35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Making a plan, to fit my requirements
I was on conference in Uganda, and decided to try my luck in doing a Gorilla tour, with the 2,5 days I had available after the conference, before my flight home. Not only was Elly very quick to respond to my initial enquiries (and all mail subsequently), but he was also able to tailor the usual 3 days package, which the other operators did not offer. By changing my second night stay, he was able to get me back to the airport on time, without risking driving at night after the trekking.
My pick up was 10 minutes early (always a good sign), accompanied by a company representative, and the guide.
The tour guide, Tom Karwani, was clearly experienced. His vehicle was super clean, neat and in perfect working order. I was travelling solo, and spent the next 3 days with Tom, driving, eating, chatting, enjoying the scenery and companionable silences. We talked about politics (both his and mine), families, economies, conservation and I challenged him to a quiz app. After a few false starts, we eventually made the high scores!
About the accommodation? Night one was rustic. I love camping, so finding a perfectly located tented camp in the forest, was a treat. And hot water shower luxury is always a bargain when "eco-locating". The second best score Broadbill camp earned, was for the roaring lounge fire, on a cold night. And the best score, was for the hot water bottle in my bed. Made a great cocoon nest for the night. I am sorry I could not stay there the second night.
The gorilla excursion went off without a hitch. All paperwork was done, and the rangers were professional, friendly and helpful. Use of porters is not required, but I was happy to support the local community in this way. And I was happy to tip the staff, for tracking the gorillas from early morning, resulting in our small group finding the gorillas within 10 minutes. I understand we were particularly lucky in this regard.
The gorillas you have to experience for yourself. It is very special.
The second night was spent in a superb modern and top class hotel in Mbarara. Igongo Country Hotel. With all the modern conveniences, and a personal guided tour of the museum and culture village, I enjoyed my stay here too.
All in all, the service providers Elly had picked, and the regular whatsapps to check if everything was OK, made my adventure thoroughly enjoyable, and safe. Thank you.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A Great Safari in Uganda
We took a 3 day Gorilla Safari in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest with Green World Safaris. We stayed at Buhoma Lodge. It was a great place with hot showers and excellent food within a beautiful location. The food was good and in plenty.
Moses, our guide did very well on the bad roads. He was also knowledgeable of the local animals and also good at pointing out important landmarks. He quickly responded to any inconveniences we could find which made our trip a smooth holiday! He was really a nice driver and we are very grateful with the way our safari was conducted.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Young, honest guys who genuinely care about customers and their safari
I met the Hekima guys through Couchsurfing. I stayed at their house, and was amazed by their generosity in opening their space to travelers in need. Mopo helped me to book my safari with Hekima. I did a bit of research and he offered me a really good, honest price. It's often hard to trust new people when you travel so much, but I very soon came to trust Mopo, Jackson, Sammy and the team very quickly. They would never rip someone off.
The safari itself was great quality as well. Our guide went out of their way to make sure we were comfortable, and saw all the animals we could. The safari was well-organized, the food was good, and the keep was comfortable.
Overall I would highly recommend this company. The safari was great, and the guys involved are even better. A truly amazing, once in a lifetime experience.
RU
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari with Trip Advisor Africa Safaris!
We started a process of choosing safari company about 40 days prior to arrival to Kenya. I sent about 15 emails to different safari companies with price request. Trip Advisor Africa Safaris replied very quickly and after the process of communication with the director Seth Vincent he offered us the best price among all safari operators! Need to note that safari by itself is not a cheap entertainment.
Communication with Seth was via Whatsap and email, he replied very quickly and detailed.
We transfered a deposit of 500 USD to Trip Advisor Africa Safaris to confirm our booking, residual amount we paid on arrival by cash.
Our itinerary included:
Day 1 - Pick up in the Airport Nairobi, where director Seth Vincent and our driver guide Jacob met us, then we proceeded to baby elephant center (David Sheldrick's Elephant Orphanage), then to the Giraffe Center, then after lunch we had a guided tour in Kibera slums, after which we had a wonderful dinner in Carnivore restaurant. The program in Nairobi was well-thought and intense, we probably wouldn't have made it by ourselves, so, services of Trip Advisor Africa Safaris was really valuable!
