20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Perfect!!! Impeccable !!!
Great experience.
Have travelled to africa in several occasions and this was by far the best experience. Their knowledge and commitment to make every single moment special was unusual. Highly recommend them.
CM
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unforgettable trip with Leken Adventure!
Unforgettable trip with my wife and kids, thanks to Alex for making this trip memorable with my family. We visited Kenya safari. Enjoyed a lot with Leken adventure team.
BG
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Fabulous safari experience in Uganda - Kidepo Valley NP, Murchison Falls NP, Mabamba Swamp!
I and my travel companion just came back from 12 days safari in Uganda with Grassrootz Adventures Safaris. I have not felt sorry even for a moment that I have chosen their offer out of eight quotes from various safari outfitters based in Uganda. In most cases we have to sacrifice the least expensive offer in favor of the best experience or vice versa, but with this safari the owner of Grassrootz Adventures - Sander van Zanten just nailed it from the very first email that I have received from him. I am quite experienced with African safaris person and a keen wildlife photographer and by no means I would consider myself an easy to satisfy customer. Sander did provide for every possible request of mine, including the type of vehicle that we used - safari Land Cruiser with two rows of seats behind the guide and side windows that we could open on both rows (except the pop-up roof, of course). Every other detail and aspect of the safari were discussed in details in a very professional manner.
Excellent communication with rapid response to every email that I have sent. I do plan my safaris very carefully, but Sander managed to further improve the overall experience by optimizing the schedule and offering a better accommodation for a lower price in Kidepo Valley National Park than the one that I had originally selected.
The guide Moses did his best to satisfy our needs and even added some extra activities. He can be flexible, when possible, just talk to him when you get new ideas during the trip.
We had one day and overnight in Entebbe, full day (just one day) transfer to Kidepo Valley NP, which was a long, but very interesting drive, followed by four nights at Savannah Lodge (it is actually an excellent tented camp), located on top of a hill some 50 meters from the "gate" of the park. There isn't a real gate, at least up to this moment, neither it is manned, so no need to wait in line or do any kind of paperwork before entering the park. Very comfortable large Meru style tents with a private flushing toilet and a real shower (hot water at any time). Batteries can be recharged at any time inside the tent or at the dining area. Stunning 360 degree views to the savannah and the surrounding mountains. Great food (four course dinner) and inexpensive drinks (cold Nile Special beer is less than 2 US dollars). The park itself is nothing short of spectacular. Although the number of visitors is increasing, it is still a very wild place with stunning scenery. We did hire park rangers for most of the game drives in Kidepo Valley, some drives we did with our guide only. We also did an optional night game drive with our vehicle (plus a park ranger) and a spot light rented from Savannah Lodge. Great luck with that - young adult male and female lions, lot of buffalo, porcupine, white tailed mongoose, grey duiker and other animals. During the day game drives we saw the largest buffalo herds that I have ever seen - perhaps over 2,000 heads, leopard in a tree, lioness with a kill (young buffalo), server cat, tons of oribis and defassa waterbuk, Rotchild's giraffes, Jackson's hartebeest. Quite a lot of birds, including a martial eagle.
The other park we visited was Murchison Falls NP. Fort Murchison was an excellent option just outside the park, about 10 minutes drive to Tangi Gate. Victoria Nile upstream (to the falls) and downstream (to the delta) boat safaris were included in the price. We did see the very rare Shoe billed stork and many other birds and animals from the boat (the Shoebill on the trip to the delta). The wildlife density in Murchison Falls NP is higher than in Kidepo Valley NP and although not as wild as Kidepo, there weren't as many visitors there as in Masai Mara or Serengeti. Sometimes we would drive for two-three hours without seeing any other vehicle.
I forgot to mention, that we did the Mabamba Swamp day tour while in Entebbe where we saw the Shoebill from a short distance. The swamp itself is a very beautiful place and there are many other water birds present. Do not forget to ask Sander to include this trip to your itinerary.
My personal advice to any prospective Uganda visitor would be not waste time, just contact Grassrootz Adventures and Sander will custom- build the best itinerary according to your requirements.
ID
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professional and friendly tour operator
Heritage of African Jungles (specifically Naomi) has been very professional, quick to respond and friendly in all of their communication. They were also very flexible and accommodating with the itinerary and payment. They never hassled or pushed for anything and genuinely cared to provide a great experience.
Our guide Francis was very hospitable, friendly and knowledgeable about the parks. While Amboseli and Nakuru might not require a lot of experience, in Masai Mara you really appreciate a guide who knows his park and he knew it well. Francis was always extremely respectful to both the animals and people, coming to the aid of other groups repeatedly throughout our trip (whether fixing their car or helping them push their car out of the river), he was always ready to help. Much like Naomi, he genuinely cared to offer the best experience possible.
