Uwanda Tours And Safaris In Tanzania
Uwanda Tours and Safaris
- Office In:
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2021)
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $200 to $400 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
CZ
Email Adrian | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great overall experience
We took the "2-Day Zanzibar to Selous by Boat, Car & Back by Airplane" tour as it looked like an interesting combination, and indeed, it turned to be an unforgettable experience from the first day.
On the first day we took the ferry at 7:00 from Zanzibar to Dar es Salaam which was a new experience for us as never before have we travelled by such vehicle. The ferry was a fast machine so the journey took just 90 minutes. The seats were comfortable, there was TV where a movie was running. The ride itself depends on how much you like to travel on sea, for us it was something new to try and experience another aspect of average Tanzanian person's life.
In Dar es Salaam we were greeted by our driver/guide Katuku who drove us to Selous. Seeing daily live in Dar es Salaam was another reason for why this tour is great as you get to feel another side of the local life, this time in a multimillion city. The drive to Selous took about 4 hours (we arrived around 14:00) and we were transported in the "normal 4x4 vehicle" (Toyota Landcruiser "Safari" I think). The vehicle was used also for the game drive on the second day and it was comfortable. In the end we had a private tour so it was just 2 of us in the back.
After being accommodated at the "Africa Safari Selous" lodge, we had lunch and went for "boat safari tour". The tour was good, saw all the animals you could expect on the river. Unfortunately we didn't get to see nice sunset due to cloudy weather. Returning back we had dinner and were ready for the night so let's describe the accommodation.
On the first look, the lodge was a shock for us. In retrospect it's what you should expect from a 3 star african accommodation, however, we don't have much experience with that type so we were truly worried about how we will manage to get through the night lol. Don't get me wrong. The bungalow was clean, bed made up, etc., food tasty (not huge selection but that should be expected) so the accommodation is objectively very good. Just be sure to manage your expectations. In the end the location was marvellous and we enjoyed the lodge a lot, sleeping in nature with hearing wild animals (elephant, bush baby, ...) around you (and also seeing warthogs and baboons in the camp). Of course because of the animals you cannot move around the camp alone during the night but there were massais to escort us when needed.
On the second day Katuku picked us up around 7:00 and the game drive started. Being in the closed vehicle with pop-up roof allowed us to observe elephans from distance that I don't think would be possible in an open safari vehicle (one elephant literary walked around us). The vehicle also shields from trees and dust. We've got to see many animals and Katuku provided a lot of interesting information about them, attending to our questions and accommodating to our needs on how much time we wanted to spend with each animal we encountered. The launch was packed by the hotel and we ate it at a common meeting place where also other safari tours converged. It was a day when nobody saw a lion (we checked during the lunch) but after lunch we managed to find one. Finally we flew back to Zanzibar with other (1-day safari) visitors at 16:00.
Overall it was an amazing experience, we loved the diversity of the tour, the different transportation means, observing a different side of daily Tanzanian life, experience a night on Safari and finally the game drive. If you want to get a feeling for the local life, I recommend the tour. If you will be accompanied by Katuku, you will enjoy his humour, knowledge and overall nice personality.
P.S. Don't forget to bring a binoculars, safari is not a zoo and we were surprised how few people had it.
DZ
Email Anis DEMDANI | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Everything perfect
Everything perfect ! Katuku is the best guide, ask for him !!
Email Saaj | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good
Very good overall…………………..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!’nn
FR
Email Sahel | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Nice operator
We had a such good experience thanks Uwanda Tour.
I recommend them for the excellent informations they provided to us and also the competitor price .
Everything was planned as they explained us in their offer . No bad surprise .
Also it was easy to pay online with a credit card (if you don’t want to pay by cash).
The staff on site was really nice and we had no difficulties with our children there (6 yo and 11 months).
There is only one thing that we didn’t really enjoy is the boat trip.
I expected to see croco and hippo really close to our boat but actually there were more far than the first day in game drive(car) .
So for my opinion it would be better to remove the boat tour and add another game drive .
