional health event, we want trip insurance that includes medical evacuation, itineraries with sensible flexibility, and a clear understanding of the routing so we are not connecting through an affected area unnecessarily. None of that is exotic. It is simply good safari planning, which is true in a quiet year as well.

How should travellers think about this kind of risk?

Honestly, with proportion. Ebola is frightening because of how it is portrayed, but it is not an airborne illness drifting across a continent. It spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person, which is why outbreaks tend to stay anchored to specific communities and health systems work to ring-fence them. A traveller on a fly-in safari in northern Tanzania has, in real terms, a negligible chance of exposure to a virus that is contained to communities a country or two away.

The risks I actually spend time managing for clients are the ordinary ones: routine vaccinations, malaria prevention, sensible travel insurance, good operators, and well-planned internal flights. Get those right and you have addressed the things that genuinely affect a safari. A distant outbreak is worth understanding and monitoring, and for most itineraries it sits well below those everyday items on the list of things to plan around.

Frequently asked questions

Is it safe to go on safari in Kenya, Tanzania or Rwanda right now?

Yes. There are no Ebola cases in Kenya, Tanzania or Rwanda, and none of them borders the affected provinces of the DRC. Standard safari itineraries, including gorilla trekking in Rwanda, are operating normally.

Is the Ebola outbreak in 2026 in a safari area?

No. The outbreak is centred on Ituri Province in the remote northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, with a small number of imported cases in Kampala, Uganda. The main safari regions, including the Serengeti, the Maasai Mara, and Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, are hundreds of kilometres away and have no recorded cases.

Should I go gorilla trekking in Uganda or Rwanda right now?

For trips being planned now, I recommend Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park over Uganda. This is not because the Ugandan parks are unsafe, but because Uganda has confirmed cases, which raises the practical risk of mandatory screening or quarantine on return and of government travel advice changing at short notice. Rwanda is fully open and unaffected, and offers one of the best gorilla experiences in Africa.

I am planning a trip for next year. Should I wait and see?

No need to put your plans on hold. Most safaris are booked at least nine months to a year ahead, and Ebola outbreaks have historically been contained within a matter of months, no more than four months once the response is underway. An outbreak now will most likely be over well before a trip you book today departs. Planning during a quieter moment can even work in your favour, since camps that are usually fully committed may have space and you avoid the rush once everyone starts booking again.

How far is the outbreak from the main safari destinations?

The outbreak zone in Ituri is more than 1,000 kilometres from Kenya’s and Tanzania’s safari regions, across the full width of Uganda and at least one international border. If gorilla trekking is not part of your trip, that distance puts Ebola essentially out of the picture for your safari.

What health precautions should I take for an East African safari?

Speak with a travel clinic well before departure about routine and recommended vaccinations, including yellow fever where it applies to your routing, plus malaria prevention. Arrange travel insurance that includes medical evacuation. We help every client confirm these details as part of planning the trip.

Planning a trip while keeping an eye on the situation

If you are thinking about East Africa and the news has given you pause, that is a reasonable instinct and a good reason to talk it through rather than quietly cancel. We monitor outbreak reporting from the WHO and CDC as part of our normal planning, we design routings that steer well clear of affected areas, and we build in the flexibility to adjust if anything changes before you travel. The wildlife, the migration and the gorillas are all still there, and for the right itinerary this remains an excellent time to go.

If you have questions about a specific trip or set of dates, please feel free to let me know.

Cheers,
Chris.

SOURCES AND FURTHER READING

This article reflects publicly reported information as of 10 June 2026 and is general guidance, not medical advice. Outbreak figures and government travel advisories change frequently; for personal health decisions, consult a travel health professional and check current advisories before you travel.