Our guides Paul K. K. and Tim birding at Mpanga.
Terrain Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2008)
- Member Of:
- Association of Uganda Tour Operators
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $100 to $600 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Email Ali | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Would definitely use again
We visited Uganda back in January and would definitely recommend Terrain safaris to friends who were thinking of visiting. They're prices are great and they tailored our trip exactly how we wanted it. Edith was a great help in organizing our trip and answered emails promptly. We ended up doing a 12 day tour and had Moses as our guide. The 4x4 land cruiser we had was great and Moses drove very safely and got us everywhere on time. He also gave us a bit of a bonus game drive one day as we were unlucky not to see any tree climbing lions so Moses really made the effort. As for Uganda itself, it's a beautiful country. So much wildlife to see, the highlights for us being the chimpanzees and gorillas, and it's so green everywhere! Would definitely recommend a visit! Thanks again to everyone at Terrain Safaris who made this trip possible.
Email Pauline | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Good Communication, Very Enjoyable Safari, Well Paced Tour, Friendly Efficient Guide!
My husband and I did a 12 day private tour, and our guide/driver was Moses. Communication during the booking process was good.
The tour was interesting, well-paced and included several different experiences to help ensure we saw a wide variety of wildlife and sights. A great deal of time on the road was necessary some days, but when not travelling the time was used wisely, either with game drives, boat cruises, rhino sanctuary tour, and also the chimpanzee and gorilla trekking, which was amazing!
We enjoyed our time in Uganda, and can highly recommend Terrain Safaris, in particular Moses, who is friendly, kind, knowledgeable and very efficient (also a very safe driver!) Thanks for everything!
Email Chris Courtaux | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent BirdingTour with Paul Kaggwa through Entebbe, Mabamba, Masindi and Murhison Falls
Paul Kaggwa provided birding and driving support for 10 days in Uganda. His communication and payment process gave confidence before we left. He looked after both of us well throughout the trip. We found 292 species in 11 days. His knowledge and the respect from all the local guides and hotels and reserves, we went to, demonstrates that he has great credibility in Uganda as a Birding Tour Guide. I would not hesitate to recommend him and perhaps go to South West Uganda next time.
NL
Email Vincent Douwes | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A great 3 weeks of birding and nature exploring
What a great trip did we have!
Communication before the trip was great, very nice and friendly people and proper English most of the time.
Paul himself was our guide and responded before the trip on every email quite fast after sending it. In the field when we were out he probably did the same; great for his new customers but a little less great for us at that time. My advise would be to try to do this when you're not out with clients.
Paul is a great guy, he has good knowledge about the wildlife, the areas (he knows Uganda by head) and especially about the birds, although there is still room for improvements eg. when waders and swifts concerned. A lot of bird calls remain very difficult but I can't blame him because it is quite difficult indeed. I think we might have missed some species because of that but you can't know them all. On a number of occasions we were accompanied by some great guides who were a nice addition.
I think we really did not o.k. at Semliki birdwise; we missed too many birds so you might be more clearer to future clients only 10 to 15% of the birds mentioned are likely to be seen (in 1 or 1,5 days of birding). But luckily we did see some good birds and I appreciate the persistance Paul showed from time to time to find some good birds for us!
We had a really good car, we had no troubles with it whatsoever and Paul was always willing to put the rooftop up. He's a very careful driver and doesn't take any unneccesary risks. He knows how to handle the car when we wanted to take photographs and he is very friendly to fellow traffic users.
His equipment is o.k. and his eyes are really great; he sometimes saw more details with his bins then we did with our swaro's. Sharp eye!
When you're a hardcore birder with the aim to see as much birds as possible (no matter what) you should hire Paul together with Raymond (the royal Mile), Roger or Gordon (to name a few)... that's a combination which is great!
At the end we had a fantastic birding trip with a lot of nice mammals on the side. We saw 520+ bird species which is a good number in November I think. I'll have to come back in July to try to see some Broadbills, Antpitta and Semliki goodies. I definately recommend Paul and Terrain Safaris and probably hire them myself as well. Thank you Paul and Terrain Safaris for this wonderful experience! I wish you all the best!
