Mambo Gorilla Safaris Uganda
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2008)
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $250 to $3,800 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
US
Email Aaron | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Mambo Gorilla Safaris ran every aspect of the trip perfectly.
Didan at Mambo Gorilla Safaris is the best! He took me around Lake Bunyonyi and showed me all the cool sites. The gorilla trek itself was one of the most majestic experiences of my life. Worth every penny!
Email Eva | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great trip and good experience
My name is Eva. Me and my father are planning a Ugandan vacation for the whole family. We came across a holiday package with www.lovingheartsuganda.com. It seems pretty organized and systematic but we're unsure whether is responsible for a great Ugandan vacation but amvtellung it all ended in just great memories! Great drivers with experience and information, nice cars and Great choices of hotels
DE
Email Elli | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
You never forget!
It was our first time in Africa and so also in Uganda.
We wanted to book the gorilla-trecking and we searched for a guesthouse in the nationalpark.
And we found! So we stayed 9 days at Bunyonyi View Gorilla Packers, made trecking and also volunteering in the school. Everything is written here already and YES, it is like that.
The children and also all the other nice people we met went directly in our hearts.
So when we went back in Germany, we thought everyday about the school, the children....and so we started in february a foundation. We travel since 25 years, we saw so many poorness in different countrys, but now we are the first time able to help also directly from Germany- because we trust Crystal and Didan.
We are sure, they do so much for the kids and the money we sent is not going in there own pockets.
So you can see pictures of the school and the children on this side and we are happy about every donate ( now we collect for Siana and her family; they lost their home by a heavy rain):
https://www.leetchi.com/c/soziales-von-elke-zaksek
PE
Email Gabriella | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Loving atmosphere
The second time i go to Uganda to visit the loving hearts and im so happy to see how the kids grows and seems happy even though the circumstances has not been the best growing up as an orphan
The teachers are doing a great job, fully engaged in each child
DE
Email Annika | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Perfect safari with super safe driver!
Uganda has lots of great things to do and much beautiful thnings to see. So make sure that you are going on a safari at least for 3 days.
I can totally recommend Loving Hearts. It is not just the amazing hostel und the incredible work at their school, ot is also the organisation of safaris! We did a "3 night" safari with them and an extra "gorilla safari" the other day. Both was totally perfect. Good organisation, good accomodations and the important thing: a good driver!
Next time in Uganda, we will book the same agency again!
US
Email Chris | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
The highlight of East Africa
By recommendation, a friend and I booked our Gorilla trekking safari through loving hearts. After the initial fear of paying upfront and through an African payments website, we arrived and were totally floored by this lodge, the people who worked there, the food, the lake, the views, but most of all the school. Spending an open day with the teachers and students was supremely life changing. The compassion and story of the couple that founded the lodge and the school was heart warming. I ended up sponsoring a young boy, and becoming friends with many more. I cannot recommend the safari services or the people here highly enough. I fully trust them to give a fair price and deliver on what they promise and am very much looking forward to returning for another visit soon!
DE
Email Tanja | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
A home away from our home!
The journey to Uganda was our first big trip outside from Europe. We flew with Emirates from Frankfurt via Dubai to Entebbe. We were 8 people on our trip, family and friends :)
At the airport we were picked up by Didan (the chief from Loving Hearts Helping Hands), Crystal (his lovely wife) and Stanley (another driver). We also met Monica from Sweden, who was also set to spend about 4 weeks at the wonderful Lake Bunyonyi.
A long drive to Kabale and Lake Bunyonyi lay before us. It’s important not to drive in the dark, so we made a half way stop in a motel and continued the drive on the next day as we had arrived at the airport in the late afternoon.
The drive was long, but never boring. The first impressions of Uganda, the landscape, the cities and the people, along with the different smells were very fascinating for us. During the drive we saw zebras, cows and many other sorts of animals in the wild. We also stopped at a pineapple plantation. Since then we know that pineapples do not grow on trees. :D
On our trip we wanted to get to know the country and the people, and as well our sponsored child Melia. Melia goes to elementary school at the orphanage of Loving Hearts Helping Hands which Loving Hearts Uganda founded. Since February 2016 we had been supporting Melia.
Didan and Crystal founded this Loving Hearts Uganda which operates the tours, the school, and a hotel: Bunyonyi View Gorilla Packers with the aim of helping care for and educate orphan and needy children in the community.
First I would like to report about our accommodation Bunyonyi View Gorilla Packers.
Our hosts Didan and Crystal: They are very kind and attentive hosts. For them it’s very important that you feel good and comfortable. A big thank you for the organisation and the support of our trip. You both do a wonderful job.
Staff: The staff is funny, casual and very attentive. Thank you Ellia, Bosco, Junior and all the other wonderful staff, which made our stay unforgettable.
Rooms: Our room was small, but very clean, simple but decorated lovely. There was everything you needed. The bathrooms have Europeans toilets. The view over the lake is breathtakingly beautiful.
Food/Catering: We had full board… Breakfast, lunch and dinner. The food always was fantastic, tasty and lovely and appealing presented. A big praise to the chefs!
Bar: It is very comfortable to sit in the evenings with African music at the bar. It even has wifi.
Climate at the time of travel: Mostly it was between 23 and 28 degrees. It could happen that it rains 2-3 hours a day, then it gets colder. But on some days it did not rain at all.
