65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Kuda was well informed, interesting, courteous and fun . I would highly recommend a tour with him
Our tour of the Falls was all we could have hoped for and more. Kuda was an excellent guide who made our trip a history lesson, a spiritual journey, a study of nature and also great fun. We hugely enjoyed it
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very professional and knowledgeable! Emmanuel is the best tour guide ever !
We had an excellent experience overall! Professional Safaris helped us organize the most perfect safari experience for the short period of time we had. They were able to organize an overnight stay at Arusha and Emmanuel picked us up promptly in the morning and drove us to the Ngorongoro Crater. Our guide Emmanuel exceeded all expectations and was so knowledgeable with the Tanzanian culture and the animals. Not to mention his humor is much appreciated! We were able to be in awe of the lions and had a pleasant lunch with the most gorgeous view ever. Emmanuel is a great driver and made sure to stop at different areas for us to observe and marvel and the beautiful animals. We were able to stop by a gift shop/ Cultural heritage center on our way back to Kilimanjaro airport thanks to Emmanuel.
Overall I will never forget this experience! Thank you for leaving us with the best memories that we will treasure forever. We hope to be back again!
FI
65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great, but lousy in communication prior to the tour
You only needed to see the first bright smile of Eddy, " the Elephant son" at the Entebbe airport and you felt, that Uganda wishes you fully welcome.
Eddy, my driver-guide for the next two weeks (14-Days Best of Uganda Safari Tour) was standing there in the early morning hours, held my name correctly written- which surely doesn’t happen too often- in the nameplate. And from that very moment on I knew, that I shall have a great journey with NGONI safaris in Uganda.
Eddy took me straight to sleep in the comfortable Cassia Lodge, helped me to buy a sim card in the afternoon and the safari proper was to start after a good sleep in the very next morning.
And what a great tour I had. Fell in love with the smiling Uganda, with the stunning scenery, with the wildlife all around.
Of course the most impressive memory of this “once in the lifetime journey” was the encounter with the enchanting gorillas.
The whole trek in the jungle was already wonderful, but staring at these beautiful creatures in the wild was the unforgettable moment, that I had always dreamed of: so fascinating, so intense.
It surely was worth every dollar invested. And even after a week of my arrival back home I’m still dreaming of these black furballs in the midst of the green jungle. Seeing them so close, that I was almost able to touch them, was an amazing experience.
The hike uphill was not at all so hard as I feared, despite of the fact, that it was raining cats and dogs in the previous evening and night. Yes, the path was partly muddy and very slippery, but surely tolerable.
Luckily I had hired a porter to carry my backpack filled with 2,5 liters water, spare jumper, camera lens and a lunchbox. That made my steps up and down so much lighter during this 5,5 hours’ walk in total. My porter, a young and strong lady was always ready to offer her hand for help in the trickier bits of this jungle adventure.
Before getting to the gorillasI had praised my safari already daily. I loved the rhinos, loved my Uganda baptism by the powerful waters of Murchison falls, and I loved every second of the excitement of chasing the lions and leopards, hippos and giraffes in the wild.
Another mega-highlight was naturally the other jungle trek to see the chimpanzees, in the Kibale national park. What a powerful and great experience it was as well. I never knew, how cute they can be in their real habitat and how near I was able to get to stare at them- just a couple of meters away.
And surely I loved my ultra-relaxing and comfortable lodges. I had chosen a midrange level safari, but felt very often being treated as a first class customer. The meals were generally great, occasionally brilliant.
Especially the fine dining-level reached at the Zigarama and Arcadia-lodges was just incredible. Not to talk about the comfort of zipping the morning coffee at my own balcony in the wonderful Turaco Treetops lodge. It will never be forgotten, nor the meditative moments spent in the swimming pool in the Buffalo Safari lodge.
On top of this great safari I got also a wonderful new friend, a Spanish lady, Begonia. She was also travelling solo with the Ngoni safaris at the same time as I.
We had our own cars and drivers and rooms, but shared the same itinerary and the lodges. Begonia is such a brilliant and inspiring travelmate, that I was more than happy to enjoy my meals and drinks with her daily.
