CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Our experience with Cultural Vibes Travel & Tours was exciting, amazing, delightful and memorable!
Booking the safari at Miombo Safari Camp with Cultural Vibes Travel & Tours was easy and they answer all our questions thoroughly and in a timely fashion. We communicated through email, payment was easy too through email. There was no availability for the Hwange safari camp on the dates we requested but Mr. Tongesai managed to find us another safari camp, Miombo, which was a delightful place whilst honoring the rates offered at their website. Mr. Tongesai made sure we were picked up and driven to the camp, accompanying us on the 2-hour trip and later receiving us back at our hotel. Miombo's accommodations, the tent, was like camping with glamour. It was spacious with 2 comfortable single beds and charming decoration. The ensuite bathroom felt like we were in the woods but protected and with the comforts of a good hotel. The hot water in the shower was not working but Mr. Bernard, Miombo's host, made sure it was fixed by the time we came back from the afternoon game drive. The tent was right in front of a water hole, which depending on the season, would have received the visit of elephants. We didn't see any animals there but one night a leopard came to our camp. Unfortunately, we didn't see it as we slept safely under the watch of night guards. They also made sure we were escorted back and forth during the night between our tent and the common area. Mr. Bernard served delicious meals in the beautiful open common area viewing the forest and sometimes with a visit of monkeys. The dessert was always delicious! At night we had a bonfire to huddle to, and one of the nights we were treated with local barbecue and a dance. Everything was a delight. The game drivers are also a delight with their stories, knowledge and funny jokes, Nigel and Mr. B are amazing hosts, making sure everyone is comfortable and going out there to find the great animals and birds for us. The game drives in Hwange were amazing! We saw elephants, giraffes, zebras, wildebeasts, buffalos, impalas, koudos, warthogs, crocodiles, hippos, amazing birds! We missed the lions and leopards by minutes but it was okay. Makes us want to come back again. The sunset drive was also a delight with Nigel, including a stop for a snack. Our driver back to the hotel was also a great delight with his incredible stories and knowledge. I learned so much about the animals in these 3 days. The tour has lived up to our expectations and more! Mr. Tongesai also took care of our requests for a Sunset Cruise and an Elephant Ride as soon as we reached the hotel. Less than half an hour, Mr. Tongesai arranged us to be picked up to go to a Sunset Cruise on the evening we arrived from the safari. The cruise was a delight, the sunset on the Zambezi river was amazing and the service on board was great, great food and beverages, Zambezi beer of course! The Elephant Ride arranged by Mr. Tongesai was also an amazing adventure I will never ever forget. Riding my elephant Detema with the driver Tunzi was amazing, against the sunrise backdrop, amazing colours in the sky. The lady that accompanied us taking pictures, she did such a great jobs, I love my pictures on the elephant! The feeding and petting the elephants after the ride was another amazing experience! These elephants are such a delight, sucking fiercely the food in our hands! I simply loved it! Then they served us a delicious breakfast while watching our beautiful pictures on the elephant. I learned so much about elephants with my driver. Everything in this place, this tour, the people and the animals, is amazing, unbelievable, unforgettable! I love Vic Falls, Hwange, Zimbabwe! I hope to come back and I will definitely tell all my friends that they have to have this experience in their bucket list. And it is easy, just reach out to Mr. Tongesai and Cultural Vibes, they will take great good care of you! You will love them! We thank Mr. Tongesai and everyone at Cultural Vibes, Miombo Safari Camp, Sunset Cruise, Elephant Ride, who made us have the time of our life!
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Incredible Journey; Best Guidance EVER
There is little that could have been done to make our trip through Africa Adventures Safaris better, other than to make it longer so we could have enjoyed more of the beautiful country of Uganda. [website: www.rwandagorillassafari.com; email: [email protected]] June, at the beginning of the dry season, offered us perfect weather.
Africa Adventure Safaris' representative Anna helped us design such a wonderful itinerary and arranged the details so well. This was the first time we had traveled internationally outside of a tour group, which made us nervous. But she made us comfortable at every step of the planning, and her always-prompt responsiveness was beyond compare.
