Mukisa Safaris Staff
Mukisa Safaris Uganda
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2018)
- Member Of:
- AUTO, USAGA, UTB & UWA
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $100 to $500 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Martens | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very professional with a dedicated and fun staff
Mukisa was a great tour company on our travels through Uganda. They were extremely helpful with planning our trip and also making us feel welcome through the process. They allowed us to change our plans several times to get it just right before we booked and would also offer suggestions to help out. They even worked with us to change some plans while on safari which allowed us to see some exotic animals we would have missed (Shoebill and Rhinos). Bottom line, I would definitely travel with them again.
As for our guides - They were amazing and extremely fun to travel with. My wife and I really enjoyed them and had a great time. Also, after years of doing safaris, they still were as excited as we were to see animals and that attitude and excitement made our week in Uganda much more enjoyable. They were friendly with everyone we came across, were honest with my 1 million questions about cultures, food, politics, etc. and I still find myself thinking about them and missing them. It really was a great trip!
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Email Todd | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
5 star service from booking through the sad goodbyes!
Background for my booking: I have always been an avid traveler, fortunate enough to book at least one big trip a year to places I have never been. Usually, I will have trips planned out in some capacity a year or more in advance. However, with COVID restrictions still in place, it was hard to plan ahead where I could go this year. Finally, within only weeks of when I was looking to travel, it appeared sub-Saharan Africa was going to be the region that I could successfully travel to this year and went to work on trying to organize everything on such short notice. Unfortunately, this lead to many headaches in working through the logistics, but also gave Mukisa an opportunity to show just how great their customer service is (as I'll note below)! I had travel credits left over from 2020 with a global tour operating company that was offering trips in Kenya and Tanzania that I used as the initial building blocks from which to build the rest of my African adventure around. I had never been to anywhere in sub-Saharan Africa, but knew whenever I did make it there, Gorilla trekking, chimp trekking, Cape Town and Victoria Falls were high on my list of things to do in addition to the typical safari game drives. Given the dates already locked in for Kenya and Tanzania, the dates I knew I was available to travel, and with the flight availability within Africa, I realized it would not be possible to check off all of my boxes on this trip and instead focused on keeping my travel within East Africa this time. With these parameters in mind, I turned to Tour Radar to start searching for tour itineraries that would cover the gorillas and chimps that would work within my time frame, focusing mostly on Uganda (as that is the most popular country for Gorilla trekking), but also wanted an itinerary to take me to Rwanda as well as I had plans to meet a friend in Congo across the Rwandan land border to hike Mt. Nyrigongo. As I was traveling solo, I was looking for what appeared to be small group tours so that I would have other travel mates to keep me company. Thankfully, I came across Mukisa Safari Uganda that offered a great itinerary on the dates I wanted, starting off my month long adventure in Uganda as my first stop - little did I know how lucky I was to come across them! Never having been on safari before, I did not exactly know what I was looking for in booking a safari company, nor do I have anything to compare the rest of my review to other than my experience with the other operators used on the remainder of my trip. Booking process: Booking on Tour Radar is very simple and straight forward. After narrowing in on this itinerary offered by Mukisa, I started to piece together the rest of my trip as well, finding the perfect outbound flight to Entebbe from the US and locking that in, as well as also lining up the dates that the volcano trekking in Congo are supposed to operate. Having tentatively penciled in what I thought would be the perfect month long itinerary with all of the logistics flowing together, I went ahead with my booking of Mukisa through Tour Radar which was simple enough to do. Within less than a day, I not only had received an email from Richard, the owner of Mukisa, but also a WhatsApp message from him thanking me for my interest in one of their safaris (but relaying some bad news, as discussed below). This immediate responsiveness from the actual owner of the company himself was incredible and put me at ease that I had selected the right company to travel with! Little did I know how much I would need to rely on his responsiveness (and patience) as I will discuss below. The only drawback to the booking process was that this tour turned out to be a private tour rather than a group tour - I think this is more of a Tour Radar issue though for not making it clear on the booking page than it is a Mukisa issue, as Richard advised this was a private tour with his first communication. Despite originally looking for a group tour, I am so fortunate that this turned out to be private because it allowed Richard and I to be more flexible in dealing with everything that happened between booking and departure.
