The Matoke Tours Team
Matoke Tours
- Located In:
-
Netherlands
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2002)
- Member Of:
- ATTA, AUTO, SGR, UTB & UCF
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $300 to $750 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
DE
Email Karl | 65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Matoke tours is the perfect Tour Operator, you can rely on them!
At the beginning of this year, 2023, we decided to travel in July to Uganda.
We wanted to go on an 11-day safari trip and then spend 11 days visiting friends of ours who have been active in social projects in Uganda for 20 years. Our friends recommended us Matoke Tours as a tour operator.
The planning process with Coen from Matoke Tours has been a lot of fun. Everything was discussed in detail, in a friendly and relaxed manner. With many recommendations, the tour was planned according to our wishes.
At the beginning of July we started. With Brussels Airlines from Brussels to Entebbe, transfer to the hotel and our guide Anatoli picked us up the next morning. Anatoly as a guide is a stroke of luck. He is very competent, he told us a lot about the country and its people. He is very friendly and helpful, he took care of everything and made our trip a unique experience. We especially liked his sense of humor. It was like traveling with a friend.
The entire trip was just wonderful. The nile springs, Murchison Falls NP, Kibale NP with great Chimp tracking, Queen Elisabeth NP with amazing Boat Trip on the Kasinga Channel. Lake Mutanda with Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi NP as a special experience. Transfer to our friends in Kisoro and at the end the transfer to the airport in Kigali/ Rwanda. Everything perfectly organized by Matoke Tours. The lodges were all very nice and very well tailored to our needs.
Summary:
Uganda is a very beautiful country with very friendly and lovely people.
The landscape is lush green and mostly hilly. There is so much to see, wildlife, colorful birds and beautiful butterflies and flowers...
July is a good time to travel
It is a very comfortable and safe travel.
Matoke Tours is the perfect tour operator. By the way I am not on their pay roll.
Next year we will probably travel to Uganda again, with even more time to support our friends' social projects.
I wish you a lot of fun in Uganda
Regards
Karl
DE
Email Sabine | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A journey like in a fairy tale - instructive, full of excitement and enchanting moments
Our driver Kassim picked us up on time in the morning, to start the trip from Victoria Lake to Kibale Forest. First positive surprises - sufficient drinking water was provided, the car was comfortable and spacious. From the first moment we felt optimally being cared through Kassims friendly and engaging manner. 6 hours ride went by in no time at all. We had an interesting conversation about the country and its people. Our needs were well catered for.
The first accomodation, Turaco Treetops, was a brilliant highlight - extraordinary friendliness, aesthetics and excellend food in overwhelming nature. The chimpanzee trekking, in a group of 8 people, was an unforgettable hike, criss - cross through the rainforest, up close on the trail of the chimpanzee. A competent, admirable guide there too, with whom we felt absolutely safe.
Queen Elisabeth National Park, Katara Lodge - unbelievable view into the distance, beautiful garden and swimmingpool. Sovereign game drives with Kassim, a skillfull driver, who took care about everything very respectfully and reliable. The boat safari was another highlight, full of great animal motifs.
To crown the event - Lake Mutanda, nature like a magical fairytale world.
It was a brilliant, colourful journey and a wonderful time!
NL
Email Ben en Natascha | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Unforgettable trip to Madagaskar
After a perfect preparation with friendly personal contact we went to Madagaskar. Everything was organised just perfect. For our first part of the trip (national park Antsirabe) we had a friendly driver who told us a lot about this beautiful country. Every aspect we had questions about were answered, climate, nature, politics, life etc. We learned a lot! We were very lucky that all the animals we could see in an area were there, it was so great to see the lemurs but we also loved the great variety in kameleons and gekko's. We could'nt have done it without the guides who found every animal and told us about their behavior.
The second part of our trip was in the north, from Diego Suares to Nosy Komba. Here as well a very experienced guide and good driver who told us a lot about this area. It was nice to see the African life, we visited the market, had dinner in a local restaurant and the 3 bays walk was unbelievable in its beauty!!
On our way down we visited the red and the grey Tzingy, incredible landscapes and also saw beautiful birds, lemurs and kameleons in the dry forest. All very impressive.
