Our staff was part of a Fam trip to Ngamba Island
Achieve Global Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2011)
- Member Of:
- APTA, AUTO & USAGA
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $30 to $900 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
CA
Email Tyler from Vancouver | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very, very, pleased with our experience
*This was the middle part of our honeymoon *We did the three day Gorilla trekking experience
Our itinerary included:
- Morning flight from Nairobi to Entebbe
- Airport transfer to domestic flight on Aerolink to Kihihi airstrip
- Two nights stay at Bohuma Haven lodge
- Gorilla trekking after first night
- Overland transport back to Entebbe after night two
- PCR testing upon arrival in Entebbe
- Stay at a hotel of our choice (which we booked separately) and departure the next day
Review:
I’ll start with pre-trip coordination…
The number one reason why we chose Achieve Global Safaris (AGS) was because of a personal communication we received in the months and weeks leading up to the trip. Jolie responded to many many questions, from flight itineraries, visas, what to bring, and so on. Flying to a new part of the world comes with some level of anxiety of the unknown, but by getting to know someone before booking and departing, it really eased my conscience. Especially the payment structure, because it is unfamiliar to a Canadian. We used direct bank to bank transfer from RBC to their ‘Equity Bank’ in two instalments (make sure to add 2% to cover the transaction fees).
To help you gain the same level of comfort as we had, you just download and use WhatsApp. It is what everyone in Uganda uses, and how I communicated with Jolie ahead of time.
Accommodation…
We stayed at the community operated Bohuma Haven lodge. This place was BEAUTIFUL. It had majestic mountain views, quiet and serene atmosphere. It is not a resort, so don’t expect that, rather expect a natural and humbling setting to sit back, sip a beer and unwind after trekking. They staff were also incredibly attentive, as if you are at an actual resort. No complaints about the food either. Actually, we had steak on our second night, which we were able to cut with a butter knife. Sooo good.
Transportation….
We flew from the Entebbe airport to Kihihi. This was a treat to see Uganda from above. The international airport is chaotic, so I highly recommend to coordinate with Aerolink about your arrival and connection. We had someone meet us at the gate and guide us through the entire process, which is a process. Seriously, ask for help, especially if there is limited time between flights because there are multiple security checkpoints.
We travelled overland back to Entebbe at the conclusion of our trip. To be honest, it is a long drive, with a couple hours of rugged/non-paved roads. For me, someone from the countryside, I found it rewarding and enlightening to see the beauty of Uganda from land. For my wife, the trip was too long. So consider your options and your level of comfort for long drives. That said, we had an amazing guide, Eddie. His charm and demeanour was pleasant and comforting. He stopped frequently for breaks, made up for lost time where he could, smiled and laughed the whole way, and got us to our destination with time to complete a PCR test before checking into our hotel. Thanks Eddie!
PCR testing was easy. Go to test and fly, pay the fee, get tested and wait for the results. Our tests took about three hours. Here is the number for Safari Lab/testing: +256 702 199000
Finally, would I do this again? - yes, hopefully next time with kids.
BE
Email Brian | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Plagued by admin issues.
My experience with Achieve global safaris wasn't great. After some back and forths with the team an itinerary was agreed on and 50% was paid in advance, it was mentioned that the remaining 50% would be paid on arrival with my Amex.
Here's a summary of the issues I faced:
I was told my Amex would work, it didn't, I had to dig around for another card
During the Rwanda part, of the trip, the driver saw and commented on my headphones, upon returning from the chimp safari he told me he used them and they were great. Not cool. He'd also eaten my lunch so I ended up with his choices. Again not cool.
For the Congo part, I needed my yellow card to show my vaccines, I wasn't informed about this but took it anyway. Feedback from admin was 'oh we thought you knew'.
For the flight from Rwanda to Uganda, I was not informed beforehand that I needed a visa. I escalated that to the admin contact and again she said 'it's not our fault, we thought you knew'. A shocking response, they informed me about the Congo visa but not the Uganda one? Madness
The Uganda itinerary wasn't accurate, there was confusion between admin and the driver, luckily I hadn't booked the hotel myself or else i'd have lost money.
The Uganda seemed to be more concerned with working on his preference of timing. I missed an activity because he didn't want to eat at a certain time, which meant us waiting around for 2 hours in the roasting heat doing nothing.