Also her driver and interpreter, the two D’s (Dennis and David) were wonderful fellows, kind, fun and so helpful.
I surely owe warm thanks of my great safari to Eddy, to my talented, intelligent, entertaining and caring guide. He loves Uganda and he wants to share that love with his customer, too.
During the long drives we were sometimes listening our favourite songs from Eddy’s smart phone. One song uniting us deeply was Tina Turner’s “Simply the best”. Just like you, Eddy: simply the best!
I give five stars of my safari to Ngoni safaris, BUT there is a slight minus attached to these stars as well. That minus goes to mr Sedrick, to the boss. His customer handling and communication skills prior to my journey were pretty hopeless.
I had to contact him far too often via what’s app, phoning and messaging just to confirm, that my payments have arrived and my tour is due to come true as written in the itinerary.
Finally, but only two days before flying to Uganda I got all the necessary information I had been longing for, including the name of my guide. Had I got that information at least a week earlier, it had saved me a lot of unnecessary worrying and stress. I even started to think, that Ngoni safaris is not at all a true company and all my thousands of dollars were sent to a hacker firm.
So mr Sedrick, please, send just a simple “welcome to Uganda letter” to your customers EARLY enough, and make your clients start enjoying one of their greatest ever journeys already prior to getting to Uganda. If you are too busy to do it, please, delegate!
And tips for the fellow travellers: make sure that your drinking water supply is secured - as written in the itinerary - all the time: not only during the transfers and in the meals, but also in the lodges.
With all those thousands of dollars paid for the tour, the price must cover also all the drinking water consumed.
Remember also to carry only newer US dollar notes with you. I was able to change only the notes from the year 2009 onwards, none before that.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awesome
I would highly recommend Kibokoland!!! Our group had such an amazing time. We experienced so many amazing encounters with the animals; & Yes; we saw the famous Big 5!!! Our tour guide was super helpful, knowledgable, courteous, brave & we always felt safe in all ways, along our travels! The sleeping arrangements & all of the food were terrific!!! At the end of our time together we even received a gift given to us by our guide, & it was a great surprise! Again...I highly recommend this company, & I can assure you won't be disappointed!
GR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The tour operator was very hepfull
It was worth it.we had great time.the camp was super. and Joshua our driver was the best!!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very friendly and knowledgeable,He knew most of the information from his head.
Our safari with Allan was fantastic! Highly recommend. Our driver, Allan, made our experience exceptional. He always made sure we were happy with how everything was going throughout the trip (and it was 14 days)! We mentioned in passing to him that we were celebrating our 30th anniversary, and a few days later the lodge we were staying at had prepared a special event for us and done up our room beautifully! We were very touched by his thoughtfulness and care. As for the safari itself, all the animal encounters were great, and we saw everything (on multiple occasions) that we had hoped to! All in all, truly an exceptional experience that we highly recommend!
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent 5 star service
I can highly recommend Julius at JT safaris. He delivers on all his promises and it’s such a personal service.
Will definitely be using JT safaris again without hesitation
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A great way to get in contact with the essence of nature.
Great experience, amazing landscapes and wildlife. Lovely accommodations and good food.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Jeff is the best guide you can get! #Spygirl
Jeff was a really good guide! he will answer every question also the silly ones. He make sure we get good pictures and still stay safe in front of the animals. He don't want to get us in danger. He is funny and really patience. He told us a lot about the animals and the kenian culture, i learned a lot this days and can tell some names for the animals (i would not remember if watch a documentary lol) I highly recommend if you wanna book this tour with Jockey Tours that you book it with him. He made this trip better than it already is. And Jeff if you going to read this big big thank you for this 7 day trip it was a pleasure to meet you and i wish you the best for you and your family!
DE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Exzellent organisation, fair Price
Really a very nice safari, Fredderik was a very good guide, we saw so much animals. The meals were astonishing tasty and rich and freshly prepared at any time. Great thanks to the Safari-team.