Day 2 - at 7:30 in the morning we started driving to Masai Mara through the Great African Rift Valley escarpment and through Lake Naivasha where we had a great boat trip. We saw a lot of birds, big group of hippocampus in the lake and even on the land! They are really impressive animals! And we even had a chance to walk on the land nearby to giraffes, very close! However, they are rather cowardly animals:) Overnight was in Mara Sidai tented camp which is quite nice.
Day 3 - Full day Masai Mara game reserve with our driver Jacob, who managed to show us a lot of animals just in one day! We saw a lot of wildebeests, antilopas, elephants, zebras, giraffes, lions - we even saw a hunting of female lion (which btw finished not in her favor:)) Jacob is really experienced and knowledgeable guide, he always tried to show us animals up close and to ensure that we have the best view!
Overnight was also in Mara Sidai camp.
Day 4 - After morning game drive in Masai Mara we headed to Serengeti national park via Isebania Serare boarder (Tabaka gate). At the border we changed our vehicle and met our Tanzanian driver guide Zigi. The scenery in this part of Tanzania is fantastic - very sumptuous greenery, authentic local villages (however, we were advised not to take photos of people there), gold mining pit! It was really beautiful road. Then we had a game drive in Serengeti and we saw also a lot of animals, here our driver Zigi showed us leopard and cheetah family! In Tanzania we had our private chief who cooked fantastic meals for us, the food was absolutely mind blowing, believe me! Especially in this natural conditions of camping, it was so romantic:))
Overnight in Serenera campsite.
Day 5 - Morning game drive in Serengeti national park, then we proceeded through Olduvai Gorge to Ngorongoro national park and stayed overnight in a picturesque Ngorongoro Simba campsite, it was rather wet and cold in the night and morning, however, we were aware of this.
Day 6 - in the early morning we headed to Ngorongoro Crater, there was morning fog covering crater's rim it was a mysterious view! In the Crater we saw many animals and the lake with pink flamingo! However, we were not able to drive close to them as far as park's rules prohibit off-road driving. It is wonderful how animals can form their own world inside the Crater.
After game drive we headed to the small town Karatu where our accomondation was beautiful lodge. I would recommend you to chose not camping but lodge option for the last day on safari to have a rest and relax :)
Day 7 - it was just a drive from Karatu to Arusha Airport from where we had a flight to Zanzibar :)
Overall, I would recommend to use Trip Advisor Africa Safaris services, their price policy is really fair, the director Seth Vincent tries to do all his best to organize your tailor-made trip. I wish you further development and a lot of happy clients! :)
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari Way Exceeded My Expectations
I did not expect to have so much fun on this safari. From the pickup at the airport to the drop-off at the airport, the service provided by Seven By Far was excellent. Our Tour Guide, Nicholas was very professional and very knowledgeable on our tour. He knew the ins and outs of the national parks. We found the BIG 5 within 3 days into our tour. He gave us advice on shopping. We also had the opportunity to meet the owner, Sylvester Silas. He was very personable and at the same time professional. We had a blast on this tour that we are planning another one next year.
NL
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Safe Feeling
This year for the third time with the 4th Musketeers in Uganda. since 2013 Maranatha Tours is oure touroperator. They aranged for us the busses (between 6-9) and the truck for our luggage They have bring us thrue the whole country of Uganda and every year we are very satified about everything. The kindness of the drivers, the way they drive us safe on the road and the things they know of Uganda. like the do's en don'ts.
Mozes you are great
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
You never forget!
It was our first time in Africa and so also in Uganda.
We wanted to book the gorilla-trecking and we searched for a guesthouse in the nationalpark.
And we found! So we stayed 9 days at Bunyonyi View Gorilla Packers, made trecking and also volunteering in the school. Everything is written here already and YES, it is like that.
The children and also all the other nice people we met went directly in our hearts.
