A walk safari in Uganda's wilderness
Likana Safaris Uganda
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2018)
- Member Of:
- AUTO, UTB & UWA
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $200 to $3,400 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
CA
Email Sheila | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Likana Safaris provided a trip of a lifetime!
From my first communications with the owner Bonny to every moment with our guide, now my friend, Andrew, this was an experience of a lifetime. Endless beauty everywhere. The people, the animals, the landscape, and to top it all off, the accommodations were something out of a movie! I kept thinking “how is this my life right now?!” The value for money is mind blowing. I never imagined the stunning accommodations I’d be in. I encourage anyone to reach out to Likana and start planning your dream trip. You won’t be disappointed.
Suggestions on tipping:
You meet so many amazing people along the way who share their knowledge, experience, and craftsmanship with you that you’ll want to bring a ton of small American bills to tip.
My trip was 10 days and I only bought $100 in small bills and needed to take out local currency to tip - outside of days where you’re trekking, I suggest having $20 per day in one and two dollar bills for tipping.
For days where you’re trekking, teams of 8-12 people are working to create an amazing experience for you - budget $20 for the guide, $20 for your porter and an additional $30 in small bills for other support team members.
While websites recommend $10 US/day for your safari guide, I recommend at least doubling that. Our guide spent New Year’s with us. After asking about his life and family we learned he was newly married. It turns out Andrew spent his 1st wedding anniversary with us all while having and a beautiful wife and six month old baby at home!
Other tips include:
- security (in the lodges a security person walks you to and from dinner at the lodge after dark to protect you from animals) - $2
- people who take your bags for you: $1
- housekeeping/laundry services: $2/day
- waiters/waitresses: $2-3 per meal
- community guides: $5 - $20
- traditional Knowledge Keepers:$2-$10
- Craftspeople (taught us how to weave!):$2
- Dancers: $2
Also, to shop, keep in mind, drinking water and electricity are not easily accessible to people and shopping in local shops has a big impact. I experienced the kindest people in local shops who actually gave me gifts after I made my purchases!
I can’t recommend this company enough. It was a trip of a lifetime with amazing new friends!
CH
Email Stefan | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
5 day safari
We had a great tour with our guide and driver David.
AE
Email Shahida Alvarado | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Uganda is the Pearl of Africa then Likana Safaris is the Pearl of Uganda Safaris!!
There aren't enough words to describe the wonderful and amazing experience we had with Likana Safaris. From the time we arrived until the end of our tours we were treated like family. The accommodations were excellent , very comfortable and of high quality. The food was delicious and we had the choice of eating local dishes which i highly recommend. The iternary was well planned taking into consideration our expectations. Every day of the iternary we had a beautiful day and felt very satisfied. Our driver Nathan did everything to make sure we were safe and comfortable. He provided us with relevant and good information about the wild life, birds and Uganda. We felt so happy spending time driving to our destinations and seeing interesting things along the way. While some roads were easy to drive on other roads , offered jokingly the African massage, which is part of the adventure and experience. We loved the entire journey and made the best of it. Nathan made sure we saw all the animals even though nature is unpredictable and animals can choose to remain in their habitats. Bonny our tour operator did an excellent job always coordinating with Nathan our driver to ensure we were having a great experience. I would definitely recommend Likana Safaris if you want a great and memorable experience. A big thank you for not only assisting us with the Gorilla trekking but allowing us to experience so much wild life, birds and exposing us to the Uganda culture , villages and providing us with exposure to communities that are working towards development and sustainable solutions to empower themselves and the country. Overall what an education and experience my 16 year old son had. Thank you ,thank you so much Bonny & Nathan !! You guys are the best!!
DE
Email Martin | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
very organized, great communication, amazikg tour!
We did the 4-days Gorilla and Golden monley trek and we were happy from the beginning on.
Before the booking Bonny answered many questions and prepared us for the upcoming trip. Once we arrived we got picked up at the airport and brought to our hotel. Organization in overall was perfect. The lodges that Likana has choosen for us were also very good value for money. The trekking was the highlight of course, but the whole trip was a perfect mixture between excitement and relaxing.
Communication was very easy, spontanious adaption in the tour were always possible.
It was always fun to talk to our guides, we learned a lot about the countries, its culture and the wildlife.
To be honest, there wasn't anything that we weren't happy about.
Exciting Tour with exciting people, we enjoyed every minute, thank you!
