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 Maarten and Teske | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great trip in Uganda with Matoke
We had a great 3.5 weeks trip in Uganda! We (Maarten and Teske, both 28 years old) already decided more than a year ago that we wanted to go to Uganda. We were first doubting whether to arrange the whole trip ourselves or to reach out to a tour company, but eventually decided to book our trip with Matoke tours. We never regretted this decision! Our contact with Matoke (Pleunie) was really good. She replied quickly to all our e-mails and kept us up to date about the Corona regulations. She designed a great program for us, that contained all the parks we wanted to visit and included an 8-day trekking in the Rwenzori mountains (something we specifically asked for us). It was also no problem to make some small changes to the program, according to our desires.
When we arrived in Uganda, there was already a man waiting for us, almost directly after we left the plane, that guided us through all the border controls. It was great that we did not have to figure this out ourselves! Outside the airport, we met our guide Dunn. He was a fantastic guide! He was not only a good chauffeur and a lot of fun to talk to, he knew a lot of different facts and he was amazing at spotting animals for us (during the safari's). He was always happy and friendly and he helped to make it a great trip!
In Uganda we visited Murchison falls, Kibale forest (Chimpanzee tracking), Rwenzori mountains, Queen Elizabeth, Lake Mutanda (gorilla tracking in Bwindi), and lake Mburo. This was a really nice and variable program. All the safari parks were alternated with jungle/mountains, so we never got bored of too many game drives after each other (although I doubt whether that it's even possible). We especially liked our stay in Mutanda Lake Resort, which offers stunning views and a really atmospheric restaurant. It was the most expensive lodge of our trip, but we were really glad we stayed here for four nights. The drives between the parks were also really beautiful and never too long. Everything on our holiday just went smoothly, we even never got stuck with our car or got a flat tyre.
Too conclude, we can really recommend to go to Uganda and book your trip with Matoke!
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Email Jennifer Goldman | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
You will never regret booking a tour in Uganda with Matoke Tours!
I don't even know where to begin, so I'll start with GO VISIT UGANDA and do it now! I just got home to Los Angeles, California USA, a week ago, after visiting Uganda for 13 days and all I do is cry! I miss it so much! It was the absolute highlight of my life! I am a 42-year old single woman, and this was my first solo travel adventure. Uganda is truly a special gem and I have visited 6 other countries in southern and eastern Africa. I can tell you, there is no country like this. Uganda stole my heart and I am in love with it! It has stunning landscapes and breathtaking views, the most delicious fresh food directly from the farms, warm friendly people, and the most special chimps and mountain gorillas in the beautiful forests (and big game too)! I have been on several safaris before, so my focus in Uganda were the mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and the chimps in Kibale National Park. Everyone HAS to do this at least once in their life.
I first reached out to 6-7 tour companies and began my research. I first started researching in 2019. I had not heard of Matoke Tours before and found them online through my various searches. I contacted some of of the mainstream larger adventure companies and was not impressed. I have to say I was so pleased with the response time and care from my travel advisor Pleunie van Uden. I am very detailed oriented and have high expectations when it comes to customer service. Pleunie was on it! She impressed me with her professionalism, care, and had a great business skills set too, which is comforting when you are spending so much money for an adventure with such high and life changing expectations. Example, no typos in her email correspondences. It's silly, but that comforted me. She always returned emails within a business day accounting for a 10-hour time difference. The other companies were not as professional and response time was too slow and I felt "lost in the shuffle." I corresponded via email with Pleunie and let her know what I was looking for, how many chimp and gorilla trackings I wanted, my desire for high end lodges and accommodations, that photography was my hobby and I was coming with all my camera equipment, and that safety was a priority as a solo female traveler. She designed a program for me within a very quick turnaround and pretty much had it on the first try, she nailed it. The process was as smooth as can be and felt too good to be true! Then Covid happened. Pleunie was great in assuring me everything would carry over to whenever we could all travel again and once the world was ready again. I stayed in touch with her throughout 2020 and she kept me posted on the status of the country, tourism, and the gorillas. She even let me know when a baby gorilla was born which I was happy to hear. She felt like a friend, even though she was all business. That's how you know you are working with a stellar tour advisor. Then came 2021, dates were re-booked and adjusted a bit to work with my schedule, Covid vaccines rolled in and things were looking good! Just when I would worry everything would get shut down again, Pleunie remained positive and assured me things were looking promising. With each month that passed by getting me closer to September, I felt like I needed to pinch myself, like was I really going to Uganda, finally? With all the Covid protocol and PCR tests needed throughout my trip, Pleunie remained positive, informative, assuring, and was truly excited for me. As stated, I was concerned about safety as a solo traveler, and she really comforted me and made me feel taken care of. Pleunie put together a magnificent program including Kibale National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, and the Northern and Southern sections of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Add on top of that road tripping with my driver guide to each location, which allowed for more sight seeing, interacting with the community, driving through the villages and really getting a feel for the country (well the west and southern side of the country -- I must return to see the North and East). Pleunie was always available while I was in Uganda as well, in case I had any emergencies, she was just a WhatsApp call or text away. She was FANTASTIC. I am already referring Matoke and Pleunie (and my guide Geoffrey, see below) to everyone back home and can't stop speaking praises. Thank you Pleunie for creating the most fulfilling adventure, it changed my life! You nailed it. Incredible job.
