Team Amakula African Safaris
Amakula African Safaris
- Located In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2019)
- Member Of:
- TUGATA, USAGA & UTB
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $250 to $1,500 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
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Email Sebastian | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Awesome Experience travelling with Amakula African Safaris
Our 15-day Gorilla Tour with Amakula African Safaris was an absolutely excellent experience. The entire tour operator, including our guide, was incredibly friendly, well-organized, professional, and trustworthy. We had an amazing time and got to see everything we had hoped for—and more! We highly recommend Amakula African Safaris.
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Email Karen Russell | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Trip of a lifetime with best tour company ever!
Where do I begin to share about the trip of a lifetime?! I have been blessed to travel many places throughout the world, including safari in S Africa, but our trip to Uganda tops it all.
Let me begin by saying, my husband didn't want to go. He was afraid for our safety. I spent time interviewing previous travelers and felt assured we would be safe, and indeed we were!
My initial contact at Amakula, Davis, was so patient and thorough, spending weeks answering my myriad questions. He adjusted our itinerary to suit our needs and interests. From food to accommodations and itinerary, everything was wonderful.
My husband and I have special dietary needs and each and every one was accommodated. So whether one is vegan, ketogenic or Gluten free or has food allergies, everything was handled and the food was delicious and nutritious, and believe me when I say I am picky lol.
I have to also say that we had the most amazing tour guide ever! Julius Tinka was kind, knowledgeable, patient, experienced, friendly, easy to understand, reliable, punctual, and honestly perfect in every way! If there were a problem, and there a couple, ie the A.C went out in our vehicle and I'm sensitive to dust and heat, and he got it fixed. One of the national parks had our tour time wrong and we would have missed our morning tour, and he got it straightened out, when the park had said "no way!" Everywhere we went people knew him, respected him and went out of their way to help him. I was in awe at the way he handled everything that came our way.
And for the long drives, he was fascinating to talk to and for me, a bonus was to be able to charge my phone in the vehicle, and use his mobile hot spot, so I could edit my pictures and share with family and friends, and be fully charged so I could capture more pictures of our amazing adventures. If you are lucky enough to get Julius as your tour guide, you will be in the best hands, and not disappointed!
We saw all the amazing animals, with the exception of the tree climbing lions...we saw hippos, elephants, zebras, antelopes, hyenas, of all kinds of birds, lions, crocodiles, giraffes, the elusive leopard, and a special Rhino trek that allowed us to be 15 feet away, on foot, from these majestic creatures. And of course, the icing on the cake was our chimp and gorilla treks. To be feet away from these incredible creatures took our breath away and was the most memorable experience!
I am thankful our guide, Julius, urged me to get a porter for the gorilla trek. Best $20 I ever spent! I'm 72 and told I look 50. I consider myself to be in great shape, but I would not have made it without the wonderful porter. He carried our water, jackets, food and held my hand to prevent me from falling and pulled me up the dense mountainess terrain. There were times I begged them to leave me behind in the forest, but they would not. lol. My husband booked the intermediate tour, which at my pace was 5 hours. We did get to see the most incredible family of gorillas, 2 Silverback, 6 females and a baby, which made it all worthwhile, but if you can't squat for 5 hours, I'd recommend booking the easier hour and a half to 2 hour trek. Glad the gorillas were at the end of our tour, as squatting was impossible for a couple days following lol. And when out and about, and away from the Lodges, which have great bathrooms, you need to be prepared for hole in the ground type places to relieve oneself...or even bush toilets if out in safari. Being older having had kids, my bladder isn't what it used to be!
If you have a chance, we recommend allowing time to visit the communities and share in the cultures and traditions of the various tribes. The Ugandan people were so warm and friendly and hopeful in conditions that many of us would be filled with despair...no electricity, water, indoor plumbing, shoes, etc. But their resilience was inspiring. We even visited several schools and orphanages, leaving me with plans to do a Go Fund me campaign to try to help.
It was fascinating to learn about the various tribes, from the Pygmies, to basket makers, coffee makers, makers of banana products and cattle raisers. It was fun milking a cow with 3 foot long horns, and learning to make ghee and more. And dancing with some of the tribes was an added treat. And my husband, who is a holistic physician had added joy in meeting the tribe's Medicine Man and learning about the plants he used in healing!
Our 11 day tour included all tours, permits, a guide, local transportation, accomodations, all meals for $4500 each. The only thing not included was air fare and tips, which you need to allow for. We used airline miles. I can tell you that I've spoken to people who spent $15-20,000 and did not have the incredible experience we had! The owner of Amakula, Simon, was also very wonderful. We simply can't recommend this tour company more highly. If you have questions or would like to chat, please feel free to call me or text 808-325-1500 (Hawaii) Warmest aloha, Karen Russell and Dr. Tim Hendlin
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Email Mohit | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Extremely accommodating, experienced and knowledgeable 🙏
Simon runs a cool operation, catering to fine details of his guests’ tastes and needs. Simon, Arafat and Davis were an absolute treat to be with for our 3 day mountain gorillas tracking tour! Would not hesitate in referring them to one and all. Keep up the good work gents!
