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
IL
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
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing! Great communication!
I talked with several safari agencies, but decided to go with Matoke due to its competitive pricing and the great reviews I saw on this website. I'm glad I did. Despite the time difference between the US and Uganda, the agency, especially its manager Ilse, were extremely communicative and walked me through the whole planning process. Together, we created a Tanzanian safari that met my family's needs. Our experience last month was exactly as planned. I would like give a special thanks to our driver and tour guide Edward (in partnership with Easy Travel in Arusha) for his unparalleled expertise. We not only saw the Big 5, but other animals we didn't even know existed. He toured us through the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara. He took great care to make sure we had a great time and most of all that we were safe always. Thank you Edward!!!!
Fabulous Rwanda - A must-see destination !
Overall it was a very nice and enjoyable solo tailored trip. I found Rwanda to be a beautiful lush green country with amazing scenery at every turn but mostly it’s the people, they are very warm, friendly, open and curious. Have always felt welcomed, very safe and the few kinyarwandan words I learned, well wow! It had a great positive impact when making contact with locals. If you have never been to Africa, this country is a great option for a first-time experience.
Kigali
Vibrant city and so clean! Felt instantly comfortable and at ease.
Interesting visits: Inewa art gallery, Ikerezi Bookshop, dodo lunch (delicious!), Cards for Africa, Kigali and Nyamata Genocide Memorials.
Hôtel des Mille Collines : grounds are nice, pool not very clean, very good breakfast but room quite ordinary with stained carpets but comfortable bed, in need of renovations, pool meals ok, very good service all-aound. First room had nice view and always had hot water. Still enjoyed mostly because of history of this landmark hotel. WIFI in room is a plus.
Akagera National Park
The drive between Kigali and Akagera is absolutely beautiful and worth it.
Safari game drives: Few animals but I did get to see all of those I wanted except lion: elephant, giraffes, buffalo, impala, hippos, alligator, baboons, etc. The scenery is beautiful and very different from what I expected, not flat at all, plenty of hills. Our guide Vetuste was a wonderful, curious, knowledgeable young man. While driving aimlessly at some point, we were lucky enough to quickly spot a rhino, they are new to the park and not yet accustomed to people. PM boat ride was nice, lots of birds and buffalos. Knowledgable guide.
Community Cultural Experiences:
In collaboration with the community and the park, the Community Freelance Guides have developed some cultural experiences to share with park guests. Revenue is shared with the community members visited.
Banana-beer maker: probably one of the highlights of this trip, it was amazing to be hands-on in a local community and in someone’s home.
Honey cooperative: delicious! I am allergic to bees and I must say that they went out of their way to make sure I was safe. They adapted the visit accordingly.
Ruzizi tented lodge: Fabulous experience! Beautiful grounds and tents. Quite an experience to sleep at night with so much nature noise. Food ok, excellent service. Hot water issue, none for a day but was resolved. I would easily have stayed an extra night. Cons: the need to choose in advance your meal and meal time did not please me and no WIFI.
Huye
National ethnographic museum: Nice visit, interesting to see the women make baskets and plates in the training quarters in the garden area. Warm welcome. Delicious lunch at local buffet style restaurant.
Nyungwe National Park
Chimpanzee tracking: Really enjoyed it but was a difficult treck, demanding and off the beaten track.
Tea plantation visit: Spent an hour walking around the fields with knowledgeable guide. Interesting.
Waterfall hike: Very enjoyable but few birds. Easy treck.
Top View Hill Hotel: Excellent service. Good food. Hot water issues resolved. WIFI in main building only. Amazing views. Room a bit sad looking and empty but clean, large with fireplace and terrace. Main building is awfully depressing and sad. Cons: No spirit, no light, no music, no life it's just plain dead.
Kibuye - Lake Kivu
Majestic lake that looks like an ocean in some areas. Nice scenery but less impressive and green. Nice stop to relax a few days.