Logistical nightmares/Mukisa's excellent customer service: As mentioned, I received a very quick response from Richard following my booking. Unfortunately, the first thing he mentioned was that due to COVID restrictions, they could not operate the portion of the tour to Rwanda (Rwanda was requiring a long quarantine for arrivals from Uganda), but seemed prepared for this as he immediately provided an alternative itinerary that sounded just as great! However, I really wanted to visit Rwanda as well and began looking at trying to arrive in Rwanda first, then to Congo, before Uganda. Richard was very kind and understanding and then arranged a change of dates for the Uganda tour that would match a later start date and with his revised itinerary. However, not long after, I had heard back from the national park in Congo that runs all of their tourist options in the area that because of the latest eruption of the volcano, they had not resumed hiking yet, but were offering packages for gorilla trekking in their forest as well as relaxing stays on a private lake island. I still wanted to meet my friend in the Congo while I was in the region, but if I was going to do gorilla trekking there, not only would I no longer have time to visit Rwanda first and cross their land border to Congo, but I would no longer want to trek Gorillas in Uganda as well. So, I messaged Richard asking if there was an alternative itinerary he might suggest without the Gorilla Trekking. Once again, he was immediately responsive and helpful and provided a great option that I was excited to proceed with. Now, only about a week prior to my departure, I received another note from the Congo national park that due to an increase in Covid cases, they were delaying any gorilla trekking for a week to allow for their rangers to set up a rolling quarantine period for the safety of the gorillas and asked if it was at all possible for me to come a week later. Frantic and getting stressed about all of these changes, I once again messaged Richard about whether we could do the revised Uganda itinerary, but moving it back up to my original booking date, starting immediately upon my arrival in Entebbe from the US. I could not believe his patience and understanding as within a day, had confirmed the new departure date and itinerary for me and proceeded to finally finalize the booking and take payment. Fingers crossed I had resolved any issues and was on for smooth sailing the rest of the week leading up to my flight. Sadly, I should not have been so optimistic. Because I now had to fly to Congo rather than use the Rwanda land border, I thought I lucked out when I saw a direct flight from Entebbe to Goma. However, a day later, it appeared this flight was gone and I confirmed that all international flights to Goma arrive from Ethiopia. Thankfully, the new departure flight did not impact my Uganda itinerary (just the time I needed to arrive at the airport), but the return flight from Congo to Kenya would require an overnight layover in Ethiopia which I did not want to do. My only option was to actually extend my layover in Ethiopia an extra day and enter and explore the country. Unfortunately, I learned the night before I was set to depart that Ethiopia had suspended their E-visa and Visa on arrival services. Again, I reached out to Richard about the possibility of contacting the Ethiopian embassy when I arrived in Uganda on Monday (it was already the weekend) to obtain a visa. Once again, Richard was so understanding and helpful and built into my itinerary that immediately upon my arrival in Entebbe, I would be brought to the embassy before continuing north for my Day 1 activities. Not only did he arrange for this, but, upon learning that I would need to leave my passport two days for processing, Richard arranged to pick up my passport personally from the embassy and hold on to it for me until I returned to Entebbe. Finally, it was time to fly - after all the stress of this logistical nightmare, I was hoping I had everything sorted away and things would go smoothly once I arrived. Sadly, I had one more headache to deal with! Upon arrival in Entebbe, my baggage never arrived! Once again, 5 star service from Richard and his team as I gave him the luggage office contact info and he remained in constant contact with the airline until my baggage arrived the next day and offered to arrange a driver to bring me my bags faster than the airport courier would so that I would have my necessary clothing for a part of the itinerary that was coming up. This service from this company went above and beyond that I am in disbelief at how helpful they were! If you have never been to Africa, you'll learn to be flexible and embrace the chaos a bit, but I knew I was in good hands with having Richard and his team, all local Ugandans, to help me navigate everything and take much of the stress that I was experiencing before my trip off of my shoulders so that I could finally just enjoy my trip!
