Encounter Africa Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2009)
- Member Of:
- Association of Uganda Tour Operators
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $50 to $300 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
QA
Email Detlef | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Muddy shoes, wet clothes, happy Gorillas and Humans.
We called in 2 days before the Safari and had about 2 hours later a friendly guy in our hotel to finish up the booking. We were picked up in the morning exactly on time (not so common in Africa) and had a pleasant drive to our destination. Nice hotel and next day a super great experience to see the Gorillas in the mountains of Bwindi Impenetrable forest. It was raining, muddy and we got really wet, still smiling. A must ONCE in a lifetime. Next day our driver Steven brought us home safely in the wild traffic of Uganda. Thank you Steven and team.
Email Caleb | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Gorilla trekking with Encounter African Safaris
The Safari met nearly all of my expectations. The traveling went smoothly, the company was amazing, and the gorilla experience was astonishing! I of course only wish we could spend more time with the gorillas. I definitely recommend going gorilla trekking with Encounter African Safaris company. This truly was a once in a life time, must do experience.
ID
Email Nadia | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Efficient 2D1N Trip
Overall, an efficient 2D1N trip covering two neighboring countries. We chose to do the gorilla trekking in Uganda since it is a more affordable option, but still manage to city tour Rwanda's capital city. Would highly recommend to those people who do not have much time.
Abdul was our guide for the trip and he was very attentive. The day we had to drive cross country from Kigali to Bwindi National Park (7 hours drive), the border happened to be close for 2-3 hours. So Abdul took the initiative to phone his colleague to drive another car to the other side of the border.
After clearing custom at Rwandan side, we left our car behind and walk 100 meter to Ugandan customer. Upon clearing Ugandan custom, we took the other car driven by his colleague to continue our drive. His colleague would then wait to get our original car. It was such a thoughtful way in making sure we would not waste time getting stuck at the custom.
On the day of our trek, Abdul ensured that we were assigned to the right gorilla family. We were initially concerned as the average return trip takes around 8-10 hours. In order to catch our flight, we have to complete the trekking within 4-5 hours max. Abdul helped us communicate to the rangers to assign us to the gorilla family closest in distance to the main road in order to avoid taking the risk missing our flights.
Thank you for the hospitality, Encounter Africa Safaris.
Regards,
Josh & Nadia
US
Email Susan Bruin | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
No Worries with this Safari Tour
Communications with EAS was always prompt, respectful and helpful. Online payment easy and we didn't have to pay 100% way ahead of time.
Our Driver/Tour Guide Elias was excellent-- his driving, communication and multi-language skills, and naturalist knowledge! He knew so much about the wildlife and even bird identification for my birder husband. He tailored our pace, breaks, lunch stops, etc. based on our desires, trying to provide the best experience for each of the 4 of us. When a closed border crossing or rain created some schedule delays (missed activities on a certain day), he adjusted and found ways to make sure that we got to still do all those activities on our itinerary before we left Uganda. He was attentive to stopping frequently for photos that we wanted, and was the first of many game drive vehicles to find a leopard. The Kazinga Channel cruise was one of the best "safari" experiences we ever had-- so close to so many elephants, hippos and other animals. Our gorilla-trek and chimpanzee-trek were highlights for sure, but the other wildlife-related activities and village visit were great. The lodgings selected were all superb. We were also happy to always have an ample supply of bottled water, and meals were all very good.
The only thing that I would have liked more would have been if the tour guide talked more about Uganda, like during our highway drives, about Uganda's history, current government, politics, religions, traditions & beliefs, cultures, lifestyles. He answered questions, but I prefer a Guide who disseminates as much information as possible to us USA tourists who arrive knowing nothing about Uganda or its people.
AE
Email Maya Smith | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Outstanding trip provided by encounter Africa and our tour guide Namaralex !!
Very professional company and tour guide!
Namaralex made sure we were satisfied the whole time and enjoying our time !
He made our trip unforgettable!
Thank you so much!
CZ
Email Lukas | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great trip, great guide and driver, great country.
Helpful planning, flexible to additional wishes. The guide and driver provided great support. Everything went very well on the trip, despite some continuing restrictions. I really enjoyed it. Thank you.
FR
Email Elisa | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Useful and organized travel operator who chose marvelous guides to make our trip wonderful
We went for 14 days in Uganda, we were three adults and had a two wonderful guides: Vianney and Sunday. The trip started in Entebbe and continued in Murchinson, Kibale, Queen Elizabeth, Bwindi and Nboro. The safari was very well organized to make this trip a wonderful experience. We had the chance to saw many animals due to the experience of our guides. We were capable of exchanging half the time in French with Vianney our guide, and we were provided a ton of informations on all the places we visited and on all the people we talked to. Everyone simplified our trip and made our worries disappear.
We highly recommend Encounter Africa Safaris and more precisely our two guide Vianney and Sunday, who did everything for us and were, for sure, one of the best part of our trip!
CA
Email Denis and natasha lorrain | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Gorilla trailer fantastic To see gorillas guide elias very friendly my wife wants To go back next y
Go for gorilla trail if u can it s stuning locals very friendly weather beautifull as the country
US
Email Latonia | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Amazing trip with Encounter Africa Safaris
I just completed a three week tour of Rwanda and Uganda with Encounter Africa Safaris and I can honestly say I had a phenomenal trip. This trip was originally slated for 2020 and I paid my gorilla permit fees to experience this in both countries before Covid shut the world down. My tour consultant, Patrick, was absolutely fabulous in communicating with me and reassuring me that they would hold the payment until I was able to visit. He answered all my questions and made some wonderful suggestions on how to get the most out of my time in the two countries. He even responded immediately to emails I sent when I figured they would be out of office and answered on the next business day (I'm convinced Patrick doesn't sleep). My naturalist and tour guide, Elias, was equally fantastic. Elias has so much knowledge about the histories of the two nations, the cultures, endemic animals - you name it, he had an answer. We spent long hours driving from one section to the other of each nation and it was as though we were old friends on a road trip - we had some really good conversations and I learned so much from him. He was professional, considerate, dedicated and personable. As a solo female traveler, he put me at total ease and I trusted him entirely with my itinerary and making sure I was safe and had a memorable holiday. I highly recommend this company - my holiday exceeded all my expectations. Even when it became evident that I would not be able to visit the Democratic Republic of Congo as I had originally planned when we first discussed my itinerary, Patrick added in other activities the month before I arrived and everything just flowed. I cannot recommend this company enough.
