African Big Five Safaris
- Located In:
-
Canada
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2012)
- Member Of:
- AUTO, UTB & UWA
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $80 to $350 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
CH
Email Hanspeter Gass | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent stay during my photography journey.
Excellent service, very nice stuff always there for me. Quick answers and friendly guides! I came to uganda to do photographies of mountain Gorillas and Chimps, also for the Ruwenzori mountains. I did EVERY SINGLE PICTURE i had in my mind. I DO RECOMMEND 100% AB5 Safaris! You will not be disappointed.... Thanks again to all!
Take a look at my pictures under www.thefabulousview.com Projects, "THE HILLS OF ALBARTINE"
CA
Email Larry and Pam Field | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic!
Our trip to Uganda was to be the trip of our lifetime, so we needed a good safari operator to make our dream come true. Did we get lucky. We started working with African Big Five Safaris ten months in advance of our 24-day visit. Our trip was to be more than a safari - we wanted a "total" African experience. Meet the people, experience the culture, learn the history, and of course, see all the animals.
The staff of African Big Five patiently worked with us to create a tour package that exceeded our high expectations. Geoffrey responded instantly to every request and presented various options to us. Our package was based on a moderate budget, somewhere between budget and luxury. We were pleasantly surprised.
Our driver and guide, Musa, was exceptional. His personable, easy going manner, extensive knowledge of his country and its wildlife, and superior driving skills, were appreciated by all four of us. He had a very very thorough knowledge of all the game parks, and provided close encounters with every game species, including hundreds of bird species, his specialty. From our well equipped Landcruiser with pop top for game viewing, we saw countless elephant, giffafe, hippo, buffalo, lion, antelope and primate species. Not to be missed, if course, was the gorilla and chimp treks.
Our accommodation never disappointed. African Big Five constantly monitors the lodges it uses, and drops any that don't meet expectations. We are vegetarians, and were impressed that each lodge was prepared in advance to meet our dietary needs. All meals, for the most part, were very good, and service from lodge staff exceptional.
African Big Five Safaris is a small, Ugandan-owned company that, in our opinion, provides big service. Their approach seems to be - look after the details, provide a package tailor made to the client, and build a reputation to ensure their future success.
Because of the length of our tour, we were glad that we had planned for enough rest time in our itinerary so we didn't wear down from the busy schedule.
Uganda is truly the Pearl of Africa. We highly recommend this rich and diverse country as a destination and African Big Five as your tour company.
CA
Email Leigh Field and Vagn Bonnevie-Nielsen | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
African Big Five Safaris - a superlative Ugandan tour company!
This was my second African safari, and I wanted to use a local tour company rather than a global one that subcontracted to local ones. My rationale was that this would cut costs without compromising quality and give our money directly to the African country. The four of us (2 couples) had selected Uganda as a place to see chimps and gorillas, in addition to all the other better-known African wildlife (elephants being my personal favourite). We found African Big Five (ABF) Safari company by searching internet, then emailing their office in Kampala. The prompt and amazingly detailed service we got from Geoffrey, one of the company owners, convinced us we were on the right track. Working with Geoffrey, we designed an extensive 24-day tour with a moderate budget (more comfort than camping, but not luxury), a dedicated driver/guide and pop-up-top vehicle. We wanted a trip that included visiting villages to meet various tribal groups such as the Karamojong, Acholi and Batwa, and learn about their culture (history, economy, dancing, food, crafts) and the itinerary kept changing in the nine months of planning. We also wanted to visit several schools for disadvantaged children (orphans, HIV+, or just very poor) to learn about their efforts and how we might be able to help. Three of us are retired "educators" and firmly believe that education is the key to improving conditions in developing countries. I can now say, after just returning home, that the ABF Safari company is A+, 5/5! Our driver Musa was excellent, combining professionalism and promptness with a relaxed attitude, funny stories and extensive knowledge, especially of birds -- his personal passion. In addition, he is just a very nice kind person. Thank you, Musa! Our trip encompassed travelling far north from Kampala to Kidepo National Park at the top of Uganda (a wonderful wilderness with few tourists), then