East African Jungle Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2013)
- Member Of:
- AUTO, TUGATA & UTB
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $50 to $400 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
CH
Email Stefanie Wenz | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Extremely Disappointing Experience – Refund Confirmed but Never Received
Extremely Disappointing Experience – Refund Confirmed but Never Received
I’m very sorry to write this review, but I feel obliged to warn other travelers.
I booked a trip with East African Jungle Safaris, which I had to cancel on April 17, 2025 – well in accordance with their official cancellation policy that promises a 90% refund if cancelled at least 28 days before the trip. The company confirmed in writing that a refund would be issued. However, as of today — three months later — I have received nothing.
Despite repeated follow-ups — including from my lawyer — the company has either not responded at all or given empty promises. To make matters worse, part of my deposit included national park permits, which were issued on April 25, more than a week after I had cancelled. When asked about this, the company shifted responsibility to the Uganda Wildlife Authority, who in turn claimed they were not responsible either.
At this point, I feel deeply disappointed and financially taken advantage of. What makes this situation particularly frustrating is that I placed full trust in a company operating under the Ugandan tourism system. Unfortunately, I have to conclude that this trust was misplaced.
I sincerely hope that no one else has to go through the same experience, and I encourage others to be cautious when booking — especially regarding refund and cancellation processes.
Reply from East African Jungle Safaris
Posted on Nov 12, 2025Hello Team
We had failed to agree on the refund amount, later we agreed on usd1250 and it was sent to her, with evidence attached below, we believe it's unfair to still have such a misleading review on our page.
Regards
Ruth
AE
Email Tom | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
polite, safe, did everything to make the trip a memorable experience
The company is extremely responsive to questions sent by e-mail or Whatsapp. I did the day trip to Lake Mburo National Park in Uganda with a stop at the village on the Kampala - Masaka Road marking the equator line. The guide, who was a also the driver, was extremely safety conscious, courteous, and went out of his way to make sure the 1-day safari exceed my expectations. I highly recommend contacting East Africa Jungle Safaris for ventures in Uganda.
Email Trevor Fuelling | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
My Nile River Adventure of a Lifetime
Planning this trip started with a spectacular documentary on the Murchison Falls where the Nile River drops 40 m creating a rich habitat for aquatic wildlife particularly Hippos. The internet revealed that East Africa Jungle Safaris based in Uganda were offering good value 4 day safaris featuring the Murchison Falls. I booked this first.
As a water engineer, I have always been fascinated with the Nile River and its contribution to the lives over 100million people living along the river from Lake Victoria in Uganda , through Sudan and ultimately through Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. The Pharohs made good use of the Nile; making a rich contribution to human society. Remnants of that era are awesome.
I asked East African Jungle Safaris if they could put together a personal trip from Cairo to Alexandria by car then on to Luxor by overnight train. At Luxor I would take a river cruise to the Aswan High Dam where I would transfer to the ferry from the dam wall to Wadi Halfa in Sudan. In Sudan I would visit ancient relics and the irrigation based settlements along both sides of the Nile. At Atbura I would embark on the train to Khartoum where the Blue Nile joins the Nile. From Khartoum I would fly to Entebbe in Uganda where I would undertake the safari to Murchison falls, then visit Jenga where the Nile emerges from Lake Victoria ( the official source of the Nile). I also requested boat trip on the lake.
They put the trip together in conjunction with tour agents in Egypt and Sudan. The combined expertise resulted in a remarkable experience for me. In Egypt I had a personal tour of the Pyramids and Egyptian Museum, then by car to The Australian War cemetery at El Alemain and to the Roman Fort and Museum at Alexandria, followed by the first class train ride to Luxor, then the 5 day river cruise to Aswan stopping at the Temple of Karnak, Valley of Kings, Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Colossi of Morman and Temples of Edfu and Sobek. Finally a Tour of Aswan High Dam. The Dam was completed in 1968 with a primary aim of regulating the flow of the Nile. It has reservoir capacity of 132 Billion cubic metres and is the 6th largest artificial storage in the world. It serves the irrigation needs of Egypt 85% and Sudan 15%.
