Typical Ugandan operator by Richard Tusasibwe
Gatatu Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 10-20 employees (Founded in 2011)
- Tour Types:
- Budget & mid-range tours with set start dates and a fixed itinerary
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $65 to $710 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
US
Email Betty | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Richard is a thief, do not trust this company.
This is NOT a safari company, it is a huckster with a website. Richard insists on money wires in advance but then doesn’t deliver on any of his contracts. He offers nothing but lies, abuse, and third-rate accommodations. After scamming my group for thousands of dollars, I am infuriated to see that people are continuing to try to book tours through him! DO NOT EVEN CONSIDER CALLING THIS COMPANY unless you want to lose money and have your trip ruined. We had to pay for almost our entire trip twice since he took our money but didn’t pay any of the parks or hotels we were supposed to visit. He belongs in jail, I’d love to know how he got out, but hopefully he will end up back there soon enough.
DE
Email Markus | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
WARNING! $ 14,000 fraud and embezzlement
Almost a year in advance, we had booked an almost three-week safari via GATATU for five people in July / August 2019. The trip should cost a total of around 35,500 US dollars. As agreed, US $ 20,000 were transferred in advance. The rest should be handed over on site.
We were promised 2 safari vehicles, which should accompany us on the almost three-week tour, when we arrived at the airport there was only an old and neglected mini-bus that picked us up at the airport in Kigali in the late evening and then did not pick us up agreed boutique hotel but moved to another hotel.
After long discussions I was able to convince the otherwise very nice driver to take us to the agreed boutique hotel. We couldn't reach Richard, the manager of GATATU.
The next day we met the manager Richard in the office of GATATU Safaris in Kabale. It turned out there that not a single one of the agreed lodges was reserved. Richard received from us $ 1,500 for a 5th Gorilla Permit.
Since the owner of the first lodge warned us not to give Richard more money, we agreed that I would pay for all the lodges within the next three weeks on site and use the remaining US $ 14,000 for it.
The next evening it turned out that everything else was not paid for, e.g. the chimpanzee permits, entry to the national parks, accommodation and food for the driver, fuel, costs for the rented minibus etc. etc.
Of the 21,500 US dollars that GATATU received from us, only 7,500 US dollars were used for the gorilla permits, the rest (14,000 US dollars) was pocketed by the manager for no consideration. Richard could not be reached by phone, so on the third day we had to file a report with the tourism police in Kabale.
Richard was on the run, arrested three weeks later and jailed for three weeks. With one of his representatives, who visited us together with a senior officer, we agreed that Richard would repay the embezzled money in payment installments, which has not yet happened. At this point I do not want to report anything about our very negative experiences with the police in Uganda.
I can only warn you strongly against making any deals and especially advance payments to GATATU.
https://www.softpower.ug/tour-operator-who-defrauded-german-tourists-of-shs-81m-arrested-in-kabale/
CA
Email Christina | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
WARNING DO NOT BOOK!!
where do I start, first off don't even take a chance on looking at all the other good reviews, we did the same thing. This company is a total scam. I was in contact with Richard for months to book a gorilla safari for our honeymoon. Needless to say he went above and beyond to make you trust him then you send money and then all contact is cut off and your money is gone. The tour never existed, noone picked us up, the hotels we were supposed to stay at had no record of us coming, the worst part is richard sent us FAKE permits. The UWA advised us they were fake and they were never purchased.He was recently arrested for another large scam, this company shouldn't even be allowed to run. We came half way across the world to do a gorilla tour with what we thought was a legitimate company just to be scammed and not be able to do it. We were completely heartbroken. This guy and this company has no heart, they are just out to scam the next poor person who trusts them. We spoke with the UWA & tourism boards and all they did was lead us on. Pretty sure they all work together , you cannot trust them. If you decide to do a tour go to rwanda and pay the extra money where you can trust the people and feel safe and go to the gorgeous volcanoes national park instead. We never got our money back , nor did we get to see the gorillas.....Gatatu safaris are Scam artists and criminals. Please do yourself a favor and make sure these guys DO NOT get your money, they should be shut down
NL
Email Johan Janssen | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Warning: don’t book with Gatatu!
For our honeymoon we booked a Gorilla tour 5 months in advance. We also transferred 1.300 USD to Gatatu. Gatatu confirmed the booking by e-mail and we even drove to Bwindi NP to start the Gorilla trek. After the introduction the driver (no connection with Gatatu) told us something is wrong. No booking was made by Gatutu with the Uganda wildlife authority and also no permits left. Meaning we couldn’t do the Gorilla trek, the main reason we booked a flight to Uganda! On our return to the lodge we met with someone from Gatatu (interim manager) and he apologised and we asked for a full refund which we received. We understood from him and someone from our lodge that Richard, owner of Gatatu, is in jail for fraud! We are very disappointed with Gatatu. From everything during our trip this was the only thing that had to go right because the permits are very limited. Gatatu, NEVER AGAIN.
