CH
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Paul is a great and very knowledgeable guide, we had so much laughs and great sightings with him!
We enjoyed our trip with Paul enormously. The main thing that impressed us was his seemingly endless passion for the African savannah and wildlife, and Ruaha especially. When you go on a safari and you feel that your guide enjoys nature and wildlife at least as much as you do, then you are really lucky because it adds so much to the experience. What came on top with Paul was that we had so many funny moments with many laughs. He is a great spirit, deeply committed towards conservation and definitely a great spirit to spend time with. Thanks to his knowledge we also learned so much about Ruaha and had awesome sightings towards the end of the dry season in Ruaha. We would recommend Paul to anyone considering safari in Tansania. Thanks again, Paul!!
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Reliable, professional, incredible!
When my Husband and I started researching options for a safari tour through Uganda, my biggest concerns were safety, reliability and good accommodations. His priority was to see a lot of wildlife in different settings with an excellent guide. Remmy and Wild Jungle Trails Safaris met – and far surpassed – all our expectations.
I really appreciate how responsive Teresa was to all my many inquiries and the great care Remmy took throughout our 9 day safari tour. In addition we saw the gorillas at Bwindi (so close up!). Teresa created a 9-day custom itinerary that included an incredible amount of wildlife at Bwindi forest,Kibale Forest and Murchison Falls. The photos are breathtaking. The “moderate” accommodations were far nicer than we expected, especially those at Silverback lodge,Kibale forest camp and Pakuba safari lodge in Murchison falls which were truly lovely.
Thank you, Teresa and Remmy our Safari Guide for making this truly the trip of a lifetime.
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amaizing company
At the beginning we had our doubts, they have prices that are much lower than the rest of the safaris, but the truth is that they are wonderful people, super competent, kind and serious. We had certain problems that they knew how to solve and they got our trip to be unique and unmatched, the wonderful hotels, the unbeatable guide, mr otiendo is a wonderful person has behaved great with us, we would repeat with them for sure.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Value for your money for 21-day, 3 country safaris (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania)
Had done extensive research on Trip Advisor and Safari Bookings. Trip Advisor does a great job with reviews, but didn’t find it helpful for the tent camps we wanted for our experience in several countries. Would recommend using Safari Bookings since they have an easy search engine for your destinations. https://www.safaribookings.com/
20-Day Safari to Kenya Maasai Uganda Gorilla and Tanzania
Nairobi (Start), Masai Mara NR, Lake Nakuru NP, Jinja (Town), Lake Bunyonyi, Bwindi Impenetrable NP, Lake Naivasha, Lake Sonachi, Arusha (City), Serengeti NP, Ngorongoro, Tarangire NP, Zanzibar (Town & Beach), Nairobi (End) We took out beach portion and added Sambura at his recommendation which was the highlight of our 21 day trip.
Pros: KWSS had the flexibility to cater to our destinations for a reasonable price. Many places charge double what we paid for, but you do get tent camps out in the middle of nowhere a few times.
Drivers Marcus (Kenya), David, Richard (Uganda), and Michael (Tanzania) - all averaged about 15 years’ experience in travel guides. All showed above average knowledge and provided for above average gaming experience.
Cons: The hotels we did stay in cities were mostly concrete and noisy. Do not recommend Sky Hotel in Nairobi, Silver Springs Hotel in Kampala, or Sky Hotel in Lake Bunyoni area I believe. We awoke to noise in each of them. Silver Springs had 2 parties at 1:30 am in the morning. Also had call to prayer at 2 and 5 am from a distance at Octagon Lodge, but we were tired enough it didn’t matter much. Ask for other accommodations before you pay since we had early starts most mornings.
Forget the itinerary time tables – they were almost always off. Lunches and game drives were wrong in many cases even though they were cut out of their standard programs he used for our custom trip.
Road to Masai Mara was miserable, but they are paving a good part of it in 6 months or so. These African safaris are not for you if you can’t take a rough bumpy ride half the time.
Mr.O had promised 4x4’s the whole trip. We got stuck first day out and had our time taken up some and scary crossings due to sudden thunderstorm. Big .5 drop in ratings due to broken commitment. He attempted to make it up which is why it’s not a 1 point drop with extra activities on last day not scheduled.