down the west border through a series of national parks: Murchison's Falls, Kibale Forest (chimp trekking), Q.Elizabeth, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest (gorilla trekking....a feat since 2 of us are over 70!), Lake Bonyonyi and Lake M'Buro. Each park had a different terrain and wildlife -- one of the incredible things about Uganda is its vast DIVERSITY of geography and fauna/flora, from grassland savannah plains to mountainous dense jungle. We saw many elephants, giraffes, buffalo, lions, antelope, hippos. In fact, since we visited the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, we did succeed in seeing the famous "big five" of rhino, buffalo, elephant, lion and leopard. We had some very close adrenaline-producing encounters with lions and elephants! And we watched our closest relatives, gorillas and chimps, from a few feet away. I encourage everyone to trek not only the gorillas, but also the chimps, whose behaviour is much more interesting and raucous than the generally peaceful gorilla. Although, we were entertained by a 2 year old gorilla who twice grabbed our hand and tried to take us back to his family! The accommodations, a mixture of lodges, cabins and tents organized by Geoffrey, were all very good to excellent with attentive staff. We especially appreciated that most lodges (forewarned by Geoffrey that we were vegetarians) prepared imaginative food beyond the usual veggie curry. In summary, our Uganda tour with ABF Safari company SURPASSED all our expectations! We got incredible personalized service from the office, a fantastic guide, comfortable accommodations with scenic views, and experienced the warm friendly people of Uganda as well as the natural beauty of the land and wildlife. Go to Uganda, and go with this company -- you will not be disappointed! And thanks again to Geoffrey, Maria and Musa for "unveiling" your country to us.
CA
Email Stella | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience
From the moment I started planning the safari for a group of fellow travelers I was smitten with African Big Five Safaris. My contact was Mary, as she was always very professional and open to our changing needs (we started off as a group of 4 and ended up as a group of 8) and dates. The reviews I read led me to expect a first class safari; that is what Mary promised and what I feel we got. I had read about the experienced and personable guides but we did not imagine just how knowledgeable and friendly they would be. Edmund and Hamid knew all about the wildlife and birds. They joined us for dinner on the second evening and taught us much about life in Uganda. All in all they made us feel very special and as if we were the best clients ever, which I expect is how they make everyone feel!
We had 2 vehicles as 8 would be too many for one, and were glad we did as 4 to a vehicle was perfect and gave us lots of room to move around while we were in the park. The seats were comfortable for the long drives to and from the park and there was a big cooler full of bottled water we could help ourselves to. On the way up to the park we stopped to pick up some fruit from people selling at the roadside, and had a lovely lunch near Masindi. Edmund and Hamid adapted our walk at the Falls to our needs. They made sure we saw some of the Big 5 on the way to our accommodation - Fort Murchison Lodge - which was excellent also.
On the second day we had a fabulous safri drive that lasted all morning, and our guides made sure we saw many animals including lions, and in fact we saw all the Big Five except for leopards. We could not get over how many animals we saw, and, as someone interested in birds, I was amazed at the variety of colourful birds. At around noon, we stopped in the park to eat our lunch near the various oribis and other antelopes. In the afternoon we went on the 3 hour boat ride up the Nile to Murchison Falls and back, which enabled us to see many of the same animals by the water's edge, as well as water birds, hippos and crocodiles. Day two was another full day which I will never forget.
The third day we drove around the north side of the park and to the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary near Masindi, where we walked to find the rhinos after driving to the area where they were known to be feeding. The guide from the Sanctuary was very interesting also, and we were well protected by two guards who watched the rhinos at all times to interpret their body language and keep us a safe distance away. The guide made sure we were able to get photos of ourselves with the rhinos in the background.
On the way back through Kampala we learned a lot about the way of life in this fascinating country. It was a sad farewell when we finally reached our hotel in Entebbe where our conference was to be held. We will never forget the great time we had with Edmund and Hamed! Thanks to all at African Big Five for helping us have such a memorable time.
CR
Email David Stein | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
African big 5 helped me make my dream safari come true!
