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
CA
Email Maarten | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience
Convenient to have an experienced travel organization to help out with travel to the DRC. Virunga NP was a once in a lifetime experience!
Email Linda Bates | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
8 fantastic days in Uganda
We have just returned from our 8 day tour of Uganda with Matoke tours and would recommend the itinerary and the company unreservedly. The accommodation throughout was good. Kibale was but more basic than the other two but very atmospheric. Being low season for 3 nights we were the only guests in our hotels! Bothe Marafiki and Chameleon Hill were lovely and the food was delicious in both and staff at all 3 hotels were helpful and pleasant.
The predator tracking in QENP was fascinating and quite exciting as the lions were threatening the cattle of a local community so we were thrilled to be part of that and then to see 3 lions in the trees in Ishasha too was a real bonus. James the researcher was very experienced and it was thrilling to get to see lions at close quarters and that others could not (due to his electronic tracking equipment).
But of course the gorillas were the highlight. We were very lucky to see 2 groups and a confrontation between 4 silverbacks as well as spending some time with some babies - and we only had to trek for 30 minutes before finding the group.
However the star of the tour was our driver/guide Edwin. He was professional and informative and a safe and excellent driver in some challenging conditions. He never seemed to tire of our questions and was willing to go the extra mile to make sure se had the best experience possible.
Anna in the Matoke tours office was speedy and efficient in response to all our queries and we had complete confidence in the company. We chose the mid range accommodation option which we were very happy with and we upgraded to a land cruiser which proved to be a good decision when we encountered some very wet and muddy tracks en route. It was a truly memorable holiday.
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Email Renee | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Incredible 12-day exploration of Madagascar
I thoroughly enjoyed my recent 12-day tour of Madagascar with Matoke Tours. This is the fourth country I've explored with Matoke (the others being Uganda, Rwanda & Ethiopia) and I continue to be pleased with my experience with them. I continue to recommend them to friends and colleagues, all of whom have been very happy with their Matoke experiences.
In each country, I have worked with someone different at Matoke (the staff has country-specific expertise) but the level of customer service has not changed. For a variety of reasons, my trip to Madagascar required several major changes - including shifting the trip from a December timeframe to one in March - and Coen, at Matoke, made those changes so easy. I really appreciated his flexibility in moving things around to accommodate my changing needs. Madagascar was also the first solo trip I've taken with Matoke and I was so fortunate to be matched with an incredible guide, Tojo, who really made the trip. He was so good-natured, easy company, knowledgable, funny, and kind. I learned an enormous amount about Madagascar from Tojo in a short period of time. I highly recommend him as a guide for all travelers, whether solo, families, couples, groups, etc.
Madagascar has amazing wildlife and nature. I was lucky enough to see seven different species of lemurs and many chameleons, thanks to the great guides Matoke hired for me in both Ranomafana and Isalo National Park. The overall beauty of the country is breathtaking. I never tired of watching the landscapes change from the window of the van and marveled at the city and village scenes that we both walked and drove through.
The accommodations in Madagascar were more simple than what I had in Uganda and Rwanda, but Matoke successfully managed my expectations about the level of accommodations during the planning stages. I had a very clear idea of what to expect before I arrived. Every place I stayed was absolutely fine - safe, clean, friendly staff, good food - but were not luxurious (with the exception of one more upscale place - Jardin du Roy). Some were in beautiful settings but slightly out of town, making it less easy to do an impromptu walk through town. And you have to be prepared to not have electricity in many places during the night, which can mean some warm evenings.
My Madagascar itinerary was a good mixture of cities, rainforests, beach, mountains/canyons, as well as being both active and having downtime. In retrospect, I probably could have added a few more "active" experiences to my itinerary but also appreciated having downtime many afternoons to read and relax. In my experience, Matoke is very receptive to creating the experience you are seeking. I encourage travelers to let them know up front what kind of experience they want to have.
Overall, another great experience with Matoke. I highly recommend them to travelers genuinely seeking an experience that will be informative, exciting, safe/comfortable, fun, and memorable. I also highly recommend Madagascar as a destination. So many beautiful places to see, creatures to admire, and incredible people to meet.
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Email KT | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
LOVED MY TRIP.
I planned most of my trip via e-mail. The people who assisted with planning were very patient with my multiple changes to my itinerary. They were also open to me not following one of their existing itineraries. Musa was guide and he was just lovely and we had a really great time. I would go again in a second!
Email Anna | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
A great safari thanks to the very good driver!
Everything was well arranged. When the hotel of our choice was not available, we got several other options recommended by Matoke, including the pro's and cons of each hotel. The driver was excellent. He knew a lot about wildlife in Uganda, understood our specific areas of interest and had good fun with our children.
We did not have to worry about anything during the trip, as all was arranged by Matoke. Except for the weather..
Email Lee Gonzalez | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect Tour of Uganda
Had a fantastic 8 day tour of Uganda with Matoke tours. Everything was organised perfectly. Great well paced itinerary. All the lodges provided were amazing. The game drives, the chimpanzee and gorilla trekking were all amazing experiences along with all the other things we did. Our guide Mike was great, very knowledgeable, friendly and a perfect host. Uganda us a beautiful country and I highly recommend a trip there.
