Laura Our Company Director At the Head Office
Birchill Expeditions
- Located In:
- Size:
- 100-250 employees (Founded in 2020)
- Member Of:
- UTB & UWA
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $100 to $1,000 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
US
Email Molly Vierhile | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Incredible service, unforgettable trip
I HIGHLY recommend Birchill Expeditions. These were the least expensive trekking company I could find - about $1100 for my own personal gorilla trek in Uganda (including permits) - without compromising on service at all.
From the start, the Birchill staff was extremely responsive to all of my messages. My guide, Hassan, showed up prompt and on-time and was great - very easy to talk to and friendly, but also didn’t mind giving me space to just zone out and listen to music. I was traveling solo and safety was a priority for me; I always felt safe with Hassan and comfortable being by myself!
The hotels that Birchill put me up in were wonderful, with excellent food and service - especially the lodge near Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, which was so cute and even gave me a robe and slippers. I cannot speak more highly of them! Birchill was so easy to work with from start-to-finish.
Contact them at +256 702 101666 on WhatsApp
IE
Email Liz Jackson | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience
I finished off my 2 week volunteer dental nursing trip to Uganda with a 2 day safari with Birchill expeditions. My guide Peter was a wealth of knowledge & an experienced guide. He turned up promptly at 7am, we had an 8 hour drive to Queen Elizabeth national Park but the time flew as we chatted so much. I had a 2 hour cruise on the Kazinga channel where I saw Elephants Hippos Buffalos Crocodiles Monkeys etc and then stayed at a beautiful lodge overnight for a very early start for a game driving in the park, Peter was amazing at spotting animals, I felt so safe and comfortable at all times being a lone traveler. So I would highly recommend Birchill expeditions for any of their safari or tours.
Email Callum | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I recommend you avoid and beware
This tour operator goes by the name 'Eddie', with safari and trekking services also advertised through 'Northern Fox Adventures'. My experience has been one of deception, bad communication and $830 being taken from me, without the service provided. I recommend avoiding at all cost.
DE
Email Patrick R | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Horrible experience with Birchill Expeditions – we felt scammed and harassed!
Our two-day visit to Akagera National Park was extremely disappointing. Although the animals were seen on the game drive, the experience was not at all enjoyable. The canoe trip to Ihema Lake was not very exciting, and the animals had to be seen from a distance. The biggest problem was the misconduct of Birchill Expeditions—they forced us to pay extra money and harassed us in various ways throughout the trip. Their management was very poor, and the behavior of the guides was also immodest. Please do not book this company, or you may not get what you paid for.
DE
Email Katharina | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
I strongly advise you avoid Birchill Expeditions!
Warning: Scam Alert – Avoid Birchill Expeditions!
I want to share my terrible experience with Birchill Expeditions to warn others. I paid this company $800 in advance for a gorilla permit, trusting them to handle my tour properly. However, just one day before my scheduled trip, the operator canceled everything.
My tour was supposed to last several days and include multiple activities, but they failed to arrange anything. To make matters worse, they never refunded my money and have ignored my attempts to contact them.
This company is completely untrustworthy—they took my money and provided nothing in return. I strongly advise everyone to stay away from Birchill Expeditions to avoid being scammed like I was.
Email Dave | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Birchill Expeditions… in our experience, we felt scammed and misled. We would strongly advise others to avoid booking with them
As some others have said, we strongly advise caution when dealing with Birchill. In our experience, we felt deceived and believe that what happened to us amounted to being scammed. We did have a fantastic 5-day safari in Rwanda and Uganda BUT only because we had an amazing guide who kept things going for us. We had to pay $548 extra for services already included in what we had prepaid.
For example, $200 for golden monkey trekking permits, $88 for entry permits to Queen Elizabeth National Park and $260 for chimpanzee trekking permits. Birchill kept promising to refund the money but eventually didn't follow that through and advised to dispute payments through Amex (card provider). This might bear fruit but it is a long-winded process and through no fault of our own.
In addition, Birchill did not pay our guide and also did not pay the vehicle hire company for our 4WD. The latter resulted in the hire company refusing to let our guide move the car whilst in a remote part of Uganda. Eventually, Birchill did send some money to them which enabled us to get back to Kigali airport but not until after a lot of stress and a frantic drive.
I have to say the safari itself was amazing and our guide (Darius) was sensational but he and his freelance guide colleagues won't work for Birchill again. My advice is to avoid Birchill like the plague unless you want to be paying out more money and having to go through a lot of stress to try to get it back.