Leslie and Kevin - Owners of Experience Uganda
Experience Uganda
- Located In:
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2015)
- Member Of:
- Association of Uganda Tour Operators
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $300 to $600 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Katja and Steffen | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Everything was perfect perfect perfect!
We loved the trip !!! Everything was planned so well we couldn't have dreamt of anything else!
Let's start from the beginning. Kevin called back immediatelyafter me contacting him through the website to ask about our ideas and what we like and how we are and what we expect the trip is going to be like. We talked for 45 minutes, after this he sent through an itinerary. It was great - but still we wanted some adjustments and had a few different ideas which he immediately took in, even a couple of times until we ware happy :) Kevin is extremely responsive and tries everything to make his customers happy. Even though they may seem to be a bit more expensive it is really worth every dollar. We travelled for 2,5 weeks in Uganda with Emma, who is a great guide and his car Freddo - which was almost a friend after that time :) and you learn a lot of the different cultures and the country itself. Emma is also really sensitive to give you your own time if you want this but if you want to do another game drive or have more questions, he is there for you!
We met so many people not being happy with their tour and organization but paid a bit less than we did, but really? It is YOUR holiday and maybe a once in a lifetime experience and Experience Uganda really makes a difference in treating their customers. We had so many nice litte extras which made us feel very special and it also made the trip special - we even had a few people being jealous of what we got compared to what they got. We loved that :)
If you want to travel to Uganda, which is by all means not cheap in any way, do it with Experience Uganda. We can recommend this 100%. Being in their hands you can lean back and relax and enjoy! Also I can recommend to start with one or two nights in Entebbe - Lake Victoria is beautiful - and enjoy the guesthouse Kevin and his wife have there. Great food. Great staff. Nice pool and rooms. And it was the perfect start for a trip in Uganda.
Email Davyth | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Superb personalised experience
I was introduced to Experience Uganda through an intermediary, who arranged 3 quotes for a c.2 week trip to Uganda (one budget, one mid-range and one luxury - Experience Uganda was the mid-range quote). It was no problem for Kevin to re-arrange the quotation, including some of the best points of the other two quotes, as well as changing the dates. Kevin took into account my suggestions and was able to advise me when I wasn't sure about how many days to spend in each location. I was given lots of information beforehand about clothing, online visa application etc. and was kept in touch at all stages of booking and payment etc.. It ended up as a 14 night tour.
The holiday started in an excellent fashion when I was met the aeroplane side of customs by a representative who guided me through the process of getting the visa and helped me collect my baggage. Soon a car whisked me to Karibu Entebbe, Experience Uganda's guest house, which was very comfortable and well appointed. Seeing as I had arrived late at night and was getting up early the next morning to go on a boat trip to the Mbamba Swamp to see shoebills, Brett left the briefing until my return.
The next day I met Bahati, my guide for the 2 week anticlockwise loop around western Uganda. He was courteous, fun and very knowledgable, and we soon got on like a house on fire. He quickly made sure that he knew what my priorities were for photos etc. and spotted birds and animals where I hadn't seen anything. The lodges that had been arranged were with one exception excellent, and at the end of the trip, when I noted a couple of deficiencies with one lodge, Brett made sure he found out exactly what was my positives and negatives were with that accommodation for future reference. I had a last minute change to my itinerary for the last day, because I wanted to meet some in-laws, and Brett and Bahati helped arrange a meeting place, as well as a room for me to rest as my flight did not leave until late evening.
I cannot stress how good Bahati was as a guide, and he had contacts in various community projects who were experts in their field whom we would meet for birding walks etc. Bahati was flexible and would offer a choice about activities and time of departure etc.. I had booked 3 chimpanzee treks and 2 gorilla treks, which was a good idea as you are not guaranteed of seeing chimpanzees in particular. I was lucky the first trek in seeing 30-40 chimpanzees hunt, kill and eat a monkey. The second trip was a chimpanzee habituation where you can be with them for up to 4 hours. This time a chimpanzee passing overhead pooed on my back!. The third time I saw no chimps. I think the chances of seeing gorillas are nearer 100%, but by going twice I saw two different families.
The boat trips were arranged as private trips, meaning you have a smaller boat, more flexible itinerary and more personalised experience. The vehicle I travelled in (a Toyota Hi-Ace van which had been safari modified) was exactly what I needed. With the roof open I was able to get high up to take photos, and there was plenty of room for all of my baggage. Brett and Bahati were in contact every other day, checking that the arrangements were all in place.