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Email Terje Grimgaard | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unforgettable Uganda tour with Matoke Tours
My wife and I travelled to Uganda for a 10N/11D safari tour in July this year arranged by Matoke Tours.
Anna at their office was always very helpful to us, and from day one she came up with good suggestions to make our trip perfect. She always replied quickly. As I am a keen bird and wildlife photographer, she also arranged so we had Confidence as a perfect driver and also a excellent birding guide. He was a very friendly guide that worked hard to find the most birds.
We stayed in mid-range accommodations and mostly nice safari tents.
Game drives and boat trips near Murchison Falls National Park and Queen Elizabeth National Park were the highlights of the tour. We also loved to meet the Batwa/Pygmy people of Uganda near Mutanda Lake Resort at the end of our holiday. We highly recommend Matoke Tours.
Email Nick | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Magnificent - Surpassed all our expectations
We had a fantastic and special 15 night holiday in Uganda arranged by Matoke Tours.
The service from Matoke was excellent, from initial enquiry to the end of our trip. Communication and recommendations were good, payment was easy and safe and the service provided was at a fraction of the price available to us in the UK for the same accommodation.
We expected a great trip but this surpassed all our expectations. As with all trips to countries like Uganda you need to be prepared for poor roads, long transfers and limited healthcare etc.
All the lodges we stayed at were different and were as we expected. Food and service was very good (although we did struggle with the large food portions).
The food at Mahingo was probably the best. The new managers there were very welcoming and there was a lot to do there in the form of activities. If I were to do this trip again I would have 2 nights there. Bakers lodge was probably our favourite,with the hippos round and about. That said, they were all really really good.
Everything went to plan without any hitches. We were impressed by the schedule...the timings for the activities and transfers were perfect.
We saw so much and Uganda was far more lovely than we could have ever imagined.
Wild Waters was beautiful...we just had a day relaxing there. I think 2 nights is enough as you are a bit trapped there.
Robert was one of the best guides we have come across on our travels. He is a real gentleman in every sense of the word. He was knowledgeable, fantastic at spotting animals, and good at getting us the front seats on boat trips. Robert really made our trip special, we could not have asked for a better driver/guide.
The parks were fantastic, lush, green and we saw tree climbing lions, leopards and hyenas up close. The boat trips were fabulous for spotting birds and crocodiles. The highlight of the trip was the gorilla trek. We got ridiculously close to the family we trekked too. Once in a lifetime stuff.Be warned, don't turn up expecting a gentle walk to see them. The terrain is seriously up and down and some people with us struggled as they were ill prepared and unfit. Carrying your own backpack isn't a matter of pride, employ a porter and put some money back into the local economy.
We had a holiday that will live on in our memories.
I would happily recommend Matoke to anyone who wishes to travel to east Africa and Uganda in particular. It was first class.
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Email Sharon | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Matoke Showed us the Best of Uganda and Tanzania
We booked Matoke Tours Uganda-Tanzania 13 day trip with a few minor changes and upgrades. The tour took us through a week of Uganda: Kampala, Kibale National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, and Bwindi National Park. Edwin was our guide, and he smoothly got us to our destinations and provided lots of information about what we were seeing along the way. Accommodations ranged from good (Kampala) to amazing (everywhere else) and the food was excellent everywhere we went. We were able to see the habituated chimps and gorillas, and everything but rhinos on the "big five" list. We then left Uganda and were handed off to another driver who took us to Kigali Rwanda to start our second week. We flew from Rwanda to Arusha Tanzania where we were met by our new guide Paul. Tanziana was equally amazing in it's own unique way and Paul was an excellent guide. Our trip included Arusha, Lake Manyara, the Serengeti, and Ngorongoro. Similar to Uganda, the accommodations in Arusha were good, the rest were amazing. In Tanzania we were able to see the elusive rhino (waaaay in the distance, but still we saw it!), many many big cats, and the migration of the wildebeests and zebras. We paid extra to take a sunrise balloon ride over the Serengeti and it was worth every penny. Matoke was easy to work with through the entire process, and held our hands from the moment we got off the plane in Entebbe until we flew out of Arusha. The only thing I would do differently if planning the trip again would be to skip an overnight in Arusha and drive further to Lake Manyara on the first day. Otherwise, this trip was perfect from start to finish.
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Email Adam S. | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A fascinating once in a lifetime experience
We went to Tanzania in late August. We toured Tarangerie, the Serengeti and Ngorogoro. Paul was our tour guide. It was an amazing experience.
Paul was great. He did an excellent job driving through difficult terrain and always pointed out animals we couldn’t see. He was always professional and he was fun to be around. We enjoyed his company and we always felt that Paul was in control of every situation.
The accommodations were comfortable. We traveled with two teenagers and they had a great time. The food was simple but very good. Lots of chicken and lamb, potatoes and rice and simple vegetables like carrots and beans.
Animals were everywhere. Zebras, hippos, lions, hyenas, giraffes, elephants, ostrich, gazelle, antelope, crazy looking birds. We saw them all.
I’d highly recommend this tour and make sure you get Paul as your guide. He was excellent.
Good luck!
ADAM S.