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
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Email Patrick und Caroline | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing tour and excellent service
The booking process and the service before the tour were excellent. The guides were very helpful and organized a great tour. We can recommend Encounter Africa Safaris very highly
Memorable gorilla encounter!
The communication with the office was fantastic - chris answered all questions and we were able to receive the most affordable quote we found, with transparent and accurate billing break downs. Our guide, Rodgers, was professional and brought a positive manner to our trip. He, along with the whole encounter africa operation, ensured our trip was smooth and memorable. We had an awesome encounter with the gorillas in bwindi impenetrable rain forest! The accommodation was also great and the transfers could not be faulted. Would highly recommend A++
ES
Email Martin Forman | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Can't ask for more or better
My wife and I spent 13 days around Uganda. Ambroise from African Encounter Safari was our driver and guide. He was not only nice and friendly but he was very knowledgeable about his countrie's history and fauna. He was not only concern for our well being but also made sure anything we might need was taken care of and we had only to worry to enjoy everything else. We set up our tour and hotels before arriving to Uganda but his suggestions for activities were often better options than ours inicial Plans. Overall it was a great experience and we feel lucky we got ambroise to become part of our trip and everlasting memories. Always greatful.
Great
Great experience with Encounter Africa Safaris, Simon (the guide) did a great job, I will recomend it!
FR
Email Francisco | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
100% perfect
We 100% recomend Encounter as they are very professional, reactive to all our emails and provided us with the service that we booked without any bad surprises. All went perfect. Special thanks to our driver Simon. He is a save driver and also great trip companion with very entertaining conversations about Uganda and any other theams. Thanks!!
Email Eden | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing!! Jason looked after us really well.
Really good communication with Chris, responsive emails and very helpful. The gorilla tour was an incredible, once in a life time experience that I would highly recommend. Accommodation and overall tour was put together well and we really enjoyed our stay in both lodges.
HK
Email Dora | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Trustworthy, responsive, professional, planned per client’s expressed needs
Pre trip:
Chris the responsive front line contact with whom I worked out the itinerary was an indispensable asset. He was the first to respond to my email enquiry sent out to several companies. Having a whatsapp call the same day helped to understand from the start what I wanted and more importantly, allowed exchanges on options and constraints and setting realistic expectations (this is afterall Africa!) I asked for 8 days, But after more research and discussions (not pressure from Chris) to 12 days. Chris often responded in his middle of the night or wee hours due to international time differences!
Itinerary:
We ended up starting from Kigali to Kampala. Started with golden monkeys (very enjoyable; saw lots close up), then the AMAZING Bwindi gorillas (one hour trek awesome, and 4 hours habituation trek totaled 9.5 hours up and down steep dense mountains); Queen Elizabeth National Park (long drive, no lions on trees sighted but amazing boat cruise and relaxation with beautiful views and pool at riverside hotel), followed by chimpanzees (thanks to Tolbert and Martin who suggested changing from early habituation trek to a normal one starting 11:30 mid day so we saw many interesting chimps of various ages feeding on the ground rather than just swinging high up between trees - this is priceless tip!!); then Murchison Falls (amazing game drive and boat cruise with sights of giraffes, lions, elephants, crocodiles, hippos, tobies, etc etc), ending with adventurous white water rafting at Jinja. So glad we included Murchison Falls and Jinja as both proved to be wonderful experiences despite the hard drives.
Accommodations:
I asked for between budget and above average accommodations and compared them from the listings provided by Chris. Most important was to read through reviews and decide what I wanted and was prepared to pay for.
Tips: eg air conditioning is hard to come by in lodges in the wilderness, water from showers often small, sometimes need running to wash out the brownish, maybe colder than wished, expect mosquitos and maybe ants or insects, rooms perhaps further away from main lounge, solar power could run out, fewer power sockets, unavailable or unreliable network and WiFi ... All this is part of safari adventure!
Also some preferred lodgings were on wait list so expect last minute changes.
Transport:
We had two very clean Toyota vans, one for four and another for two people which worked out very well. I am happy to lie flat on row of seats due to poor back and very bumpy roads (called “African Massage”). The driver guides Tolbert and Martin were great drivers on the challenging roads especially in Uganda! They also pulled skills to catch greater sights of lions and other wildlife.
Tip: ask for vans with padded sides along the game viewing top. Also suggest Encounter Africa provides cushions for sitting on top in front for greater comfort for vans with such fittings.
All in all, a super, memorable safari adventure with Encounter Africa who was very professional. Very flexible, responsive and kind. We had lots of fun and laughter together with Tolbert and Martin. Would recommend highly and will use them again in the future.
IN
Email Shweta Rao | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Money's worth.... The best safari experience
Encounter Africa, is the best safari option for Africa. We were a group of 4 from India and we booked for a 4 days chimpanzees and Gorilla tracking tour in Uganda. Chris was coordinating for our tour and he has done an excellent job in organising even the minutest of things possible. The hospitality shown right from our driver Tolbert to the respective staff at the hotels chosen, was impeccable. Apart from that the sheer experience of being face to face with the Chimps and the Gorilla was enthralling. I would just sum it up to say that you get much more than what you have bargained for. Thank you Chris for all your support and Prompt updates.
Wonderful experience
Our driver Jason was incredibly helpful during our two days with him. He changed money for us, walked us through the chaos at the Rwandan-Ugandan border (we entered Uganda from Rwanda) and back again. We had not realized our visa for 30 days to Rwanda was a single entry visa so it expired as soon as we crossed the border and we did not have enough dollars to pay the reentry visa. Jason changed Rwandan francs for us and went to the bank at the border to pay for our visa get our papers stamped. The hike up the mountain was strenuous but well worth it. Bring waterproof trousers and rubber boots—that’s what the park ranger, the soldier and the policeman accompanying us all wore. And bring a change of clothes and shoes. You will get wet and muddy! Also hire a porter (all women). They are experienced climbers and will haul you up the vertical mud and carry your back pack for you! Well worth the money! We saw 8 gorillas from one family including two silverbacks and a curious one-year old that curled itself around my husband’s and then my leg looking in our pockets for souvenirs! Encounter Africa met our budget and we stayed in a lodge on top of a mountain with gorgeous views after driving up narrow mud tracks with steep drops. But Jason was a great driver, never took unnecessary risks when overtaking other vehicles and despite the lack of seatbelt in the back of the van (one was broken) we felt quite safe with him driving.
US
Email George | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Superb time!
My colleague and I completed our immersive time in Rwanda by seeing the mountain gorillas in Uganda (Uganda permit << Rwanda permit in terms of cost, $600 vs $1500 USD). Jason, Alex, and Chris were fantastic. We were picked up from our hotel in Kigali, taken across the border into Uganda and stayed at a lovely base camp (breakfast/dinner included, packed lunch provided for day of trek). The morning of the trek Alex/Jason accompanied us to Bwindi and ensured we were set up on an appropriate level hike for us. Spending the hour with the gorilla family was an inspiring time. As if straight from National Geographic. Jason safely delivered us back home to Kigali the third day of our 3-day excursion. On the way Jason/Chris were very flexible and allowed for several stop offs we were interested in ahead of time to be made during the drive to Bwindi and during the drive back. This is top class client experience and we wouldn't hesitate to recommend Encounter to anyone else interested. And cost wise, it simply makes sense to go to Uganda over Rwanda for the purpose of spending time with these beautiful animals.