From Ankarana we made an extra trip to Ambilobe which is a lively town with lots of small bars and restaurants. Chaotic and dusty. The day after a visit to a plantation, also very interesting. We could not only see how several fruits grow (cocoa, vanilla, pepper and jackfruit) but also taste some of them! Tip: buy Ylang Ylang essential oil here, it is the best!
For Nosy Komba we hardly have words to describe it. Blue warm ocean, a wonderfull place to stay, great food and a nice snorkling trip. We saw beautiful colored fish and sea turtles!! Of course we visited the small village with all the beautifull craftwork and bought some souvenirs and presents. (please pay what they ask, it is all beautifull and not expensive but lots of work to produce). And we saw the black lemurs very nearby.
All the resorts and hotels where we stayed were beautifull, clean, very friendly staff and great food. We had a wonderfull trip!
NL
Email Wendy | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very well organized roundtrip in Rwanda
Our overall experience with Harriet was very good. Communication was fast and accurate with helpful tips. From the moment we arrived in Kigali, all went well and smooth. Our roundtrip was great, we stayed in beautiful lodges and our driver John was a very nice man who drove very safely. He arranged everything and was very flexible. Due to surgery prior to the trip, we needed the 'easy' gorilla and chimpanzee trekkings and John took care of it all. Our trip was 8 days: Kigali-Nyungwe Forest-Lake Kivu-Volcanoes NP-Kigali and it was a perfect way to see all the the different landscapes of beautiful Rwanda.
Email Simon Clements | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Making dreams come true
The trip to Uganda was a surprise for my daughter graduation from university,before our onward trip to Tanzania.
My contact was Pleunie
She was amazing from day 1 with ideas and prices for different types of accommodation and tours .
Emails were always answered quickly and I felt confident that the trip would be a success.
Then comes the hard part making the trip ,go as we had arranged by email .
This was expertly done by the oracle of Uganda Barnabas our guide.
A passionate tour guide who taught us so much about Uganda and it’s wildlife.
Every morning we were greeted by the biggest smile he engaged both myself and my daughter in amazing conversation throughout our journey.
You are both great assets to your company .
You both made our dreams come true .
Matoke tours were a great choice and I would 100% use them again.
Thankyou so much Simon and Georgina
NL
Email Sandra | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Prefessional organisation, working close with local guides and professionals
Our family of 4 booked a round trip with Matoke tours together with two close friends, so we had a private tour with six. Our friends visited Uganda before, also with Matoke, so Matoke arranged another round trip: From Jinja, to Sipi, Moroto, Kidepo, Murchison falls and back to Entebbe. We had to have patience: the trip was postponed 2 years, due to the Covid lockdowns. This was no problem with Matoke, they also booked our flight for this reason.
Since we had a private visit of a school project the week before our tour, we were picked up by our guide/driver Caleb at our hotel in Kampala.
The car was a huge four wheel drive safari car, where we fitted in all six. Caleb was a skilled and safe driver. One day we had to drive a very wet and muddy slippery road, and he managed to get us through safely. Caleb could tell us really much about the country and its history, culture and the different people inhabiting Uganda. He used to be a ranger, so in the Safari parks he drove us around spotting game really skillfully, with a very sharp eye, and visibly enjoying it himself. Matoke can be happy to employ good dedicated guides like Caleb.
The Lodges that were booked were all good. Unfortunately in Kidepo savannah lodge the luxury safari tents were booked full, so that we had a tent with a public sanitary unit. It was clean enough, but really a bit scary in the very dark night, with roaring lions in the neighbourhood... The view though was magnificent. The next logde, Murchison River logde became our favorite: Luxury tents with private bathroom, at the border of river Nile, with a small pool, and an excellent restaurant. Every meal had also a vegetarian option, good for our vegetarian daughter.
The Chimpansee tracking was unforgettable, though the Budongo Eco Lodge was a bit aged, but with very friendly staff.
