Water experiment at the Equator -Uganda
Katona Tours & Travel
- Located In:
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2002)
- Member Of:
- AUTO - Association Of Uganda Tour Operators, UWA - Uganda Wild life Authority & UTB - Uganda Tourism Board
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $70 to $700 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Ulrich Beckers | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
16 Days Uganda Wildlife Super Safari for one person only
The preparation for the safari took Jackie and me nearly a year. During this time and also later on the manager answered on emails and
questions always unusual fast. In about fifty years I haven'' t found such a safe and loyal travel agency wether in Africa nor in Europe.
The safari was so well prepared that we haven' t had any problems within 16 days. For transportation I had a 4x4 wheel driven Toyota
landcruiser with a driver and at the same time a safari guide, who knew his job best. Sometimes without any signs he mastered the most
difficult tracks and roads. Crossing the NP'´ s in Uganda he mostly knew where the animals were. Very often his colleges were following our
car and had the luck to watch lions in a tree, a smaller leopard in a bush or a fish eagle loosing twice the fish in front of our car. Martin was
an excellent and safe driver, who took care of me, that it was not necessary for me to eat meat. Jackie, the manager, got in touch with her driver
every day and made her inquiries about our safari. The hotels and lodges we have chosen together were all moderate and in a clean
condition. At no time I felt unwell or unsafe. Uganda has a lot of friendly and helpful people. My expectations of this country, especially
landscapes and people, were better than expected. Once more my thanks to a very safe and loyal company.
DE
Email Lasse | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Gorilla trekking
We did a Gorilla trekking in Uganda - it was amazing!!!! Mgahinga national park is very recommendable!!! Our driver Elias picked us up in Kigali, Ruanda, and drove us to our Lodge in Uganda and the next day to the starting point for the trekking. After it, he drove us back to Kigali. Elias was the best!!! Ask for Elias when you need a very friendly, openminded and funny driver :-) on top of that, his English was perfect!
US
Email US mom | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
100% delivery as promised!
Jackie was a great contact. She was responsive and she delivered EXACTLY as she promised. No glitches and the description of everything was exactly what we received. Jackie is also a good source for everything Rwanda and Ugabda, if you want to make it a destination. We visited Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ugabda and although the Safari in Uganda is not the Serengeti it was much cheaper, prettier and not far off. Uganda was our favorite country and we felt safe the entire time. We are a family of 6 and everyone loved the gorilla experience the most! The hike to the gorillas was easy and not an uphill. The area is beautiful and the village below is a worthwhile destination. We had 2 guides with guns and 2 porters and the gorillas were located by a team of 6 and they too had guns (to protect from wild animal encounters, which we didn't have).
DE
Email Chris | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Gorilla Tour
the tour was perfectly organized: Jackie was very flexible even on last minutes adjustments we had to make. The driver (Cesar) was very good, very proficient in english he brought us safely to the park and back to Kigali despite the fact that we set off at 4.00 am. He knew exactly how to best cross the border Rwanda/ Uganda saving us a lot of time. The tour was exactly as promised, no glitches etc. I can only recommend the tour & the tour operator!
CH
Email François | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Awesome one-day Gorilla trekking experience
We wanted to go gorilla trekking for a day in Uganda on a late notice, but all the permits were booked. Jackie was amazing and managed to find us two permits for the dates that we wanted. Although there were some small issues (not her fault!), we did get to have an amazing once in a lifetime experience going trekking to see Mountain Gorillas in Bwindi. The driver Richard, that got us to the park and back, and helped us with the activtiy, was super friendly, kind, and helpful, on top of being a great driver.
I would highly recommend Katona Tours, Jackie has been super responsive with all our requests and was very arranging even when things were complicated.
SE
Email Lena & Hans | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
They made our trip magic.
We are very satisfied and happy that we choose Katona. Everything from the kommunication before we left Sweden until the moment we had to say good bye to our driver Elias after 3 great days, has really lived up to our expectations. Elias took very good care of us, and did that little extra that made a lot to us. The gorilla trekking from Buhoma was magic and everyone involved dit a great job. Some roads we went on were bad, but no one is to blame for that. Our days at Lake Bunyonyi were also great. We can highly recomend this 3-day-tour.
