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 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.
Email Monika | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Encounters with gorillas a must
Our tour which covered both Uganda and Rwanda, was quite big - 14 days which dragged on with little to do. The highlights were definitely the gorilla and chimpanzee encounters. I wouldn't recommend the national parks in Uganda as very little to see. Make sure your tour guide is experienced and has knowledge of the area and animal tracking.
NL
Email Bart Bakker | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Shooting Dutch tv show on lake vic/the nile/murchison falls
I have worked together with Encounter Africa Safaris on a Dutch TV production. EAF made all the arrangements like media cards, accommodation, transportation, permits etc. They are reliable and fun to work with. As tv productions most of the time turn out to be a bit hectic, and especially a specific "outdoor/rafting" kind of show like we did, i must say they did very well. Even last minute chances and request were no problem.
I would recommend them as a local fixer/production partner.
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.
A great experience and very flexible!
Encounter Africa is a great choice for gorilla trekking, they put together fantastic packages, have an above and beyond staff and we're incredibly flexible at meeting our needs. Definitely recommend.
US
Email Laurel Hawton | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Amazing experiance
Booking on line was a bit shaky and because of the huge time differences it was difficult to contact the office by phone. But when I did get hold of Talbert he was very polite and helpful. Joseph met us at the airport and he was a gem throughout the entire trip. He went out of his way to make sure our every need was met. Joseph's knowledge of each area and the customs was outstanding as was his knowledge of the birds and animals. His driving skills on some difficult roads was amazing.
Our accommodation was basic but comfortable and the food was good. Some of the hotels were a little far from the activities which required early morning starts. Both the gorillas and the Chimps were an awesome experience with super guides. The guide, Leo, we had on the swamp walk was excellent his knowledge and enthusiasm was amazing.
Joseph was a remarkable person with a fabulous sense of humour and he really made the trip so special for us. He showed us Uganda in its entirety, it is a beautiful country with any different facets. We came to love Joseph like family and we were all sad to say goodbye.
Email Nicole | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Highly recommend!! A+++
Right from the start, the communication between myself and this company was outstanding. The consultants English was highly satisfactory, and return time via email was very speedy. Everything that needed to be known was written nice and clearly for me to understand. They were helpful, friendly and genuine.
This company organised everything for us that we needed ie airport transfer, hotel, full board etc which made the organising process much less stressful. This carried right through to the end of the tour - no stress at all because they took care of our every need. I dealt with Chris and Tolbert in particular, thank you guys so much for everything you did for us, you went above and beyond!
Will definitely return one day to do it all again!