Our Safari Jeep
Frena Adventures
- Office In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2018)
- Member Of:
- UTB & KCCA
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $120 to $500 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
US
Email Richard Briggs | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trekking the beauty at Lake Bunyoni
After visiting this place, I must say Lake Bunyoni is one of the most beautiful sights in Uganda, drowned a history and surrounded by stunning views. Across the way is a place called Edirisa were we stayed for some time and our guides Apollo and Frank helpout touring the surrounding areas. The place is one in a million and is a must see in Uganda. Highly recommend a trip to the Lake. Apollo managed a short boat ride around and tell us some interesting facts about the region and the people. Many small islands within the Lake and you can stop at some and walk around there. Our 4 days trip was managed in a very precise manner by Frena Adventures and want to thanks a lot...I Hope we will back here soon..
Email Kevin Allen | under20 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience but it's not a easy hike to see gorillas!
We debated a lot whether or not to go to Rwanda or Uganda to see the gorillas. Ultimately due to the lower cost and in budget, we decided to trevel in Uganda, we chose Bwindi and loved it! Our guide helped us pick a medium difficulty walk with a family of gorillas that included babies. The walk was not so easy at all, about more than an hour and a bit of uphill walking. Close to seeing the gorillas, we left our bags/packs and then within a few minutes we were surrounded by gorillas! It was incredible!! We felt so close to them and often the rangers would help cut down some of the foliage to help us get closer or to see better. We saw 3 babies, one who was dancing around in the trees. The hour with the gorillas passed by very fast! It was truly a worthwhile experience.
Ronnie was the most dependable, informative tour guide we have ever had!
Thanks to Ronnie and Fred, with Frena Adventures, my husband and I were able to have an experience of a lifetime on our four day tour. I was communicating with Fred prior to the booking and he was so helpful, responsive, and knowledgeable that I made no hesitation in booking with Frena Adventures.
Ronnie, our amazing tour guide, picked us up at our hotel in a very comfortable vehicle and we made the long drive from Kapala to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. The drive didn't seem that long as Ronnie made a few fun stops (Equator Pics and Coffee, Fabulous lunch, etc). He pointed out some fascinating sites along the way and patiently answered all of my questions regarding the surrounding areas. We first stayed at the Rushaga Gorilla Havens Lodge and the view was just spectacular, as were the staff. The accommodations were as expected (mid range) and we actually slept very well there. The food was really good and we highly recommend this location.
The next morning, we woke up and went on our Gorilla trekking adventure in Bwindi and it did not disappoint- it was such an amazing experience! The guides, the locals, the guards- everyone was so nice and informative. We are still in awe of the experience. From there, we traveled to the Lake Bunyonyi Eco Resort and this had to be our favorite accommodations by far. This in on one of the 99 islands in Lake Bunyonyi and it's so quiet and tranquil that we could have stayed here longer. You can swim off the dock, you can hike the island and see the local wildlife (monkey, zebra, waterbok, donkey, deer, etc), or you can sit on the terrace and enjoy the wonderful food and staff. The accommodations exceeded our expectation of a mid range lodge, and we highly recommend this location.
The next day we set off for the Queen Elizabeth National Park and we took a two hour private boat tour on the Kazinga Channel onto Lake Edward. Now this experience was completely unexpected- we saw a TON of hippos, Water Buffalos, and more bird species than we knew existed. But we also saw Elephants (in and out of the water), and monkeys, etc. Our tour guides were two young men and were SOOO knowledgable and friendly, we had a great time with them. We had a fabulous lunch of fresh caught fish and then we set off on our evening game drive in the QE NP. The game drive was amazing- we had a wonderful guide along with Ronnie and with their help, we were able to see Baboons, warthogs, elephants, waterbok, antelope (one heard of almost 1000), Buffalo, Lioness, Leopard, and more. We were just blown away by all that we were able to see.
We then headed to our lodging at the Queen Elizabeth Safari Lodge, which was a new hotel (new for Frena, as well). The hotel itself was very nice with new lodging and good amenities, but the service was inexperienced and slow and so it impacted our agenda marginally. Thankfully Ronnie was so good at keeping us on schedule that we didn't miss anything.
Our next morning, we ventured off on a chimpanzee tour that was phenomenal, we saw so many different types of primates and our guides were just so knowledgeable and friendly. A truly remarkable experience! We then started the long track to the airport in Entebbe and were dropped off with plenty of time to meet our 11pm departure.
A huge thanks to Ronnie for making this such a memorable experience, we couldn't imagine a more patient and knowledgable driver/guide. We have travelled all over the world and he is by far our favorite tour guide to date.
A few suggestions for folks considering the 4 day gorilla trekking tour with Frena Adventures:
-Ask Fred for a packing list, he has a great one that is helpful.
-Bring gloves... like gardening gloves for heavy thorns as this was extremely useful during the two trekks. Everyone else was trying to manage with large walking sticks but ended up abandoning them and using their hands to traverse some of the more steeper terrains. We were the envy of the group with the gloves.