Activities during the journey
School visit: The days at school were wonderful. The children are so grateful and so happy. We were greeted with dancing, singing and many hugs. It was very emotional. We brought some donations. Before visiting we had raised money for the Primary 7 classroom. The construction of a classroom began immediately upon our arrival. The community helped. The cohesion and the courage of the people to life is wonderful. Some of the visitors from our group gave lessons, while others were playing with the children. The joy of the children should be experienced once by everyone.
Safari to Queen Elizabeth: With our 3 sponsored children we drove to the Queen Elizabeth Park. It was nice to see the landscape and the animals (elephants, baboons, zebras, hippos, a lion ...). The children's reactions were very emotional and heart-warming. We had a lot of fun and have/got lots of new impressions.
Boat ride on Kazinga Channel: The boat trip was very interesting. We learned many things about the life of the animals and the landscape.
Boat ride on lake Bunyonyi: On the last day we took children from the school to a boat ride on Lake Bunyonyi. While these children live close to the lake they had never been driven by a boat before. It was very exciting for the kids!
For us adults it was very nice to get to know the lake from a different perspective. There are more than 200 bird species on the lake. The lake has 29 islands, each with its own history. It was very interesting :)
Baptism of Melia: Our sponsored child: Melia had been abandoned in a field and taken in by a family who then brought her to Loving Hearts Uganda. We decided to a baptism party for when we visited to officially become her Godparents and to let this sweet child know she will always have a family with us. The baptism of Melia was one of the most memorable moments on this holiday. The baptism ceremony in the church was colourful, loud, cheerful. A ceremony in Germany is unimaginable. It was a lot of fun.
Afterwards the party took place at the school. There were certainly 400 people there. Everyone was invited, a cow was slaughtered, all were satisfied.
There were two cakes for all the guests. A moderator led through the program. It was danced, laughed, sung ... It is unimaginable if you did not take part yourself.
The last evening with our sponsored children: At the last evening our children were staying with us in Bunyonyi View Gorilla Packers. There was a barbecue and tilapia fish, as well as lots of other delicious things to eat. We had a nice and fun evening with the kids. At which some children fell asleep. It was very sad to know that we had to go the next day.
Conclusion: Visit Uganda !!!!! Learn to know and love the wonderful and open-minded people and the beautiful landscape. Take some of the joy of life and satisfaction of the Ugandan people home. And then come back ...
We will be back, to Didan, Crystal and our children. We have gained a lot in our lives! A home away from our home!
CA
Email J. Ram | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Friendly, accommodating, experienced, informatiive
This opportunity was on our minds for a very long time. Finally in Jan2024 we were able to pull the trigger and make the trip happen. Called it the 'primates tour' where. we wanted to see the golden monkeys/chimps/and most importantly gorillas. We also wanted to get some game drives and take in some of the local sights and scenery.
After some research of various fitters we found Mambo Safaris as a highly rated company. Since it was just 2 of us, we got in touch with Mambo where Didan and Nicholas were extremely helpful. We wanted to make some subtle adjustments and tailor the trip to our needs.
I cannot express how amazing the experience was. Starting from the pickup past midnight to our lovely accommodation in the Airport Guest Lounge all the way to the airport drop off on day 9, the entire trip went without any interruptions or hitches. I credit the entire team from Mambo for allowing us to enjoy the trip, offering us very valuable feedback and information to make the plans fully successful.
Even when unplanned events did happen, we were able to pivot and maximize our times and experience. I would like to especially thank Twinomuhangi Yonah for his outstanding company and driving throughout the entire trip. He was very entertaining and sharing a lot of the local knowledge which we were very thankful for.
Just a warning for anyone reading. If you are planning on paying US cash, make sure they are not marked and newer than 2018.
In closing, Mambo is an EXCELLENT choice for anyone travelling to UGANDA and looking into taking in the wildlife tours. The lodgings were amazing as well, even though we opted for the budget.
Thank you Mambo team for all your help and guidance throughout out stay. All the very best!!
MX
Email Rito | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Gorilla Tour not official, but bribed a guard for a private tour.
The tour went ok. While tour was in a Landrover, it was not well maintained. Twice the car would not start until fixed a few days later, ran out of gas since dashboard was not working so never knew how much gas we had or how fast we were going. He tried to change originally quoted hotels on me, most where for a lower quality but when pressed he changed back. I was in low season so no issue with availability.
The biggest issue I had was on the gorilla trekking. The night before he called me to say needed to wake up and hour earlier cause gorillas had moved. I said we stayed in this hotel since it was 10 mins from the Buhoma gate. He said please wake earlier, so I did. One of the owners picked me up, not my usual guide we drove for about an hour. Then parked on side of road, where a Ugandan guard came out of the forest I followed him alone, not sure what was going on and saw gorillas for an hour. This was clearly a bribe for the guard and much lower cost for the operator. For all gorilla treks you usually meet with the group at an official entrance show passport get signed in and and divided into groups, as well as a short talk. This operator clearly did not pay for a gorilla permit. Tour operator and guard pocketed the money not Uganda Parks.
Reply from Mambo Gorilla Safaris Uganda
Posted on Mar 5, 2024Thank you for taking time to share with us your 10 Days Gorilla safari Experience! We don't understand why you think like that but We are glad the tour went ok and we are sorry about the car and everything that didn't go as expected
Thanks to our Driver that went extra mile to make your safari memorable and of course luck on our side you had chance to encounter with Gorillas, chimpanzees, Lions, leopard to mention but a few
For more than 10 years w have been professional and we remain committed to our Clients, We are grateful you choose to explore Uganda with us and We promise a better service Next time please