US
under20 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very nice operator, great communicator, and funny!
Very well planned out, and enjoyable. Great tours, and quite a lot of fun.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Ambrose is the BEST!!! We had such and incredible and indescribable experience.
Ambrose really made our experience one to remember. He went above and and beyond for our group and did everything possible to make sure we had an amazing time! We miss him!!!
DE
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Right from first contact we enjoyed an as professional as pleasant treatment with a personal touch.
As an experienced world traveller for business as well as for leisure I‘d quite high expectations from the start. The Five Stars Tours & Safaris professional operators fulfilled all their promises regarding organisation, realisation, safety and personal care to the expected prime standards. The charge for their services and all the booked travel items was absolutely justified. Their almost friendship-like way of dealing with their clients came as a welcomed bonus.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Matoke Tours - Great parnet for visiting Africa!
First off some facts:
-We were 6 people between 27 and ~50years old from Germany
-Uganda 8 days from mid September 2018
-Tanzania/Zanzibar 5 day at the end of September 2018
It took me a while to find the time to write a review and I'm usually not the guy who likes writing reviews, but me and my co-travelers belief that Matoke Tours and everybody who was involved with our journey deserve some feedback. So here it is:
We started our trip at Entebbe airport and our plane landed quite late (around 10 p.m.). We got out of the airport and at first the heat and humidity hit us quite hard. It was dark, somehow smelly and we didn't really know what to expect. We spent our first night in some small guesthouse near the airport. The housing was somehow strange, there were a lot of mosquitos (which we tried to avoid because we heard all kind of stories about the diseases they might transfer...more of that later), and there were dogs barking all night. But we felt save because the guesthouse was well guarded. At first we thought, that it was not a good idea to travel to Uganda but that first night was literally the only not so good thing about our Journey.
The next days basically went like this: Kibale National Forest (Crater Safari Lodge - excellent!) - Community- and Swamp-Tour -Chimpanzee-Tracking + tropical rain in the forest and being attacked by African bees - Queen Elizabeth NP (Ihamba Lake Resort - Excellent!) - evening + morning Game Drive (same as Safari but Safari seems to be the Kenia-word for Game drive...) - Boat-Safari on the Kazinga channel - Gorilla tracking in the Bwindi National Forest (Mutanda Lake Resort - Excellent!) - Travel to Lake Mburo + Safari-walk in the queen Elizabeth NP (housing at Eagles Nest - great view, cute dog, nice bar, tent - Okay for one night) - flight from Entebbe to Zanzibar with a stay at the Blue Oyster for three days (super nice people, great lodging, nice bar + great cocktails, nice and clean beach, good food and they even send us a Christmas card - would definitely go there again and recommend to everybody!) - Stone Town (Swahili House - great!).
We saw a lot. Crazy African cities, beautiful nature, great rain forests, beautiful lakes, the Indian ocean, lions, elephants, hippos, Crocodiles, Eagles, snakes, giraffes, buffalos and many many more... Every place was full of really nice people, who always wore a smile on their face. And what was very strange: almost no insects and no mosquitos. Sure I got bitten twice but in the end I had more bee-stings that mosquito bites (and that only because we had to pay for the honey that the chimpanzees stole...). Recommendations for travelers: don't buy expensive mosquito-proof clothing- just buy one or two bottles more of DEET 50%.
And one thing or rather one person I did not mention at all: Our guide Big Sam. We were extremely lucky that he was guiding our tour. He is very experienced, he knows the nature, he knows the animals, he knows the authorities and he knew an answer to all our questions. And we had a lot of questions... And most importantly: He is a nice guy. He was joking around a lot and was able to laugh about himself. We had a great time and we think and talk about our journey a lot. We miss Uganda, we miss the people from the Blue Oyster and we miss Sam. We will be back and we will travel with Matoke again!
TW
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Absolutely no disappointment!
