Ecotourism in action
Bamboo Ecotours
- Office In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2012)
- Member Of:
- Association of Uganda Tour Operators
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $110 to $600 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
US
Email Jon | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Gorillas were an amazing experience! Would do it all again!
TRIP PLANNING & BOOKING
Our coordinator was great to work with and very responsive to our needs. We had a short fixed window to work within and wanted to do a lot, in which they were very accommodating. We received a highly customized experience, even accommodating last minute changes we introduced. In the end, we received a detailed itinerary was a plan for an exciting adventure.
TRIP DETAILS
It was 3 days in Uganda - river, chimps, tribe, and gorillas.
- Chimp Trekking Forest: Kalinzu Forest
- Gorilla Trekking Forest: Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
- Boat Ride: Kazinga channel
- Hotel 1: Buffalo Safari Lodge
- Hotel 2: Mutanda Lake Resort
- Tribe: Pygmies (Echuya Batwa)
Both hotels were great, but fell in love with Mutanda!
THE RIVER EXCURSION
We started with a boat ride, touring herds of hippos, buffalo, crocodiles, lizards, and birds among other river dwelling creatures. The guide was knowledgeable and friendly. While not the highlight of the entire experience, it was fun seeing giant reptiles and albino buffalo, as well as learning about ‘loser’ buffalo, removed from the herd.
CHIMP TRACKING
The hike through the forest may have been more exciting than the chimps themselves. We went during the winter when the chimps stay at the top of the trees for warmth, so we weren’t able to get close to the chimps, rather watch them walk along the tree traps and sleep. Highly recommend going during the summer when they come down to the ground for the cooler temperatures and you get better viewings.
GORILLA TRACKING
By far the highlight of the whole trip. We were able to see the gorilla family after 1.5 hours of walking, which is considered quick. We got up close to the gorillas and took lots of pictures. It felt shockingly safe, despite their huge size. Watching the baby gorilla play with grass and spin around was another little highlight.
THE GUIDE
Our guide was super friendly and very helpful. He was a source of information, and helped with things like exchanging money and covering when out of cash. A very joyful individual to be around. More than helpful and very flexible with our random requests. Thank you, Amanya!
TIPS FOR TRAVELERS
- Bring lots of cash and small bills for tips
- Bug spray
- High socks for ants that like to bite
- Prepare for rain, mud, and slippery ground
DE
Email Fabian | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Come as a guest stay as a friend
Perfect organize! Charles would help you with anything and your wishes! He is very friendly and helpful! Know he is a friend
Email Belinda | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Anazing trips and superb organisation
I cannot recommend Bamboo Ecotours highly enough! Edison was the most superb organiser from day one. As a highly organised person I met a kindred spirit! From the planning stage to the trip, he was mega efficient, quick to reply, and so helpful with organising - even items outside the tour of which the highlight was mountain gorilla trekking. Our guide Fred was so knowledgeable and looked after us so well. The trio lived up to all our expectations - and more!
BR
Email Fabio Canalli | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
All good as planned.
My guide and driver Herbert was very good. We faced many challenges in the roads but he is very skilled to overcome all of them. Also, a nice company during the trips. I recommend Bamboo Ecotours and Herbert as tour partners.
US
Email Jose | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing service and very friendly.
The whole experience was impeccable and tailored to our taste. The staff was very nice and friendly and everything went very smooth.
NL
Email Louisa | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Highly recommend for Gorilla Trekking in Uganda
We (Louisa and Peter) did a Safari in Tanzania before and while our tour operator for Tanzania also offered us to plan the Gorilla trek, we felt more comfortable in picking a local tour operator in Uganda.
We studied reviews on here and shortlisted Bamboo Ecotours. The communication with Edison via E-mail to plan and book our 2-Night/3-Days Gorilla trek went absolutely smooth.
The planning process went transparent and also flexible in terms of adding on activities later on. We only decided on the actual day that we wanted to add the Coffee making experience and were able to do so. (Highly recommend for coffee lovers). We were considering to add another cultural experience on our last day (return to Kigali), but then felt a bit tired and opted only for the visit of the Genocide Museum. It was really great that we could be this flexible with other activities outside of the main event : The Gorilla trek
The gorilla trek is in the end organized by the local authorities - so has nothing to do with Bamboo ecotours. But also this was organized very well. We especially loved the local dance group that performed for us before the actual hike and really motivated us :)
In our case, it rained heavily after we had our one hour meet and greet with the Gorillas. Shout out to future trekkers : Please read the tips and instructions and try to pack accordingly: pack raingear, wear proper hiking shoes, wear long-sleeved shirts and also gloves come in really handy.