In Moroto we stayed at Karamoja Safari Lodge. It apeared that they were overbooked, and our friends were installed in another hotel, but using the meals of Karamoja. So this little problem was solved properly. We found ourselves uncomfortable visiting the local tribe, as if we were going to the zoo, but these are living free people...
Uganda apeared to us a very hospitable country with really kind and cheerful inhabitants. We felt welcome and safe during the whole trip.
In the end, we had two fantastic weeks enjoying the beautiful countryside of Uganda, travelling safely with a Safari jeep and a joyful skilled driver and guide.
DE
Email Martin Duerr | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Super friendly, an expert about the history of his country, the culture and the animals
Hi there at Matoke Tours,
we did a Uganda safari with Matoke Tours, starting from August 09th to August 21st.
Our driver has been Agabe Trevor.
What we have to say .... such an amzing experience, we never exptected in our wildest dreams. :-)
We saw everything that we could imagine and much more. Super friendly people, amazing landscapes and
a cornucopia of wild animals. From Zebras, Hyenas to the Leopard. This leaves us almost speachless.
Plus Agabe Trevor as our driver. So kind, with a lot of knowledge about the country, the tribes, the animals,
everything we asked him. He made the 4000km we drove a great adventure we will never forget.
Whenever we needed his help, he managed that, combined with a great sense of humor.
Of course we will share the experience we did with our friends and via Instagram with our commnunities.
Hopefully more and more people. will visit Uganda and get aware of this hidden gem in the middle of Africa.
All the best from Germany
Kerstin and Martin Duerr
and our complete crew
NL
Email Frans Jan Burkens | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Great tour operator that more than lives up the expectations !
With our family of 5 we had a superb trip of 3 weeks to Uganda. Right from all the preparations/planning and all the communication surrounding that phase to the final execution itself Matoke Tours did an excellent job. Their decades of experience in the country was very clear as they were very capable to translate our wishes into a really memorable trip. As our party split-up half way we had two guides/drivers where again it was very clear that they are all very well trained to really provide their guests with a great holiday. Very attentive and always in great spirits they both were a joy to have as our guides. Hence I certainly want to mention their names as I can highly recommend both: Sam B., a very seasoned guide with a lot of knowledge of all animals and birds and very well respected everywhere we came which always made for a very easy landing after our drives and not to forget Kassim Kamya, a young and enthousiastic guide, super protective of his clients wanting you to have the best time ever. And above all and maybe most important, they are very safe drivers.
DE
Email Walter | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Professionell
We travelled with Matoke during 2 weeks in Uganda starting in Jinja, heading to Murchinson National Park and passing south to Ruanda border and back to Kampala. Preparation of the trip with Sven was great. Easy, quick, friendly and very reliable. The same with our guide and driver David. He is very professionell and knows every animal and plant with surname and is highly involved in all matters regarding wildlife and nature conservation. The trip was a great experience and we will book Matoke again in case we have the opportunity returning to East Africa again.
NL
Email Maaike en Jeffrey | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Special trip to remember
We had booked our trip with Matoke in December 2019. Because of the COVID Matoke managed to rebook it 2 times without any problems, so that we could finally go to Uganda this year.
Three days before departure, my wife developed a bursa infection in the knee. The doctor indicated that we were allowed to go on holiday, but that we should not put any strain on the leg and that we should rest as much as possible. We have informed Matoke of this situation. They indicated that they would look at everything per day and that they would discuss with our guide what was and was not possible.
So we flew to Uganda using crutches and met our guide Kassim there. A very calm, helpful and thoughtful guide.
During all activities he consulted with the rangers beforehand whether it was possible to carry out the activity with crutches. And if necessary, he arranged for us to have a private supervisor, so that we could carry out the activity at our pace.
This way we were able to enjoy a wonderful holiday where we did a rhino walk and chimp tracking and various game drives with crutches.
Kassim was good at spotting game during game drives, having seen a leopard before the rangers noticed it.
His knowledge about nature, wildlife and all birds is enormous and definitely had an added value. But the conversations on the road about life in Uganda were also very interesting.
Thanks to the medication and sufficient rest, we managed to do the Gorilla tracking without crutches at the end of the holiday.
We would like to thank Matoke and specially Kassim for a special trip!