The Matoke Tours Team
Matoke Tours
- Located In:
-
Netherlands
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2002)
- Member Of:
- ATTA, AUTO, SGR, UTB & UCF
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $300 to $750 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Emanuella | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The trip was wonderful. Rwanda is a beautiful place. The chimpanzee tracking was rather difficult fo
The trip was wonderful. Rwanda is a beautiful place.
The chimpanzee tracking was rather difficult for me, but i have managed to make it.
The hotels/lodges were excellent. Thank you for that.
Confidence (my driver guide) was very good. I am very happy that he was my driver/guide.
Thank you for handling the situation with Flame tree hotel in Kigali (the fact that no one came to take me from the airport), quickly to my satisfaction.
I will recommend Matoke tours to others
DK
Email Mariane | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An exiting trip and a very good guide
We are very happy and trilled after the 4 day tour, Matoke Tours, organized for me and my two daugthers (age 13 and 17) in July.
The tour started out from Kampala and went to the Murchison Falls National Park. Our driver and guide, Richard, was very pleasant and informative and with a good humour.
It was impressive how he could spot the animals.
The Rhino Sanctuary and all of Murchison Falls National Park was a wonderful experience and we got to watch a lot of animals at very close range. Also the communication during the planing phase was very easy and effective.
I can highly recommend Matoke Tours to others wishing to visit Uganda.
An unforgettable safari and beach holiday in Tanzania
We traveled to Tanzania with my two adult children and my daughter's boyfriend. We all really enjoyed our trip and had a wonderful holiday in Tanzania. Our guide was outstanding and did his utmost to ensure we saw everything there was to see, with excellent views always close to the action. He was also fun to be with and he got on well with all of us. The safari itself was amazing and unforgettable. Our accommodation was excellent and we especially loved the Tortillis camp which, although tented, was gloriously comfortable and exotic.
Thank you for all your hard work on our behalf and for helping to provide a once-in-a-lifetime holiday.
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Email Dina | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
My experience with Matoke tours was straightforward and highly satisfactory.
We had a wonderful time. We were able to see gorillas up close and it was incredible. The lodge was beautiful and we had a really peaceful time there. The staff was incredibly friendly and accommodating as well. The flights went well too and gave us a lot of extra time to just relax and enjoy the beauty of the lodge. It truly was an unforgettable experience.
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Email Maria | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An Once In A Lifetime Experience
The accommodations were great and the location was beautiful. The
staff was very friendly and helpful. The gorilla trek was an amazing
experience and one I would recommend to anyone traveling to Uganda. I am so glad I made the decision to do this tour, because
this is definitely an once in a lifetime experience that I will always remember.
AT
Email Monika | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
tour with individual touch
At first we had nice email contact with Sven who was very sensitive about our wishes. We did not want to visit all parcs in a few days, just wanted to see the gorillas and to come in contact with the local community. He composed a trip for us and we really enjoyed it. We did a walking tour in Kampala with a young Ugandan woman and another great tour in the lake Bunyoni area. It was absolutly fabulous. Our driver Moses was a nice guy, but not talkative. In Lake Mburo NP we made a stoppover in Eagels Nest ( amazing!) and during safari Moses showed enthusiasm and we had a lot of fun with him. Here we also did a Mountainbike tour. At first we were disappointwd because we did not go into the parc and stayed outside but later we realised that we had good luck. We were just we two and had a great young guide who showed us animals, his home, an orphants house ... Another group (23 people!) had gone to the parc and swallowed the dust...
Sven also organised the pick up from the airport and the guesthouses in Entebbe and Kampala. They were both well situated and comfortable.
At least Sven wanted to get feedback and visited us in our guesthouse in Kampala. This was great and we really would recommend him as your travel consultant.
We had a dream holiday, got to see every animal possible up close and in their own environment.
Our guide in Uganda was excellent, so enthusiastic and proud of his beautiful country. We started with visiting a Rhino reserve, which was wonderful! We got to walk through the place to find them which was very exciting. The guides there were very informative. We got to see so much on the game drive at Murchison Falls, elephants, giraffes, lion, antilope, plus all the animals we saw on the river when we took a boat ride, and not forgetting the most amazing array of bird life we have ever seen! A high lite to us was at Queen Elizabeth Bush Lodge, where we had a great view across the river from our veranda, and not long after arriving a big herd of 20 or more elephants came to bathe just about 30 metres away from us, what a buzz! The biggest thrill was tracking to see the Mountain Gorillas! That was absolutely breath taking! It was very emotional to be in their territory and not feeling scared. Tanzania was equally beautiful, with another excellent guide! We loved the lodges especially Manyara Wildlife Lodge and Tortillis Camp, we felt very well looked after on their hands! The game drives were stunning, I don't think there is an animal that we didn't see! We saw heaps of lions, a pride with around Fifteen Cubs, walked in front of our car! We also saw a kill involving a zebra, with four lions on it, a bit confronting but very natural. The Ngorogoro Crater was breath taking and also amazing for the wild life! This whole trip was more than we could ever imagine, we were blown away by all we got to experience!
It was an experience we will never forget and want to share with all the people interested in Uganda
The trip was beyond our expectations in all aspects. Besides the beautiful country-sights of Uganda, Matoke had arranged excellent lodges for us and a good variety of game drives, river safaris , walking safaris and of course the Gorilla track. We had a very good and experienced driver / guide, able to tell us a lot about the country, history and nature. We are looking forward to let Matoke Tours arrange our next trip to Africa.
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Email Jess | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The 14-day Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania tour was a once in a lifetime incredible experience
My fiance and I did the 14-day Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania tour. Our guide through Uganda and Rwanda was Alfred, and we thoroughly enjoyed him. He was an excellent driver, we felt safe and comfortable the entire trip, which is important as we shared several, lengthy drives together. He shared a lot of information and answered any questions we had regarding culture, wildlife, etc.