US
Email KAT | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Buyer Beware - Gatatu lied about purchasing our Gorilla and Chimp permits in advance
After researching a few safari companies, we (group of 4) chose to work with Gatatu as they had great reviews and were a small operation located right in Uganda. Clearly something has changed with their business since these last reviews were posted, as our trip was anything but easy. We came to find out Richard and Steven never purchased our gorilla and chimp permits in advance (we found out about the gorilla permits the morning of our trek when we couldn't get in) in spite of telling us they were purchased back in August 2018, when my sister and I made a $2000 deposit (my friends made a similar deposit but I don't know the date). Richard went as far as providing FAKE copies of the gorilla permits. Please keep in mind gorilla permits and chimp habituation permits HAVE to be booked well in advance as only a limited number of ppl can get in per day. After repeated lies from both Richard (and threats via text) and Steven, we decided to part ways and hired ourselves a new driver 4 nights in. If you choose to use them, make sure to get copies of all of your permits in advance and confirm their validity with the national parks.
On a positive note, all of our accommodations were what was promised and we did have a nice $30 add on of a boat ride up the Kazinga Channel with one of Steven's friends. Also, with our evidence of being duped by Gatatu, we were able to get ourselves in for a gorilla trek at Bwindi by the game warden who took pity on us and with the assistance of two locals in Kibale, in for the chimp trek (we couldnt get in for habituation as that was full). All I can say is thank goodness we did not pay them in full and were able to walk away with a few saved dollars. If you have any questions, I have saved all of my communication and texts with Richard. Feel free to reach out.
p.s. Steven picked us up in a green safari vehicle full of roaches on the first day. We should have known what was to come...
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g673829-d10791582-r644516635-Gatatu_Safaris-Kabale_Western_Region.html#
Reply from Gatatu Safaris
Posted on Feb 22, 2019After entering into Agreement with Kara, your sister and sent the first installment of the money,You requested to add 2 more people, You were 3 ladies and one Male unfortunately, You breached the contracted when you reached in our office in Uganda and refused to pay all the balance based on the agreement.
With the gorilla tracking, I admit there was issue but having 2 nights in Bwindi, we knew you would do gorilla tracking and by the way, there is high demand for gorilla permits in Uganda, For people who do not book their safari 6 month in advance, it will be hard to get gorilla permits, why?? Rwanda increased its gorilla permits from $750USD to $1500USD , the demand for gorilla permits in Uganda is very high.
You arrived differently in Kigali, Steven met you with the land cruiser which was white, its not mentioned, on the second, he went to meet Elizabeth and boyfriend, its not mentioned, You not mentioning that you refused to pay on arrival in Uganda, changing the white car to a green which would accommodate 4 of you was a good deal and the vehicle is very new unfortunately i am not aware and was not aware of the Cockroaches because its been used to transport very many people.
There very many people from around the world who pay money to companies and on reached at the airport, no body is there to meet them, I am not sure what you really mean being duped however we are very committed to serve all people from around the world, we have served more and more people after you and before you, we don't bribe people to write good things about us, more good reviews are coming unfortunately it was hard for Steven to go on with you when you threatened to strangle the head was your bear hands and feared for his life.
DE
Email Andy | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
OK but lots of room for improvement
Value for money is only moderate. I found their tour preperation was not adequate, leading to a car break-down which cost us several hours. Not good when your time is limited. Some more time was wasted in a Police control, where it turned out that the car did not have proper insurance with some documentation missing. The driver was definitely striving to do his best, yet he was not qualified as a guide during our game drive. Fortunately and by chance we had a local helping out, otherwise we would have missed lots of interesting sights and information.
NL
Email Evert | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Communication difficult, great tour
It took me a while to decide on which gorilla tour from which tour operator to choose. I was looking around for one day tours starting from Kabale or Kisoro. I booked a tour with Gatatu, which had both a good price and good reviews (on safaribookings.com).
Contact with Gatatu was by e-mail with the owner. In his first e-mail to me he said that I would pay at the start of the safari either in Gatatu’s office or to my guide. But because Gatatu had to buy my gorilla permit for the trekking date I asked if I shouldn’t pay for at least the permit before. Then I received a reply that money did have to be transferred to Gatatu’s account.
I had to transfer the full amount which I did, but Gatatu did not buy the permit before the money was received. One week later they had received the money, but it took 3 more days until I received a message from the owner saying he bought the permit the day before. The waiting for Gatatu buying the permit (in total 9 days after payment) and telling me about it made me pretty nervous as I had read that permits could be sold out. Also the payment information I first received turned out to be incorrect and after finding out they had received the money it still took 2 days for Gatatu to buy the permit.
