Senior Consultant Winnie on safari
Makario Safaris
- Office In:
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2019)
- Member Of:
- RTTA, RDB & TRIPADVISER
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $150 to $2,000 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Bill K | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Makario Safaris is a top notch organizer of a once in a lifetime trip to visit Rwanda.
I reached out to Makario Safaris along with two other companies, as suggested by Safari Bookings, to arrange a private tour for my wife and I centered around a trip to Five Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and a mountain gorilla trek. Alice from Makario was very quick to respond and after a few emails back and forth she was able to put together a package that included a night in Kigali upon arrival and three nights at the 5 Volcanoes Boutique hotel. We ultimately chose to use Makario instead an other company because of the quickness of Alice's responses and the thoroughness of the package she put together for us.
One thing to consider is that Makario does not accept credit card payments, so we had to use wire transfers to send funds which, understandably, can be a bit disconcerting if you are dealing with a company from a foreign country that you were not previously familiar. Makario required we put down a 30% payment upon booking with the remainder due 45 days out from the trip. I would highly recommend using Wise, an app that specializes in foreign bank transfers, as there were some issues with the initial attempt directly from my bank.
Because of the issues with wire, I got to interact with John the CEO of Makario who helped get things worked out. (The issues had nothing to do with Makario, it was a bank error on our end)
As we got closer to the time of the trip, Alice stayed in touch confirming the all the necessary permits had been secured and lodgings booked.
On the day we were supposed to depart, our initial flight out of the US was delayed enough so that we would miss our connection to Kigali in Amsterdam and delay our arrival by 15+ hours. I stayed in touch with Alice via What's App and she was able to adjust to the last minute change on the fly.
When we finally landed in Kigali, we were met by an airport official just as were were getting off the plane who helped guide us through immigration and customs thru a special express lane. After 30+ hours of travel this was a very welcome surprise as I wasn't expecting to see our name on a placard until after we cleared customs.
Once thru the airport, the airport official took us to meet Mansoor, who would be our guide the rest of the way. Alice had asked if we wanted to have a hotel room ready upon arrival to freshen or start the tour as originally planned with a city tour of Kigali and lunch? We thought it best to get started as we thought if we went into a hotel room at that point, we might never come out!
Mansoor met us at the airport in large Toyota Landcruiser tourist vehicle which was clean and stocked with bottled water. We would be spending a lot of time with Mansoor during our stay in Rwanda. His English is excellent; he is extremely knowledgeable, and clearly very proud his country while being happy to show it to foreign visitors. Getting to spend time with Mansoor and hear about his family and his country's history was one of the highlights of the trip for us. He also was able to "read the room" and knew when to stick to the schedule and when to offer a slight alternative based on current conditions. Thanks Mansoor!
The centerpiece of our trip was of course the trek up to see the mountain gorillas! This ended up being a great physical challenge (one of the hardest of my life!) and incredibly rewarding. It took about three hours of trekking straight up thru thick, dense vegetation and bamboo to reach the family we were assigned to see. I highly, highly, highly recommend if you do this trek to hire one of the local porters made available to you at the start. Not only does it help the local economy, but, and I am not exaggerating, I don't think I could have completed the trek without the help of my porter. (For context: I am a 59 year old male in good physical condition who plays golf 2-3 times a week walking without a cart)
Once we reached our gorilla family, the hour we spent with them was truly magical. To be able to see them in their natural habitat is amazing and a once in a lifetime experience. The trek is lead by one of the park ranger's. Our ranger was Ignacious. He briefed us on how to behave (and not behave!) when in the presence of the gorillas. He was immensely knowledgeable and made sure everyone in our group knew what to do and how to stay safe.
In addition to the gorilla trek, we also did a (much less rigorous!) trek to see the Golden Monkeys of the same park, a cultural visit to a village of former poachers, and a boat ride around the twin lakes near the park.
We spent three nights at Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel. The hotel staff was extremely friendly and helpful. The rooms were clean and spacious but the wifi and tv service were spotty. The food at the hotel was good, and they did provide a nice bag of snacks to bring along for the day activities and after returning from trekking, they gave us much appreciated foot massages and cleaned our shoes!
On the last day, we drove back to Kigali and had lunch at Heaven Restaurant. Before dropping us off at the airport, Mansoor, knowing that I was a golfer, took a quick detour so I could see the city golf course which looks fabulous!
Overall, I was completely satisfied by the job of Makario Safaris especially Alice and Mansoor. It was nice to be able to sit back and enjoy the beauty of this incredible country while feeling safe and in capable hands. The the trip they put together for us, the attention to detail, the communication was all on point. And when things went a bit sideways, as travel sometimes does, they were quick to adjust and make sure the impact was minimal.
I would high recommend Makario Safaris to family and friends or anyone interested in visiting this part of the world.
Email Sarah Bekessy | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
unforgettable day
Such a professional and thoughtful business - even though my booking was so last minute. John was the most fantastic driver and had an incredible knack finding rare and unique animals. And he is a fun and engaging conversationalist! I really recommend a trip to Akagera... it was breathtaking and incredible
thank you!
