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
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.
Email Scott Horsfield | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Uganda Film Fixer Services
I don't think you could find a better fixer service in Uganda.
From initial contact to dropping us off at the airport, Encounter Africa Safaris were professional and excellent. What's more they are all thoroughly decent chaps you can have a laugh and chat with. We had a two week shoot across two locations for my client's volunteering programme. It involved continuously changing schedules and complexities but Edson and his team dealt with everything with patience and a smile. Mark our driver/fixer was way more than a fixer, he was a fourth crew member. He would watch how we work and seamlessly fit in helping out wherever he could. He shielded us when we had the authorities asking us questions, provided suggestions for shots and got us out off any tricky situations before they got too tricky. What's more he was a thoroughly great guy as interested in telling us about Uganda as he was in finding out about us. He really did become another member of the crew, making the long drives more enjoyable with his knowledge and sense of humour. I cannot recommend them enough.
Best experience with Encounter Safaris!!!
My wife and I spent 5 days in Uganda. We were interested in seeing the amazing mountain gorillas and also doing some white water rafting on the nile. Lucky for us, the guys at Encounter Safaris organised all of this for us before we even got to Uganda. Communication with Chris prior to our adventure was fantastic, he always answered our questions in perfect time. Our experiences during the adventure were sentational, our driver/guide was Feni and he was brilliant in making sure my wife and I were always comfortable and it was a pleasure to hear all the knowledge he had to share with us about his great country. A true highlight from this adventure were seeing te mountain gorillas, but also at one of the lodges called Broadbill camp which the Encounter team had organised for us to stay at...a wonderful adventure with wonderful company.
Email Eva | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Awesome stay and trip!!
Encounter Africa Safaris made my trip in Uganda memorable and enjoyable. The car hire services were up to standard, very pleasant staff to work with. Thumbs up Tolbert!
IT
Email Marco | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
3 days in Bwindi Nationa park
I went for the safari trekking with Encounter Safaris, as they were the first to reply my mails and the most accurate (on internet, I've found that price are not differing a lot between operators).
Me and the other guest, Ana, had the beautiful travel across the south part of the country. Our cicerone was Joseph, which is a very good driver and extremely funny! He also knows a lot about safaris and we spent our time together happily talking about everything.
We spent out two nights in the budget Broadbill Camp, which is very ok considering to be in the middle of the jungle: I was able to receive calls and call my office :( . The food vas very good as my fresh Club Beer, always available (you have to pay it apart).
We were lucky to quickly find the gorilla, after only 1 hr walking.
I won't tell you if the experience worth the price and effort related to do this safari but it was, for me, something that I wanted to do from long time and finally did. You will have what you ask: Gorillas in their natural environment.
Take care that the area can be very cold!
At the beginning I was supposed to go alone, and previously paid a full amount for a single person travel.
Fortunately Chris has been able to match me with another guest (Ciao Ana!),so that I had the full refund of the difference single traveler - group traveler. Thumbs Up for Counter Safaris!!!
BE
Email Isabel | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing once-in-a-lifetime experience, perfectly organiseed by Encounter Africa!
Here's my thoughts on our recent holiday in Uganda:
1. First of all, if you are hesitating whether or not to travel to Uganda .. don’t, please just go! It's an amazing experience in a beautiful country, with warm and friendly people. It's not unsafe at all (taking the ordinary precautions when travelling in Africa, South America or Asia for that matter). It’s not too touristy (yet) so the other tourists you meet there are generally very also very nice and open-minded people.
2. I struggled to find decent reviews of safari operators causing me quite some stress given that you have to book your permit through the company (and gorilla spotting is not exactly cheap!). I spent hours looking for reviews online. We ended up choosing Encounter Africa Safaris (mainly by luck I think) and could not be happier with our choice. Its strengths include: fast response times to emails, very clear and to the point communication, great value for money proposition and perfect execution at destination. We corresponded with Chris re the booking, which went very smoothly. He also helped us at destination to get a nice(r) hotel (with pool) for our last night at a reasonable price. Joseph, our driver/guide, played a very big role in making this trip an unforgettable one. Impeccable timing. Made sure we got into the right groups and had the best guides to see the chimps and gorillas. Truly went above and beyond to ensure we enjoyed our holiday. Very knowledgeable. Gave the relevant level of detail/information whilst travelling (you don’t want too much information nor do you want too little, right?!). And also .. just a really nice, funny and friendly guy (important when you spend ca. 10-12 hours a day together). Encounter Africa also booked us into very nice accommodation (we did the mid-range travel but they got us an upgrade by lake Bunyonyi) and we had lunch/dinner in great restaurants.
3. I don't have experience that allows me to compare our gorilla tracking in Uganda with a tracking in Rwanda, but my impression is that you get a tracking in Uganda is more genuine (including the drive through the Bwindi forest which is amazing as such and definitely puts you in the mood!). Don't believe any claims that the percentage of seeing gorillas is higher in Rwanda than in Uganda - it's not. Our team in Bwindi was extremely professional and well-organised. Whilst there are no guarantees when you want to spot wild (albeit habituated) animals, considering how well the families are tracked/monitored, I think the default position is that you see them. No words can describe it when you do ... it's simply amazing.
4. One last tip: if you do go to Uganda, don’t limit yourself to just seeing the gorillas. There’s also other primates (Kibale is the best place to see chimps!) and beautiful nature (source of the Nile, hiking in the East, secluded animal parks in the North etc.). We were however told to avoid Kampala due to its manic traffic.