Email Jyothish | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Very committed people
Very committed people who know what they doing. Wonderful experience
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Email Godfrey | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The amazing and gentle gorilla
On behalf of my beloved family, we wish to thank you Simon and everyone at your work station for organising is a beautiful Safari like it was. Our aim was to see the Gorilla and you did it. Thank you and I surely recommend Amakula African safaris.
CA
Email John Keating | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Up close with our nearest relatives
We chose Amakula for our four-day Gorillas and Chimpanzees Trekking Tour in Uganda and we're glad we did.
The first big highlight was a stop on Day 2 at the Kibale National Park in the north-west of the country. It's a thickly forested park that's home to some 1,500 chimps in four different communities. After our guide Julius parked the truck it took just a few minutes for the park staff to find them, screeching from the treetops as they searched for food. Unfortunately for us it was a dull overcast day, making it hard to see the animals against the sky, but one of them spent a lot of time on the ground and was easily visible. Even in the dull light, it was thrilling to see the animals so close.
After seeing the chimps, we made our way south over the rough potholed roads and high up into the mountains at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, home of the mountain gorillas. We stayed in a rough hewn cabin with a stunning view down a valley in the middle of the park. Early the next morning we headed out in the safari truck to look for a gorilla family that the trackers had spotted hours earlier. This time, luck was really with us. Usually, there is a fair bit of trekking through the vine-choked jungle to get to the animals. But our family was just a few paces off the road.
It's an experience like no other to look into the eyes of these human-like creatures. This was a family of about a dozen, including the head silverback, a couple of smaller silverbacks and several females and young ones. We were told not to get too close but the gorillas don't know that rule. Sometime the young ones ran within a foot or two of us. The family is amazingly laid back and the silverback grunted contentedly as he drifted in and out of sleep.
The tour ended with an overnight stay at Itambira Island in Lake Bunyonyi. The small island has its own semi-tame wildlife, including zebras and a large flock of crowned cranes. There's an option for a boat ride on the lake that we didn't take. It was a pleasant and restful way to end the tour.
We highly recommend Amakula. Our guide Julius was knowledgable and friendly and willing to stop whenever we wanted a better look at something, including the abundant bird life. This was a private tour, meaning we were the only clients in the safari truck, but of course there were many others from other tours who joined us in viewing the the chimps and the gorillas.
If it were possible, I would have stayed an extra day at the little cabin in Bwindi and done a little walking and bird watching. It's too pretty a site for such a short visit.
Amakula gets extra marks for supporting a school for orphans in Arusha, which we visited after the tour.
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Email Celiq | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Efficient and very accommodating
They were honest and very helpful in making this a beautiful experience. Iam an American so my standards are much more demanding. I think for the amount we paid, it was very beautiful. There were a couple places where I could have upgraded, but overall I was very happy.
SG
Email Kenny Li | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Above and Beyond Expectations
I booked a 5 day tour covering some of the main sites in Rwanda before culminating in my Gorilla trek in Uganda and I had the privalage of being guided by Julius. It was a tremendoulsy organized, smooth and memorable experience and ultimately my decision to choose Amakula was the absoulotely correct one, with excellent and transparent communication through Simon the head of operations and Julius my guide. Julius went above and beyond what was required for a guide in that all my extra requests were made sure by him to not only be fulfilled but to the best quality possible. The highlight of the trip was the last day of the tour were I got to get up close to the silverbacks and the attatched photos shows them in all their glory! Please do not hesitate to book with Amakula and request Julius as your guide!.. Thanks for all the great memories I will book with them again!
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Email Scott Vogt | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Very, very good, would do it again
Our tour lasted two weeks in Rwanda and Uganda. Very good tour and would definitely choose this company again. Not sure if I will go again (too many places to visit) but if I do, I will use this company. Our guide, Julies, was very knowledgeable and great to be around. We had many questions about wildlife and local culture and He answered everything or if he didn't know he would just say that. No bs.
The company was very flexible and customized our trip for us. My traveling partner tacked on a last minute change so he and his wife could see the gorillas in Rwanda, which normally takes some time to arrange, and Amakula made it happen on short notice.
If I do this again, I would take more time at each park. 3 days or so instead of just one. Would be good to get some hiking with one of the park guides who were all excellent and knowledgeable about the wildlife there. Highly recommend Amakula.
Email Pat | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
They were very easy to deal with and quick to respond to any changes to itineraries
Amakula offer great adventures in beautiful countries. They were very easy to deal with and changing/updating itineraries was no problem at all. Simon was a great organiser and Julius was superb as our driver/guide. Next time we visit we will certainly travel with them again.