Typical Ugandan operator by Richard Tusasibwe
Gatatu Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2011)
- Tour Types:
- Budget & mid-range tours with set start dates and a fixed itinerary
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $65 to $710 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
US
Email Betty | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Richard is a thief, do not trust this company.
This is NOT a safari company, it is a huckster with a website. Richard insists on money wires in advance but then doesn’t deliver on any of his contracts. He offers nothing but lies, abuse, and third-rate accommodations. After scamming my group for thousands of dollars, I am infuriated to see that people are continuing to try to book tours through him! DO NOT EVEN CONSIDER CALLING THIS COMPANY unless you want to lose money and have your trip ruined. We had to pay for almost our entire trip twice since he took our money but didn’t pay any of the parks or hotels we were supposed to visit. He belongs in jail, I’d love to know how he got out, but hopefully he will end up back there soon enough.
DE
Email Markus | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
WARNING! $ 14,000 fraud and embezzlement
Almost a year in advance, we had booked an almost three-week safari via GATATU for five people in July / August 2019. The trip should cost a total of around 35,500 US dollars. As agreed, US $ 20,000 were transferred in advance. The rest should be handed over on site.
We were promised 2 safari vehicles, which should accompany us on the almost three-week tour, when we arrived at the airport there was only an old and neglected mini-bus that picked us up at the airport in Kigali in the late evening and then did not pick us up agreed boutique hotel but moved to another hotel.
After long discussions I was able to convince the otherwise very nice driver to take us to the agreed boutique hotel. We couldn't reach Richard, the manager of GATATU.
The next day we met the manager Richard in the office of GATATU Safaris in Kabale. It turned out there that not a single one of the agreed lodges was reserved. Richard received from us $ 1,500 for a 5th Gorilla Permit.
Since the owner of the first lodge warned us not to give Richard more money, we agreed that I would pay for all the lodges within the next three weeks on site and use the remaining US $ 14,000 for it.
The next evening it turned out that everything else was not paid for, e.g. the chimpanzee permits, entry to the national parks, accommodation and food for the driver, fuel, costs for the rented minibus etc. etc.
Of the 21,500 US dollars that GATATU received from us, only 7,500 US dollars were used for the gorilla permits, the rest (14,000 US dollars) was pocketed by the manager for no consideration. Richard could not be reached by phone, so on the third day we had to file a report with the tourism police in Kabale.
Richard was on the run, arrested three weeks later and jailed for three weeks. With one of his representatives, who visited us together with a senior officer, we agreed that Richard would repay the embezzled money in payment installments, which has not yet happened. At this point I do not want to report anything about our very negative experiences with the police in Uganda.
I can only warn you strongly against making any deals and especially advance payments to GATATU.
https://www.softpower.ug/tour-operator-who-defrauded-german-tourists-of-shs-81m-arrested-in-kabale/
DK
Email Sharon Hill | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing Safari in Uganda
We went for 7 days classic private comfort safari with Gatatu Safaris and it was really wonderful, incredible experience. We were helped by our tour guide who was super responsive. He also answered all my questions quickly and provided information on places I never thought of, He can work to customize your safari to your own wishes. And also he was able to spot animals everywhere. We saw many animals and got close we could take pictures with our cell phones. We could not have more better guide. i definitely recommends Gatatu Safaris
Email Sarah | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Enjoyed our Ugandan Safari
We really enjoyed our 8 day Ugandan Safari. The accommodation was better than expected, meals were great, and experience even better! We had our own driver and it made getting around very easy. The only thing we wish was a bit better was communication regarding minor changes. Overall great experience. Thanks!
CA
Email Christina | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
WARNING DO NOT BOOK!!
where do I start, first off don't even take a chance on looking at all the other good reviews, we did the same thing. This company is a total scam. I was in contact with Richard for months to book a gorilla safari for our honeymoon. Needless to say he went above and beyond to make you trust him then you send money and then all contact is cut off and your money is gone. The tour never existed, noone picked us up, the hotels we were supposed to stay at had no record of us coming, the worst part is richard sent us FAKE permits. The UWA advised us they were fake and they were never purchased.He was recently arrested for another large scam, this company shouldn't even be allowed to run. We came half way across the world to do a gorilla tour with what we thought was a legitimate company just to be scammed and not be able to do it. We were completely heartbroken. This guy and this company has no heart, they are just out to scam the next poor person who trusts them. We spoke with the UWA & tourism boards and all they did was lead us on. Pretty sure they all work together , you cannot trust them. If you decide to do a tour go to rwanda and pay the extra money where you can trust the people and feel safe and go to the gorgeous volcanoes national park instead. We never got our money back , nor did we get to see the gorillas.....Gatatu safaris are Scam artists and criminals. Please do yourself a favor and make sure these guys DO NOT get your money, they should be shut down
NL
Email Johan Janssen | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Warning: don’t book with Gatatu!
For our honeymoon we booked a Gorilla tour 5 months in advance. We also transferred 1.300 USD to Gatatu. Gatatu confirmed the booking by e-mail and we even drove to Bwindi NP to start the Gorilla trek. After the introduction the driver (no connection with Gatatu) told us something is wrong. No booking was made by Gatutu with the Uganda wildlife authority and also no permits left. Meaning we couldn’t do the Gorilla trek, the main reason we booked a flight to Uganda! On our return to the lodge we met with someone from Gatatu (interim manager) and he apologised and we asked for a full refund which we received. We understood from him and someone from our lodge that Richard, owner of Gatatu, is in jail for fraud! We are very disappointed with Gatatu. From everything during our trip this was the only thing that had to go right because the permits are very limited. Gatatu, NEVER AGAIN.
