Avian Watch Uganda

Mixed up itinerary, below average guide, unreliable vehicle, unkept promises

We booked a private 20-day birding tour from July 25-August 13. The main guide, Alfred, was already booked so we had a guide who doesn't guide as often and wasn't as experienced. Main problems: 1) we had a final itinerary from the office, but it turned out that the guide and driver were given a different version of the itinerary, leading to unexpected and unpleasant surprises during the tour; 2) one of these unpleasant surprises was being told the morning we were supposed to do a chimpanzee trek later that day that we had not paid for the chimp permits and therefore would not be doing the trek. We had copies of the final invoice that clearly stated the price included the chimp permits, but the guide said he was told we could not do the chimp trek; 3) the guide tried to tell us we were wrong -- even when we showed him the invoice; 4) later, we managed to speak on the phone with the office representative and were assured we would be refunded the US$300 for the chimp permits that we had paid for. This was confirmed again by email after we returned home. To this day, more than 2 months after the end of the tour, we still have not received the refund despite several reminders to Alfred. 5) The vehicle we were in during the tour broke down at least twice, leading to long delays to try and repair it. The only good thing about the tour was the driver, Benson, who tried his best, given the situation. He often performed tasks that the guide would normally do such as making sure we were taken care of on the gorilla trek. The guide, on the other hand, paid no attention to whether things were okay with us, be it accommodations, meals, or on the trails. He never once asked how things were going for us. He was more interested in chatting with local guides and park rangers than in finding the birds and helping us to see them. Sadly, we cannot recommend this company as our experience was way below an acceptable standard.