Lake Nasser is 550 km long. The ferry to Wadi Halfa has 1st and 2nd class sleepers and travels overnight once a week. Early next morning you pass Abu Simbel, 4 colossal (20m high) statues of Ramses in front of his temple. These were salvaged from the rising waters of Lake Nasser by a complex engineering feat in the 1960s. The ferry docks at Wadi Halfa and you are now in Sudan where I was met by my Sudanese guide with 4WD. The passanger train from Wadi Halfa to Atbura no longer operates.This is Nubian Country. The Nubians ruled Egypt prior to BC 3500. Today they live a simple life based on irrigated cropping on the Nile. I stayed in a Nubian house at Wawa; then camped on the sand dunes at old Dongle which was once the Christian capital of the Nubian Kingdom. We moved on to Atbura (railway centre) via Karima and Jerbal Barkal: a magnificent elevated view of the Nile on a bend in its natural state flowing through the desert.
At Atbura, I took the modern train to Khartoum where I visited more Nubian Pyramids and the museum before flying out to Entebbe in Uganda where I was met by Fred Ssebunya, principal of East African Jungle Safaris. He introduced me to his 4 day Murchison Falls guide and off we went on an awesome experience with the falls and the wildlife, staying in his villa overlooking Lake Albert. You could hear the hippos in the distance at night.
I wanted to interface with Lake Victoria so he took me to Jinga Town and out to the official source where Lake Victoria becomes the Nile River. A boat took me to the rapids and the local tourist shop perched on the rapids where I purchased my shirt "I've been at the Source of The Nile Jinja-Uganda".
I finished off with a 2 day boat cruise to Kalangala Island on Lake Victoria. I then over-nighted in Entebbe and flew out the next day.
This 30 day adventure in Feb-Mar 2017 met all my expectations for variety, excitement and value. I requested midrange accom and the total cost (Cairo-Entebbe) US$ 8000.
My trip was totally safe and comprehensive taking all history and excitement associated with the Nile River and its people. All guides spoke English and were excellent.
It is thoroughly recommended. Full Marks for East Africa Jungle Safaris. Fred Ssebunya
IT
Email Maddalena | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great wildlife, but the operator is unreliable, disorganized, and unprofessional.
We booked the 3-day gorilla trekking and golden monkey tour with high expectations, especially considering the significant cost. Unfortunately, the experience was marred by poor organization and lack of professionalism.
1. Hotel choices not respected: we were told we could select our preferred accommodations from the proposed list and communicated our choices well in advance. Upon arrival, however, we were placed in different lodges without any explanation.
2. Chaotic start: our guide was supposed to pick us up at 9 a.m. in Kigali. At 9, he texted saying his car had broken down and he would arrive at 10. At 10, there was no sign of him, and he stopped answering both calls and messages. We contacted the tour operator, who promised to check and call us back… but never did. Only around 11:30 did the guide get in touch again, saying he would send someone else at 12. That person showed up at 12:30, and after multiple unnecessary stops finally brought us to the guide. As a result, instead of arriving in Uganda by 2:30 p.m. as planned, we arrived at 9:30 p.m., completely missing the Batwa community visit. There was no refund, no alternative arrangement, and not even a formal apology from the tour operator.
3. Payment under pressure: on the very morning of the gorilla trek, the guide insisted we pay the full remaining balance immediately, implying that otherwise we would not be allowed to join the activity. It was not an outright threat, but the timing left us with no real choice.
I understand that car breakdowns can happen, but the complete lack of communication and accountability from both the guide and the operator is unacceptable, especially for a tour at this price point. The gorilla encounter itself was, of course, an unforgettable experience, but that is thanks to nature, not the operator.
In summary: breathtaking landscapes and wildlife, but the service from this operator was disappointing. I would not recommend them to anyone looking for reliability, respect for agreements, and professional conduct.
Reply from East African Jungle Safaris
Posted on Dec 15, 2025Thank you for sharing your feedback and for taking the time to describe your experience in detail. At East African Jungle Safaris, we take every review seriously and view each one as an opportunity to improve both our service and communication.