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Email KCT | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Reliable, professional and responsive.
Mwaka Utanje promptly responded to my initial query, and quickly provided very a clear and detailed plan for my Gorilla Trek. Everything was very well organized and worked out exactly as planned. I also appreciated Mwaka's input and answers to my many questions through the planning stages of my trip, including accommodating special requests. The drivers/guides were also really excellent. Both Moses and Hamadi were punctual, very professional, knowledgeable and extremely helpful. Altogether, good value, utterly dependable, professional and well organized to the last detail. I will call on Makario Safaris and Mwaka Utanje in particular again.
BM
Email Natalie | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Godfrey worked very hard to show us as much as possible in Akagera within a very tight time frame.
I had exceptional service from the start which includes Mwaka Utanje who was very responsive and patient with a slow international wire transfer payment. Godfrey picked us up punctually at KCC at 5 am (he was there early) and was a great timekeeper the whole day, but did not have much of a chance to share his knowledge of the animals with us. We had stops for breakfast and lunch. Breakfast was delicious even if slightly slower than expected because we all wanted to enjoy a Rwandan coffee! Safari in Akagera was exceptional. We saw far more than I expected, but it felt a little rushed. We were covering so much territory in one day it was only when the pride of lions surrounded us (!) that we took time to sit and watch the animals for a good long time. Lake Ihema boat safari with Innocent was also very memorable. Car was in good condition and Godfrey drove very well on unexpectedly congested roads back into Kigali. I recommend Makario Safaris!
AT
Email Gabi and Gerhard | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The offer for the tour didn't fit with the real tour.
We, my husband and I , booked a 3 day lasting Safari tour including a sight seeing tour in Kigali and entering the park and check in at the Lodge in the Akagera National Park on the first day.
On the second day we made a Safari tour in the Akagera National Park.
BUT on the third day a Safari experienced person of our group ordered an additional guide in advance who was specialized on birds. We weren't asked nor informed of this special bird tour on the third day of our Safari tour. The tour partially was very detailed discussing about the shape of the wings or colour of the bird legs.
We think being not informed of this special bird tour in advance is not a client friendly policy. We even still don't know if we had and how much we had to pay for the additional guide / additional programme we didn't order.
Btw Jimmy, our main guide did a great job.
Very personal service
A wonderful point to point experience with an amazing driver/guide
Lunch was a bit basic but it was delicious
Thank you
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Email Judy B | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Our time in Rwanda trekking to the mountain gorillas and golden monkeys was absolutely amazing.
Our time in Rwanda was perfect from the moment we met Jean Marie at the airport upon arrival until he left us at the airport on our departure. My daughter and I fell in love with Rwanda and its beautiful people. Jean Marie was wonderful, such a kind and caring person. He is the perfect ambassador for Rwanda. Our time with the the gorillas was breathtaking. Everything was so organized. It is an experience we will always cherish. The tour exceeded our expectations. We enjoyed seeing some of Rwanda in the afternoons after our morning treks. We also enjoyed our visit with the golden monkeys. It was a fun way to end our visit. We highly recommend Makario Safaris. You provided my daughter and I with a vacation we will remember forever. Thank you!
The best tour company in East Africa very honest people
Makario safari help me to recapture the whole love in Rwanda. Gorilla trekking and nyungwe forest.we enjoy our vacation that was professionally handled from our stay in Rwanda. Our tour driver was very accommodating, has great wealth of knowledge demeanor,made our trip transition smoothly, Mwaka was also available by phone and helped any last minutes question we had as well recommend some activities we could undertake along our route.
I highly recommend makario safari, for anyone seeking to travel in one of East Africa destination.
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Email Jennifer Crabb | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Super great to work with and helped us when we had trouble with travel!
So great!! When our flight was canceled on us last minute the company worked with us throughout the night with our rebooking. We were scheduled to arrive during the day but didn't end up making it until the middle of the night. The tour guide still was able to pick us up at 1:00 am, they found us a hotel to sleep in for a couple of hours, picked us back up at 430 am and then still got us to our Gorilla Trekking experience that morning on time.
Email Declan & Abida Fahy | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Confident and stress free experience
We booked a gorilla trek in Volcanoes national park with Makario Safaris from the UK. This included transport from Kigali to the excellent Five Volcanoes boutique hotel, a gorilla trek and onward transport to lake Kivu. Given the high cost of trekking permits and bad experience of some travellers with other companies, we wanted to book with a reliable agent. Marario Safaris stood out and our confidence grew with our communication with their director, Mwake Utange. We received tailored quotation with detailed itinerary, confirmation and copies of our trekking permits, contact details of our driver and Makario managers in the event of any problems. Nothing was too much trouble. As a result we have had a stress free lifetime experience, with everything taken care of for us at each part of our journey. We wholeheartedly recommend Makario Safaris as a professional, friendly and reliable agent.