Cormoran Lodge: Waterfront and away from town, good food, great views, pretty warm and no fan, WIFI in room, simple, clean rooms but very little or no hot water. Very steep climb to cabins, might not be convenient to anyone with walking issues. Excellent service.
Swimming and kayaking to see sunset over the water was beautiful.
Short boat trip to island where you hike to the top, beautiful views but too expensive for what it was.
Rubavu
Excellent lunch at Serena hotel by the beach. Fabulous location and great city.
Imbabazi visit: For anyone you loved reading Land of a thousand hills: My life in Rwanda by Rosamond Healsey Carr, visiting her house, grounds, school is a must. Emmanuel, my guide had the privilege of working with her for many years. Touching.
Volcano National Park
Park entrance: Intore dancing à 7:00am: a real treat, enjoyed it very much. Colorful and energetic.
Gorilla tracking: Quite an experience, quiet and calm small group. Beautiful creatures. Interesting to watch interactions. Gloves came in handy, no need for gaiters in dry season but walking pants are not enough, needed my yoga pants under so that it was thicker, helps with nettles. Easy enough treck.
Golden monkeys tracking: Up close and personal, so many of them everywhere and very active. Enjoyed it very much. Easy short treck.
Short nature walk: easy 90 min walk in the forest before heading out to Kigali for return flight. Nice scenery. First female guide I had, interesting conversations, she was curious and not shy to ask many questions, I liked.
Lake Ruhondo: drive to Virunga Lodge for fabulous view
Mountain Gorilla View lodge: Great volcano views, nice grounds, nice large room with fireplace and hot water bottle. Good meals, packed lunch/wine expensive, better to stock up at breakfast and bring snacks for trackers. Bathroom needs renovations. Plenty of hot water, WIFI in main building only. Excellent service.
Gorilla Guardians Village Visit : lifestyles, activities, artifacts and traditions of local people. Interesting.
Special thanks to Lionel, sales consultant at Matoke:
I cannot comment this trip without mentioning the excellent service provided before and during my trip. He has been a gem and I thank him for all his work, patience and insight, it has been greatly appreciated.
Special thanks to Confidence, driver/guide for Matoke:
He was safe, punctual, patient and excellent driver. Respectful, professional, smiling, calm, easygoing, warm and easy to get along with excellent birding knowledge. Travelling with an African native makes contact with others easier as he knows how to approach and communicate with everyone. Ate great local food in places I might not have went on my own. Could work on his overall knowledge of Rwanda.
Tips:
If you are curious, crave information, fun-facts and knowledge about your destination, I strongly suggest that you read-up beforehand. Rwanda Bradt guide is a must.
Before a visit or activity, find out what to wear. It makes the visit more interesting and comfortable if you are wearing the proper clothing.
If your tour starts in Kigali, ask to be picked-up at the airport by your driver/guide to make sure you are on the same page for activities and visits itinerary the day after. More efficient timewise if short stay.
Good to know:
Food: Varied, Rwanda grows fruits and veggies. Also meats and delicious fish. Veggie options easy to find.
Toilets: On the road, mostly basic hole in the ground and while tracking, in the bush.
Insects: Tse Tse flies are a nuisance in Akagera but no worries if bitten. Saw little to no mosquitos during my 2 week stay.
Weather: Perfect, no rain and not too hot. Warm temperate and cool in mountains.
Altitude: Make sure to bring proper medication just in case your body does not have the time to acclimatize.
Safety: No worries at all.
Children: Sooo adorable! But do not take pictures without permission and do not give money.
Souvenirs: Beautiful wood jewellery, local organic coffee and tea, delicious!
Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. It will be a pleasure!
Sophie
NL
Email Jeroen | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Thank you Matoke Tours for a great safari trip!
We were with a relatively big group of 9 people. Most of us have done already several safaris in countries like Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa and Botswana. Our main interest was going for a Gorilla tracking and Chimpanzee tracking but we wanted to have also different experiences and did not have much time.
