Reviews
Email Dennis J. Weatherall | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Gorillas of the Mountains & Chimps of the Lowlands.
Our encounter with both the Owner (Harrington) and the Gorrilla's of the highlands was an amazing experience. I have had the opportunity to have visited the African Sub Sahara many times. You travel long distances but it's worth it to sit in the jungle just 10 - 12 feet away from a Silver Back and his extended family. They are such beautiful animals. Not sure if they get as much out of us trekking the mountains to find them, but we sure got all the right boxes ticket ! The Chimps are fun loving and take you on a chase, one minute they are in front of you then behind you, then above you in the trees. They love playing games with you ! Lodge accommodation en-route was excellent from small boutique properties to resort style. It varies considerably subject to where you wish to visit but all were clean, comfortable and meals taken in house on tour were good.
US
Email Srini | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Delivered as promised.
We did a 9-day, four national park safari with this company in December 2017. Everything was organized by email some months in advance. Hannington, the owner, was prompt in his correspondence and was accommodating of our requests. Once he obtained the chimpanzee and gorilla tracking permits, he promptly emailed copies. Once we arrived in Kampala, we had a vehicle waiting at the airport that took us to the hotel directly. The next day, we left on our safari. Many of the meals and bottled water along with lodge accommodation was included as well the driver and the vehicle. All park entrance fees was paid for. We really did not have to pay for anything more. There were a couple of issues with lodges with regard to our medical needs and Hannington worked with us and the lodge to resolve the issues. We did not see the tree climbing lions but Hannington made extra effort to find them (but we still could not). The chimps and gorillas were the main attraction for us - both those went flawlessly.
Overall, I highly recommend this company and Hannington. He is eager to please his customers and will deliver as promised. The vehicle was reliable and did not break down even once despite the rough roads in parts of the journey. Hannington joined us (along with the driver) for the whole safari to make sure everything went smoothly. I thought this is a sign of him going above and beyond what is required of him.
There are many companies in Uganda and when booking from far away, it is difficult to know who is reliable. In our experience, this company and Hannington were very reliable. We are very happy with our decision. The trip itself was fantastic! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
DK
Email Mette and Julie | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Queen Elizabeth National park and Bwindi National park
We went on a 4-day safari with Vivid Adventure Safari in the last weekend in February 2018. We visited Queen Elizabeth National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National park. The nature was very beautiful, and the tour operator always let us stop to take pictures if we asked for it. The accommodation was very good, and we had excellent food wherever we went.
If we can give you an advice when you pick this tour operator it would be that you must make sure the program is followed by the guide.
Also make sure the price you receive is for the right program because we ended up paying 300$ more than the first offer we got.
The National Parks are definitely worth a visit when you go to the Pearl of Africa. To summarize, it was an experience we would not have missed.
Email Sol | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Non-trustworthy
Uganda was impressive country. However, this was the worst safari experience I have ever had.
If someone really needs to contact this agency, please make sure to read the followings;
1) The proposal you receive via e-mail is different from what you need to pay when you get out of airport.
They intentionally give you low-cost quote and change their word saying it was a 'mistake' which they've been repeating many times already.
Please make sure to bring extra cash to pay when asked for.
Otherwise, you need to look for ATM which is not easily working in the country.
Also, you will need to undergo unpleasant argument throughout the journey until you pay the extra money.
2) This agency is appropriate for those who do not travel alone - especially not for a single lady.
When you are traveling by yourself, then you will encounter a blackmail in the middle of trip that the tour guide will drop you off there and leave in the middle of nowhere.
3) You will understand what is typical African-style lie, telling whatever they want to convince you to pay more. Didn't want to argue about details, but it was disgusting to listen to throughout the journey.