All in all, I couldn't have asked for anything more from Experience Uganda. I had to travel solo this time because my wife had had a hip operation recently, but we intend to visit Uganda again, and I shall have no hesitation in arranging a holiday with experience Uganda once more.
Email Mark Wigston | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Pearl of Africa Tailor Made
Other reviews have already mentioned the main points that should be covered in any review of this excellent company, but at the risk of repetition I will add my penny's worth!
1. Personal service by someone who knows the country and how to get the best out of the time available for each client.
2. Excellent personal itinerary. Well paced and comprehensive.
3. Great guides, tailored to your characteristics, i.e, funny and jovial, excellent bird identifier.
4. Karibu guest house was a great starting point. Close to airport, small, personal, excellent cottage rooms and great, friendly staff. Food was fantastic.
5. Itinerary explained in detail by operations manager before setting off .
6. Standard of lodges used very high.
7. Vehicles of good standard and comfort.
8. Internal flights comfortable and on time, saving on long road transfers.
9. Gorilla permits obtained well ahead of time (a year in our case) and groups chosen with care. Suggestion of two treks was the right one.
10. Suggestion of Golden Monkey trek in Mgahinga NP was a brilliant one and gave a completely different dimension to trip.
11. Personal contact from Kevin Nicholson throughout planning stages and during tour was excellent and he constantly sort feedback, both positive or not to improve future trips for other clients.
In summary, don't hesitate to use this company. they are professional and very good value for money as on all inclusive basis once in the country and they were significantly cheaper than a UK based firm offering an inferior trip!
ES
Out of all the African vacations we've taken Experience Uganda were by far the best company ever.
Experience Uganda were so good in every way, way beyond our expectations. Communications never a problem, service from all staff excellent. The rooms were spotless, the food scrumptious and the Lodges were all very good, Karibu and Engagi lodges were beautiful. Our driver on the safaris couldn't have been more gracious, accommodating and thoughtful. The riverboat safari was also excellent and the guide couldn't do enough for us.
Email Loz | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Efficient, Professional & Friendly
We finished our tour this morning and have had a great time. We researched quite a few companies & found Experience Uganda to be the most efficient, informative and the best value. We were a bit nervous about sending payment to a company based outside the UK but Kevin was happy to speak with us on the phone and efficiently confirmed when payments were received etc. After listening to what we wanted he put together an excellent itinerary, willingly and quickly getting back to us with different options of e.g. lodges & activities etc. He worked within our budget with no pressure on trying to increase our costs....although we did end up choosing some fantastic accomodation!
We started and ended our stay at Karibu Guesthouse, which was excellent. Staff were great as was the food and accomodation. All airport transfers for were organised for us, as was everything else!
Of course, we went to see the gorillas, which were amazing but we also discovered a whole lot more. We would definitely use this company again.
Email Linda | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fantastic - definitely recommend Experience Uganda
We were extremely impressed with all aspects of the service we received from Experience Uganda, from our initial booking, to getting advice ensuring we got what we wanted from the holiday, through to packing advice. All aspects of the service was extremely professional.
When we arrived in Uganda everything was well organised and seemless handled.
All members of their staff went above and beyond in all areas.
Email Tracy and Bob | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Easy, stress free and perfectly organised to our needs.
Kevin and his whole team of Experience Uganda were excellent. We basically found Experience Uganda on the internet and from first correspondence decided to book with them because of their immediate response to our enquiry and also the fact the trip was tailor made for us. There was no hard selling, just good old excellent customer service and he liaised with us over everything. Nothing was too much trouble.
He helped us so much get prepared for the trip , from helping us apply for visas to sending us notes of what to pack etc. Brilliant advice.
From arrival in Entebbe, he had us collected from the airport so we could freshen up and have a short brief before dropping us back at the airport a few hours later for our flight to Kihihi. We were picked up by a pre arranged guide who was basically allocated to us for our whole stay, making sure we arrived safely and at the right place as required for the Gorilla Trekking. He wasn't over bearing, he was just always there when you needed him. Thank you Sulla.
The Buhoma lodge was perfect for us. The actual 2 day Gorilla Trekking was 2 of the best days of my life and well worth it.