Now let's shift the focus to my driver guide Geoffrey Katende. It was like fate that he was my guide. Geoffrey was the absolute best! I tear up just thinking about the journey he guided me through. From the airport pick-up in Entebbe to the final goodbye 13 days later, Geoffrey will be a friend for life. He is a special man. He was very seasoned, so knowledgeable... knew just about everything -- all kinds of facts about Uganda, animals, birding, you name it. I felt like I was in such great hands. Geoffrey is a natural. Hospitality, care, guiding is who he is. I felt so safe and cared for, and we had some great laughs too! As a solo traveler, he was like my travel buddy and always remained professional. He interacted with the locals often through our road trips, we had some great photo shoots and photo exchanges, we made friends along the way with lodge staff and rangers, everyone knew him and I just felt so lucky he was my assigned guide! Geoffrey understood me and adapted quickly, as I can imagine the range of personalities guides have to manage. He has such a good heart and just wants you to truly enjoy your time and fall in love with Uganda, which is absolutely what I did! An example, of his good character: we were driving to Queen Elizabeth National Park and I had stopped to take a photo of the landscape. As we started to drive away, he stopped the car, went in reverse and then stopped the car again, got out of the car and picked up a nail he saw in the street. He didn't want another driver to drive over the nail and pop their tire. That's a good person. I am sure there are other wonderful guides at Matoke but I won the lottery with Geoffrey. I can't wait to come back again! I am so grateful for his guidance, care, and professionalism, all while having so much fun! It was hard to say goodbye, because he took such good care of me. Many tears, many tears. Thank you Geoffrey Katende for being the wonderful man that you are, and Matoke is so lucky to have you! Any guest is lucky to have you as their guide. Oh, and one more thing, he is an excellent driver! He dealt with my need for air conditioning (I can be demanding with that), car sickness from the anti-malaria medication, and driving the bumpy roads at times in the rain -- he was a champion at it and always assured me everything was ok. He sent me home with a delicious avocado he picked out and memories and photos that I will cherish the rest of this lifetime. See you soon hopefully Katende!
Also, a special shout out (mention) to my second guide Jacob, who was fantastic as well. Unfortunately, we only had a day together, as it was the end of my trip and I was only in Entebbe for the night to get my PCR test and await results. He was lovely though in the short time we had together. Funny, outgoing, and personable. He was great help to me at the airport and took me as far as he was allowed to go, with all my heavy luggage (4 bags), in the hot heat! We didn't have much time together, but I can tell he would be loads of fun to have as a guide.
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Email Astrid & Jürg | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Fantastic tour and perfectly organised in these troubled times
We picked Uganda as a substitute for a trip we had to cancel. I believe we even had a better holiday than what the original one would have been. Uganda is not a substitute, it is a Nr.1 destination! Pleunie was competent, friendly and quick to respond. We changed a standard itinerary to fit our wishes, she made some very smart alterations to my plan, which turned out to be brillant. We had to change it 2 more times (blame Covid-19). No problem for Matoke. Once in Uganda all went well, our driver Anatoli was great fun to be with, and a never ending source of information. With friends everywhere he always got us the best rangers and spots on the tours. We have traveled extensively in Africa and Uganda is the most beautiful country I have visited. The wildlife viewing may be a bit better in RSA and Botswana but you have to come see this stunning country for yourself! It is amazing and very safe !
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Email Bart en Lizette | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional
From the moment we changed our trip from Madagaskar to Uganda, Coen from Matoke contacted with us. He made a excellent 16 days trip for us.