Reply from Vivid Adventure Safaris
Posted on Mar 31, 2018Hullo Sora
On behalf of our team and our company we are truly sorry for the misunderstandings that we had and i sincerely hope we put this behind us however it was unprofessional of us not to tell you before you arrived however we did all we could to make your safari a success like we had promised and i strongly believe you had a wonderful safari according to what your videos and pictures portray which we already posted on our website and facebook page with your permission according to our guide representative.
page.https://www.facebook.com/VividSafariUG/
https://vividsafarisuganda.com/
Initially your safari cost was supposed to be 1885dollars for a single traveller which we had underquoted on our official page which had 1340dollars per person for a 4DAYS WILDLIFE AND GORILLA SAFARI IN UGANDA. You agreed (1300dollars) with one of our staff but before you arrived we were handling clients going on the same safari(Julie and Mette) who completely understood our mistake and they had the best of their safari and we had to update the cost of this safari on our official page but unfortunately you had booked and when you arrived we had to explain to you like we had done to our past clients(Mette and Julie) because the safari was less 600dollars which was supposed to be for the gorilla permit and we pleaded for you to atleast add 300dollars and leave the rest to the company which you did atlast but unsatisfied to which we regret so much that we made you feel that way. We are truly sorry.
The following is the budget for your safari on the amount (1600dollars) which you paid to us;
Day 1(15th march) on your arrival to Uganda (accomodation) bed and breakfast costed 140dollars plus 15dollars (dinner) at Cassia lodge
Day2 (16th march) transfer to Queen elizabeth national park(accomodation) fullboard costed 120dollars at Marafiki safari lodge.
Day3 (17th march) transfer to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park(accomodation) costed 150dollars at ichumbi gorilla lodge.
Day4 (18th march) transfer to Lake bunyonyi on your last day (accomodation) costed 55dollars at Craterbay cottages lodge.
Day5 (19th march) transfer to kampala
Boat cruise at Queen elizabeth national park on kazinga channel costed 30dollars.
Gorilla permit to track gorillas at bwindi impenetrable forest national park costed 600dollars.
Vehicle(landcruiser) costed 100dollars per day multiply by four days costing 400dollars
Tour guide for vivid adventure safari ltd costs 50dollars per day multiply by 4days costing 200dollars
Fuel for the whole safari costed 300dollars
Sora the (300dollars) you added to your safari was to add on the (300dollars) that we compesated to you so that to pay for your gorilla permit which you paid yourself on ground using your credit card at the tracking headquaters.
We are sorry and we assure you that such a misunderstanding will never happen again to any of our clients.
As you can read from our past clients review what happened to us and you was a mistake and a misunderstanding which we request you to forgive us. thanks.
Regards
Team
Vivid Adventure Safaris Ltd
Email DK | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Outstanding Honeymoon Safari - Uganda
My husband and I travelled to Uganda for our honeymoon in September 2018. Our tour was set up with Vivid Safari. Mariam (the owner) was extremely professional and understood exactly what we wanted from our trip, ensuring we made the most of our time in Uganda. We would highly recommend our driver and tour guide Hannington - he was extremely informative whilst on our game drives, spoke excellent English and we managed to see lions, leopards, elephants, giraffes, rhinos, buffaloes (various types), hippos, antelopes (various types) and a wide range of birds including the national bird of Uganda. We also went Chimpanzee and Gorilla trekking which was incredible. Hannington is very well respected amongst the tour guides in Uganda and due to his extensive network we were able to see even the rarest of animals. Vivid Safaris had informed all our lodges prior to our stay that it was our honeymoon and each place had arranged a wonderful surprise - cakes and even a private candlelit dinner outside our room. The food and all the accommodation Vivid Safari arranged was of the highest standards. Hannington made sure we were happy throughout our stay and went above and beyond for us. We couldn't have asked for a better tour company in Vivid Safaris or for a better tour guide in Hannington. We will be recommending Vivid to all our family and friends. In addition, in Hannington we found a tour guide for life and with Vivid offering tours in Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda we will be sure to book again to guarantee a fantastic, well organised and spectacular holiday! If you are thinking of a safari in Africa, I would recommend booking directly with Vivid Safaris, the team is the best and they really do take care of you in every way possible. You will not regret it.
DE
Email Marius | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Unforgettable encounters
From the first moment we booked our Gorilla Tracking trip to Uganda we were very well informed about the itinerary and the status of our trip. The drive from Ruanda to Uganda with Hannington is very comfortable and scenic. We got to see a lot about both countries during the 5 hour drive. The lodge at Bwindi National Park provides all the comfort and rest we needed ahead of the Gorilla Tracking. The tracking itself exceeded all expectations. While we were hoping to see one gorilla up close, we got to spent time with an entire family of gorillas. That experience was incredibly touching and we look forward to come back to Uganda, to see more of that beautiful county with Hannington!
