Speke Uganda Holidays
- Located In:
-
Germany
United States
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2008)
- Member Of:
- ATTA, APTA, AUTO & We Are Africa
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $250 to $1,830 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
US
Email Tina | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Fabulous Uganda tour with Speke Uganda Holidays
This was only my second international trip since the pandemic began. Tony and the team at Speke made the planning effortless. They listened to what we wanted to include and devised a perfect itinerary. We had some last minute flight changes which required moving everything back by two days which they took care of immediately. I was so impressed by the responsiveness of the whole team. Our driver/guide, Vincent met us upon arrival at Entebbe airport and we were in good hands with him for the rest of the trip. The roads traveled were often unpaved, narrowed and potholed. Vincent did a wonderful job missing most of them while simultaneously spotting elusive monkeys and birds!! Each evening he washed and cleaned the interior of the car -we tracked in a lot mud! The highlights of the trip were definitely the three primate treks: chimps in Kibale NP, mountain gorillas in Bwindi NP and golden monkeys in Mgahinga NP. Definitely include all three. We enjoyed our game drives as well in both Murchison NP and Queen Elizabeth NP. We were thrilled late one afternoon when we had to yield to probably 200 elephants crossing the road right in front of our bumper! I highly recommend you book with Speke!
DE
Email Michael Feick | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Marvellous organisation!
Ladies and gentlemen,
Panagiotis and I have experienced a stunning journey, which left us touched and will be remembered all your life!
Panagiotis & Michael
DE
Email Stephanie Leitwein | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Well organised, skilled tour operator. Will book with this agency again!
I had an awesome time in Uganda. I had booked a 10days Safari incl. Murchison Falls and Gorilla Tracking. The tour was well organised, our guide had an anwser to every question and spotted animals even in the most difficult situations, e.g. a tiger, well-hidden in a bush, while driving. Nature is nature, so animal sightings cannot be guaranteed, but our guide was eager to ensur that we saw all relevant animals incl. the "Big5" and we did. Our car was very comfortable and clean. The lodges we stayed at were also very good. I would book again with Speke Uganda Holidays.
US
Email Mike and Stacy, USA | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
OUTSTANDING in every way!
We would like to thank you for an amazing experience. Your company went above and beyond to make us feel safe during these crazy covid times. Vehicle was immaculate and sanitized daily and our guide, Vincent, made sure we sanitized each and every time before entering vehicle. Vincent was a wonderful guide who was so knowledgeable and a safe driver. We had such a nice time getting to know Vincent who is so kind and will be a forever friend. We had one small issue with one of the hotels in which the owner of Speke Holidays made sure to rectify immediately and went above and beyond. I can’t say enough about your company and staff.
Thank you for the memories and making our vacation amazing.
DE
Email Helga | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We could always rely on our guide in order to be safe and to be well informed.
We were overwhelmed by the beauty of the country and its enormous variety of animals. The route we took to get through Uganda and the National Parks we were in are really spectacular. The service provided in the lodges we stayed in was fabulous, although you could offer more regional meals to offer us opportunities to taste the Ugandian cuisine. However we didn't like the last two days when we were at lake Mutanda, had to go the whole way back to take part in the gorilla tracking and the golden monkeys tracking and after that we still had to go to Rwakobo Rock Lodge. The part of the group that tracked the gorillas were back at 12.30 p.m., but those who were looking for the golden monkeys didn't come back before 3.30 p.m. There shouldn't be anything else to be done on a day with a schedule like that. And our stay at Rwakobo Rock Lodge was just for passing the night. The place however is far too beautiful as to not having the time to enjoy it.
AT
Email Sandra&Stefan | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent tour company which is by your side every step of the way
What a trip! The main goal of our Uganda holidays was to see the Gorillas, of course. But this country has so much more to offer. Thanks to the people in the office I managed to put a trip together with stops I wanted to see and lodges/hotels I wanted to stay in. All of them were high standard and the hospitality was next to none. Our driver Tony was super-friendly, a very good driver and never tired to share even more knowledge about his country with us. Also, the price-performance ratio for our trip was very good. Only one advice: Go to Uganda and do it with Speke!
CH
Email Hans | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Uganda 2 week Safari during Covid-19
We had decided to take a rather spontaneous escape from Covid-19 over Christmas/NYE to Africa. Uganda was not even on our radar and we rather accidentally stumbled across this amazing country, rightfully referred to as the „Pearl of Africa“. Speke Uganda was the local tour operator on behalf of the german Diamir Erlebnisreisen, through which we had booked our trip. The main motivation to visit was seeing mountain gorillas, only possible in this region (Rwanda, DR Kongo, Uganda. Tip: Watch the Netflix docu „Virunga“ to get some more appetite). After this trip, I need to say that Uganda has even more to offer. Chimpanzee tracking was an absolutely amazing experience as well. Among our other highlights were leopards and lions. In fact, we had the Big 5 (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, rhino) covered after less than half our trip!! Our trip covered Zhiwa Rhino sanctuary, Murchison Falls NP, Kibale Forest NP, Queen Elizabeth NP, Bwindi Impenetrable NP, Lake Bunyoni and the very remote Kidepo Valley NP (plan with many driving hours). During the driving through the cities and villages, and the additional explanations of the guide, we got a impression of the daily life in Uganda.