-Make sure you have bills for tipping and buying souvenirs- Tips for hotel staff (3 locations), tips for Guides (6 on Gorilla, 2 on Boat, 1 on Game Drive, 2 on Chimpanzee); Souveniers- Batwa Cultural Experience; and of course- tip your drive/tour guide (at the end of the trip).
-If you can, bring pens for the local children. Everywhere you go kids will wave and smile at you, and we learned that a lot of tourists give them pens for school. When you drive up and down the mountains, you will see kids walking to get water or walking to school and so stopping to give them a pen would really go a long way. Don't bring chocolate or sweets as they don't have the dentistry to support that kind of sugar intake.
-Spend a little bit more for the Mid Range Lodging options. Even though they are midrange, not all lodges has shampoo/conditioner/soap for you, so be prepared.
-This 4 day trip will take you from extremely warm temperatures, to really cool temperatures so bring a sweater/jacket.
KR
Email Junseong David Kim | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Frena Adventure was more than a professional level; Our guide Apollo felt more like a family.
We landed at Entebbe, Uganda later than the plan originally had, but Apollo and Abraham tried to fit all the activities during the stay, and actually provided us all the itinerary and schedules we were supposed to have.
Apollo was perfect in terms of speaking English. We had no problems sharing our thoughts on wonderful nature of Uganda and sometimes talk about our lives in Korea and Uganda. We shared so much things together as human-beings not as tourists and a guide.
Gorilla trekking was worth that money, and so did Chimpanzee trekking. We saw marvelous forest and very different kinds of animals dwelling harmonious in one place.
When passing through the Kazinga Channel, hundreds of hippos and alligators, even a pack of elephants welcomed us. Aside from eating packed lunch from the lodge, we spoke with Apollo that we want to try very local cuisine, and so we did.
The most memorable moment is not one, but every single moment was precious and our family was living with uncountable happiness all time.
I thank you very much Apollo, and dear Frena Adventures for supporting our first tour at Africa. Uganda will stay in our heart forever.
DE
Email Thomas | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Great Experience and Best Service
Many thanks to Frena Adventures for this great trip. The dialog with Fred, the owner of the agency, was always professional and every question was answered very promptly.
A Uganda trip was tailored exactly to our wishes and all my ideas were taken into account. The selected lodges and hotels were all good, very good or top class! The Turaco Treetops Lodge in Kibale deserves special mention here. An incredibly beautiful jungle hotel in the middle of the forest. That alone is an experience in itself.
Our driver Ronald also deserves extra praise. He was always available and guided us very well and safely through Uganda. And anyone who has seen or even experienced the traffic in Uganda knows what I'm talking about. We felt we were in good hands at all times. We have traveled to several African and Asian destinations (including Bangkok!), but the roads and driving styles in Uganda are in a class of their own. The closer you get to the cities, the worse it gets. Driving directions, traffic signs and traffic lights are at most a friendly recommendation, but depending on the time of day and day of the week, little or no attention is paid to them. And Ronald has the full picture. After a day at the latest, we adopted the African serenity and the journey became a pure pleasure, no matter who comes towards you when, where and in which lane or takes your right of way as a matter of course. And if something didn't go as planned, which can happen in Central Africa, an innovative solution was sought and always found.
In addition to the numerous birds, antelopes, zebras, crocodiles, hippos, warthogs, elephants and giraffes, we were also able to marvel at lions, leopards and chimpanzees (at close range!).
The scenic beauty of the Nile Valley, the highlands, the jungle and the numerous waterfalls etc. also speak for themselves, and you can't help but be amazed. And above all, there are the incredibly poor, but always friendly and smiling people, especially the countless children.
To sum up: An all-round unique and fantastic experience.
HU
Email Bea | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Highly recommended tour operator
I had the trip of my life, thank to Frena Adventures:) Fred, the owner, so patiently organized the tour as per my wish.
My tour guide, Ronnie, is very knowledgable and explained to me everything I needed to know either about the daily programs or about local particularities in Rwanda and Uganda.
I did golden monkey trekking in Rwanda, gorilla trekking in Uganda that was the experience of my life😍 it was also very useful that Ronnie explained me a night before how the trek will look like as on spot not all the information is clear. We did game drives in Queen Elisabeth national park, Ronnie managed to find leopard that luckily even passed by our car...I am still shocked from that experience too as it is quite hard to find leopards...and on top of that we saw lions, elephants, buffalos and monkeys🥰
The boat safari in Kazinga channel was even better than I expected, besides the beautiful scenery we saw many hippos, elephants and buffalos on riverside.
On my 5th day we went to chimoanzee trekking that was the cherry on top of my 5 day tour safari.
The lodges where we stayed were all dreamy, close to nature, some were inside the national parks with amazingly kind staff.
Words cant tell how greatful I am for this trip, a thousand thank you Frena Adventures to make my dream come true🫶🏻❤️