The Uganda driver asked if it was OK to pick up his wife on the way back from Queen Elizabeth park to Kampala. I said OK but this actually added 2 hours to the trip that he didn't tell me about.
Overall it was pretty disappointing. I also voiced my concern that there were no internal flight options proposed, the admin contact came back saying 'I didn't know your budget'. Another odd response considering 3 hotel budget options were proposed.
Avoid, the whole experience was pretty disappointing.
US
Email James | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We Loved Achieve!!
My fiancé and I traveled in Uganda for 10 days with Achieve Safaris this summer (July 2021 ). I cannot say enough about how wonderful this company was and what a great time we had, from start to finish. For beginners, we worked with Jolie over a year and a half planning and re-planning our trip. We were originally to go in July 2020 but had to reschedule due to COVID. Jolie was absolutely wonderful to work with. I asked her a million questions and we exchanged countless emails and she worked diligently to tailor the experience to everything we wanted to do and see. She outlined itinerary after itinerary for us with different price and lodging options until we finally settled on one. She set up COVID testing for us and even when our flights were changed last minute (literally) she made arrangements to accommodate our delay. So we owe a special big thank you to Jolie!!!
Next, our guide Eddie was seriously the best we could have hoped for in every way. Traveling with anyone for 10 days, much of it long drives in the car, can be a challenge. Personally, Eddie was such a pleasure to be around. He was friendly yet unimposing, happy to chat but also to let us sleep for long stretches of driving. We got along very well with Eddie and enjoyed being with him on our trip. We even had the wonderful opportunity to meet Eddie’s family as they happened to be staying near one of our destinations. When we asked Eddie if we could meet them he agreed and we had a wonderful time with them and playing with his kids for the day! Most importantly he was a fantastic guide. He was extremely knowledgeable about the wildlife we were seeing. This is not only important for us to learn about the wildlife but also because a knowledgeable guide can find it!!! Eddie showed us the big 5 over the course of our tour. I should also add that he was an amazing driver, which was essential both for getting to wildlife quickly and establishing a good spot and also because we felt safe and comfortable on all sorts of roads throughout our journey. In addition to our visits to different parks Eddie arranged a visit to meet with people from the Batwa tribe near Bwindi, another unforgettable experience. Although we were super impressed with Eddie’s capabilities as a guide we were unaware of just how lucky we were to have him. Following our time in Uganda we traveled to Kenya where we did another 6-7 days of safari and not one guide we had was even close to Eddie’s caliber. So definitely another tremendous thanks to Eddie and we hope to see you again soon!!!
Finally, the actual trip was amazing it was a beautiful and unforgettable experience. Uganda is a gorgeous country with many different landscapes to enjoy. The wildlife was amazing to see. Especially the gorillas and chimpanzees! The gorilla trekking is a big expense but it is not to be missed. We saw tons of wildlife and lots of very cool things over a month in Uganda and Kenya but I think the gorillas were the best. We chose the mid-range accommodations that Jolie suggested and all of the places we stayed were beautiful, comfortable and clean. The food was also very good and they made vegetarian arrangements for my fiancé.
All in all, if you are planning to go to Uganda and you want a company to travel with I would highly recommend traveling with Achieve and I would definitely request Eddie if possible!!
PL
Email Jarek Skowron | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Making your dreams on safari come true.
That were a perfect holidays for all the group. We just came back home happy and full of positive emotions. Big thanks - Achieve Global staff - for ideal planning and executions, for fantastic lodges and great meals, for breathtaking views and tones of interesting information. Guys from Achieve Global seem to have a long-term partnership contract with animals - meeting the Big Five took us only 2 days in Murchison Falls (and Ziwa), chimps in Kibale were so polite to show us the way back to the ranger's station, gorillas met us just in the outskirts of the Bwindi Forrest to show the respect for our highly advanced age.
Thanks Achieve. See you very soon.
CA
Email Brian S | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing Experience!
We had a magnificent 12 day safari with Elisa as our knowledgeable, caring, and very capable guide. The booking process was easy with Jolie helping to guide us through the options and put together a package that was sure to please.
