20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Trip of a Lifetime with Native Afrika Voyage
Trip of a Lifetime with Native Afrika Voyage - so it’s only fair I give a thorough review!
I enquired about a private safari online after already booking my flights, so I needed to work backwards and fit everything around our dates. From the start, Milcah was incredibly thorough, helpful and accommodating. I changed our itinerary a couple of times, but she was always happy to make adjustments and came back with great suggestions also shift dates to make the hotel accommodation work.
I explained that I wanted plenty of variety, good accommodation and hotels with watering holes, and as a photographer, plenty of opportunities to photograph wildlife. Milcah went above and beyond and delivered exactly what we were looking for.
The itinerary was fantastic, with a great mix of accommodation and experiences. Alongside traditional game drives, we had a boat safari and a walking safari. Everything was organised perfectly, from airport pickup through to our final drop-off at our airport hotel. The service throughout was excellent, and Milcah was incredibly responsive, even outside normal hours.
Then there was our driver, Steve, who really made the trip unforgettable. His knowledge of the parks, wildlife and birds was excellent, but what really stood out to me as a photographer was how well he positioned the vehicle. He would often manoeuvre us into the perfect spot, giving me fantastic opportunities to photograph the animals. He was patient and always seemed to know where to position us for the best view, which made a huge difference to the photographs I was able to capture.
One of the absolute highlights was witnessing a lion attack during the Great Migration. It was a completely unpredictable wildlife moment that you simply cannot plan or guarantee, but Steve had us in the right place at the right time. I managed to capture a photograph during the encounter that has genuinely become my favourite photograph I've ever taken. As a wildlife photographer, it was an incredibly special moment that I will remember for the rest of my life.
Of course, wildlife is wild, and moments like this are never guaranteed. That's part of what makes a safari so special. You can plan the parks and routes, but ultimately the animals decide what happens. What you can ask for is an experienced guide who knows the area and gives you the best possible chance of witnessing those special moments, and Steve did exactly that.
His knowledge and eyesight were incredible too. We'd be driving along and Steve would suddenly spot an animal hundreds of metres away that we'd completely missed. In Amboseli, he knew where the elephants were likely to cross in front of Mount Kilimanjaro, and he helped us find animals we hadn't yet seen, including cheetahs and leopards.
The little details didn't go unnoticed either. Every morning the safari vehicle was spotless, our drinks were topped up with cold water, and Steve was always on time with a big smile. He even let us connect our own music to the vehicle's speakers.
Steve was an exceptional guide and driver, and as a wildlife photographer I couldn't have asked for someone better. I would highly recommend requesting him if you book with Native Afrika Voyage.
We had such an incredible experience that we're already organising another safari with Native Afrika Voyage, this time for my parents!
A huge thank you to Milcah, Steve and the whole Native Afrika Voyage team for an unforgettable trip. From the planning and organisation to the accommodation, experiences, wildlife and service, everything exceeded our expectations.
Highly recommend Native Afrika Voyage if you're planning a safari in Kenya. We couldn't have asked for a better trip!
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Simply outstanding, they made our trip to Uganda one of a kind.
My wife and I visited Uganda with the help of Buyaga safaris and we cannot speak highly enough of their services.
Our tour was 5 days and included several game drives, chimpanzee trekking and a gorilla trek. All of these experiences passed our expectations.
Between the amazing stops and adventures our guide Simpson was an absolute joy. He was a great driver, guide and companion who we enjoyed having with us every step of the way. He was informative, knowledgeable and very passionate about his country and you could sense the pride he felt when he showed us the beautiful Ugandan countryside. It was also clear that he is good at his craft and is well respected because everyone we seemed to meet a the hotels, treks and restaurants immediately recognized and greeted him like an old friend. It is very easy to feel comfortable and enjoy your trip when this kind of person is the one leading you.
Everything about Uganda and this trip was pleasant. From communicating with Peter who helped us craft the perfect itinerary and was always super easy to communicate with, even though we were planning our visit from the other side of the world as my wife and I are from Canada.
We also wanted to speak highly of the accommodations that we stayed in along the way. We stayed in three different hotels on our trip and every single one of them was amazing. They all had gorgeous rooms with unique views and all of the meals were fantastic. Every single night we got to select our own 3 course meal and each morning we were treated to a delicious breakfast cooked to order. Definitely exceeded our expectations considering we opted to go with a “budget friendly” itinerary to keep our cost down.
I could go on, but just know that booking with Buyaga is a safe choice and you will not regret it.
AG
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Julius was awesome.
My daughter and my cousins were very pleased with the tour and our tour guide. We were able to see the big five on our second day of the tour and were elated. Our tour guide Julius was the best.
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent Tour Operator and Guides
I recently did a 10 day camping trip from Victoria Falls to Chobe National Park, Elephant Sands, Maun and the Okavango. It was all a fantastic experience, and the only very basic camping was in the Okavango in a very remote location but beautiful spot, where we saw lots of Elephant, zebra and Wildebeest. Other nights we were upgraded to Glamping or chalets. There were only two of us on the tour which was great as most other companies require a minimum number. Our guide, Francis was very informative and efficient.