Wim and Ilse understood our wishes quickly, were great, very helpful and informative in their communication and customized our itinerary perfectly. The accommodation were picked very well with nice food, the transport was timely and the different guides were very friendly but even more important very knowledgeable. We had different kinds of wildlife viewing like walking, driving and by boat. Even with abundant wildlife viewing from the pool with a cold glass of beer. :-)
Thank you very much, Wim, Ilse and the complete staff of Matoke Tours, we had an unforgettable trip and we recommend everybody who would like to visit amazingly beautiful en friendly Uganda to definitely go with Matoke Tours!!!
DE
Email Marita Wünsche | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
10 days Uganda - a fantastic trip!
Full of expectation, we started our journey on May 2nd. We are two women traveling alone from Ilmenau. Already in advance, we were pleasantly surprised by the competent, very trustworthy advice by Sven Gilian. Arrived at Entebbe, we felt immediately in good hands when we saw a driver of the first lodge with our name and called our guide soon afterwards, inquired about us and announced for the next morning.
And as the first impression was, our entire trip went. Bryan, our "girl for everything" proved to be a true treasure. Not only did he inform us in detail about the country and the people (in very good German) during the trip, he did everything to make us feel comfortable with his humor, during the almost 1200 km journey.
Quite apart from that, the ride did not bother us otherwise. The wonderful scenery in all parts of the trip was the result. "Uganda, the green pearl of Africa" bears its name rightly.
Again and again we had to use our camera because we had to capture the beautiful landscape in pictures.
The swamp migration, as the first activity, was just right as an entry into the animal world. Unfortunately, the animals, such as the Colombus monkeys, were hiding a bit, but it would become better. And so it happened in the following days. It is very difficult to name a true highlight, because all animal observations were indescribably impressive for us in their own way. Whether it is the all-day trail with the chimpanzees, the tracking and extensive observation of the lions and a leopard, and, of course, the encounter with the gorillas - all in all unforgettable moments that fulfilled our expectations.
At this point, we must also mention the friendly, always helpful rangers, which have always endeavored to satisfy us and to compensate for our lack of English knowledge by slow speaking.
All in all, this trip will be a constant memory for us, and we would like to thank Matoke Tours for allowing us all this.
TH
Email Jim T | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Fantastic Uganda
The experience we had in Uganda was simply fantastic. All the activities were excellent as we saw all the animals which Uganda has to offer, big or small. The gorillas were the unbelievable, an amazing once in a lifetime experience but the Chimpanzee habituation was a real highlight and something I would really recommend to everybody who visits Kibale. A slightly unexpected highlight was actually the swamp walk in Kibale. We saw 7 out of the 8 primate species and the guide Ben, was a fantastic young man, very passionate and really well informed.
A great deal of our positive experience of Uganda was provided by Kaleb, our driver and guide. He was very kind, informed and positive the whole trip. He had a great understanding of the country, people and environment and made us very welcome. He also knew everybody we met which was great.
The accommodation was of a very high standard and was always interesting, either by location or by design. All the food we had was good, especially when we got to eat some of the local food.
Our only slight disappointment was in both Murchison Falls NP and Queen Elizabeth NP where both times the UWA failed to provide rangers for us. We had heard Kaleb make the arrangements for rangers but both times the rangers we booked choose to go with other, independent, 'cash in hand' groups instead. We did not miss out because Kaleb used to be a ranger and still possessed all the skills and connections so we saw all the animals we wanted to. However, it would have been good to have a second set of experienced eyes in the car with us.
When we did have rangers they were excellent. Africano was our guide for the Chimpanzees and he was brilliant as was the whole team of 5 we had for the Gorilla trekking.
Uganda is a beautiful and fascinating country and both we would like to thanks Matoke tours for guiding us through it.
DE
Email Ursula&Uwe | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Northern Uganda Experience
We booked a private tour to north uganda, it was a great experience.