I didn't bring my gloves and I made it just fine, but it would have been better if I had brought them.
As back to Bamboo Ecotours: Our Guide was Fred, he is very kind, friendly and shared information about the local people/customs and also a bit about his own hometown/family. He also accommodated us very flexible with our requests on activities and was open to our suggestions.
We also felt that we paid a fair / competitive rate for our experience compared to other offers/quotes we have seen.
Maybe it would have been nice to see a few more different options for accommodations prior to booking, but in the end we were also happy with the one that we had (Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge). The lodges itself look like tree houses (without being actual tree houses), very dreamy and romantic. You feel like being in the middle of a rainforest. One of the perks is that the lodge offered to wash 4 pcs per person for free - that was very nice. The dinners were very good (no buffet, you ordered a few hours in advance from a small cart). Breakfast did not have a lot of choice, but it was fine. The packed lunches were small and not up to the standard that we were used from Tanzania.
After our Gorilla trek, the lodge provided the service to clean our shoes, that was very sweet and helpful.
Last but not least:
Big thanks for Edison and Fred for making this trip and experience special and completely carefree for us!
Email Himal | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very well organised
The tour was very well organised. Great communication from Edison about the meeting point in Kampala. The driver and guide, Herbert, was very knowledgeable. Felt safe the whole time. The lodge was comfortable and right in the middle of Queen Elizabeth National Park. Friendly and helpful staff. Overall I was really happy with the tour, got to see lions. elephants, hippos and many others. Herbert was a great guide.
AT
Email Brigitte | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Gorillas & Wildlife in Akagara National Park
I just came back from amazing 3 day trip, drive from kigali to akagera , there even Rhino !! + elefant, buffalo, lions - drive safari very good but absolutely fabulous was the evening boat safari. Next day long drive to Uganda for gorillas, yet explanations of driver/guide on scenery/country/peoples made it worthwhile. Then gorillas: a big silverback plus female and baby, watched the whole group for 1h. It was not cheap, but I am so glad I decided to go for it! Can only recommend 100%, organiser excellent. Pls take also small money with you for tips for locals - women dancing, the trackers, the porters etc.. so good when villagers see that tourism brings more than poaching!
Email Laura | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Couldn’t recommend enough
Bamboo ecotours is definitely the tour company to use to explore Uganda. We had the wonderful Herbert who really made the whole experience for us. The communication from the company and the information they provided was brilliant, super helpful and very quick with responses (always under 24h). The service we received was 100%, I literally couldn’t fault anything- we had the tour to ourselves with Herbert and this seems to be common for Bamboo Ecotours, they like to ensure you are receiving the best service and are comfortable at all times. The accommodation was lovely, we paid for basic and they even managed to book a few midrange places for us which was a great surprise! Herbert could not have been more accommodating and brilliant the whole tour, always explaining the schedule and making sure we were safe and happy as well as showing us all the fabulous animals. We were super lucky in seeing all the animals that Uganda had to offer (rhinos, leopards, lions, giraffes, zebra, python, hyena, gorilla, chimpanzee, monkeys, baboons, buffalo, elephant, hippos, crocodile)- I would highly recommend doing the 10 day tour so that you can see the Rhinos and get a chance in all of the parks. Uganda is absolutely amazing and Bamboo Ecotours show you all the best of it, they use tour guides from local villages so that you get someone who really knows the local areas and cares about the environment. Literally can’t recommend enough!
Bamboo Ecotours made our holiday easy to plan and gave us an unforgettable experience!
We booked 2 days of Gorilla Trekking and 1 day of Golden Monkey Trekking through Bamboo Ecotours and it was fabulous. Our planning from the USA was seamless with Edison. He was very responsive and clear with his messaging and answered all the questions we had prior to the trip. He also arranged for our Gorilla Trekking permits. We flew into Kigali and our driver, Godfrey, met us at the airport and drove us into Uganda to our first lodge, Nkuringo Gorilla Lodge (which was absolutely amazing!). Godrey was so great and took good care of us while transporting us to our various treks and then back to Kigali. I have absolutely zero complaints and wouldn't hesitate to recommend Bamboo Ecotours to anyone interested in Gorilla Trekking!