The gorilla tour itself was great. First I could enjoy the landscape during the early morning drive from Kabale to Bwindi Park. Mist was hanging over the valleys, a beautiful sight. Then during the gorilla tour we had found the gorillas very quickly and they came very close, especially 2 babies.
DE
Email Jakob | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Spontaneous safari
We came to Uganda a bit unprepared so that we booked it (8 days through Uganda, 1999 US$) only fife days before the tour started.
All in all it worked out pretty well. We had the most amazing experiences visiting the Gorillas and having all the other experiences.
The accommodations and the food that was provided three times a day were very good. Being two university students we most likely would have booked less comfortable lodges and hotels and eaten less often and in less expensive restaurants.
The transport was mostly good. We had a very kind and caring driver who even picked us up from Jinja which was an extra two hour drive for him. Unfortunately, the car broke down twice within the eight days which caused some irritation and made us wonder about the State of our car .
Even though they handled both breakdowns pretty good we would have enjoyed a better communication about how it might affect our plans for the day.
In addition to that we would recommend to read the program carefully. At two occasions the guides forgot about smaller activities mentioned on the program.
The payment has been quite stressful for us as we did not bring that much cash to Uganda an the ATMs wouldn’t let us withdraw more than two million a day (of course this a problem that occurred due to our spontaneous booking). Nevertheless, we would have enjoyed to be able to pay with either credit card or by money transfer.
All in all it was a good experience and we would mostly recommend it.
US
Email Barbara | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
14 Day Luxury Tour of Rwanda and Uganda - Gorillas, Chimps, and Birds
We just returned from the "14 Day Luxury Tour of Rwanda and Uganda -
Gorillas, Chimps, and Birds", offered by Gatatu Safaris, and I want to give
an honest review of our experience with this local Ugandan company. We are
seasoned travelers in our 70's and have traveled extensively with wildlife
companies all over the world. We decided to take a chance booking with
Gatatu Safaris instead of an American company because we really liked the
itinerary they offered since one of us is a wildlife photographer and the
other is an avid bird watcher. Not only was it a good fit for our interests,
it was less expensive for what it offered compared to the American companies
we considered. We were overall pleased with our experience although there
were a few short comings. For example, at the beginning of the tour, our driver did not
have the promised itinerary of daily activities and they were not occurring.
Calls back to the office resolved this situation to a degree.
Since it was advertised as a bird tour, we expected to have professional
bird guides at each of the parks where birding was mentioned as an activity.
This had not been arranged ahead of time, but was handled by our guide "on
the fly", and we were never sure if we would have a bird guide or not, nor
how knowledgeable he would be. Another surprise was the game drives
themselves. The itinerary on the website listed multiple game drives at the
national parks, and this was one of the main reasons we elected to go with
Gatatu Safaris. On our travels, we have always taken game drives in safari
vehicles with pop up tops allowing the occupants to stand up and see clearly
in all directions, but this was not the case with Gatatu. The game drives
were conducted with our driver, Stephen, in the same vehicle used for
transportation between parks, a 1999 vehicle with cramped seating that was
not air-conditioned nor was the fresh air vent working, so we endured many
long, hot drives on Uganda's very bumpy and dusty roads with the windows
open. Stephen was neither a naturalist nor a birder, but he did arrange to
hire bird guides in some of the parks after we got there, and he did arrange
to rent a pop up vehicle for one of the game drives.
One thing that Gatatu Safaris handled very well was changing our
accommodations for the gorilla trekking to a location where they felt like
we would be able to do the trek more easily since we are both in our 70's.
This took a number of phone calls and a talk with the park director, so we
were grateful that they arranged this for us. One thing that could have been
better were the briefings before each day and each activity - what to wear,
how long it would take, do we need water and a hiking stick, etc.
This was advertised as a luxury safari tour, and all of the accommodations
were excellent, the best available in each of the places where we stayed,
so we were pleased with that aspect of our trip.
My recommendation to prospective travelers considering going with Gatatu
Safaris is to agree on a detailed itinerary ahead of time with the company, print
it out, and bring it with you, and be aware that it is a small local Ugandan
company and may lack the polish you expect with a high-end American or
European safari company.
DE
Email Angela and Volker | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Wonderful experience in Rwanda and Uganda with Gatatu Safaris
We went to Rwanda and Uganda for a private two people Safari (12 days). The communication with the company during the initial inquiry and ongoing preparation of our tailor-made tour war always quick and pleasant. All the luxury suggested accomodations were well managed, clean and breath taking. The driver (Steven) was very friendly, careful and always available when needed. We can highly recommend Richard and his team .