The very best feature of our travels was our guide-driver, Chris Ngabirano. Of all the guides we've ever had in our travels, he is far superior. He was incredible and made us feel like more than guests...more like treasured friends. He shared his expertise so well, and it was obvious that he enriched our experiences by setting us up with the very best local guides available --his contacts made a huge difference in securing special attention and assistance for us every step of the way. His knowledge of everywhere we went and everything we saw was so enlightening.
Be sure to ask for Chris as your guide-driver because he will make certain you have the best adventure of your life -- that is what he did for us.
Our11-day trip involved myriad successful pursuits for wildlife in a mountain gorilla habituation experience in the Rushaga area of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest (truly grueling and super strenuous, although with a tremendous payoff), golden monkey habituation experience in Mgahinga, tree climbing lion seach in Ishasha, collared lion tracking and Kazinga Channel cruise in Queen Elizabeth National Park, chimpanzee trek in Kibale National Park, walk in Bigodi Wetlands, and quest for the Shoebill Stork in Mabamba Swamp, and we topped it all off with whitewater rafting on the headwaters of the Nile near Jinja.
The lodges Anna arranged were all so beautiful and their staffs all friendly and helpful. Numerous times we said the hospitality industry in the United States could learn much from that in Uganda. The staff everywhere make us feel at home, and were determined to make us welcome and comfortable at every moment. The food served at each lodge was absolutely delicious and beautifully presented. All our activities were perfectly handled—every permit and entry ready to go.
We also feel compelled to mention how much the Ugandan people enriched our lives. Their friendliness was beyond anything we've experienced anywhere else we've traveled. Memories of them, particularly of the children with their huge smiles and greetings and waves, will remain with us forever.
To sum it up, we would not hesitate to recommend Anna, Chris and African Adventure Safaris for your trip to Uganda.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Two different negative experiences: (1) vehicle and driver did not show up and (2) we missed flight
I would NOT RECOMMEND Self Drive Uganda based on two separate experiences that were both costly and unpleasant.
(1) Upon arrival, there was no driver or vehicle to pick me up. This occurred despite extensive conversation and confirmation with the company beforehand. This put me in a pickle for my gorilla trek the following morning, which I could not reschedule. I ended up hiring a taxi driver for $200+. Self Drive Uganda eventually sent a driver, charging me for the tank of gas to come meet me. They never provided an apology or acknowledgement of their error.
(2) About one year later, I returned for another gorilla trek. The drive was quoted at 5-6 hours long, which was consistent with Google Maps and my previous experience. Despite having packed lunches and my family saying “we are fine,” our driver suggested that we stop for a “quick lunch” while he allegedly patched the spare tire. He stated that he would be “back in 20 minutes” given that we had “plenty of time before our flight.” He returned 1hr 20min later. We proceeded to hit rush hour traffic at the border crossing and then again in downtown Kigali. From start to finish, it took us 10 hours (9:15am to 7:15pm) to get to the airport, in comparison to the 5-6 hours quoted. We missed our flight by 30mins, which caused us to forfeit $700+ in previously booked flights, and then we had to purchase new tickets at $1,275. I am suspicious that our driver went and saw his wife and child as our lunch break also happened to be in the town where he lived. Once again, there was no apology or acknowledgement offered by management. Instead, management berated me over email for allegedly shorting them $15 in payment (which was their mistake). For context, the $15 “issue” was literally 1% of the added (and unnecessary) financial setback that Self Drive Uganda caused me. It was a mistake to stop for lunch, we were lied to, and the driver grossly underestimated how long the drive back could take at this time of day, knowing that we had a flight to catch.
I gave two stars because (1) the trip went well otherwise, (2) the vehicles were reliable, and (3) the driver was polite.
