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
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Email Al Friedman | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
I sincerely doubt you could find a better tour company than Matoke.
This review is long overdue, and for that I apologize. I’ll skip to the conclusion first and then fill in some details: Matoke Tours is wonderful!
My wife and I cannot recommend Matoke more highly. In cooperation with Tanzania’s Easy Travel company, Matoke Tours took us on a 24-day private safari (mid-range accommodations) in Tanzania in October, 2015. We went through eight national parks/wildlife/conservation areas: Selous, Mikumi, Ruaha, Saadani, Arusha, Tarangire, Ngorongoro and Serengeti.
When making arrangements to book the tour, we had told Matoke that we were amateur birders. To our delight, they made sure to provide us with guides (two of them; one for the southern and one for the northern parks) who were themselves accomplished birders— and not all guides are. They study terrestrial flora and fauna in college, but not birds.
Both of our guides, Herman Kiriama and Hubert Ngoty, were fabulous! Hawk-eyed, they spot wildlife at amazing distances, even in tall grasses or shrubbery. Both are well-educated professionals, very personable and a pleasure to be with.
Herman and Hubert were always attentive to our needs, our comfort and our safety. Importantly, both always obeyed the speed limits on roadways, whereas many vehicles operated by other tour companies sped past us. In Tanzania roads are populated by other vehicles (including large trucks), bicycles, motorbikes (often overloaded), mini-taxis— and lots of pedestrians. We appreciated our Matoke guides’ expert driving skills and constant attention to safety on the roads.
Herman and Hubert were very knowledgeable not only about flora, fauna and terrain, but also about the peoples and cultures of Tanzania. (There are 123 tribes in Tanzania— living in harmony!) Our guides already had cordial relationships with the staff of the places we slept at, so they were able to make sure that those folks took good care of us. Hubert even made sure to arrange for one park ranger in particular to give us a 2-hour guided tour in Arusha NP, because he felt that ranger was the best explainer— and he was right! That park ranger was super-knowledgable and wonderfully good-natured.
I could go on, but you should get the point by now. If you’re going to Tanzania (and you should; the people are wonderful and the terrain and wildlife are magnificent), I honestly don't think you can do better than Matoke Tours.
AT
Email Giacomo | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
The unforgettable Ugandan experience!
Our tour in Uganda with Matoke Tours was far above our expectations, which were already very high! I cannot describe how amazing every single experience was, so I am just going to say that we were 100% satisfied from the tour in general. Our guide was not only extremely friendly and polite, but he also proved to be very competent and experienced. With him we felt safe at all times, both on safaris and on the roads. We really felt him trying hard to make our experience unique and he definitely managed to achieve his goal!
AT
Email Anita & Christian | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Adventurous & memorable trip
We booked a 6 day tour with Matoke Tours in December 2015 and Jacob was our tour guide. He has great knowledge about the places, the roads and the wildlife. We threw a lot of questions at him and he addressed them all promptly and with competence. He was very friendly and did his best to give us a good view of all the beautiful animals and landscapes. Our tour was well organized (thanks Lionel!), we stayed at well chosen places and had a great time in Uganda - we highly recommend Matoke Tours!
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Email Nadia | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Christmas in Uganda with Matoke
One of the most wonderful trips of my life made seamless with Matoke. My husband and I did a 9-day 'mid-range' tour with gorilla and chimpanzee tracking. All of the accommodations were lovely, with the highlight being the Lake Matunda Lodge - a truly magical place (though, I have so many great memories from the entire trip - beautiful lodges, close encounters with hippos and elephants, meeting incredible people). Our guide and driver was very friendly and was happy to expound upon any of our inquiries (but, generally quiet otherwise). He had over a decade of experience with national parks and tourism, and freely shared his life experience and wisdom as well. I spent 2 months in Africa and never felt 'at risk' (save for a rhino incident in Zim) - and my time in Uganda was no exception. It is liberating to have a driver who knows the roads (some of which cannot be traversed without a professional!!), food options, local culture etc. so one can freely enjoy everything without worry. Admittedly I had a moment of panic after wiring Matoke a large chunk of money, but it's legit :) Also, I have done a few other tours before, and occasionally they aren't quite honest about what you get (drive time, experiences)...but Matoke was 100%. Lastly, Uganda is doing a really great job with conservation and protection of the mountain gorillas within its borders...this is absolutely the place to experience an encounter with a silver back (and babies!), and with confidence the rangers prioritize the welfare of the animals. Other asides - being a vegetarian is not a problem, and if you get car sick...bring a remedy. I absolutely love Uganda and cannot wait to return!!
