Water experiment at the Equator -Uganda
Katona Tours & Travel
- Located In:
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2002)
- Member Of:
- AUTO - Association Of Uganda Tour Operators, UWA - Uganda Wild life Authority & UTB - Uganda Tourism Board
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $70 to $700 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
US
Email William Morris | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Trip of a lifetime....
From booking to seeing my first gorilla it was an amazing experience. Richard was an excellent driver and guide. Over time he became a friend. I am sure that I was less than fun to drive some days, but he never showed it. The troubles we faced were never his fault and he always dealt with them professionally. He made me feel comfortable and welcomed at all times. Jaclie was great in dealing with my booking and answered all of my question, and thete were a lot! She even called to check how things were along the way. Five star service even on my three star budget.
CA
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
8 days of Heaven !!!
We were in Uganda for 8 days and had booked Katona Tours to organize our trip. Jackie was fantastic !! She was very quick to respond to our our emails and answer any questions we may have had. She was excellent at suggesting time lines and was very flexible when we wanted to make changes. The price was very competitive. We booked all budget accommodations and they were perfect. We wanted something very rustic and close to nature and we got exactly what we wanted. The food was fantastic !!
Richard our driver was amazing. He was always on time and organized. He kept us on track and ensured we had an amazing experience. He had many suggestions for us and customized our trip to make sure we were well taken care of. He was a fantastic driver and we always felt very safe.
Overall I would highly recommend this tour company and we would definitely use them again
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Book through Katona!
I really appreciated the open lines of communication with Katona tours both during and after the booking process. Jackie's replies were always quick and it was nice that she called to check in on us during our travels. Richard our driver was very knowledgeable, friendly, and was a highlight of the journey. I think we got very good value for our money. Thank you!
CA
Email Trevor | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Absolutely above and beyond what we had expected
Overall, it was a fantastic trip! Jackie was extremely prompt with all communication at all hours of her night, including as soon as she received our wire transfer to pay for the safari. Elias, our guide, was exceptional and showed up early to pick us up in Kigali. When we near the park in Uganda, Elias was told that the main road into the park was closed due to an overturned truck. He then spent he next 2.5 hours trying to navigate an extremely difficult side road in order to make sure that we made it on time for safari. I don't know how he navigated such difficult terrain!
Overall, I would absolutely recommend Katona. I was nervous about booking any overseas tour without being able to meet people in person, but Jackie and Elias made the whole experience fantastic. Jackie even called us on our way back to ask how everything went. Highly recommended!
US
Email Neal & Beth | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Gorilla Trekking Experience - Kigali to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park (Uganda)
My wife an I went on the 1 day trip from Kigali to Mgahinga National Park in Uganda. To start off, the booking and communication with Jackie was very quick and efficient. She was super helpful and a great communicator.
Our driver Elias picked us up from our hotel in Kigali early in the morning and was perfectly on time at 4am. We cannot say enough great things about Elias. He made our trip AMAZING! He was so friendly, so fun, very informative, very knowledgeable, and always kept a big smile on his face. He was so fun to hang out with on our long drive, it felt like we had our own little tour of Rwanda and Uganda. After the trek he took us to a local place in Uganda for an authentic African lunch. By the time we returned to our hotel in Kigali after the tour it felt like we were family. I highly recommend asking for Elias as your driver.
The drive from Kigali to the park was roughly 3 hours, and it was a really cool drive. A lot of it is through the beautiful Rwanda and Uganda mountain countryside so its quite breathtaking. Crossing the border was easy. They just check your passports and give you a stamp, it takes about 10 minutes.
Once we reached the base camp where the trekking starts, Jerome and Silver from the Uganda Wildlife Authority introduce you and give a briefing of the days activities. The same 2 guys were our guides for the trek in the mountains. Big shout out to Jerome and Silver, they were awesome. Super friendly, very informative, amazing guides through the mountains. You'll also have an armed guard with you so they really make you feel safe for anyone who is a little scared.
It took us about an hour to find the families and I cannot express enough how kind and gentle these beautiful creatures are. We found a big family with 3 HUGE male silverbacks, 2 females, a couple teens, and 3 babies. We were able to hang out with them for an hour and I would say we were only a bout 10 feet away from them. It was CRAZY!!! The babies and teens were running around playing with each other the whole time while the big parents we lounging next to them. We even got to see a mother nursing her baby.