Once the safari started Elisa was our constant companion for the next week and a half as we travelled around Uganda and the various national parks seeing so much wildlife and beautiful scenery.
We effortlessly managed to see the Big Five in the first two days alone and that was before we got to the chimpanzee and gorilla tracking experiences.
Such a memorable experience, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Achieve Global Safaris to anyone thinking about a Ugandan safari!
DE
Email Juli | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Perfectly organized and memorable 8-day wildlife safari
Tired of Covid-boredom we booked our safari-trip with Achieve Global Safaris quite spontaneuosly in April 2021. We were mainly drawn to it since it seemed to be the operator with the by far best value-for-money. This turned out very true and we had 8 perfect, adventurous days during which we always felt safe and well informed. :))
Communication with Jolie was excellent from this first Moment until after the safari. She arranged everything quick, friendly and 100% tailored to my needs and wishes. We got all information one could need and even more. :) The money transfer with pesapal also went smooth and yes, you can trust it. :)
The safari itself was perfectly organised and well planned. Our driver Haruna is maybe the the most experienced and knowledgeable one you could ever get. He also told us a lot about Uganda and the cheallenges the country faces. He made sure we saw ALL the animals, especiallys the predators like lions and leopards. You spent a lot of time with your driver and he was always easy going and an asset to have around. :)
The lodges (we had a mixture of budget and mid range accomodation) were very well picked and food there ranged from quite good to excellent.
Our itinary was composed perfectly and activities could even be adjusted a bit if e.g. a drive would take shorter than expected. The gorillas and chimps were so close to it - we will never forget that and it has been so totally worth its money. And last but not least: I am still stunned by the what feels like millions of elephants we encountered. :D
We had an awesome time and would recommend the company and especially Haruna to everyone.
IT
Email Patrizia Bonfanti | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fair, kind, experienced and well organized. A really great safari experience with Elisa
It is not the picture of the lion or the elephant 4 metres from the jeep that makes this experience so special. What makes a safari extraordinary is the intimacy of savannah life that allows you to observe: the wrinkles on the elephants' legs as they move with every step, the sound of the grass being torn up with their trunks, the male antelope watching over his family as they eat....
Thanks to my guide Elisa and his great experience that allow me to live this big experience! He knows each meter of the park, he explained me all the behaviours to avoid when you are in contact with animals and he was so patient and attentive to all my needs.
All the staff were so kind and the entire journey was a pleasure. The planning of the journey was so rapid and easy thanks to the kind assistance of Jolie.
DE
Email Dorena | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
it could not have been better
First of all, and most important: Thank you! Thank you Haruna (our guide) for making this trip such an unbelievable experience. During our 10-day roundtrip through the various national parks of Uganda, you made us feel safe & comfortable allowing us to enjoy the “ride” thoroughly. While being a reliable driver, you provided countless information regarding the country as well as its wildlife in perfect English language. However, what we liked even more were the interesting and deep discussions about our different cultural backgrounds leading to an exchange and sometimes even an adoption of rituals, practices or habits.
We arrived at Entebbe International Airport in the middle of the night, with transport to our accommodation already arranged. Everything went as planned and, after a first delicious breakfast consisting of assorted fruits, pancakes and coffee the next morning, Haruna picked us up in his comfortable tourist van where you could raise the roof while on safari. We then started our journey to the different national parks of Lake Mburo, Bwindi, Queen Elizabeth, Kibale and Murchison Falls before heading back to Kampala to do a Covid-19 test and then Entebbe to fly back to Germany. Throughout the various national parks, we were able to see elephants, hippos, giraffes, lions, leopards, zebras, buffalos, chimpanzees, baboons, various other species of monkeys, mountain gorillas, multiple beautiful birds as well as many other animals. When we weren’t able to see the wild animals that we were supposed to see in a specific national park during our first game drive (safari) there, Haruna was relentless in pulling all strings possible and even offering a second unplanned game drive in that national park when time would allow it. While every single game drive was enjoyable and delivered an animal species that we hadn’t seen before, the penetration of the “impenetrable forest” in Bwindi to see the mountain gorillas was another big highlight. After an exhausting (but easily doable for people of average fitness) 2-hour hike up the mountain, we essentially became part of a gorilla family for one hour. The gorillas didn’t mind the human presence at all, allowing you to observe our tremendously smart and impressive relatives from a very close distance. Certainly a must-do for frenetic wildlife fans who can afford it!