I can not say enough good stuff about African big 5 safaris. I have been a professional wildlife photographer for years. Now in my older years getting around has become tough. My wife and I chose Uganda for our safari for various reasons, knowing full well that it would have some limitations not present in other safari areas of Africa. I had a specific agenda ranging from Kidepo in the northeast, and hitting all the major wildlife areas including doing chimpanzee tracking, Gorilla tracking and finishing with lake Mburo in the south central area. We had somewhat limited time, and a limited budget. African big 5 helped us design what amounted to our own private safari (with a couple exceptions where joining others was not avoidable.) I spoke with Geoffrey, the owner over the course of 1.5 years putting together things the way we wanted. Geoffrey was amazing! Our needs and questions were numerous, and he answered all, as well as accommodating our needs, and and offering suggestions for us where needed. He/they were flexible both prior to the safari and during as well. we upgraded to some 5 star places and downgraded to some lesser places per our interest. Our Driver/guide Musa was great, understandably pushing us a bit when we needed to move our buts, but always with the intention to get us the maximum game viewing times possible. he found us all we wanted to see. I had set my expectations for Uganda differently not expecting to see Cheetah or leopard, and we did not see those, as they are harder to see there. But, we saw many other unusual critters that I had not expected to see. And, as I had previously seen leopard and cheetah in Kenya was delighted to get to see the other animals. We took lots of luggage to ensure our equipment and necessary clothes made it even if all the bags did not. He helped us everywhere with our things and even gave us his backpack on a couple occasions where we needed one and had inadvertently forgotten to bring our own. If Uganda is your destination and you want personalized care - I can not recommend them enough. And, though not all was perfect, any problems were always dealt with expediently and with understanding..... We will miss Uganda, and the personalized care we received.....
BE
Email Olivier | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Everything was perfect
Thanks to Maria for the good advices and the help she provided to develop the project, thanks to Geoffrey for the organisation, and a lot of thanks to my driver Edmond who was was great. It have been a very nice experience.
CA
Email Lori | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic experience
We (family of 4 with 2 teenagers) recently did an 8-day safari with African Big Five Safaris, that combined all the main elements of the 7 Day Gorilla and Wilderness Safari and the 3 Day Murchison Falls tour. We also added on the 1 Day Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Tour in Kampala. We loved all parts of the trip and everything went extremely smoothly. Everyone we dealt with at African Big Five Safaris was very helpful, friendly and professional. Mary and Geoffrey were fantastic at organizing the trip exactly to our specifications and helping us decide on which lodges were best for us. They were also quick to respond to my many questions. We were on the move every day so stayed in many different lodges that they recommended (mostly mid-range) and all were very comfortable and enjoyable. The food was included everywhere and was very good and very plentiful (usually 3 courses for dinner and sometimes also for lunch). Our driver, David, was great and always very organized and on time. He was also very knowledgeable and friendly, and we were sad to say goodbye to him. At the end of the trip, Mary made a special trip to our hotel in Kampala just to meet us and thank us for our business, which was a very nice personal touch. I highly recommend booking any travel with this company; with such fantastic service and reasonable prices, you cannot do any better than this.
CA
Email Ray & Alyssa | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
5 Day Gorillia / Queen Elizabeth - "Big 5" made it amazing!
If you are planning a Ugandan Safari, you have to get in touch with Big 5! Geoffrey is prompt at replies, and can work with you to arrange your perfect Uganda experience! We had the choice of 3 price levels for our accommodations and chose the mid-level. It far exceeded our expectations!
- Our driver, Richard, was amazing! A fine gentleman who ensured the 4x4 SUV had plenty of water & pop, and drove like an excellent driver.
- Gerrard was the perfect guide/host (Big recommendation if you are there for birding! Its his passion!!). He provided lots of information and has eyes like a hawk. He saw Lions from a mile away!
- Our lodges were Buhoma Lodge in Bwindi, and Twin Lakes Lodge in Queen Elizabeth NP. Both were incredible! (see other reviews)
- The food was very accommodating and flexible. If you're a picky eater (thats too bad you miss out on lots!!) you will have no problems eating the food.
Don't hesitate to email Geoffrey at Big 5, and get the ball rolling! Enjoy!
Email Terry | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent team to deal with
From the time of our initial enquiry, through to booking, the joining instructions, the trip itself, they are a very competent & friendly company to deal with. The trip to Murchison Falls matched the very comprehensive itinerary, the accommodation & food at Fort Murchison more than matched our expectations. The guide/driver was absolutely superb and went out of his way to make this a most memorial safari.
US
Email Danielle Shubert | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic
Everything about the tour was excellent.. communication was warm and welcomed, our guide was lovely, kind, informative and accommodating. Our lodgings were exceptional. Wonderful!