AE
Email Renee | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent two-week visit to Uganda and Rwanda
My positive impression with Matoke started with email correspondence with Ilse, who was so responsive to my emails and questions. It can be disconcerting to wire money to an unfamiliar company and country but I trusted Ilse completely. She was the reason I booked with Matoke and I was not disappointed. My two weeks in Uganda and Rwanda were exactly what I wanted and hoped for. The accommodations that were chosen were spot-on. Our driver, Mugabi, was polite and professional and took good care of us. The entire trip went very smoothly, from the time I arrived at the airport in Entebbe to when I departed Kigali. I have no hesitations about recommending Matoke to fellow travelers.
CL
Email Jorge Parada | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Overall we had a great experience. Everything went according to plan.
Our experience was wonderful. We were a party of three and went from Kampala to Bwindi Forest, to Queen Elizabeth National Park and finally to Fort Portal with Matoke Tours. Everything worked smooth and as planned. Our guide and driver, Katende Geoffrey, was fantastic in keeping us safe, interested (had a 13+ hours drive), well fed (webale muno Geoffrey for the pineapples and corn) and took care of each need we had. He went all the way from showing us and explaining about the birds we found in the road to leading a number of villagers on clearing a road of a fallen tree that was cutting the only road back to lake Mutanda.
We highly recommend Matoke Tours and thank them for a superb service.
Email Bill G | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A great itinerary with an excellent guide and comfortable accommodation
Our dealings with Matoke Tours was excellent from the first contact, through to the end of our holiday. My wife and I opted for a tailor made holiday and received excellent advice, and quick e-mail response to all our questions. Our tour was very much inclined towards bird watching and our driver/guide, Confidence, was very knowlegeable and informative. He was also a good companion explaining to us all aspects of Ugandan life. Importantly, his driving was very safe, and his negotiation of washed out roads impressive. As we were travelling alone we were able to stop when and where we wanted, and change timing etc. all of which was an added bonus. We opted for mid-range accommodation, and although we encountered the usual quirky electrical and water supplies, the rooms were spotless and the staff helpful and friendly. We were also pleasantly surprised at the high standard of meals everywhere we went. Although some of the journeys were long, we found the beautiful countryside, and the smiling children, waving as we drove past made them more acceptable.
We would love to return to Uganda, and would certainly use Matoke Tours again. Thank you.
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Email Pat | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fantastic Safari in Tanzania
We did a lot of emailing months before the trip, with questions, requests.... Lionel was very responsive and helpful in customizing our safari for 7 people.
What an experience! Even better than expected. This was due in large part to our guide Richard, who was with us throughout the trip, spotting and identifying birds and animals, answering our many questions about Tanzanian culture, and generally making things safe, comfortable (as comfortable as possible on those bumpy roads) and fun.
We stayed at a variety of lodgings, from tent camps to nice lodges. All were charming, and the people friendly and welcoming.
Easy Travel is the actual company that Matoke works with in Tanzania, so that part was a little confusing, but everything was fine in the end.
DE
Email Martin | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A absolute amazing 3-day-trip to Murchison Nat. Park incl. Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary and Budongo Forest
First of all I have to say, that the communication with Matoke Tours via Email was really excellent from the beginning of my enquiry. The company was very open and helpful to make all our wishes possible concerning the 3 day programm as mentioned above.
Pick up at our hotel in Uganda was right in time, we had no problems with the car and all our activities were 100% the way, the company Matoke Tours promised us in our itinerary before.
The choice of the 2 lodges (Pakuba Safari Lodge, Budongo Eco Lodge) was absolutely positive: we had a nice room, great food, friendly staff people and the locations were perfect. Especially Pakuba Lodge is a great place to stay!
Our Driver/Guide Richard, a former UWA ranger, made a real good job; a very friendly person with a sense of humor, a good driver, and with a brilliant knowledge concerning animals and plants!!! We can really recommend him very much! Our expectations were fulfilled a 100%! :-)
Email Richard | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
100% in everything
"Ilse" was my communicator by email and was always fast to reply and gave me the extra information I asked for very precisely (where to buy trekking boots in Entebbe). I was looked after from pick-up at Entebbe Airport to drop off at my hostel in Kampala perfectly. There were actually 6 in the group, and our driver David, a complete gentleman, who drove for all those hours with total professionalism. The overnights in the lodge, at Mutanda Lake Resort, were perfect. I have never been in any hotel anywhere with such a magnificent 360 degree panorama. The accommodation was right at the top of the "moderate" range - the food superb. The showers were hot. Now about the actual gorillas...
We were with them for 1 hour 35 minutes, mainly because they were blocking our way out after an hour!!! Thank you gorillas. Seeing them and being so close is a mixture of humbling and overpowering.
We stopped en route both ways for lunch at a really good restaurant too.
A faultless 3-day expedition - keep up your superb work, Matoke Tours!!!