I heard a lot of people say Bwindi is where you must go for Gorilla experiences, but i totally disagree. We had a wonderful and very close encounter with a big family of Silverbacks at Mgahinga, and its much closer to Kigali.
I highly recommend booking this trip with Katona Tours. Get ready for the hike of a lifetime!!!
Side Note: Uganda is one of the most beautiful countries on earth. Just seeing the beautiful countryside alone was worth the trip
DE
Email Chris | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Gorilla Tour
the tour was perfectly organized: Jackie was very flexible even on last minutes adjustments we had to make. The driver (Cesar) was very good, very proficient in english he brought us safely to the park and back to Kigali despite the fact that we set off at 4.00 am. He knew exactly how to best cross the border Rwanda/ Uganda saving us a lot of time. The tour was exactly as promised, no glitches etc. I can only recommend the tour & the tour operator!
DE
Email Ulrich Beckers | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
16 Days Uganda Wildlife Super Safari for one person only
The preparation for the safari took Jackie and me nearly a year. During this time and also later on the manager answered on emails and
questions always unusual fast. In about fifty years I haven'' t found such a safe and loyal travel agency wether in Africa nor in Europe.
The safari was so well prepared that we haven' t had any problems within 16 days. For transportation I had a 4x4 wheel driven Toyota
landcruiser with a driver and at the same time a safari guide, who knew his job best. Sometimes without any signs he mastered the most
difficult tracks and roads. Crossing the NP'´ s in Uganda he mostly knew where the animals were. Very often his colleges were following our
car and had the luck to watch lions in a tree, a smaller leopard in a bush or a fish eagle loosing twice the fish in front of our car. Martin was
an excellent and safe driver, who took care of me, that it was not necessary for me to eat meat. Jackie, the manager, got in touch with her driver
every day and made her inquiries about our safari. The hotels and lodges we have chosen together were all moderate and in a clean
condition. At no time I felt unwell or unsafe. Uganda has a lot of friendly and helpful people. My expectations of this country, especially
landscapes and people, were better than expected. Once more my thanks to a very safe and loyal company.
AE
Email Yuki | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing!
There are many good experiences through out with Katona tours.
But for me the highlight was getting to have Kenneth as my driver/ guide.
Planning the trip went very well. I have contacted numerous companies for gorilla trekking but Katona was the only company who reply fast and through WhatsApp. Planning went smooth with Jackie and she was always available to talk and answer my questions. She was also willing to tailor the way I want the tour to be.
I forgot informing the flight details to come pick me up at the airport but it was done perfectly regardless of my last minutes notice.
I was greeted by Kenneth by his hand written welcome note at the airport. He explained so well about the genocide memorial and the history. But what I was so impressed was the knowledge he has for national parks and for animals. He was working as park rangers for 12 years and he has so much stories to share. The ride was supposedly long but thank to him and his stories it didn’t feel that long.
He was always willing to do beyond and very attentive.
Gorilla trekking itself went incredible and I am still amazed and still find it hard to process the fact I saw gorillas!
I am so happy that I took a tour with Katona and I’d recommend to everyone.
DE
Email Luis | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
What a glorious trip with Katona Tours
My wife and I had a glorious trip with Katona Tours.
Our encounter with the Mountain gorillas will linger in our minds. Elias was so caring and politely attended to our endless requests that were not part of the Trip.
Jackie the owner amazingly replied to all our mails queries.
Hope to use Katona Tours again in future.
UA
Email Oleksandr | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Tour through all of Rwanda
Katona tours provided the perfect organization of our tour in Rwanda during the pandemics. The company arranged excellent logistics and we felt comfortable. We’ve visited 5 Volcanos Park meeting the gorilla’s family in the mountain jungles, looked for the chimpanzees in Nyungwe Park, and did Akagera safari with walking hippos. The beautiful 3-days kayaking tour on the Kivu lake was unforgettable: with monkeys jumping in kayaks, swimming cows, and overnight stay on the island. The journey was completely safe and well-organized. Thanks to our driver Valens for his care and skillful riding. I plan to return and travel with Katona tours in Uganda and Congo.