My actual trip: Upon arrival in Entebbe, I immediately had a WhatsApp message waiting for me from Richard, stating that his team was at the airport waiting for me - Veronica my guide and Solomon my driver. After the aforementioned issues with my baggage, leaving the airport much later than expected, the airport staff whisked me over to the off-site COVID testing location for a required test upon arrival before entering the country. I was in communication with Richard throughout this process letting him know when I would be complete (it can take quite a bit of time, but some extra $ seemed to turn what was supposed to be a couple hours wait for results to about 30 minutes). I messaged Richard that I was good to go and shortly thereafter, I was approached by Veronica and Solomon who gave me the happiest of welcomes with big friendly smiles on their faces. They lead me to the safari vehicle we would use the rest of the trip and I was finally feeling like I was on vacation! We were initially brought to get a late breakfast where I met Richard in person (thanking him immensely for the help) before setting off for the quick embassy stop and then to the first real stop on the itinerary. There seemed to be only a few different style safari vehicles/tourist vans used in the region. I was given more of a tourist van style vehicle. It was clean and comfortable (did not hurt that it could accommodate maybe 12 or more passengers and I was the only one). The A/C was strong (when needed), the ride was as smooth as one can expect on African roads (nonetheless, bring motion sickness pills if you need it - the "free African massages are no joke!), there was on board WiFi that was mostly reliable, and it of course included the pop-top that is a necessity for safari game drives! If there were more people on the trip, I am not sure if the Toyota Landcruiser truck style safari vehicles with individual seats rather than booth seating would have been better, but for just me on this trip, the van was perfect and had no problem getting naps in on some of the longer drives! The team also kept the van well stocked with water bottles as well as fruits and other snacks we would pick up along the way. As for the team, they were absolutely amazing! I was worried about it being awkward as a solo traveler for over a week, but thankfully Veronica was younger, so energetic and extremely knowledgeable that by the second day, I already felt like I was traveling with friends. Solomon was a little more reserved, but still very friendly, an amazing, safe driver and was excellent at spotting animals on the game drive, ensuring that I got to see some incredible stuff! Despite spending nearly every full day together, from morning breakfast at the lodge until we completed dinner in the evenings, it was never awkward with silence or boring whatsoever. They were there to serve me as if I was family joining them for their trip! The patience and flexibility of Richard is clearly passed down to his team though as we encountered a hiccup one day - a bridge that connects two sides of a river, one where the lion trekking in Queen Elizabeth NP was scheduled to be done, and the other side where the lodge was, was under construction. All traffic was forced to take a ferry across the river (we waited in a long line for this the night before). The next day, however, when scheduled to cross back over for the lion trekking, the ferry was broke down. Immediately, Veronica started working her magic, and in what seemed like no time, she had arranged for Solomon to stay on the one side with our van while her and I got into a small boat that took us across the river where another vehicle and driver were waiting for us to bring us on the lion tracking adventure. The ability for this company to adapt on the fly is invaluable when traveling to such a very unfamiliar place, but never once did I question that they were going to take care of everything to make sure my trip was truly once in a lifetime.
The actual itinerary: As mentioned above, my itinerary departed a bit from the typical arranged tour that I originally found on Tour Radar and booked so thought it would be helpful to include my actual itinerary below. As for inclusions, just about everything imaginable was included aside from non-water beverages ordered at lunch or dinner, souvenirs, any personal purchases and tips which is nice. If you have never done these type trips before, most of the lodges you stay at have a prix-fix menu for lunch and dinner, western style, 3 to 4 courses. You just advise if you have any issues with the menu item and they try to accommodate, but otherwise, upon arrival to each lodge (and usually a nice cold welcome beverage---passionfruit juice being my fave!), the staff would tell us the menu, we would just advise when we would want to have dinner and then the staff was ready to serve us in the restaurant at that time so there was no long waiting for food after a long day. The food was all excellent and I loved that Veronica and Solomon were always thoughtful about what time we should eat dinner - giving me a chance to get settled into the lodge/showered when needed vs. being really hungry and wanting to eat and get to sleep as quickly as possible. Then you would place your time and breakfast order at the conclusion of dinner so that it would be ready for you the next day before heading off on the next adventure. I will say, it seems as though there are only a few different lodge options in each stop, so you will see other safari company trucks and the same groups of people multiple times throughout the trip. While the lodges Mukisa selected were all excellent (usually what I would consider "glamping" with fully enclosed, spacious, fixed tents with electricity, sometimes A/C, fully functional bathrooms/showers, and comfy beds - essentially a hotel room inside of a tent), I do not think this is really a differentiating factor between Mukisa and other companies, but rather it is their excellent service that sets them apart! I will also say, that after experiencing Kenya and Tanzania later on my trip, I unfortunately got to see what a less well-run trip with a different company was like so Mukisa definitely spoiled me as being the first company I dealt with and setting the bar so high! It is also important to note that while Kenya and Tanzania typically get more attention when it comes to safaris (and yes, you see a lot more cats there), there is also many many more tourists there as well so you are often fighting for position with dozens of other trucks trying to see cats, etc. Most people only think of Uganda for the gorilla trekking, but that is a big mistake! The game drives I did in Uganda (especially Murchison - incredibly varied wildlife here in big numbers) along with the great variety of other experiences the country offers made it my favorite part of my entire trip (in large part to, but not solely because of Mukisa). It is such a beautiful country and worth spending time there beyond just the gorillas. Because it is less popular, you'll also often feel as though you are the only one on these game drives, out in an open field surrounded only by thousands of beautiful animals rather than as part of a zoo like assembly line that you get in the more popular safari destinations. Every suggestion by Richard when creating this trip, plus minor changes/additions while on the trip by Veronica and Solomon were spot on as if they knew what I would love before I did. They clearly know their country very well and are proud to show you everything amazing about it!