I deducted three stars because (1) no driver or vehicle there at pickup, (2) driver’s poor decision-making cost us $1300 in missed flight expenses plus new hotel expenses, and (3) a consistent unwillingness to provide an apology for company errors, that to me are both inexcusable.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Kruger Safari was outstanding for our family
Our safari experience with Wild Wings was outstanding from the planning stage, to the accommodations and food, and the safari itself. Mike ensured that we understood the documentation so that we could arrive in South Africa with our minor children, he arranged private accommodations for our group at the camp and Jacques food was delicious! Everything exceeded our expectations for our family of 6 and our guide Simon was fantastic! We had such a terrific overall experience and would highly recommend Wild Wings.
VE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
It was a unique experience, well organized, funny and enriching.
Events thing was just perfect!!!!, the tours, the hotels ( we stayed in 4 hotels in our 12 days stay ), the meals, the planning
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Tekko made my dream trip come true
Tekko tours took my expectations and blew them out of the water. Originally I had reached out to several companies for information and quotes but Tekko was an easy choice once I spoke to Maggie, the tour consultant. Maggie was always quick to respond, happy to answer all my questions and was so patient and accommodating with me when I needed changes.
My tour guide, Jackson, was everything you could ask for: professional, knowledgeable and courteous to name a few. As a solo female traveler I was a bit anxious for the trip but upon meeting him I was put at complete ease. It was easy to see why he is so well liked and respected by the tourism community, often stopping to help stuck cars or giving advice to other drivers. His vast knowledge about Kenya was helpful in making sure I had the best experience possible.
As for the the tour itself, Africa is truly amazing. Jackson made sure I got to see the Big 5 and every other animal on my list (hippo, cheetah, hyaena, giraffe, zebra, baboons etc).
Thank you Tekko for making my dream trip possible. I look forward to booking with you in the future.
BE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Hiking through fields and villages along Kivu lake and inside Nyungwe forest
A tailor-made circuit, following all my whishes,
excellent suggestion to complete the tour with a visit of Butare museum and Nyanza king site,
guide (on Congo-Nile trail) and driver both very professionnal, well informed and considerate,
easy contact with the agency, rapid and clear answers,
I recommend!
CH
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was wonderfull, Andy is a warm and professional person who love his job with a lot of respect.
Everything Was perfect, Andy gave us differents explanations about the animals that we crossed And the flora also.
It was a fantastic experience and the sumptuous trip.
I will come back.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Kilimanjaro Summit Trek - Lemosho Route
A huge thank you to all the guides, porters, cooks and drivers at Tanzania Tour Company who made our Kilimanjaro Trek so special. We were a large group of 18 who completed the trek for charity this June. We felt very cared for and well looked after by the team and wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone else thinking of doing this hike. An unforgettable experience, many thanks to all the family at TTC.
QA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Poor service and knowledge of the package they are selling.
At the beginning, everything went smooth: Allan replied to all my emails very quickly but the problem is that nearly all the information he gave me were wrong. I spent 8hours in the van from Nairobi to Masai Mara (Allan told me it takes 4hours) and nearly 10 hours from Mara to lake Nakuru. ( was told 6 hours by Allan).
I asked Allan if they have a 4wheel drive car instead of the van he told me yes with a 350$ extra per person. We chose the van as it’s cheaper: the problem is that the roads all around Mara were off roads: ( and Allan didn’t tell us of course) we got stuck maybe 4 times in the Mara reserve and twice when we head to lake Nakuru. We lost lots of time: I spent more time in the van than in the parks I came to visit.
Another thing I didn’t like: as soon as we sent the deposit to book the package, Allan send me an email with what is included and what is not. He wrote that tips are not included and between parenthesis : 10$ per person per day is the minimum. When we arrived to Nairobi and he met us in the hotel, he spent nearly half an hour to convince us to pay the 120$ tips to the driver at the end of the trip. A tip is not a fee or a tax: we are free to pay what we want depending on the service given.
Last thing: in the program there was the lake Nakuru known for the many flamingos that live and feed from it. But flamingos can be seen only in summer, as during the rainy season the level of the lake goes up and flamingos have to go else where to have some food. This of course was not mentioned by Allan: we spent 10hours in the road from Mara to lake Nakuru only to see the animals that we already have seen in Mara.
At the end I felt that the only objective for Allan is to sell his package and make money during the low season.