What to bring:
Toilet paper always with you. Drivers try but many times we had to use squat toilets and no privacy for men urinals. Sometimes “bush” toilets were necessary. Driver usually has extra toilet paper. Not an issue for us, but can be a big surprise to many. Long lenses for cameras – standard lenses will not work in many areas where you cannot travel off the road. I purchased a new attachment for my Samsung 6 with no reviews on Amazon (look under telescopes – takes about a month to get and fits onto many phones with clasp over lenses – a bit of a risk, but fit my Samsung 6 – Ccloon Professional HD camera lens kit -$60 USA – does need refitting several times a day but competes with the thousand dollar lenses)
Flashlight for head is very handy for $15 dollars Energizer Vision HD LED from Amazon – one each. Portable chargers for phones since many tents shut down power after 10 or so.
Get your yellow fever shots a few weeks before going. They are out of stock currently and do check several sources for alternative shot. Nothing else was necessary according to OT. We purchased Deet and mosquito long sleeve shirts. We didn’t need them much in Oct./Nov.
Ponchos or rain gear for Uganda mostly.
Also bring an open mind for local cultures and lots of patience. We are 64 and 59 and in good shape (for Uganda jungle hikes).
AT
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
perfect trip
We booked a trip with The Uganda Safari Company to Bwindi NP (flight from Entebbe) stayed 3 nights in Sanctuary Forest Camp (very nice) and had a wonderful Gorilla experience the first day and the Batwa experience (very interesting) the other day. Then we walked through Bwindi to Clouds Mountain Lodge (what a place!) on the other side of the park (6 hours) and stayed there for another 3 nights and did another great but exhausting Gorilla tracking. After that we drove to MGhahinga NP for the golden monkeys wich was also superb and then finally to Kigali.
The company was very helpful and patient (I had a lot of questions and changes!) everything was tailor-made and worked out perfectly. They sent an extremely knowledgeable driver and guide in Uganda. The trip was organized perfectly from the start to the end, so we can truly recommend this company.
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fabulous safari with an excellent guide
The safari was as we had imagined. We saw a lot of animals thanks to the guide's large expecience. He was so kind and took care of every detail. The jeep was always clean and confortable with pop up roof. The itinerary was made Just as we had arranged, without any incoveniences. It was a great time 100% recomendable.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The most amazing African experience !!!
This whole African experience was an amazing, eye opening, thought provoking journey through the wild bush Africa. Witnessing elephant bathing, hyena family antics & the real but surreal lion culture including the warthogs, giraffes & impalas. The big five was easily achieved through the knowledge, experience & expertise of our fabulous guides & carers, Food was superb ..... as was the african wine that was sampled throughout the safari tour. Everything was communicated prior to & during the tour with our guides seeking information when unsure, the trips, the costs etc etc .....nothing was too much for any of them.
On commencing the safari I was uncertain as to how I would manage the wild camping journey & the animals but am still reflecting how amazing it was. Thank you Adam, Mandla & Mzi also Kilo, our guide, for our amazing time with Kiboko adventures.
The tour exceeded expectations. We saw all the big 5 , and at such close proximity.
Animals amazing.Excellent accomodation.
Great tour guide.
US
Awesome adventure!
Excellent tour company. Went on the trek up Kilimanjaro with them and I was extremely impressed. Price was competitive. equipment was good. Food was excellent. Guides were great and made a safe and enjoyable trip for all of us. I couldn't recommend them enough. We did the 7 day trek, which was excellent for acclamation and being able to relax and rest a bit more. I did a ton of research regarding Kilimanjaro treks and I lived in Tanzania for a few months This is one of the best tour companies around.
Botswana: Not to be missed in any African Adventure.
Firstly it should be appreciated that Botswana is a shining light among African Countries by avoiding the humanitarian, political and economic mess that has characterized to post colonial status of the majority of African states. Secondly Botswana's conservation policies are to be applauded.
Royal Tree Lodge, just outside Maun proved an ideal spot to recover from our international flight with excellent accommodation and what we realized later gave us the best look at the herbivore population at the lodge which can be viewed at close hand on foot or horseback. Royal Tree Lodge funds a Mission in Maun that undertakes a wide range of humanitarian work.
Tusker's was excellent but one night would have been sufficient as a stop over on the way to the Delta, to see what they had to offer: mostly elephants. We chose land transport to get to Xobega Island Camp. The roads are seriously rough but the drive from Tusker's to the boat station made it all worth while and we enjoyed the Game Viewing around the lagoons on the way which I assume would not be included if flying in.
Xobega was magical, especially the camp culture, the bird life and the sunsets.
Our driver was uncompromising in ensuring we had the best experience. Our next adventure, the Chobe Princess is also not to be missed but we were never sure if we were in Botswana or not. We would certainly recommend the Princess ahead of the larger boats but would suggest incorporating a Land excursion in the Chobe national park.