So when we went back in Germany, we thought everyday about the school, the children....and so we started in february a foundation. We travel since 25 years, we saw so many poorness in different countrys, but now we are the first time able to help also directly from Germany- because we trust Crystal and Didan.
We are sure, they do so much for the kids and the money we sent is not going in there own pockets.
So you can see pictures of the school and the children on this side and we are happy about every donate ( now we collect for Siana and her family; they lost their home by a heavy rain):
https://www.leetchi.com/c/soziales-von-elke-zaksek
NO
50-65 years of age
SYnnove
Nice enviroment, very professionell management, warm hospitality, good knowledge of local community and fauna.
CH
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An excellent Safari!
From the 1st of february 2017 we went on a 12 days safari organised by Swala Safaris.
They offered us a very attrative personalized Safari with a very good price/performance ratio.
Rose from Swala responded always very quickly. She was such a big help and nothing was too much trouble for her to make sure we had a unique and memorable safari.
Everything was perfect!
Our driverguide was Steven and we travelled with a Toyota Landcruiser.
With Steven we had the most wonderful safari, we truly enjoyed each and every moment. His knowledge about all the parks in Tanzania, the animals, the nature, culture and history are amazing. He has 28 years of experience and is also a brilliant driver. His English is excellent and he is a real gentleman by all means, extremely friendly, helpful and polite.
It was an unforgettable once in a lifetime experience.
Thank you very much Steven and Rose!
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
4-Day-Safari-Eco-Camp (Group joining budget safari)
It was a great and very affordable safari trip. Big 5s are there!! And much much more
Individual ratings and why:
Safari transportation staff: 5 stars. Why? Our driver was extremely friendly, funny, spoke very well English and it was a pleasure riding in his van. (Name: Sammy)
Onsite-payment: 2 stars. Why? Besides the upfront payment online, the rest was enquired in cash; I thought it can be done via credit card. There was no information on cash payment (at least I don’t remember seeing this). This crashed our liquid money and we couldn’t by many presents after all.
Transportation: 4 stars. Why? There was some vehicle switching in the beginning and our luggage was in a different van, no big deal- but it’s always better to have your own luggage in the trunk behind you. It was guaranteed that the other vans will reach the same destination, but Africa is Africa.
Cars/Vans: 5 stars. Why? The van was always cleaned overnight (by our driver) and there was not one spot of dirt the next days. All trash items which were left behind during the day have been removed by the driver.
Eco-Camp: 3.5 stars. Why? The eco camp was fine, remember you stay in tents. The camp was very clean and the staff friendly. The only conflict was that there is only power (to charge electronic) for two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening. This not just only affected charging cameras or phones, it also affected the lights in the tents. Please bring flashlights and hang up in the tent, otherwise you run in the dark. Power in the morning was difficult (5-7am), you only get technically one hour of charging in, because the tours start at 6am. (We had a solar flashlight with USB connector; that means you can use the flashlight for light and the self-charging solar panel, you can re-charge your phone on the go).
Food: 5 stars. Why? The food provided in the camp was plenty and nothing exotic or odd. There are several choices to take from the buffet. Traveling with children, there was plenty they liked. The food on the road for an all day trip was packed and prepared with love. Nice things and plenty.
Water supply: 4 stars. Why? Since this is an all-meals-included safari, water goes with it. I believe it was 1 liter per person per day, which is pretty good and plenty. But, depending on from which operator you are booking from, the water might be at the camp or in one of the vans. Our water was not at the camp and in one of the vans, which had left the camp after we were dropped off. We made friends and borrowed a liter bottle from others to drink and to use for brushing teeth. That was not great organized, but manageable – since we were all one big family.
Again, I can only recommend this safari- it’s fun and a nice getaway; and we will do it again.
I went with my two children (13+14) –kids friendly (…. I must say that my two daughters are very well behaved, and know the rules)
One last note: We went in February- bring warm clothing. It gets real cold at night in the tent and game drives start at 6am; chill temps.
Don’t forget the pack some sun screen lotion, the sun gets strong during the day.