IT
Perfect Safari experience - all the big five in 4 days
Perfect experience that mix confort and adventure. The booking experience with Gift Tembo was perfect and smooth and he is always available for all questions and doubts.
During the safari Samuel was a great driver and a guide with a lot of experience about animal spot and all the natural stuff.Mr Bonge our chef always available for any kind of request
OM
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Not easy find a professional person like this . In terms of professional and human.
We have been lucky to have a chance to spend our time with you .
It’s been a lovely experience, full of emotion and perfect feeling between us and our guide .
We will never end to say thanks .
AG
Julius was extremely attentive and personable my
The value of the 3 day Masai Mara tour is high! We got 3 meals, accommodation and pick up + drop off from Nairobi. During our game drive, we also saw the big 5, Masai river and so many other animals. Julius ensured that we got the most value from our tour and the best picture opportunities. 10/10 recommend.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Helped create the perfect vacation experience.
To summarize, I had the perfect safari experience with the 7 Days Mid-Luxury Safari. Working with Lion King prior to travel was easy and communication was prompt. I appreciated having base itinerary packets that you could build off of. The logistics of the trip were all handled so all I had to do was show up and enjoy the trip. The accommodations were great, meals were a blend of American and Tanzanian food. I LOVED the tented lodges- you get privacy with the most incredible views. My guide was excellent at finding the animals I wanted to see.
Pros
Customizable
Private tours (you're not just a number in a group) which means we were able to explore the parks at our will and tailor each day to what we wanted
Guide was incredible at spotting animals without the CB radio
Easy
Lake Burunge Tented Lodge has a beautiful watering hole for animals to visit
Nyota Serengeti Camp is STUNNING and it's so fun to see the Dik Dik sleeping around your camp. Buffalo and other animals moving through.
Foot on Africa is new but private pool and great views
Cons
Not many
Airport Planet lodge didn't include drinks with dinner so I hand to scramble to find one dollar for water on my last day of the trip (very minor)
IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tour Operation Top Highly Recommended
Perfect organization, guide in Italian and driver really good and prepared.
IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
beautiful experience with a good tour operator
For my first trip to Uganda, I turned to Amos from PrideMark Safari (a tour operator and local contact of the non-profit organization AICO - Il Caprifoglio).
Even though I organized everything in just two weeks before departure, Amos immediately provided me with a detailed itinerary and the relating cost, which included lodging, meals, park entrance fees, and various activities (boat tours, gorilla trekking, chimpanzee trekking, local experiences, and visits to the places where AICO has carried out its projects in Uganda), in addition to having Amos as my driver and guide for almost the entire trip.
First of all, I’ll start by saying that taking this trip alone is extremely expensive, so, whenever possible, I recommend traveling in a group and “filling up” the 8-seater van; but, once you’ve paid the required amount, the good thing is that you no longer have to worry about anything financially (or almost nothing, because in the end, even though it’s not mandatory, you’ll feel the pressure to tip everyone) .
What I didn’t like.
First, two of the accommodations chosen by Amos (in Jinja and Itambira) were terrible and not mid-range as I had paid for, even for someone as adaptable as me.
Second, on the second day, he tried to completely skip the afternoon itinerary in Jinja without informing me, simply taking me back to the guesthouse at 1:00 p.m. for lunch. When I realised I would have to be stuck in this place (outside the city centre) until the following morning without being able to do literally anything – contrary to what had been planned – I made my disappointment very clear, and he understood and made up for it by organising some activities for me.
Third, Amos is capable of driving for hours on end without ever stopping (and consequently without eating or taking a toilet break), so if you’ve planned a very early morning departure, make sure you organise yourself the night before to buy something to eat or at least always have some food with you and push him to stop for any needs.
All these things happened during the first few days of the trip, but once these points had been clarified with Amos (choosing more suitable accommodation, always sticking to the itinerary – barring unforeseen circumstances, of course – and not skipping meals or breaks), everything went smoothly.
I think some of the experiences are a bit too ‘touristy’ (dances and performances staged specifically for tourists - visit to the Batwa Pygmies, Banana Man and other), so I’d advise discussing this with Amos when you receive the itinerary if you’re not interested in this sort of thing, so you can skip them.
Now for the positives.
Amos was always kind, patient and helpful; he demonstrated experience, excellent knowledge of the area and driving skills; he has good contacts with local partners and he was always on hand to try and make things comfortable and easy for me, making me feel safe.
After the first few days of getting settled in, once I’d overcome the issues I mentioned earlier and we’ve got to know each other better, I found Amos to be a wonderful travel companion, not just a guide or a driver—always willing to understand my needs and make the experience not only interesting but also cheerful and fun, taking the right breaks to eat fresh fruit and groundnuts or drinking a cold beverage, taking funny pictures, laughing at the different ways we pronounce English and accommodating me whenever I wanted to stop and talk to the locals or play with the children (he also introduced me to his lovely and wise wife Connie and the youngest kid).
In short, I can say that a perfect synergy developed, which was the real added value of my trip to Uganda.
Would I recommend this tour operator? Absolutely YES — with Amos, you’ll feel right at home, and he’ll be your loving and attentive family for the entire duration of the trip.
Thank you, Amos and PrideMark Safaris!
I hope you'll remember me as a good guest—and not just for the longest review ever!
