Bella Africa safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2015)
- Member Of:
- Association of Uganda Tour Operators, uganda wildlife association & licensed guide by uganda tourist board
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $40 to $500 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
NL
Email Jolinde | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
With Bella as our guide, every moment of the safari was fun!
The safari tour was very good. We did rhino tracking, we went to the Murchison Falls park, we did a boattrip on the Nile, we did an hike to the waterfalls and we did the chimpansee tour. All this we did in 3 days. Bella drove our car and she took care of us very well. When there was something wrong or there was a problem, Bella always solved it very fast. Sometimes she was even running to make sure we had enough time left! When I told Bella I don't eat fish, she arranged an alternative lunch for me. Amazing! She did everything to make the safari unforgetable for us. And also important: Bella told us everything about the animals we spotted and you could see she really loves to talk about it. It was great to go on such an adventure with Bella. I would recommend to everyone to go with Bella Africa safaris!
Wonderful days, best and very personal organized in Uganda!
Had I an unforgotable tour around Queen Elisabeth Park with game drives, guided walking tour through the nature , chimpanze tracking, zebra night watching tour, game drives and mountain biking in the savanne of Lake Mburo. Everything was so lovely and personally organized, a will come back to travel with Bella, she is the best tour guide I can wish!
Email Claire | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic Safari
You come as a client and leave as a friend! Our safari with Bella was great. She was very patient with us whilst we asked lots and lots of questions and worked out our custom itinerary before departing home, a key reason we chose this supplier. Bella was a considerate and capable driver, no mean feat on Ugandan roads. She has amazing eyes, an essential for a guide, able to spot and identify animals and birds from afar. She also seemed to have good relationships with her peers and suppliers which seems to be a major plus within the industry. I think Bella Safaris would be a good choice for anyone, but particularly if you are female or a birder you will have a fantastic time with Bella or her team. She is an intelligent and friendly lady who goes the extra mile to make your trip memorable. Her recommendations were spot on, her background stories interesting. She also has a unique business ethos which we wish her all the very best with and which inspires confidence that the rest of her team will be just as dedicated. We would not hesitate to recommend Bella Africa Safaris and hope to have the opportunity to explore Uganda further with Bella.
CA
Email Janice | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Trip
We had an excellent trip with Bella Africa Safaris, our Ugandan guide Lillian was knowledgeable about each location we visited whether it was Gorilla trekking, golden Monkey watching or the city of Kigali. She took great care of us and anticipated our needs every step of the tour. Lillian spent time explaining Rwandan history and culture to us. She was friendly and interested and funny, we'd book with her anytime!
CA
Email Caroline | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing Rwanda trip!
We booked a safari to Rwanda with Bella Africa at the last minute due to an unexpected change in plans. Everything was set up so easily and smoothly I wondered if it was really going to happen as it seemed too good to be true! From the moment we met our guide Lilian everything was fantastic! We had a wonderful experience and would highly recommend this company. We stayed a few extra days and they found another guide Kenneth for us who also was a delight. Very knowledgeable staff and a great tour.
US
Email Elane | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Surprised by the allure of the wild life and the care and information provided by the guide.
Spectacular safari! Seeing the birds and animals in their natural habitats was fascinating and I was intrigued by all the details the guide was able to convey on animal groupings and habits. The guide brought quality binoculars, which were a big plus. If there were many on the journey, it might be advisable to bring one’s own. For accommodations, I sought comfort and cleanliness (not luxury) in scenic settings and was pleased by the company’s arrangements. I did a 4-day trip to Lake Mburo and Queen Elizabeth National Parks and in retrospect would have preferred an additional day in Queen Elizabeth Park vicinity as most of the first and fourth day were spent driving. Though it was super interesting to drive through towns, villages and countryside, it was a lot of driving time. As a woman embarking on a solo safari, I valued the opportunity to make the journey with a woman guide. And I was impressed by the proficiency, responsiveness, attention to detail and fun loving orientation of the company and the guide.
US
Email Peter | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing 7 Day Chimp/Gorilla Experience!!!
It was a pleasure to work with Bella Africa Safari's from start to finish. We were on the road when we booked and did not have access to our banks back home to wire money for our deposit. Bella went ahead and set up a way for us to pay with a credit card. We also had a complicated itinerary in which members of our group would be arriving in Uganda at different times. Arranging separate pickups at the airport for both groups was not a problem at all. That was great customer service!
A few days before our safari Bella informed us that she had gotten sick and was no longer going to be our guide. We were disappointed at first, but as soon as we met our guide at the airport, we knew we were still going to have an unforgettable experience. In Kibale Forest we had an amazing encounter with the chimps. We got to see a group of about 10 chimps (including babies) descent from the treetops to the forest floor around up. Our experience trekking for the Gorilla's was definitely the highlight. We got within mere inches of the Gorilla’s. One ever charged us for a moment giving our group an awesome thrill!
The reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5 is because communication between our guide and our group could have been a little better. We actually trekked for chimps one more time in addition to the experience above. The second time was supposed to be in the gorge but the chimp trackers cancelled the trek because of extreme heat. Instead of telling this up front, it seemed as if our guide was trying to convince us to skip the trek and rest up for the following gorilla trek. He ended up working really hard and found us another area to do some chimp trekking for that afternoon, but he never told us why we did not go to the gorge. We found out the reason (extreme heat) from the other couple who was trekking in our group. If instead of trying to convince us not to trek, he just let us know that the chimp trackers cancelled the trek and that he was having a hard time finding a replacement trek, we would have been very happy.
On our Gorilla trekking day our guide never let us know that he was anxious to get to the gorilla trekking headquarters and eventually drove off without any of us and told a member of our group that we could walk. Luckily, we were staying only about a 15 minute walk away. We concluded later that he ended up leaving so that he could get us a spot trekking for a family not too far into the forest. If he just told us that he needed to leave to go get us a good gorilla family to trek for, we would have been so grateful and happy that he left to secure us a good gorilla family. Instead we were confused about why our guide would take off and make us walk right before we were about to spend hours walking to find the gorillas. In both of these instances, clear communication about that was going on would have made us very happy.
However, I will say those are minor things, we still had an unbelievable, unforgettable experience. We chose the mid-range option and all of our lodging was superb and included fantastic meals. If I were to visit Uganda again, I would not hesitate to contact Bella Africa Safari’s to arrange my tour. They offered a great tour, at a great price, with great customer service from start to finish.
US
Email JT | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful experiences with a great driver and many opportunities to explore Uganda.
The experience was wonderful! It is a well rounded adventure thru Uganda. Spending time with mountain gorillas was the highlight, although, all the animal sightings as well as the opportunity to experience nature, (including the people) was a fabulous opportunity. All the activities were wonderful, and the accommodations were appreciated. I probably would have preferred a ramp up of the accommodations- some were more spartan than others, and I like to leave on a high note- however, all had wonderful parts to them, especially the wildlife that were all around us and all the employees accommodating. We were not surprised by the BBC ranking of Uganda as the #1 most welcoming country in the world. Air conditioning in the van would have been nice, especially when on the red dirt roads where it had not rained for a while- SO much dust. However, I would do it all again, and most likely will.
DE
Email Annika & Susanne | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A perfect and absolutely beautiful tour with the best driver Lilian and personal organizer Bella!
Our 16-days-tour through the Western and Southern parts of Uganda with Lilian as our guide was simply amazing! Every day was well organized and planned by Bella just the way we wanted it to be, she really knows how to give her travelers a unique and perfect possibility to explore the pearl of Africa, Uganda.
All the Nationalparks we visited were great, our Chimp and Gorilla Treks were fantastic and memorable! Uganda has so much to offer, the landscapes keep on changing everywhere you're going, and the people are so friendly and helpful whenever you face a problem. Also the wildlife is great, we saw so many animals including elephants, lions, hippos, crocodiles, giraffes, buffalos, zebras, warthogs, hyenas, so many different birds including the famous shoebill and of course a lot of primates including gorillas, chimps and many other kinds.
Our guide Lilian always tried to make the best things possible and she knows her country so well. Whenever there occurred problems (for example a flat tire), Lilian knew someone in the area or somehow found a way out. We always profited from her and it was a pleasure to have her with us on our tour, she is a very nice, funny and intelligent woman. We had so much fun and felt comfortable with each other from the first minute on which really made our tour through Uganda so great! :)
Also the accommodations were well picked and not only the bandas or rooms, but also the tented camps were a nice experience.
We can recommend Bella Africa Safaris to anyone who is looking for a personal planned, affordable and most important unique and unforgettable tour to Uganda! We would go with Bella Africa again anytime!
Thank you again for everything, Bella & Lilian! :)
NL
Email Robert-Jan | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Pleasant and Carefree Safari with Relaxed and Expert Guidance
One of the reasons for us to choose Bella Africa was the idea that they only work with female guides. When a male guide showed up in our Entebbe Hotel on the starting day of our safari we were unpleasantly surprised. Bella seems to have intended to tell us that our female guide was not available but for technical reason the message did not reach us. During the 15 days of our safari Ben Aloysius Kyenyune (our guide) proved to be a nice guy and a good and expert safari guide. We have visited beautiful places and saw a great number of animals. We especially enjoyed the tranquility at some remote locations, like Kidepo NP. The accommodation was quite simple but good. Recommended!