From organization to implemantation, all was perfect. We enjoyed the accomodations, the contact to the people, the wildlife and the countryside.
Special thanks to Sven (organization) and to our guide and driver David!
Unforgettable Gorilla Tracking Trip in Uganda
We had a really fantastic time last weekend! Aside from the problem with the Aerolink flight to Kisoro on Saturday, everything went very smoothly. Thank you for being available early on Saturday morning to help us troubleshoot. Even though you weren't able to get through to Aerolink, I really appreciated that I was able to call and reach you.
Lake Matunda Resort is wonderful! We were the only guests there. The staff were very warm and hospitable. Service and food was excellent. Our room was perfect. Views were breathtaking. It's one of the best mid-range hotels I've stayed in.
Our transfers to Entebbe, to/from Kisoro and to/from Rushanga were very smooth and timely. Our drivers were safe, reliable, and great ambassadors for the region.
Our gorilla tracking experience was phenomenal! We had one other person in our group. It was only three of us tracking. We only hiked for 40 minutes before reaching the gorilla family. The guides and trackers were excellent, kept us informed and safe. The hour we spent with the family was unforgettable. We lucked out with weather-- it only started to pour rain after we returned from tracking.
So, I'd say we had a really lucky low season experience--benefiting from no crowds, finding the gorillas quickly, and no rain while tracking.
Thanks again for all your help and coordination! I'll be recommending Matoke Tours to friends interested in tracking.
US
Email Rick | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Lions and Gorillas
We booked the "comfort" tour with Matoke anti was great. This was the 5 day package with 2 nights in QE park and 2 at Lake Mutanda for the Gorillas. We lucked out by seeing lions, elephants, and even a leopard at QE and the gorilla trekking was excellent (except for all the selfie's taken.) Our driver David J was superb. He helped us spot 50 species of bird and handled the amazingly bad roads with confidence and comfort. The travel between sites was long and tiring (even just riding). My advice is to schedule 7 days, stay an extra night in QE Park and another one at Lake Mutanda which is exceptionally beautiful. It would make the travel in between that much more valuable. Also, go for the upgrade to the 4 land cruiser.
All in all, though seeing Uganda at bit is very much part of the interest. Matoke was professional and confident.
US
Email Cheryl and Tim | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Awesome East Africa Trip
After making inquiries with a few companies, we found Matoke Tours offered trips to all the locations we were interested in. Our sales agent, Ilse, was fantastic. After hearing about the places and things we were most interested in doing, she suggested a custom 10-day itinerary for us (4 adults).
We flew into Kigali, Rwanda in order to reduce the travel time to Uganda, our first stop, to do the gorilla trek in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. After the gorilla trek, we were taken back to Rwanda to fly to Kilimanjaro, where we would start our Safari in Tanzania. Our trip included Tarangire National Park, the Serengeti, and Ngorongoro Crater.
Guides: the rangers in Bwindi Forest, our Uganda driver, Charles, and our guide and driver, Herbert, for all our time in Tanzania, were excellent. Friendly, knowledgeable, and professional - and very good drivers on those rough African roads.
Accommodations: we chose a mid-range level of accommodation for our lodging and every single accommodation was excellent. They felt more like luxury level accommodations instead of mid-range. Our lodge and bush camp in Tarangire and the Serengeti were incredible - beautiful, comfortable, and with the most attentive staff.
Food: meals were always delicious and plentiful
There were a few small glitches early on and we really felt that Matoke, as well as the local vendors and staff providing the services, handled them gracefully and efficiently and ensured that there was no adverse impact on our enjoyment.
All of our communication with Ilse in planning the trip, making payments, keeping us updated on any changes, providing helpful information was effortless. She was always responsive, replying to emails quickly and thoroughly. Matoke also provides travelers with a packet of helpful practical information for each country visited, which was invaluable, covering everything from currency and tipping, to customs and language.
We would happily recommend booking with Matoke.