Thank you Uwanda
Outstanding experience, very reliable tour operator
We booked a 9 days/8 nights safari with Uwanda Tours and Safari for a reasonable price compared to others. From the first contact to the very last day, we were not disappointed once. We asked to customize a bit the original itinerary, which was done without any problem. We did visit Mikumi, Ruaha and Nyerere National Parks + the Udzungwa mountains for a hike. We did everything according to the plan and the whole trip was honestly above our expectations. We discovered very different landscapes and unique environments within all National Parks. Katuku was such a nice, funny and friendly guide. He cares a lot about his guests and always made sure we were happy and could enjoy the most of the wildlife experience. He made us feel a lot of time like we were almost alone in the park, driving around and always looking for animals till the very end of each day. We could stop and admire the wildlife as long as we wanted. He is a very experienced guide who knows a lot about the nature and animals and shared a lot with us.
We had amazing time for our safari. Very trustworthy tour operator, everything was well arranged and they provide very good services. Accommodation and food were very good too. We don't regret our choice for the southern parks instead of the more busy ones in the North. The extra distance by car is so worth it -- the trips on the road are part of the experience, you can see a lot of small villages and local life. Thanks to Uwanda for this outstanding experience, highly recommended!
FR
Email Nathan & Céliane | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very nice experience !
We took a private 3 days safari with lodge (boat, jeep, walk).
The general organization of the tour was pretty good. Our driver picked up us in DAR and dropped us in DAR too, he was really arranging !
First day, 4 hours max of driving to Selous and then lunch at the camp. After that we went to boat safari for 3~4 hours, really great experience with a lot of animals (birds, crocodile, hippopotamus) and with a beautiful sunset on the river !
Back to the camp for dinner, by the way food was very good during all the stay, and then we sleep in the lodge, it was clean and corresponding well to pictures on safari booking. Be careful the electricity is not available during all the day, but it's clearly not a problem.
Second day, approximately 7 hours of game drive in the Nyerere national park, which start at 7am. Amazing experience, we saw a lot of different animals (lion, elephant, giraffe, birds, pumba, hippo, impala...) with perfect explanations from our guide HENRY.
Third day, the one where we were the most disappointed for the walking safari. We thought that we were going to walk during 2~3 hours, but in fact we start at 6:30 am, and we almost didn't walk (15 min). Our "guide" talked to us about a nest and a cactus during 1 hour, and after that he showed us how to make a fire like Bear Grills. It's interesting, but not what we expected.
The lunch wasn't included for the last day, therefore we don't understand why the company didn't recommend us to take a plane at DAR in the evening. If you're making the walking tour, it ends at 8:30am, so it's ok to take a plane at the end of the day. So we preferred to stay for lunch and enjoy the swimming pool and camp. Thank again to our driver, who wait for us !
Special thanks to Henri, who was really kind and with excellent knowledge for our game drive !
Email Mat | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent service
Francis was an excellent guide on the game drive. He came with all provisions necessary to enjoy the drive. We were fortunate enough to see all mammals and the overnight camping in the Serengeti was incredible as we got the chance to view the sunrise the next morning. Thank you Uwanda Tours and Safaris.
Email Rachel | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Brilliant, Aristides was our amazing guid
Our 2 Day Safari was absolutely brilliant fantastic introduction to the world of safari.
Our guide made the day so special and exceeded our expectations.
DE
Email Maria&Harald | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very good organization, everything worked!
Our experience with Uwanda Tours and Safaris was great. We were in Tansania in September and spent three days in Selous Park. Everything worked very well with the organisation of the tour operator, the pick-up, the different tours, the delicious food in the park ... On arrival we were warmly welcomed by our guide, Anton, who accompanied us very professionally all the three days long. He has a big experience and know-how. With him the safari tour became a unique experience. He always took care of us and explained clearly everything we saw or asked, so that we could follow and understand everything. Even the different types of eagles we were able to accurately identify due to his experience and his special book about birds. He always tried to fulfill all our wishes, with success! On the last day, he showed us his little town with its market and school, which was actually a moving and emotional experience. We were very satisfied with the organiser and really recommend Anton as a very experienced guide as well as a lovely and very warm-hearted person.
Thank you for this amazing time.
Maria & Harald
Email Diana O'Grady | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Worked very hard to show us all the animals . Really wanted us to have the best experience ever.
Thoroughly enjoying . Everything was organised brilliantly . Plane sailing throughout excursion. saw 3 of the big five - not bad going for a 2 x day trip! Guides were professional and knowledgeable.
Plane journey too and from, were hassle free and excellent. .
Would certainly recommend you and my guide in the future.