Day 1: After airport pickup, testing, breakfast, embassy, etc., drive to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary before arriving in Murchison NP for the night
Day 2: Murchison morning game drive, visit the waterfalls, afternoon game drive
Day 3: Another morning game drive before heading to Kibale Forest NP
Day 4: Chimpanzee trekking and walk through local community village
Day 5: Travel to Queen Elizabeth NP, boat ride on Kazinga Channel (planned evening safari but due to the long waits to take the ferry across the river, we did not have time for this)
Day 6: Lion tracking in QENP; travel to Lake Mburo NP and go for an evening walking safari to see animals up close on foot without fear of predators
Day 7: Bahima Cultural Experience in Lake Mburo NP with a quick drive back through the park on the way out before returning to Entebbe
Day 8: Lake Victoria/Mabamba swamp boat ride in search of the Shoebill bird
Conclusion - I know this was a long review, but I believe Mukisa deserves every bit of detail about how amazing they are. I also believe that because this is an incredibly unique style trip, that some people would benefit from a lot of the details about how safaris work. However, if you are only reading this section, I'll summarize - while I did not have anything to compare Mukisa to before arriving in East Africa, I later learned just what it means to receive 5 star service from a safari company here, and Mukisa deserves every bit of those 5 stars. From the owner, Richard, being extremely responsive, helpful and flexible in organizing the tour, to the friendly and knowledgeable Veronica and Solomon as my guide and driver, to the perfect itinerary showcasing how unbelievable Uganda is, this trip was worth every penny and I would strongly recommend Mukisa to anyone traveling in the area (they do tours throughout East Africa). As noted, you'll see a lot of other safari companies along the way, stopping at the same stops or staying in the same lodges, so what really separates these companies from each other is the service, and I could not imagine being in better hands than with Mukisa!
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Email Joel | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceptional services
I and my other 3 friends have just returned home from a trip in Uganda and it has been a wonderful and memorable vacation.
After a few days of looking for a travel company, we found Mukisa Safaris and we instantly decided to book with the company. This because Richard exercised exceptional professionalism and promptness. He was exceedingly helpful, accommodative in crafting out the best itinerary that suited the best interests of our group and it was indeed the best travel plan as it enabled us explore and navigate almost the entire country in just 2 weeks. We visited several parks including Kidepo, Murchison Falls, Queen Elizabeth, Lake Mburo, and Bwind Forest. Uganda is such a beautiful country with varying ecosystems that are incredible for nature lovers.
During our entire vacation period in Uganda, our guide Veronica and driver John were amazing people. They were so friendly and they made us feel safe and comfortable. We miss moments of enjoying cutting and eating fruits with them and ofcourse their incredible stories. Importantly, they posses vast knowledge about their country about everything. We slept in eco friendly lodges that were very clean and served delicious meals. Uganda is exceptionally endowed with many animals and during the game drives we encountered many animals including the African Big 5. However, the experience of tracking gorillas is comparable to none. It's such an awesome experience seeing gorillas just close in a few meters. We shall return to Uganda for another experience with gorillas.
We thank Mukisa Safaris for their exceptional services and we highly recommend their professional services.
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Email Xavier | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Quite Exceptional Services.