We booked a 6-day private safari. From the get-go, Martin (the owner of the company) was easy to communicate with and responded promptly. We stated our demands, and he was able to deliver the service he promised plus much more. We had different drivers/guides for Tanzania and Kenya respectively, and they were both not only friendly, communicatable, imformative, resourceful, and most importantly of all, expert at what they do. Of course we were lucky enough to come across all “Big Fives,” but there were so much more that we couldn’t have seen had it not been for them both. We went for the most budget-friendly options of accommodation, but the cleanliness, service, and hospitality provided were all more than the money’s worth. All in all a very mind-blowing experience and I would definitely recommend this company to anyone planning a trip to this part of the world.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Life changing experience
Hi Ruth, Life changing…. We are still dreaming about it. We had such an incredible time, and already trying to figure out when we can go back. Thanks Christian S.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our planning and implementation of the trip was through by excellent. travel without worries
Our expectations were more than fulfilled. There was always the possibility during the trip to ask open questions to Five Stars, one answer was very fast. The service was great throughout the trip.
The car was in full swing and the ride itself was a wonderful experience. The lodges were all very well located and the on-site service was great. The lodges were very nice, clean and the staff was very helpful. They could be flexible despite the fixed travel planning, which was very accommodating. Our expectations were more than fulfilled. The different landscapes and animals we saw made the trip very valuable.
Although the many great impressions will be remembered for a long time, we will definitely book a holiday with Five Stars again.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Best Three Days Ever!
We had a group of 10 (Canadians and Tanzanians) who used TRE for a 3-day safari. They picked us up at our hostel in Arusha, and took us to Tarangire, Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara.
Our two drivers; Ezekiel and Idris were amazing! They were able to pick out all the big animals on the safari and made sure we were able to see everything. They were also super informative and were able to tell us about the area, history, people, culture and so much more.
A great experience, and would definitely recommend to anyone looking for guides!
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing Experience, Very Professional
Great experience for a 3 day trip (Tarangire, Ngorongoro, Lake Manyara) for a group of 10. Our accommodations at Kudu Lodge were also amazing and caught us all by surprise. The communication and level of service were professional.
The food during the safari (lunch boxes), albeit industry standard since all the other cars had similar looking boxes, tasted ok.
All in all a quality trip. I would definitely go with this company again! They were even kind enough to arrange airport drop off and a Maji Moto Trip en route to the airport.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Wow customer care experience!!!
Hi World Escapes & Adventures team, Sorry for the delay, but you know how it is coming back after a long vacation! Overall, the trip was wonderful - definitely a bucket list dream come true! Botswana & Namibia, in particular, had been on my bucket list since I was a child. I think this was my first time staying in a Wilderness Safari lodge/camp - definitely impressed. Especially with their premier camps. At times, I could have used 1 more day here or 1 less day there, but generally speaking, 2-3 days seems about right. There were one or two misses in the airport between me & people there to collect me, but usually because they weren't where I expected them to be or I didn't see the sign they had. Mostly, they were in place & we were able to sync up. They definitely helped make the process smoother & easier. At Vumbura Plains, they had a hot bubble bath run for me upon me checking in & going to my room. That made my fricking day! LOL. I posted photos on social media bragging about how they were taking such good care of me! The food was pretty good & fairly consistent throughout.
However, I wasn't impressed with the food at two places primarily - Sabyinyo in Rwanda & Onguma the Fort in Namibia. I realize they are some of the better places to stay in those areas, and maybe that's why I was a bit disappointed in the food - just didn't seem to live up to the hype. Sabyinyo - I would definitely make sure people understand there's a bit of uphill hiking to do to get to the room & around the lodge itself. Combined with the altitude, and/or if you're not physically fit for hiking, just going to your room can tire you out! The boat ride in Swakopmund was a nice contrast to the desert & a chance to try Namibian oysters as well as learn some of the historical & economic aspects of the country. I enjoyed that, as did everyone else. Anyway, those are some things that immediately come to mind. If I think of anything else, I'll be sure to shoot you an email. Thanks for everything!
Grace M.