Also our guide Richard was TOP
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Email Jeff & Keri | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An unforgettable honeymoon in the best ways possible!
My wife and I just returned from two weeks of honeymooning in Uganda with Matoke Tours. We had planned this trip for months, working back and forth with our Matoke travel consultant, Pleunie. From day 1 of the planning process Pleunie was instrumental in constructing an incredible, custom itinerary for us. We video conferenced so she could get a sense for what we were looking for in the trip, and proceeded to deliver on all counts! We were able to customize every element of the tour to meet our interests and budget. Adding some luxury lodges, bush breakfasts (not to be missed!), and a hot air balloon ride on top of the standard fare of safaris and gorilla trekking made for a romantic experience. Also important was Pleunie's ability to keep us informed and comfortable with the evolving COVID situation in Uganda, addressing my every concern within a few hours on WhatsApp.
When it came time for the tour itself we felt nothing but competence from Matoke. At this point, Matoke adopted the form of our guide, Dunn (though Pleunie checked in a couple of times on WhatsApp). Dunn was such a joy to be around. He safely and confidently navigated the Ugandan roads (not a straightforward task—and he didn’t even use Google Maps!) to get us from place to place, keying in on our interests and attitudes along the way to cater to our wants and needs. We reliably accomplished all elements of our itinerary. Dunn has a strong knowledge of birds, helping us pick out nearly 300 species over the course of the trip. He has a wide network of friends in the industry, picking up top-notch site guides to help us along the way. By the time we left for home, we had a new friend.
We felt very comfortable traveling in Uganda from a safety perspective. We had no issues of petty crime or encounters with intimidating characters. With PCR tests required to enter and exit the country, being vaccinated, and having minimal exposure to other people besides Dunn, we felt safe from COVID (safer than in the USA). We elected not to wear masks in the tour van (that would be a LOONNGG time with them on); but the option was definitely there. Our accommodations were top-notch and filled with the friendliest staff. We experienced no shortage of hospitality! We would have zero hesitancy to take another trip to Uganda with Matoke. I’m already scheming about having them build me an itinerary to hike in the Rwenzoris.
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Email Lorraine | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Highly recommend Matoke!
The commutations with Matoke were top-notch. We dealt with several different representatives over the course of our two-year planning (Covid pauses). Matoke managed to move effortlessly throughout the process. The tour itself was just what we asked for and we felt as if we saw all the highlights and more of Uganda! It’s a beautiful country and should rank higher on the tourist ‘must see’ list! We definitely received excellent value for money.
Email TvdSpuy | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Our tour operator, Pleunie, listened to our request and she made our Uganda safari dreams came true
Excellent service day and night with friendly staff
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Email Margot | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
No worries
We booked a private trip to Rwanda through Matoke Tours. From the moment we landed at the Kigali airport we were taken care off. Matoke made sure we had the best guide and everything was perfectly organized. We could basically lay back and enjoy beautiful Rwanda and it’s very friendly people. We went to Akagera, Kivu lake, the gorillas and the Nyungwe Forrest. In 11 days . It was one of the best trips we ever made, thanks to our excellent guide (Ezra), the local tour operator (Tim & Palast Tours) and of course Rob and Matoke Tours
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Email Greg | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Incredible and Professional Service
We had an amazing trip with Matoke to Uganda. We went over Christmas 2020 and they were very flexible and responsible and tailored a great trip for our family of 5. We would use them again in a heartbeat. Dunn was a fantastic guide for the 2 week trip
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Email Sheryl Fajardo | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent service, great value!
My husband and I just returned from a 9-day trip to Uganda and we certainly wish we had more time. The country and the people are beautiful but what made the trip even more enjoyable for us was our tour guide Jeffrey from Matoke Tours. He is very knowledgeable, accommodating and has a great sunny personality! Since this is our first trip, we relied a lot on Jeffrey's expertise on how to best spend our short stay and what the local customs are. Overall, it was quite an enriching experience which wouldn't have been possible if we didn't have an excellent guide like Jeffrey.
We are also very pleased with the sales team, particularly Sven who has assisted us with the planning of the trip. We wanted to see many places in a limited amount of time, but Sven was able to create an itinerary for us that suited what we wanted and packed it with some of the most exciting activities possible given our short stay...
We are very happy and would definitely recommend Matoke Tours to our friends and family who plan to visit Uganda.