Bill William - our USA Representative and contact
Africa Adventure Safaris
- Located In:
-
United States
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2004)
- Member Of:
- NU & AUTO
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $80 to $550 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Michael | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi & D.R. Congo
I am an experienced solo traveler and often coordinate my trips with local guides. My experience with Africa Adventures Safaris was one of the best I've ever had. Nicholas worked with me to develop a trip tailored to exactly what I wanted and the time window that I had- he was excellent to work with and really gave me great advice about what was and was not doable in my timeframe. Amazingly, this level of personal service also ended up being the least expensive but most comprehensive of all of the options I explored for my trip to East Africa.
My guide when I arrived was Sam Elliott. It can sometimes be difficult to be in a car with even the closest of friends for 11 days , but not with Sam- he was the consummate professional, answering all of my questions and engaging in a wide range of discussion topics addressing everything from local customs and commerce the geopolitics, the genocide, and the civil society issues in Burundi and Uganda. Sam also communicated with people in seemingly a dozen languages as we traversed East Africa, and was able to really help me connect with people.
My aggressive itinerary included lots of primate tracking: Lowland Gorillas in Kahuzi-Biega National Park in Congo, Mountain Gorillas and Golden Monkeys (a highlight not to be missed) in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, Gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable park in Uganda, and Chimpanzees in Kibale Forest National Park. Rwanda and Uganda are amazing as advertised. I found Burundi to be very culturally interesting (highlighted by the Gishora Drum Sanctuary) and distinct from Rwanda- worth a day or two to see, but not worth lingering. Similarly, going to Congo was an adventure in itself and the gorilla tracking there is a different experience- much less touristy than in Rwanda. I was a bit nervous about it, but it was relatively (to itself) safe at the time and Nicholas had made excellent arrangements (my guide there was local to Bukavu and was excellent- but I forgot his name).
Most amazingly, not a single thing went wrong on the entire trip. For anybody who has traveled extensively in Africa, you know how unbelievable that is. Africa Adventures Safaris took care of everything and everything went nearly exactly as planned on my itinerary. Given the countries I was in, that is the most amazing thing of all, and a tribute to their preparation, local contacts, and professionalism. As I told Sam when I left, I don't think I could have had as good of an experience in this region without him and without Africa Adventures Safaris. Thank you again!
Fantastic gorilla experience and excellent tour operator
We did a 4-day gorilla safari in Rwanda, which included two gorilla treks and one golden monkey trek. It was a truly wonderful experience, very well planned and executed by Africa Adventures Safaris. Olive was extremely helpful, professional and prompt with her responses to our many questions while planning the trip. Enos was an excellent guide, with a deep knowledge of the region's wildlife, culture and history, which he shared freely.
Transportation and accommodations were excellent. We staying in the all-inclusive Mountain Gorilla View Lodge, which is very clean and comfortable. One warning: it gets VERY cold at night, around 40 F, and the lodge does not have heat. Bring very warm clothes and pajamas. Take your shower in the daytime when the air is much warmer.
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Email Jackie | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wonderful
Everything they did, arranged for, correspondence, etc. EVERYTHING was wonderful. Thank you Olive.
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Email Jackie | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Our travel experience with Africa Adventure Safaris was beyond excellent. Everything was wonderful.