US
Email Neal & Beth | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Gorilla Trekking Experience - Kigali to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park (Uganda)
My wife an I went on the 1 day trip from Kigali to Mgahinga National Park in Uganda. To start off, the booking and communication with Jackie was very quick and efficient. She was super helpful and a great communicator.
Our driver Elias picked us up from our hotel in Kigali early in the morning and was perfectly on time at 4am. We cannot say enough great things about Elias. He made our trip AMAZING! He was so friendly, so fun, very informative, very knowledgeable, and always kept a big smile on his face. He was so fun to hang out with on our long drive, it felt like we had our own little tour of Rwanda and Uganda. After the trek he took us to a local place in Uganda for an authentic African lunch. By the time we returned to our hotel in Kigali after the tour it felt like we were family. I highly recommend asking for Elias as your driver.
The drive from Kigali to the park was roughly 3 hours, and it was a really cool drive. A lot of it is through the beautiful Rwanda and Uganda mountain countryside so its quite breathtaking. Crossing the border was easy. They just check your passports and give you a stamp, it takes about 10 minutes.
Once we reached the base camp where the trekking starts, Jerome and Silver from the Uganda Wildlife Authority introduce you and give a briefing of the days activities. The same 2 guys were our guides for the trek in the mountains. Big shout out to Jerome and Silver, they were awesome. Super friendly, very informative, amazing guides through the mountains. You'll also have an armed guard with you so they really make you feel safe for anyone who is a little scared.
It took us about an hour to find the families and I cannot express enough how kind and gentle these beautiful creatures are. We found a big family with 3 HUGE male silverbacks, 2 females, a couple teens, and 3 babies. We were able to hang out with them for an hour and I would say we were only a bout 10 feet away from them. It was CRAZY!!! The babies and teens were running around playing with each other the whole time while the big parents we lounging next to them. We even got to see a mother nursing her baby.
I heard a lot of people say Bwindi is where you must go for Gorilla experiences, but i totally disagree. We had a wonderful and very close encounter with a big family of Silverbacks at Mgahinga, and its much closer to Kigali.
I highly recommend booking this trip with Katona Tours. Get ready for the hike of a lifetime!!!
Side Note: Uganda is one of the most beautiful countries on earth. Just seeing the beautiful countryside alone was worth the trip
CA
Email Bermy | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Queen Elizabeth game drives and chimps trekking
Unforgettable experience! Would definitely recommend and will be back. Humphrey was very knowledgeable guide and Jackie was always professional and fast to respond.
AE
Email Yuki | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing!
There are many good experiences through out with Katona tours.
But for me the highlight was getting to have Kenneth as my driver/ guide.
Planning the trip went very well. I have contacted numerous companies for gorilla trekking but Katona was the only company who reply fast and through WhatsApp. Planning went smooth with Jackie and she was always available to talk and answer my questions. She was also willing to tailor the way I want the tour to be.
I forgot informing the flight details to come pick me up at the airport but it was done perfectly regardless of my last minutes notice.
I was greeted by Kenneth by his hand written welcome note at the airport. He explained so well about the genocide memorial and the history. But what I was so impressed was the knowledge he has for national parks and for animals. He was working as park rangers for 12 years and he has so much stories to share. The ride was supposedly long but thank to him and his stories it didn’t feel that long.
He was always willing to do beyond and very attentive.
Gorilla trekking itself went incredible and I am still amazed and still find it hard to process the fact I saw gorillas!
I am so happy that I took a tour with Katona and I’d recommend to everyone.
Email Samantha & Alex | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing gorilla experience
We booked a 2 day gorilla tour with Katona tours and found them to be excellent! I contacted Jackie about 6 months before our tour and she was so helpful with answering all our questions, providing detailed information, and ensuring our gorilla permits.
Our tour ran very smoothly - we wish we had booked for a longer stay! Our guide Valens was great, he made us feel very comfortable, was always on time, and happy to go out of his way to accommodate extra stops if we asked.
Jackie was kind enough to check in on us during our tour.
The tour itself is amazing, the lodge we stayed at was incredible and the gorillas are definitely a once in a lifetime, must see experience!