Uganda
We enjoyed the view in our first accommodation, Cassia Lodge, and if we had to rate it on a scale from 1 (below average) to 5 (above average) we would rate the overall experience there a 3. The food was good, but the service and interior room accommodations (bed, bathroom) left a lot to be desired. From there our lodges appeared to increase in beauty and comfort. Getting to travel through Kampala with a guide who actually lives in the area is an experience that is unmatched. We were in awe throughout our entire trip through Uganda’s breathtaking countryside.
Kibale Forest Camp was our next stop, in which we were surprised and delighted to be instantly greeted by black and white colobus monkeys. We would rate our overall experience here a 4, our tent was comfortable and clean and the service was good. We especially enjoyed the restaurant area on the upper level of the main lobby and we also liked the fact that we could explore the grounds with a self-guided tour. We awoke bright and early for the chimpanzee habituation tracking, which was a great overall experience and then Alfred picked up a ranger and took us on a quick game drive through Queen Elizabeth National Park, where we were able to see a good deal of wildlife including lions and elephants and were even lucky enough to spot a python killing a baby kob.
The Marafiki Safari Lodge was great. We would rate the bungalow itself a 4, but the staff and food definitely deserve a 5. Everyone was extremely friendly and the meals were outstanding. We enjoyed getting to spend extra time with Alfred during our stay here. We were quite pleased with the balance of alone time meals and meals we had with Alfred. Our second chimpanzee tracking experience at the gorge was one of our favorite moments of the trip. We had an incredibly enthusiastic guide named Robert who lead us to a small family of chimps within the gorge. This was followed by the boat safari, which was also fun and filled with wildlife.
The next morning was hot air balloon day and that entire experience was fantastic from start to finish. The breakfast in the bush was so special and charming and we especially enjoyed the water jug and soap provided to wash our hands before eating. The drive to Lake Mutanda was breathtaking, which led us to our favorite lodge in Uganda, the Mutanda Lake Resort. We would rate our experience overall a 5 from our room to staff to food. The view from this lodge was incredible and it was clean, comfortable, and intimate. Gorilla Tracking was a once in a lifetime experience and it was nice to have downtime at the Mutanda Lake Resort, where there is so much to see and explore. It was a great finale to our overall Uganda experience.
Rwanda
This day we had a lot of downtime, almost too much. We were driven right to Le Bambou Gorllia Lodge, which was our least favorite lodge of our entire trip. While there were some available activities at the lodge, it wasn’t enough to fill our time and we also weren’t thrilled with the room and bathroom in terms of cleanliness and comfort. We would rate this a 2, though the food and staff were great.
We did the golden monkey tracking while we were here, which was another fantastic experience and then drove to Kigali. Alfred took us to the Rwandan genocide museum, which was sobering and informative. Alfred then drove us to our final Rwandan stay at the super luxurious Flame Tree Village. While this was more of a hotel and less of a “lodge” it gets a 5 as well for cleanliness and comfort.
Our overall Uganda/Rwanda experience was unmatched. We were overall thrilled with the entire experience; our only complaint is that we were unclear about what meals were included and which ones weren’t. Often times it didn’t match what the itinerary stated and we found that more meals were included than we originally expected, which was a good thing—we just were left questioning things a lot of the time.
Another thing we wanted to mention is that we also didn’t realize how often US currency is preferred over the local currency, and had we known this ahead of time we would have brought more US currency. And although it is stated on the website that US dollars have to be produced from 2006 on, it might be helpful to reiterate that to US travelers prior to their journey.
Tanzania
Our first driver was Lawrence. He indicated right away that he was just driving us to our first lodge and we would have someone different for the remainder of our trip. Lawrence was also great! He was pleasant and informative and had a great sense of humor. We stayed at Ilboru Safari Lodge, which gets a 5+. The food was delicious, the staff was friendly, the grounds were beautiful, and our bungalow was perfect and clean. The next day we met our guide for the remainder of the trip, Rama. Rama was also great, he went out of his way to help us spot a Leopard and also taught us a lot of Swahili. He also helped us track down some nice souvenirs before we left for the United States.
We both loved the cultural tour through Mto Wa Mbu—what a unique and fun experience! The food at the end was delicious. Our Lake Manyara game drive was fun. We stayed at Manyara Wildlife Safari Camp, which was another beautiful location. We would rate this one a 4—it was comfortable and the staff was friendly. Our packed lunch from this place was our favorite overall, filled with lots of options, though we really did enjoy each and every packed lunch we received throughout this journey.
We then drove to the Serengeti for a game drive for yet another unique and once in a lifetime experiences. We stayed at our absolute hands down favorite location of the entire trip, the Tortilis Camp. It was luxurious and our tent was huge. The staff was beyond friendly—so accommodating and full of enthusiasm. This place gets a 5+ as well.
The next day was Ngorogoro Crater day, which again was fantastic. Rama was a great guide throughout both of these adventures, spotting tons of wildlife and getting us great views of the animals.
Our last stay was at the Country Lodge Karatu, which we would rate a 4 overall. It was comfortable and clean and the food was fine.
We cannot say enough wonderful things about Matoke Tours and our entire experience. Our expectations were far exceeded and the beauty of Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania blew us away.
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Email Jennifer | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exceeded Expectations
The safari was way beyond incredible, and our wonderful guide Edward could not have been nicer, more knowledgeable or better in any way. In a word - amazing! We saw all the animals over the course of the safari very close up, saw a huge variety and loved every minute. The accommodations were all better then described, the staff at each wonderful and friendly. Zanzibar was relaxing and peaceful and nice to explore. The people of Tanzania are wonderful, friendly, and genuine people.