On the road from one national park to the other, Haruna quickly recognized what was most important for us: He made sure that we had a constant supply of drinking water, asked regularly if we had to use the washrooms and let us enjoy the scenery and culture. We stopped for typical Ugandan food, fruit markets along the highway and different viewpoints where we wanted to take photo. Basically, whenever we asked for something or had a small problem, Haruna was able to help and solve it very fast.
This setting as well as the surprisingly beautiful weather during the wet season allowed us to have an all-around amazing stay in Uganda. Highly recommended to travelers around the world!
Once again, thank you. Haruna hakuna matata!
RS
Email Danko T. | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
*PERFECT TRIP* during Covid-19
We traveled with this company for 15 days in November 2020. Let me start by saying that we are from Europe and flew to Uganda just for this trip, in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. Naturally, we were concerned about traveling at such a time, but decided to go and we could not have made a better choice. First, other than needing Covid-19 test to enter the country, we did not have any inconveniences during our flights, airport transfers, Uganda immigration... Everything was perfect and we arrived in Entebbe airport (Kampala) fresh, happy, and ready for adventure. Our driver, Haruna, met us there and would stay with us for the entire duration of our trip. We traveled with our little kids -- 8 years and 2 years old. Haruna and our 2 year old became like best friends. It was really amazing to see. After this wonderful trip, we all think of Haruna as a close friend, like family. He was friendly, polite, professional, and incredibly attentive to all our needs. We traveled in a clockwise direction around all of Uganda, visiting national parks, wildlife reserves, cultural and historical sites, and villages with traditional lifestyle. We saw all the key animals really close and well: hippos, rhinos, lions, buffalos, crocodiles, zebras, giraffes, elephants, impalas, Uganda cob, duikers, oribis, etc. We are not bird watchers, but also had a chance to see many amazing birds and learn about them: African fishing eagles, other birds of prey, three different kingfishers including the giant kingfisher, the secretary bird, different species of hornbills, marabu storks, etc. The vehicle was very comfortable, the accommodation fantastic, food delicious. Really, it was as if someone whisked us away from the current European Covid-reality and replaced it all with the perfect combination of adventure and comfort, excitement and relaxation. I should also add that we were impressed by how careful Uganda is about Covid -- we had access to hand sanitiser everywhere and the park rangers and hotel staff always check our temperature (by a quick no-contact sensor) on arrival. We felt much, much safer than back in Europe. Overall, Uganda is the perfect place to travel right now, very safe and full of new experiences, and this company is for sure the right one to share the country with you.
US
Email Barbara&Kathleen | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent, look no further than Achieve!
We were so pleased working with Jolie to plan our 10-day trip to Uganda. She was thorough, knowledgeable and very accommodating with all of our requests. She was most patient and courteous, always responding quickly to each email (with a 10-hour time zone difference.) Our trip included 2-days in Bwindi seeing the Mountain Gorillas, (A-mazing!) 1 day Golden Monkey trek, 1 day Chimpanzee trek, half day safari and half day boat safari, among other sights. All were exceptional and exceeded our expectations. We visited 4 national parks and in each location were thrilled with the mid-range lodges Jolie had booked for us. The accommodations were just lovely: large bright rooms, comfortable beds, welcoming staff, fresh meals. The rates were all reasonable since we booked through Achieve also. There are too many highlights to list, but our in-country Ugandan guide Arafat was key to such an amazing trip. Arafat made our time in Uganda as fantastic as it was, with his training & education about the region, the wildlife, the conservation efforts and the culture. He was the best guide we could ask for—extremely knowledgeable, kind, flexible, and pleasant to spend time with. He knew every one of the mountain roads by heart (which can be difficult to travel!) and was an excellent, safe driver. Because he knew all the routes and contacts of each area, he provided the best experience possible. He knows the park staff guides as well, so he made sure we'd have great treks -- all very well-run and organized. In most cases we saw more than we otherwise might have! His calm, warm and upbeat attitude made each day fun. We were grateful he was our guide and we feel lucky to have found Jolie and Achieve. We highly recommend this company!