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Typical Ugandan operator by Richard Tusasibwe

Typical Ugandan operator by Richard Tusasibwe

Gatatu Safaris

4.2/5  
(82 Reviews)
Office In:
Uganda Uganda
Size:
10-20 employees (Founded in 2011)
Tour Types:
Budget & mid-range tours with set start dates and a fixed itinerary
Destinations:
Rwanda RW
Uganda UG
Typical Ugandan operator by Richard Tusasibwe

Typical Ugandan operator by Richard Tusasibwe

We are a safari company based in Uganda operating since 2011. We aim for our customers to consider their safari holiday with us as one of the best they've had. We take pride in our personal service and treat all our guests like a family. Likewise, we envision tourism in Uganda to be more competitive and its local community empowered. Hence, a portion of our profit goes to a fund a local school in Uganda to help provide education to underprivileged children. Book your safari to local Ugandans.

Reviews82

Richard is a thief, do not trust this company.
1/5

This is NOT a safari company, it is a huckster with a website. Richard insists on money wires in advance but then doesn’t deliver on any of his contracts. He offers nothing but lies, abuse, and third-rate accommodations. After scamming my group for thousands of dollars, I am infuriated to see that people are continuing to try to book tours through him! DO NOT EVEN CONSIDER CALLING THIS COMPANY unless you want to lose money and have your trip ruined. We had to pay for almost our entire trip twice since he took our money but didn’t pay any of the parks or hotels we were supposed to visit. He belongs in jail, I’d love to know how he got out, but hopefully he will end up back there soon enough.

WARNING! $ 14,000 fraud and embezzlement
1/5

Almost a year in advance, we had booked an almost three-week safari via GATATU for five people in July / August 2019. The trip should cost a total of around 35,500 US dollars. As agreed, US $ 20,000 were transferred in advance. The rest should be handed over on site.

We were promised 2 safari vehicles, which should accompany us on the almost three-week tour, when we arrived at the airport there was only an old and neglected mini-bus that picked us up at the airport in Kigali in the late evening and then did not pick us up agreed boutique hotel but moved to another hotel.
After long discussions I was able to convince the otherwise very nice driver to take us to the agreed boutique hotel. We couldn't reach Richard, the manager of GATATU.

The next day we met the manager Richard in the office of GATATU Safaris in Kabale. It turned out there that not a single one of the agreed lodges was reserved. Richard received from us $ 1,500 for a 5th Gorilla Permit.

Since the owner of the first lodge warned us not to give Richard more money, we agreed that I would pay for all the lodges within the next three weeks on site and use the remaining US $ 14,000 for it.

The next evening it turned out that everything else was not paid for, e.g. the chimpanzee permits, entry to the national parks, accommodation and food for the driver, fuel, costs for the rented minibus etc. etc.

Of the 21,500 US dollars that GATATU received from us, only 7,500 US dollars were used for the gorilla permits, the rest (14,000 US dollars) was pocketed by the manager for no consideration. Richard could not be reached by phone, so on the third day we had to file a report with the tourism police in Kabale.

Richard was on the run, arrested three weeks later and jailed for three weeks. With one of his representatives, who visited us together with a senior officer, we agreed that Richard would repay the embezzled money in payment installments, which has not yet happened. At this point I do not want to report anything about our very negative experiences with the police in Uganda.

I can only warn you strongly against making any deals and especially advance payments to GATATU.

https://www.softpower.ug/tour-operator-who-defrauded-german-tourists-of-shs-81m-arrested-in-kabale/

Amazing Safari in Uganda
5/5

We went for 7 days classic private comfort safari with Gatatu Safaris and it was really wonderful, incredible experience. We were helped by our tour guide who was super responsive. He also answered all my questions quickly and provided information on places I never thought of, He can work to customize your safari to your own wishes. And also he was able to spot animals everywhere. We saw many animals and got close we could take pictures with our cell phones. We could not have more better guide. i definitely recommends Gatatu Safaris

Enjoyed our Ugandan Safari
5/5

We really enjoyed our 8 day Ugandan Safari. The accommodation was better than expected, meals were great, and experience even better! We had our own driver and it made getting around very easy. The only thing we wish was a bit better was communication regarding minor changes. Overall great experience. Thanks!

WARNING DO NOT BOOK!!
1/5

where do I start, first off don't even take a chance on looking at all the other good reviews, we did the same thing. This company is a total scam. I was in contact with Richard for months to book a gorilla safari for our honeymoon. Needless to say he went above and beyond to make you trust him then you send money and then all contact is cut off and your money is gone. The tour never existed, noone picked us up, the hotels we were supposed to stay at had no record of us coming, the worst part is richard sent us FAKE permits. The UWA advised us they were fake and they were never purchased.He was recently arrested for another large scam, this company shouldn't even be allowed to run. We came half way across the world to do a gorilla tour with what we thought was a legitimate company just to be scammed and not be able to do it. We were completely heartbroken. This guy and this company has no heart, they are just out to scam the next poor person who trusts them. We spoke with the UWA & tourism boards and all they did was lead us on. Pretty sure they all work together , you cannot trust them. If you decide to do a tour go to rwanda and pay the extra money where you can trust the people and feel safe and go to the gorgeous volcanoes national park instead. We never got our money back , nor did we get to see the gorillas.....Gatatu safaris are Scam artists and criminals. Please do yourself a favor and make sure these guys DO NOT get your money, they should be shut down

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Disclaimer

  • This tour is offered by Gatatu Safaris, not SafariBookings.
  • This operator reserves the right to change rates advertised on SafariBookings.
  • The exact order, contents and rates of this tour are subject to availability.
  • If an accommodation is fully booked, the operator will suggest a comparable alternative.
  • Gorilla tracking permits are subject to availability.