Explore Uganda With Dan
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2014)
- Member Of:
- Uganda Safari Guides Association
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $50 to $400 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Email David | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
This guide abandoned us on Day 2 of our safari, I recommend you beware
My wife and I (from Sydney, Australia) organised and pre-paid USD 6,750 in late 2023 for a primate safari tour with Explore Uganda with Dan for a trip in August 2024, We booked with Explore Uganda with Dan based on their 71 fantastic 5-star Trip Advisor reviews over 8 years, and on the basis he was a fully registered guide company with the Uganda Tourism Board.
We arrived in Uganda on 5 August and the tour commenced the next day. The tour included three expensive full day habituation permits for gorillas, chimpanzees and golden monkeys (this totalled USD 3,500 of the total USD 6,750 we paid Dan and we paid him those monies way back in November 2023 so he could make sure he obtained the permits which are hard to get).
Daniel (the owner of Explore Uganda with Dan) picked us up from our Kampala hotel and we had a long 7 hour drive to Kibale NP where we were going to do the chimpanzee habituation tour the next day. We arrived at the car park at 6am the next morning and Dan was not there. He had left us a voicemail at 5am saying that there was an issue with the permits and he was driving back to Kampala "to fix things". I eventually got onto Dan that evening on WhatsApp and he said he was nearly back at Kibale NP and that things should be OK - he told us to be at the car park at 6am the next morning. We turned up again at 6am and Dan was not there again. This time he had left us a voicemail at 4am saying he was extremely sorry but he could not continue our tour, that he was headed back to Kampala, and that he would refund all our money paid (note: he has not paid us back anything 6 weeks later). So he just abandoned us at the Treetops hotel in Kibale NP with no transport and no accommodation (Treetops hotel was full up that night and beyond). We spoke to several experienced guides at Treetops that morning that were looking after their own clients , and they were in disbelief that Dan could just abandon us at the start of our tour - they had never seen anything like it in all their years of tourism in Uganda.
Dan did eventually admit to us that he had bought our three habituation permits on the dodgy Ugandan secondary market for permits, and that he had been sold fake permits. He obviously then couldn't rectify the situation, panicked, and then just abandoned us. We understand that the Uganda Tourism Board which is the body that licences and regulates operators like Travel Uganda with Dan, will soon revoke his tourism licence. We now know of three other couples that Dan ripped off for large sums of money that he did not complete tours for. It seems that unfortunately our tour was the start of when it all fell apart for Dan.
Thanks for reading through our long, sorry tale, and please do not use this disreputable operator.
ES
Email Maddison | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Reliable, trustworthy, knowledgeable and fun! The best guide you could hope for.
Our two-week journey through Uganda was an absolute joy, all thanks to our incredible tour guide, Dan. He was kind, funny, and trustworthy, making everything run seamlessly. His passion for Uganda's wonders and his deep knowledge enriched our experience every day. Thanks to Dan we laughed a lot, learned so much, and felt truly cared for. He went above and beyond, and we can't recommend him enough.
I can't express enough gratitude to Dan. I wholeheartedly recommend his services to anyone considering a journey to Uganda. Thanks to him, our adventure was nothing short of magical. In a world where travel experiences can sometimes be unpredictable, Dan was a constant source of reliability and reassurance. We always felt safe and well-cared for, and his warm and friendly demeanor made us feel like we were exploring Uganda with an old friend. His kindness, easygoing nature, sense of humor, and unwavering trustworthiness made every moment of our trip an absolute delight. He took care of every detail, from accommodations to transportation, allowing us to focus solely on soaking in the wonders of Uganda. He was, without a doubt, the best guide we could have hoped for!!!!
Thank you so much for everything Dan!!
DK
Email Carsten | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
My guide was very passionated about showing me both the animals and his country.
Great communication. Both the guide and Dan resplied quickly.
Email Anna | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Go explore with Dan!!
Dan is a brilliant guide and should be a top choice for a trip to Uganda! He has so much charisma and energy, and his absolute priority was to keep us (and animals) happy and safe during our trip to Murchison Falls. He is a real expert on wildlife, shows total respect for nature, and can pick out specks in the distance which we’d have never noticed – including two leopards, so rare to see!! Dan is an excellent driver and is full of interesting information to pass on during the journey. We learnt loads, made a friend in our guide, and will keep special memories from this trip... thank you very much UganDAN