Olive was in constant contact with me regarding our Rwanda experience. She answered all questions, even multiple times, handled my flight arrangements and shared an American contact, Bill William, with me to answer even more questions. I didn't have to wait for responses; it seems she might have worked day and night. I was unsure about accomodations, but she was not pushy in any way and simply told me that there were 3 levels of accomodations and I should choose for myself. While I was in Rwanda our driver took us to other hotels/resorts and we got to see the rooms and facilities. I was so very, very happy with our choices of Mountain Gorillas Lodge...it was simply the best of all the facilities we toured. We were so excited for our first day of gorilla trekking and it was most memorable. We did not expect the hike to be so arduous; the gorilla family we were trekking kept moving, which meant we had to keep moving. The hike was about 2 1/2 hours up the mountain and the mountain was very steep. Our guides were macheting brush so we could hike; sometimes the inclines were straight up and then straight down as welly as slippery and scratchy. Our garden gloves were well used. My husband really needed 2 porters and we were so grateful to another guest who loaned us their porter. Once we became involved with the gorilla family all of the long, hard hike was forgotten. To be so close with the gorillas was truly "something incredibly indescribeable." Our lead guide was SO good and the tracking guides actually with the gorilla family were so good to us; all guides would help us see gorillas better and make sure we got the best pictures possible. I just can't say enough about the genuineness and expertness of the guides; we were totally dependent on them and they treated us like we were gods. Our second day we took a very gentle hike to see the golden monkeys; we were so lucky to get the same park guide and we (my husband and I) were the only people on the tour. It was rainy, muddy, slippery and we were once again treated with much respect and high regard. It was Bill William's advice that had our schedule be a gorilla trek first day, golden monkeys second day, and gorilla trek third day; we needed the slower day in between gorilla treks. Our second gorilla trek was an easier climb/hike and within an hour we were with a gorilla family--this one being in a bamboo thicket. Our park guides and tracking guides were again so very good. We were glad to have hired porters as they were a help. However, they're really volunteers and I don't know if they're trained; some were quite helpful and others were not. I had one who had a mean, stare down with me as I left because he wanted a bigger tip from me. I was advised to hire a porter for $10 USD, as this was the expected price. Because my husband needed above and beyond help from his porter and used a second porter, he paid each porter $25 USD. I believe my porter thought he should get the same amount and when not given that amount let it be known how mad he was at me. That was a disconcerting experience. I'd like to next address our driver who was so professional and so good. He answered all of our questions, showed us whatever we even thought we might like to see, and took us to out of the ordinary shopping markets and accompanied me in the market, helping me negotiate prices for goods. His driving was impeccable, his manners most polite and serene. He made our journey that very good. Lastly, I would like to say how good Mountain Gorilla Lodge was. The staff made you feel most welcome and were glad to take care of you. The food was that good as well. We had read some negative reviews about the food at the lodge and we can only say the food was GREAT. Imagine trying to cook for tourists, trying to please them all, with limited food supplies and cooking conditions in the depth of the mountains. We loved every bit of our vacation [except the sour porter]. 5 stars plus for Africa Adventure Safaris.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
friendly knowledgeable and fun
We had a great time with Enos our guide. He was accommodating, extremely knowledgeable about Rwandan affairs, affable and one of the nicest people I've ever met. Olive was easy to work with and the whole trip was an amazing success. Would thoroughly recommend them - especially Enos.
IN
Email Amit Rawat | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing experience with Africa Adventure Safaris
I recently had the opportunity to visit Uganda for trekking Mountain Gorillas in wild. Being little skeptical about the country and security, I was taken aback by the services, support and facilities provided by Africa Adventure which kind of over exceeded my expectations. Specially need to mentioned Bernard as my assigned tour guide Humble and jovial by nature who made the whole trip such a comfort and informative that I would suggest any friend or family visiting there to book from them. Thanks team Africa Adventure Safaris for making this trip wonderful, comfortable and a massive success. Cheers..!!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Organised and enjoyable
We did a one night gorilla trek in Bwindi National Park. Everything was very smooth, from the booking to the collection at the airport till the drop off. Beautiful hotel (actually the budget option= Bakiga) which was also run for the benefit of the local community. Guide (Chris) was a really nice guy, very relaxed but highly efficient and knew the area well having working with the gorillas for many years. Would recommend.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Superb
Communication and service were excellent with a prompt response at every stage of the booking process. Our guide Chris was polite, friendly and very well informed. The organisation of the tour made the whole experience most enjoyable. Chris went out of his way to be helpful at every stage. I would highly recommend using Africa Adventure Safaris.
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20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
4-day Gorillas and Wildlife Tour
Everything about this trip was first class. We booked through Nelson who was extremely professional and timely in his communication. Our host for the trip was Bernard, and I don't have enough good things to say about him. The van was extremely comfortable and the budget accommodations they chose were surprisingly great. Bernard was extremely knowledgeable about the landscape, economics and politics of the country, as well as the wildlife we encountered. He made every effort to ensure we had a great trip, including several sudden stop requests for photos or chances to buy a cold pop. The actual safaris they planned were incredible. We were extremely pleased with our gorilla trekking, boat excursion and game drives. We saw schools of animals from lions to hippos to elephants to buffalos. I couldn't provide a higher recommendation for this tour group.
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65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Gorilla Trek
This was a wonderful, once in a lifetime experience. I would highly recommend.