DE
Email Maxi | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Perfect days exploring the nature of Rwanda & Uganda - HIGHLY recommend :-)
Me and my friend travelled from Germany to Kigali and felt welcomed from the first minute.
We booked a 4-day Gorilla tour including some nature highlights of Rwanda and Uganda.
Andrew was our guide.
Bonny, the owner of Likana Safaris, also joined us on the tour.
Both were really cool and friendly guys.
They explained us a lot about the African life and culture and we had a wonderful time together .
On the first day, you visit the Genocide memorial in Kigali and drive to Volcanoes National Park, where you visit the Gorilla information center giving you a chance to learn more about this amazing creatures .
The drive from Kigali is very scenic.
The second day includes a trek to see Golden Monkeys, which are super cute and provide a good warm-up for the Gorillas on Day 3.
Gorilla trekking itself is in Uganda, meaning that you cross the border on the second day.
Undoubtely, the Gorilla trekking was the highlight of the tour. Going deeper and deeper into the jungle and finally getting the chance to see these friendly and fascinating animals in their natural habitat is a once in a lifetime experience, which is definitely worth the high permission rates (800$).
The rest of the tour you spend on Lake Bunyonyi, which gives you the opportunity to relax and see some nice Ugandan sceneries.
All in all, these 4 days were one of my all-time favorite travel experiences .
Worth mentioning are also the lodges where you sleep which all have a beautiful location in the middle of the nature .
What I highly appreciate is that although everything was perfectly organized, it never felt like a guided tour. More like a trip together with African friends.
Thank you to Likona Safaris for introducing us to your culture and showing us the Heart of Africa (Rwanda) as well as the Pearl of Africa (Uganda)!!!!
DE
Email Philipp | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Likana Safaris organised our Safari Tour perfectly.
We found the safari tour on the website of safaribookings but still had some questions about the offer. The questions were answered very quickly and detailed. The price of our tour has changed inbetween but Likana Safaris Uganda offered us the tour for the old price. Regarding to the pick-up-point they were very flexible which was convenient for us.
The tour itself was perfectly organised and we were very satisfied. The driver was conducting the car very responsible. We felt safe at any time in the crowded traffic of Uganda. Also it was very uncomplicated to add some extra activities during our tour. Our accomodations were supposed to be from the budget category but in the end they were quite luxury. Also the food was very tasty.
There were only two points, which I think they could be improved. I would be very happy, if it would be possible to pay the bill also in other currencies apart from US-dollar, e.g. in euros. The other point is that Likana Safaris Uganda felt very responsible for us. There might be some groups that like those type of intensive care. But for us it felt too much sometimes. Despite this in total we highly recommend this tour operator and would book our next tour at Likana Safaris Uganda as well.
JP
Email Nakamura | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
I fully enjoyed the best of Uganda.
I participated in a tour of gorillas and national parks. There were no issues, everything went smoothly, and it was an intensely packed five days. The hotel was clean, and the food was delicious.
My guide, Nathan, was very kind and flexible with any small changes. He was also knowledgeable about birds and explained every species we observed. Above all, he was a funny guy, and it's no exaggeration to say that he made the trip more enjoyable.
The days spent traveling around Uganda in a Land Cruiser remain a vivid memory for me.
GA
Email Mireille | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Walk on Lake Victoria
With our guide Jigos Kalungi, we visited two beautiful sites around Lake Victoria in Kampala. Calm, purity and tranquility are the words that come to me to sum up this afternoon. Thank you Jigos for the music, the detour to the church and for the very good service. The Amazon Club will return in full.
Email Karen | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A day around Kampala
We had a wonderful experience on 24 July 2024. With some colleagues we booked a customized tour of Kampala. Our driver/guide was competent, friendly and patient. He really listened to our requests and went out of his way to assist.
US
Email Charita | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The tour operator was very knowledgeable, and helpful throughout the entire Safari tour.
Murchison Falls National Park was an amazing experience in Uganda. The never-ending , most powerful waterfalls in the world was a sight to see. The awe-inspiring animals seen was like watching a movie. The olive baboons lined along the drive into the park, the elephants in their natural habitat, the giraffe walking to their young just to name a few of the animals seen along the drive.
In addition, the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary was jaw dropping. It was a beautiful encounter to see the baby rhinoceros (calf) being protected by the adult rhino while eating. The Likana Safari created a memorable experience that I will do again and invite my friends to experience with me.