Email Shivon | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A great Ugandan experience
My partner and I had a wonderful time with Gatatu Safaris. Richard was very helpful from the start and does a lot for the Ugandan community in his own time.
We felt very safe at all times and enjoyed travelling around Uganda. Our guide Jasper was helpful and made our 8 nights great.
All accommodation was fantastic and we felt very looked after.
Thanks Gatatu Safaris for a great time
PL
Email Justyna | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great experience
We had very good experience with this operator. They organized for us the gorilla trek and transfer to Kigali. Richard was always very responsive and went an extra mile to help us with additional things like buying bus tickets or arranging lodge transfer. Thank you very much Gatatu crew, you rock!
DE
Email Jakob | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Spontaneous safari
We came to Uganda a bit unprepared so that we booked it (8 days through Uganda, 1999 US$) only fife days before the tour started.
All in all it worked out pretty well. We had the most amazing experiences visiting the Gorillas and having all the other experiences.
The accommodations and the food that was provided three times a day were very good. Being two university students we most likely would have booked less comfortable lodges and hotels and eaten less often and in less expensive restaurants.
The transport was mostly good. We had a very kind and caring driver who even picked us up from Jinja which was an extra two hour drive for him. Unfortunately, the car broke down twice within the eight days which caused some irritation and made us wonder about the State of our car .
Even though they handled both breakdowns pretty good we would have enjoyed a better communication about how it might affect our plans for the day.
In addition to that we would recommend to read the program carefully. At two occasions the guides forgot about smaller activities mentioned on the program.
The payment has been quite stressful for us as we did not bring that much cash to Uganda an the ATMs wouldn’t let us withdraw more than two million a day (of course this a problem that occurred due to our spontaneous booking). Nevertheless, we would have enjoyed to be able to pay with either credit card or by money transfer.
All in all it was a good experience and we would mostly recommend it.
US
Email KAT | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Buyer Beware - Gatatu lied about purchasing our Gorilla and Chimp permits in advance
After researching a few safari companies, we (group of 4) chose to work with Gatatu as they had great reviews and were a small operation located right in Uganda. Clearly something has changed with their business since these last reviews were posted, as our trip was anything but easy. We came to find out Richard and Steven never purchased our gorilla and chimp permits in advance (we found out about the gorilla permits the morning of our trek when we couldn't get in) in spite of telling us they were purchased back in August 2018, when my sister and I made a $2000 deposit (my friends made a similar deposit but I don't know the date). Richard went as far as providing FAKE copies of the gorilla permits. Please keep in mind gorilla permits and chimp habituation permits HAVE to be booked well in advance as only a limited number of ppl can get in per day. After repeated lies from both Richard (and threats via text) and Steven, we decided to part ways and hired ourselves a new driver 4 nights in. If you choose to use them, make sure to get copies of all of your permits in advance and confirm their validity with the national parks.
On a positive note, all of our accommodations were what was promised and we did have a nice $30 add on of a boat ride up the Kazinga Channel with one of Steven's friends. Also, with our evidence of being duped by Gatatu, we were able to get ourselves in for a gorilla trek at Bwindi by the game warden who took pity on us and with the assistance of two locals in Kibale, in for the chimp trek (we couldnt get in for habituation as that was full). All I can say is thank goodness we did not pay them in full and were able to walk away with a few saved dollars. If you have any questions, I have saved all of my communication and texts with Richard. Feel free to reach out.
p.s. Steven picked us up in a green safari vehicle full of roaches on the first day. We should have known what was to come...
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g673829-d10791582-r644516635-Gatatu_Safaris-Kabale_Western_Region.html#
Reply from Gatatu Safaris
Posted on Feb 22, 2019After entering into Agreement with Kara, your sister and sent the first installment of the money,You requested to add 2 more people, You were 3 ladies and one Male unfortunately, You breached the contracted when you reached in our office in Uganda and refused to pay all the balance based on the agreement.
With the gorilla tracking, I admit there was issue but having 2 nights in Bwindi, we knew you would do gorilla tracking and by the way, there is high demand for gorilla permits in Uganda, For people who do not book their safari 6 month in advance, it will be hard to get gorilla permits, why?? Rwanda increased its gorilla permits from $750USD to $1500USD , the demand for gorilla permits in Uganda is very high.
You arrived differently in Kigali, Steven met you with the land cruiser which was white, its not mentioned, on the second, he went to meet Elizabeth and boyfriend, its not mentioned, You not mentioning that you refused to pay on arrival in Uganda, changing the white car to a green which would accommodate 4 of you was a good deal and the vehicle is very new unfortunately i am not aware and was not aware of the Cockroaches because its been used to transport very many people.
There very many people from around the world who pay money to companies and on reached at the airport, no body is there to meet them, I am not sure what you really mean being duped however we are very committed to serve all people from around the world, we have served more and more people after you and before you, we don't bribe people to write good things about us, more good reviews are coming unfortunately it was hard for Steven to go on with you when you threatened to strangle the head was your bear hands and feared for his life.