Experience Uganda were again there to meet us on our arrival back in Entebbe and kindly looked after us at their beautiful Guesthouse Karibu until our evening flight. Kevin and Leslie and their staff were brilliant and very welcoming.
I cannot recommend Experience Uganda enough. I would definitely use again.
A perfect trip and a huge thank you for an amazing experience.
Email Christabel Moseley | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Exceeded all our expectations - and we had set them high!
I have just come back from a 14 day tour with Experience Uganda including Murchison Falls, Entebbe, Ishasha (Queen Elizabeth National Park), Bwindi to see the Mountain Gorillas, and Jinja to chill out for a few days at the end. The trip was a special birthday present for my mother, as I promised her 22 years ago (when I came back from seeing the gorillas in the then Zaire), that I would take her to see the Mountain Gorillas one day. My last trip was amazing, but truth be told was done on a bit of a shoestring, and included about a week of not washing, which I obviously could not expect my 74 year old mother to contend with. So I decided to contact Experience Uganda for a slightly more upmarket trip. I could not have been more impressed with Kevin - right from the moment I contacted him online, his communications were informative, swift and personable. This continued throughout the period leading up to our trip, and was evident throughout our time in Uganda. The itinerary Kevin came up with was absolutely perfect for my mother and I - it included all the places I wanted to show my Mum and the lodges that Kevin chose for us were spectacular. The friendliness and hospitality throughout surpassed all of our expectations, and the experiences will stay with us for the rest of our lives - something very special that my Mum and I could share. I have only known my mother to be speechless twice in my life - once was when my sister and I surprised her and Dad with a 25th wedding anniversary party (almost 25 years ago) and the other was when our guide Fred surprised us with a bush breakfast - the view was breathtaking and the look on my mother's face was priceless!! I went to Uganda expecting to be wowed by the wildlife, which I certainly was, but I was even more impressed by the people we met, the extremely positive attitude towards conservation and supporting local communities, and the undeniable warmth and friendliness of the Ugandans. Every place which we stayed at was a small piece of paradise. Kevin and Leslie's beautiful Karibu Guest house was no exception, and we cannot thank them enough for looking after us (thank you Leslie for your 'special tea' for Mum's cough) and for providing us with memories that will never leave us. I finally managed to fulfil my promise to my mother, and the trip surpassed even my own very high expectations. Thank you so much Experience Uganda, and please keep doing what you are doing - because you do it so darn well!! Christabel (and Sigrun) Moseley
Email Sharad | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Exceeded Expectations!
My wife booked this trip with Experience Uganda for a special birthday treat for herself, so she set the standards high and chose the operator carefully. Communication with them (Kevin) was faultless, all queries addressed very quickly. The itinerary was customised with expertise, taking into consideration our time and budget requirements.
Airport transfers, game drives and travel between lodges were always punctual, thanks to Michael – our guide. He became a part of our team during our safari, it would not have been the same without him. There wouldn’t have been breakfast on the savanna or drinks at dusk on the hill top for a start.
The lodges we stayed at were brilliant, but with no disrespect to the others, Kyambura Gorge and Bakers deserve a special mention.
All the wildlife we saw was fascinating and the gorilla trekking was the highlight, better than I had imagined.
As I said earlier, my wife had set the standards high, but Experience Uganda exceeded them! Thank you for a great safari.
Email Kathy Karia | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An absolutely magical tour of Uganda with Experience Uganda who were truly professional in every way
Communication right from the first contact was superb. Emails were always answered within a few hours and all questions and concerns were answered every step of the way.
The service from Experience Uganda was exceptional from the planning of our trip and pulling together an itinerary to cover all the places, sights and wildlife that we wanted to see, within the budget that we had.
We were met at the airport as promised and stayed one night at Karibu which is owned by Experience Uganda, this is an lovely well run establishment with such helpful staff.
Our guide for the 14 night adventure was a star and became an integral part of our group, we had such a laugh.
Accommodation in the lodges and tented camps was perfect.
Every day would bring so many surprises if not from the wildlife which was outstanding (especially seeing the gorillas) then it was the marvellous breakfast we had laid out on the savanna, with even a toilet tent provided. or the G and T's at sunset with a perfect viewing vista after seeing a leopard !! It could not get any better.
This was an amazing trip through Uganda which far exceed our expectations and will never be forgotten. This was with thanks to the wonderful high standard of organisation from Experience Uganda who we now like to call our friends.