We did a 2weeks safari in Uganda and we are grateful for the excellent services we received from Mukisa Safaris. The Trip was fantastic and enjoyable from the start to the end. Richard was so exceptionally helpful and informative in the planning phase, communicating regularly and provided us with so many options and suggestions until we made a decision. On arrival at the airport, we went through the COVID-19 testing protocols and Richard was constantly calling to ascertain whether we were okay. After all was done, we found Richard and his team waiting for us and being at night, we were transferred to our already booked hotel in Entebbe with Hamida and Solomon as our guide and driver respectively. We enjoyed every moment of our vacation but the gorilla trekking experience was so awesome. It's an experience that's comparable to none. Uganda is a beautiful country with magnificent varying sceneries from the lowlands of Lake Mburo and Queen Elizabeth National Parks, vast rolling plains of Murchison falls and Kidepo Valley to the thick forests of Kibale and Bwindi National Parks. We extend our sincere gratitude to Hamida and Solomon for their exceptional friendship and professionalism. You made our safari so enjoyable and memorable. I would highly recommend Mukisa to anyone looking to go on safari in Uganda. They are exceptionally a reputable company.
Email Alice | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A perfect tour
We are so pleased we booked with Mukisa. At the time of booking we did not know anyone who had been to Uganda and so we had no recommendations to rely on. However, from reading the wonderful reviews (which do not exaggerate) and after some emails with Richard, who is extremely responsive and helpful, we knew we could trust this company and that they were the right option to book with.
Mukisa was happy to tailor our plans so that it was completely bespoke to what we wanted out of our holiday. In general, this was to see as much wildlife as possible! We were lucky to see all the big 5, along with cheetahs, hippos, giraffes, chimpanzees and many more (including lots of birds). Cultural experiences were also very interesting and we enjoyed the food, which was tasty everywhere we visited.
Our guide and driver were brilliant and made sure that we had an informative and comfortable time. Our driver made us feel 100% safe on the roads and we enjoyed seeing so much of the country by road over the course of a 15 day trip.
The visit to the mountain gorillas exceeded even our high expectations - this is something that everybody should do in their lifetime!
Accommodation was lovely throughout the trip, much of it in safari lodges where you are close to nature and can enjoy the sounds of the animals in the vicinity. There are many different options for different budgets which Richard is happy to discuss in detail.
In terms of COVID, Mukisa made it easy for us to understand the entry requirements and we did not feel while we were travelling that COVID got in the way of our experience. It felt very safe - with lots of face masks and sanitiser available.
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Email Jan | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I was traveling alone and Mukisa Safaris took good care of me.
I was impressed that Mukisa Safaris hires female guides (I didn't see any others). She was very knowledgeable -- especially about the birds. I also had a separate driver which was nice so he could concentrate on the roads and not worry about reservations, where to eat lunch, etc. The vehicle was well maintained and had a pop-up top allowing me to stand during game drives. There was great variety in the lodges - each had something to recommend it -- a stunning view of the plains, a nice lakeside setting, or my favorite, The Bush Lodge, which required an escort to go out after dark because of roaming elephants and hippos.
Email Monica | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Service beyond expected
My partner and i visited Uganda in Mid -March as that was the only we could squeeze this year having failed to travel during December due to the travel disruptions that were brought about by the Omicron variant.
I should say that all my grief for having not celebrated my 10th anniversary in Africa as planned in December was cured by the wonderful organization by Mukisa Safaris Uganda.
The comfort and assurance I got from Richard and after our last minute cancellation was great. We had fully paid for the trip and only to get an email that our flights had been cancelled and therefore couldn’t travel.
Thank God our trip was with the right and reputable company. Richard made sure that he handled the schedules very well and we got our dream trip to see gorillas and golden monkeys.
I really recommend Mukisa Safaris to anybody intending to visit Uganda. I advise that you pay keen attention to every word written in the email. Richard will always be willing to offer information that’s of great importance for the successful organization of the trip.
The lodges we stayed in were super clean and in a purely natural setting.
Am very grateful to all the team especially my guide Veronica who was very knowledgeable about Uganda. Solomon who was our driver took good care of us on the roads and we felt safe entirely.
Thank you Mukisa Safaris. We got more than we expected. We will surely return for an extension to the North and North Eastern part of Uganda.