Vincent
The Netherlands
US
Email Marilyn | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Exciting Cultural Adventure in Uganda with Terrain Safaris with Paul as our Guide
Travelers coming to Uganda need to do their homework on the country first. Do not expect all the comforts of the USA while in Uganda. It is a country trying to recover from years of fiscal and emotional abuse from a brutal dictator. Many Ugandans live their lives without the luxury of electricity or running water, not to mention any technology advances. However, the people of Uganda are gracious, nice, caring people. Paul, our guide, from Terrain Safaris did a really good job showing us his beautiful country. The value of our 16 day safari trip was good. We were deeply immersed in Ugandan culture, touring small villages and eating in local restaurants. The tour of Kampala at the end of the tour was nice. The lodging was not as impressive as more visited neighboring countries like Kenya or Tanzania, but after spending days in the country I understood why. Edith's communication with us before and during the tour was very timely. I would suggest she visit more of the lodges in person before booking for clients. The only lodging I had problems with was Trekkers Tarven with no hot water, extremely poor lighting, and safety issues. BUT, the workers at the lodge were very friendly and even baked a delicious birthday cake for two of the travelers in my group. That accommodation was the worst, but with the trekking of the gorillas from there turned out to be the best. I would highly recommend Paul and Terrain Safaris as a great Uganda Safari tour operator. DO NOT EXPECT LUXURY! EXPECT GOOD VALUE FOR THE MONEY. Thank you, Paul!
US
Email Marsha Ambrioso | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Some things were good and others not so good!
Edith was great about getting back to us with any questions we asked, but she often didn't have correct information. For example, she told us that all of the lodges would have Wi-FI, and this was not correct. Often the lodges did not even have electricity and operated only on generators so charging electronics and camera batteries had to be done in the main lodge and not in our rooms. Paul, our guide, was very knowledgeable and he took good care of us. He operated on Uganda time, I guess, as he was often fashionably late from the time he indicated that he would pick us up so often he would be 30 minutes late. Some of the lodges did not have screens on the windows, so if you are concerned about a mosquito bite--oh well! We stayed at one particularly horrible place which I would certainly not recommend and this place was Trekkers Tavern! The food was ok and the staff was friendly, but the rooms had no lighting so it was impossible to see in suitcases without a flashlight. The water coming out of the tap was muddy for the first 10 minutes and had no water pressure. The rooms were cold! Very cold, but they put water bottles in our beds and mine leaked and got the bed all wet! The water lines are run across the walkways and you have to step over them. The curtains don't completely cover the windows. So cold and dark! Not a place where I would keep my dog! The road up to Trekkers is long and terrible! Make sure you don't go there! We saw lots of animals and the gorilla trekking was fabulous, so all in all we had a good time, but lodging needs improvement.
NO
Email Karl-Kristian J. Hus | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Gorilla and Golden Monkey tracking in Rwanda.
I had a wonderful time traveling with Terrain Safaris in Rwanda. The guide was very helpful and helped me meet with locals that had the same interests as me. Very professionally organized and I am definitely going to be using them on later occasions.
CH
Email Claudio & Sabine | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Source of Nile/Jinja, Ziwa Rhino, Murchison Falls NP, Chimps in Budongo Forrest, Shoebill in Entebbe
The communication before the Safari was very good, i dont know many with a communication like this, perfect!
At the Safari als was as it shout be with a very friendly and interested guide (Paul).
I'm shure that we will book again by Terrain Safaris!
Email Richard | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Terrain Safaris, East Africa's wildlife experts.
I recently spent three weeks with Paul Kaggwa from Terrain Safaris and I would rate him as East Africa's No. 1. Wildlife guide. I've searched for birds and animals in over twenty African countries, as well as hiring guides in many of those countries. Most guides talk themselves up and will tell you they're experts and know it all but when you get out in the field with them and start looking for the rarer species, they have no idea.
Paul has memorized the calls over 900 East African bird species and knows where to find them all. He knows his mammals and reptiles and is a genuinely nice guy that has an obvious passion for African wildlife. If you're interested in gaining a more complete picture of Kenyan, Tanzanian, Rwandan and Ugandan wildlife, then I highly recommend Paul Kaggwa from Terrain Safaris, Uganda.
DE
Email Uli | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great 7 days Safari in Uganda!!
We have made the safari for 7 days.
7 woman at the age between 15 to 42. Some told us it were to dangerous to travel only as woman, but we felt all the time very save!
The trip was well organized by Paul and it was very cheap.
Our tour has startet by Kampala, goes to Murchison Falls NP, Kibale NP with chimpanzee tracking, Queen Elizabeth NP and ends by Lake Mburo.
Our tour guide Edward was very friendly and likable. He told us a lot about the country, the traditions and the .
We have seen a lot of lions, elephants, buffaloes, hippos, zebras, chimpanzees and many others.....
The landscape was amazing and we were very surprised to saw the difference between the parks, for example the landscape or the animals.
The native people are all warmheating, friendly and we felt all the time welcomed and save.
Uganda is amazing and you can see a lot of great things and make beautiful experiences.
The tourism is low, so you can enjoy your visit without a lot of tourist, like in other countries.
Thank you very much to Terrain Safaris to show us this amazing country!