Peter Amanya and our guide in the safari van
Buyaga Safaris
- Office In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2017)
- Member Of:
- UTB & AUTO MEMBER
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $450 to $1,000 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
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for a custom tour
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Reviews
AR
Email Martin del Pino | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Not good experience
Honestly, the experience with Peter was very complicated and negative from the very beginning. Before arriving in Uganda, communication with him was very difficult. He either didn’t reply or wasn’t clear when he did.
We had agreed that payment could be made by card, but the night we arrived he told us it could only be paid in dollars. Not only cash, but the bills had to be from 2015 onward (something common in Uganda), but we didn’t know that. It was our first day, we arrived at night in a new country, I was with my wife, and he took us to withdraw money in a place with armed people and made us take out cash. It was a completely uncomfortable situation.
The next day we couldn’t withdraw all the money because of ATM limits (it was a large amount), and at 6 a.m. he was already messaging us to go withdraw more. We managed to pay part by transfer, but he charged an extra fee that had never been agreed.
Then he rented us a car that he knew was in bad condition (he had told me) but said it had been properly repaired. We went to Murchison National Park and the car broke down in the middle of the park with no signal. It started smoking.
We managed to contact him and his solution was for us to stay two days at a mechanic’s house in a small town in the middle of Uganda until it was fixed, which was completely unviable. We had to take a six-hour public transport ride across the country, which felt dangerous.
In the end he never refunded the money — he said the car wasn’t his and gave all sorts of excuses.
Later we did the gorilla tour with him. That part was overall okay, although the car also got stuck and we arrived late to all the hotels.
Honestly, I don’t recommend him. The only positive thing I can highlight is our guide, Apton. Very professional and the only thing worth rescuing from the trip.
Reply from Buyaga Safaris
Posted on Mar 9, 2026We apologize what didn't go well during the trip. Most allegations are false and are intended to tarnish our name especially of not answering to his messages. We attend to our client's needs in real time. we did not charge extra and we never advised him to sleep at the mechanic small house because the trip he had booked with us was starting the next day after his private. We responded after the vehicle developing mechanical issues and sent a mechanic to help them repair the damaged part. The company where we hired a car for their private trip never responded to our call of giving them an alternative vehicle so we advised them to use public transport because Uganda is a welcoming country and there are no risks in using public transport. I personally picked them from the bus stage and dropped them to their hotel where our guide picked them the following morning for their trip which they had booked with us. We conducted their trip with professionalism and all went well including gorilla and chimpanzee trekking. We sincerely apologize and we are currently engaging them for a better solution. Thanks