Tubale Safaris

Showed us a good time, but made one very poor decision

I had a mixed experience with Tubale. I booked the 3 day gorilla trekking tour in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. The accommodations that Tubale booked us at were absolutely fantastic, I could not be more impressed with the hotels we stayed at. Also, the team of safari guides, security and trackers (all employed at Bwindi Forest) were superb. They gave us an incredible service and deserve nothing but the best reviews.
As for the tour guide we were paired with…he picked us up from the airport and drove us 10 hours to the Bwindi Forest. He was very accommodating in giving us bathroom breaks and helping out when one of us was car sick. He went the extra mile at the end of our trip to make sure we had a good experience.
Something I did not appreciate though was when we were going to take a ferry across Lake Victoria, he all but left us to fend for ourselves in a busy market while he was doing other things. In a foreign country and in a market we were not familiar with, we were surrounded by hundreds of people and did not feel safe. We did not know what to expect and had poor communication from him. We were left to register, board and ride the ferry by ourselves, and it was a poor decision. Other than that, he did a good job of making sure our trip was as comfortable as possible.

Also, my communication with the travel consultant was lacking. I expected to hear from her prior to the trip just introducing us to our beginning instructions, etc. But I heard nothing. She had previously told me our shuttle from the airport would be free. It was not, and we had to pay for a taxi. I emailed her to let her know for future travelers that this particular hotel does not provide free shuttle, and she responded that she wished I would’ve communicated that to her sooner. I don’t understand how I could’ve done that, having just gotten to the airport and finding out in that moment that there was not a free shuttle. I didn’t hear from her again during or after the trip. Communication from the travel consultant was definitely not thorough enough.

All of this aside, the hour I spent with the gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is one I will remember all my life, it was a precious experience and I am so thankful I got to have it.