David, our native Ugandan guide, was amazing. He is very knowledgeable, well educated, sympathic, professional, flexible and polite and he took very good care of us and went many extra miles to realize our extra wishes we had. Ask the boss Tony to arrange your trip with David as your guide! Speke Uganda provided a very spacious, reliable, well maintained open-top Safari vehicle (custom 2017 Toyota Landcruiser) with serious off-road capabilities. Compared to other trip operators that operate sometimes crammed mini-buses (some without open top) that can only maneuver the parks main roads, Speke is a premium operator.
We were booked on a midrange trip and accommodation and food quality was mixed. Most lodges were good, with some very good or exceptional (Kidepo Savannah Lodge). Food quality ranged inbetween ok to very good. But again, the choice of accommodation depends on the trip type/the budget.
As this might be interesting for many - about the Covid-19 situation:
Uganda has opened its borders and during the time of our visit, neither Germany nor Switzerland had Uganda on the „quarantine list“, which was the condition for us to travel. For traveling to Uganda, we got a 6 hour Covid-19 PCR test at Frankfurt airport for about 140€. For traveling back, we needed another test that was done in Kampala for about 65 USD. You will need additional travel time for going and coming back, but other than that, that‘s it. We don‘t need to quarantine and there were no other negative surprises from travel perspective.
To be fair, it needs to be said that Covid-19 might affect your experience in Uganda, however. In our case, David was rightfully extremely careful where to let us interact with locals. For this reason, we were not able to walk through markets, dine out, walk through cities or villages, which is normally something we would do to get a better feeling for the people and the country. Hand sanitization and masks were provided by Speke. Those Ugandan‘s in the hospitality sector we interacted with mostly at the hotels were also extremely careful and disciplined (temperature screenings done almost everywhere, handwashing or even once a shoe-washing stations).
On the other hand, Covid-19 has caused the cast majority of tourists so stay at home. Gorilla and chimpanzee permits were available on a less than 2-week notice (normally >6 months) and for half the price as usual (!!!). The parks we visited were amazingly empty, which is a true blessing if you have experienced looking at a lion with 20 other cars fighting for the best photo spot in South Africa.
After all, we have made the very best of the Covid situation by escaping the madness in Europe to this beautiful country.
DE
Email Christine | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was a great adventure with a wonderful guide
We were spoiled from the very first moment we came into the country. Charles was a wonderful caring und very friendly person. He took care of everything, we had wonderful talks and he tried to answer every question. Uganda is worth going there and we never felt uncomfortable. Our guide tried his best (and never gave up) to show us the wildlife and we saw nearly every animal we wanted to.
10 days are much to short to get a good impression of the country. Up to now it isn´ t a very touristic spot and hopefully it will stay authentic.
Meeting the chimps and the gorillas is outstanding! After that experience you will never think of them as just animals - they are so close to us!
If there was one thing I could complain about, I would say: after a while I found the lunchpackages a little bit boring.
LK
Email Mahinda Ambahera | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
memorable safari holiday with Speke Uganda
The wildlife in Uganda is absolutely stunning. Far exceeded our expectations. We booked with Speke Uganda Holidays and Kasamba our driver was very very helpful through the journey. We were picked up sharp on time from our Hotel in Kigali Rwanda and then drove to Uganda.
Kasamba was previously a ranger attached to Uganda National Parks therefore his experience was unparalleled We were lucky enough to see most of the big mammals at the Queen Elizabeth National Park and got to see many animals up close. The accommodations were great, particularly at Kasenyi Lodge. My wife celebrated her surprise birthday in the bush land Kasenyi Lodge. Being able to wake up and see the animals right outside or hear the lions roar at night is something very memorable. Kasamba knows so much of the animals and has an incredible eye. Since the grass was high, it was sometimes hard to spot the animals and he would see a leaf moving and knew something was there! He made our trip much better! I really recommend Uganda , you get to experience the real thing far away from the maddening crowds of other African National parks. Theres no better way to do that than with SPEKE UGANDA HOLIDAYS.
Email Simon and Diane Yates | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Mind blowing wildlife and eco tour
Our trip to Uganda was much more than expected mainly as a result of the superb guiding, driving and knowledge sharing demonstrated by the Speke Uganda staff, Francis and Innocent.
The wildlife sightings were everything that we wanted including the Big 5 and of course the chimps and mountain gorillas and the accommodation was excellent