ES
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A trip to the jungles of Africa became a learning experience both intellectually and spiritually.
The team is the BEST
They managed to personalize and attend kindly and efficiently to every need in a highly diverse group of people. They are very knowledgeable, speak five languages, love nature and transmit the affection and love for it in a very competent manner.
Can’t wait to go back and visit more. Their communication while preparing the trip was fantastic and they outlived our expectations!!
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Superb time!
My colleague and I completed our immersive time in Rwanda by seeing the mountain gorillas in Uganda (Uganda permit << Rwanda permit in terms of cost, $600 vs $1500 USD). Jason, Alex, and Chris were fantastic. We were picked up from our hotel in Kigali, taken across the border into Uganda and stayed at a lovely base camp (breakfast/dinner included, packed lunch provided for day of trek). The morning of the trek Alex/Jason accompanied us to Bwindi and ensured we were set up on an appropriate level hike for us. Spending the hour with the gorilla family was an inspiring time. As if straight from National Geographic. Jason safely delivered us back home to Kigali the third day of our 3-day excursion. On the way Jason/Chris were very flexible and allowed for several stop offs we were interested in ahead of time to be made during the drive to Bwindi and during the drive back. This is top class client experience and we wouldn't hesitate to recommend Encounter to anyone else interested. And cost wise, it simply makes sense to go to Uganda over Rwanda for the purpose of spending time with these beautiful animals.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Outstanding service, great communication, friendly and helpful staff! I would definitely recommend!
The experience we had with Extraordinary Africa far exceeded our expectations! We were planning to go to South Africa for our honeymoon and a friend of ours recommended Extraordinary Africa. We approached them and they organised every last bit of our trip with great care and attention to detail. The trip was tailored to our requirements and we didn't have to lift a finger. Everything, including car hire, accommodation, flights etc. was booked by the agency and we also received great recommendations for restaurants, attractions and activities. We stayed in very interesting and quirky places that we would have never found ourselves. This was a trip of a lifetime and we couldn't have planned it better ourselves!
FR
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very incredible ! Nice safari!
Very Well. All day was a gift ! Many Many animals with very Good explications on thé Life of Theese.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic experience
CKC Tours (John Mohoho) planned our 6 person excursion (2 days in Massai Mara, a travel day and 2 days in Amboseli). They arranged pickup at the Nairobi airport when we arrived and planned every step of our trip until we left. If there was a problem, John was there to resolve the issue immediately. The trip could not have been better planned or executed.
In addition, both safari locations were different and fabulous. Massai Mara was a sweeping vista of hills, valleys and grassy plains surrounded by mountains. The weather was perfect and the guide was excellent. The guides communicate via radio and if one spots an interesting sight, they all know about it. Our guide was continually spotting animals, getting us close to them and providing excellent commentary along the way. We spent as much time off road as on roads. Also, do not pass up the chance for the Hippo breakfast. The view and food are both incredible. From the airport pickup to airport droppoff, Massai Mara was a continual source of beauty and fun.
Amboseli was also a wonderful experience. It was different in that it was a desert plain at the base of Kilamanjaro. Awesome mountain views at sunrise and sunset are not to be missed. We spent most of the time on roads and trails but animals were plentiful and varied. In addition, the wetlands provided wonderful opportunities to spot many different birds. Observation hill is a great place to see the whole panorama at once.
I would highly recommend having CKC Tours arrange a trip for you .. I know we will return and have John and his group plan another spectacular vacation for us.
Also, both lodges were terrific. Clean, friendly, customer oriented and terrific food (buffet style).
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Three days volcano and gorilla adventure!
Ubuntu Voyages was recommended by two travellers in Kisoro Uganda for their budget friendly all-in packages to the active volcano and the Gorillas of Virunga NP in Congo. But is was much more. I travelled to the border on a rented motorbike and Adilli, the owner, waited for me at the grand barriere border. He arranged my bike to be stalled at his home on the Rwandan site and after crossing the border (don't forget to buy or take the yellow fever document at the border it cost me 70$ about which Adilli informed me in advance!) we went straight to the hotel to check in. Then we went to have some party at the big Amani festival. Afterwards we visited a local restaurant for some goat meat and a beer and checked out a nice bar!
The trips to the volcano and the gorillas where perfectly organised. Picked up at the hotel to shop for the night at the edge of the volcano and then by 4 wheel drive to the park entrances. I mean this is one of the interest densest areas in the world, unbelievable beauty combined with fauna nowhere else found in the world!
In short highly recommended and although the steep costs of the permits, worth every penny and much cheaper then Rwanda and Uganda!