We sincerely regret that your 3-day gorilla trekking and golden monkey tour did not meet your expectations, especially regarding the organizational issues you faced. We understand how important it is for travelers to feel confident in their arrangements and to receive professional service at every stage of their journey. Please accept our apologies for the changes in accommodation and the delay at the start of your trip. We recognize that clear communication is essential, and we are actively working with our team and partners to ensure this situation does not recur.
Regarding the payment request and the missed Batwa community visit, we acknowledge your disappointment. However, the guide Faruk informed management that he left you with usd50 for the missed Batwa Cultural activity as it’s charged $20 per person, Our goal is always to create memorable and seamless experiences while honouring every aspect of our guests’ itineraries. We are reviewing our payment procedures to guarantee greater transparency and to prevent guests from feeling pressured. Additionally, we are reinforcing our protocols for handling unforeseen delays so that alternative arrangements or timely updates are provided.
We are grateful you were able to enjoy the extraordinary wildlife and landscapes that make this region so special. Your feedback is invaluable and has helped us identify areas where we must do better. Should you wish to discuss your experience further or allow us another opportunity to restore your confidence, please reach out directly to our management team. We remain dedicated to delivering the professionalism, reliability, and personalized service that every traveler deserves.
Thank you again for your review, and for helping us grow as a trusted Africa tourism brand
Email Ally | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A magical experience
Our Ugandan Gorilla tracking trip with East African Jungle Safaris was absolutely mind blowing! We trekked for just under an hour and then spent a further hour with these magnificent creature’s. We also spent time on Lake Bunyonyi which was magical. Our guide for our three day trip was Ronnie who is a great guy, and an excellent driver and guide. As two female friends travelling together we always felt safe with Ronnie and he imparted so much knowledge. We would recommend Ronnie 100%!
Email Lori | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Perfect Two-Day Toutr
This was an excellent tour--we saw everything we wanted to (except for crocodiles). Our tour guide/driver, Ronnie, was fantastic.
Email Rob | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Ronnie is the best. He was instrumental in make our safari experience the best it could be.
From the moment I reached to to Ruth, the experience and level of customer service has been the best. I highly recommend East African Safaris. I will definitely use them again.
Email Joseph | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great trip
I booked a 3 day Safari with this outfitter after being in Africa for sometime on USAID assignment. I thought my guide Farouk was fantastic. I was picked up at my hotel and returned to the airport on time and as scheduled. Everyone I dealt with ( Ruth, Frank etc.) communicated well and made themselves available for any questions I had. It can be difficult to find honest and dependable outfitters, but this group was excellent. Saw the “Big 5” while in the park, mid range accommodation was decent. I would travel with East Africa Safari again without question.
ES
Email Oscar | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
disappointment
Travel from 22-July to 12 August.
Hi Fred,
I am providing to you a feedback about our travel.
We have been usually travelling to different Africa countries, and we have experiences with other tour companies.
The Itinerary were quite good, wildlife, community interactions, activities, natural parks, treekings, etc.
Eddie is a good chauffeur-driver, nice person, but not a tourist guide. He is mute, any explanations, not interesting information about Uganda. For instance, when I lost my mobile phone he rejected to call me to make the phone ring, etc.
Sandton Hotel in Kasese:
• room was not ready when we arrived around 13:00
• small room with two individual beds (see picture attached).
• No tap water in whole day.
…and finally we had to look for other lodge by ourselves without any compensation or reimbursement from your side.
Too wicked and ugly to make us pay breakfast first day.
We experienced 2 days with long car drive, leaving around 7:00-7:30 and arriving lodge around 16:00-16:30 without stops for lunch with my daughter starving (just to fill up the tank), and pack lunch either despite our suggestions to pick up one.
Original 2Friends Beach Hotel for last day changed by other lower category, without swimming pool,
No dinner covered last day despite all meals were included in the proposal.
No air conditioning in the car the last 5 days.
No water available last day, and we had to buy it.
Early mornings wake up (no problem) but some days arriving to the next lodge also early 15:00-16:00 without any activity in the evening (waste of time).
We did 1 hour quad instead 4 hours as stated in the itinerary.
