Field photo setting off for rhino tracking
Karumuna Safaris
- Located In:
-
Australia
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2010)
- Member Of:
- Uganda Tourism Board
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $70 to $600 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
BE
Email Manuel Silva | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
They need to improve certain areas
I did a 7 day tour with Karumuna Safaris as solo traveller. The good points:
- The cost was much lower compared to other agencies... But be aware that you get what you pay for. They delivered, but the accommodation was quite basic most of the times, and the guide and driver quite young and unexperienced
- They managed to organize everything in a very short notice. Richard went the extra mile to make sure I did not miss a thing, even though a lot of the attractions were fully booked. I missed the chimps during the chimpanzee tracking, but it's not their fault
- Flexibility with payment methods
The bad points:
- Henry, the guide, was quite unexperienced and he lacks customer service skills. There was a constant lack of communication, he was late (90min late on one ocassion) and disaorganized quite often (not even aware of the plan for next day). I communicated with him to find a solution together and he simply did not care and became even more aloof. He even got quite arrogant, i.e. I asked him why we were stopping so often when actually we were late to reach our destination, and he said "all the stops are strictly necessary". Truth is, some of the stops were for them to buy food for their families... Should not be a problem if you communicate it in a different way.
- Driving issues: we were driving quite fast in many occasions, to the point that we run once into a bumper without braking off and I literally went flying towards the front. They were stopped by the police and got a fine (not sure why) and also the van had mechanical issues which forced us to stop to get it repaired
- Trying to save money on silly things: for example, refusing to use the A/C in the car when it was quite hot and opening windows instead (so you are breathing fumes be getting dust inside) saying that the airco consumes too much petrol, or stopping to get bananas as a snack and asking you to pay 1000 ugx out of total cost of 2000, when 7 out of the 10 bananas were eaten by the guide and the driver
I personally found the experience a bit unfortunate, because with little effort it could have been much better... But I got the impression that they did not care anymore at some point (I haven't heard again from anyone in the agency, even though I'm still around in Kampala). The trip was quite ok but those small things sometimes can make a big difference... You might think I may sound picky, but I have worked and travelled in many countries in Africa, so my standards are quite low compared to the classic Western tourist. To summarize, go for them if you are in a very low budget but if you can pay more, I recommend you look for other options
CH
Email Nicolas Gordillo | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
They delivered the schedule but with many unapproved changes
I booked an 8 day safari. They kept the schedule but made changes without informing me or the driver.
I paid more money to secure a Landcruiser, but instead got a van in a bad state which kept breaking down throughout the trip.
Lodges were changed without informing me. After driving almost 20hours, we got to the lodge and they didn't have any reservation for me. We had to wait 1 hour until they told us where to go.
Also water was supposed to be included, i never got any. On the last day, there was no activity or food (even though on the schedule there was activities and food included)
When I complained about this, Richard responded with "I know, I'm sorry" and that was it. No compensation, no solution found. Just meant that's how it is, deal with it.
I wouldn't book with them again, but they did drive me from place to place.
Email Chris | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Great destinations, a lot of waiting with little communication
The tour got us where we wanted to go, there were several times where we were asked to wait, tour guide disappeared for long periods of time without providing us information as to what we could do in this time (for example explore) accommodation had been changed and we only discovered this upon arrival at the accommodation. Despite booking a triple share tour this had not been prepared at each location. The vehicle itself left a fair bit to be desired and let us down. There were frustrations which we discussed with the tour guide as they arose. We seen what we set out to see so for that we are grateful. However I don’t believe we really got value for money given the time wasted and missed opportunities as a result. I wouldn’t be opposed to booking with Karumuna again however I would require clearer confirmation on what we should expect.