In the contract it informed it was full meals, but we had to pay breakfast first day and dinner last day.
We are very sorry to say EAJS has not reached our expectations and it has been a disappointment. We should search other alternatives for our 2023 travel to Rwanda.
We can’t recommend it to any of our family and friends plan to travel to Africa and we hope our critics help you make it better.
Best regards,
Reply from East African Jungle Safaris
Posted on Aug 17, 2022Hello Oscar
We appreciate the feedback bearing in mind that not all feedback can be good, we appreciate positive criticism, however without being defensive we have to explain and give our side of the story.
On Eddy not being a guide, we apology for the fact that he didn't perform to you' expectations, however he's an experienced guide/driver, like if you managed to read through the 123 reviews you found on this platform, clients express their satisfaction with his skills. I have come to realize that as you're from Spain, a Spanish speaking guide would have been the best fit for you, On the phone issue he didn't refuse to call you' phone, he just didn't have credit to dial you' Spanish number, so he had no way of doing it and tried his level best to explain that to you, I also believe you' wife would have been the best fit to dial it, since she had a Spanish line, good you had it in you' bag.
For the Sandton Hotel problem, we really apologize for this, however to draw more light on it, you vetted all the accommodations and you left it in the program, if you had an issue with it we would have dropped it, It's too bad that it turned out this way and we had fully paid them, we haven't made a refund you as we're still pushing for it, They know pretty well that it was their fault that the room was not ready, yet we we booked and paid them in advance, Like you stated you can't use our services anymore in the future, we are no-longer going to do business with that Hotel, that was the last time. it's really bad missing out on business.
Breakfast on Day one, and meals on the last day, this was stated in the program and it's the standard practice, we pick you from you residence when you have taken breakfast on the first, we don't provide breakfast for clients on the first day we assume you would have taken at you' Hotel, but you failed to understand this, My guide told me you paid 30,000 shilling for breakfast the three of you at Equator, and this is where all the problems started from, at the current exchange rate that's around usd8 for sure we can be cheating that little money.
The issue regarding meals on the last night, this is also a standard practice, Hotels in Cities and towns don't provide Full board rates, and this was very much stated in the program, that night was on Bed and Breakfast, but still you wrote it in the feed back forms and here in online, this confuses me because it is what you signed up for, you just didn't understand it and we tried to explain.
I have to let people know that this was a 21 Day program so we had to cover many places from Lake Mburo, Lake Bunyonyi, Bwindi, Queen Elizabeth, Rwenzori Hike, Kibale Chimps trek, Murchison Falls, Kidepo NP, Sipi Falls and Jinja.
So for the change from 2Friends Beach Hotel in Entebbe to Airport View Hotel, it wasn't meant to cheat on you, there was someone responsible for making these bookings, and made some error by booking three nights at 2Friends Hotel in Jinja a sister Hotel to 2Friends Beach Hotel in Entebbe, and by the time we tried to rectify this, 2Friends Entebbe was full, this was communicated to you hence the change, that was unavoidable and please accept our apology for the error and change.
The issue of the AC not working the last five days, this was due to the dusty roads and we couldn't predict that it would be like that, and being in the remote areas like you saw the long drives, we couldn't get anywhere we could refill from, till when we got back to town and the last day it was working.
All in all if we could attach the program here, everyone would have seen where the meals were included and where they were not included it was just a misunderstanding.
Thanks for the opportunity to serve you and we always take clients satisfaction to be paramount, it's a petty we didn't satisfy you.
Kind Regards
Peter
Email Bramdon | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The best at what he does!
Fred is the man! I received an email back extremely quickly and he was able to answer all of my questions without any hesitation. I asked so many questions and was so happy with the responses and his patience. He was able to help create a very special custom tour for me and my friends. The tour was more than perfect! It was non-stop action and we were always on the go. I loved every second of it. The places we stayed were unbelievably beautiful. The food just kept coming! We ate so much and it was delicious. We saw every animal we hoped to see. Our guide was amazing. I literally can't express how amazing East African Jungle Safaris is. PLEASE do yourself a favor and plan a trip with them ASAP!