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
NZ
Email Jason Turner | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Disappointed with tour organization and transportation issues
My partner and I did a 4 day Gorilla Tour in Uganda and while I would like to say the tour was great, I just can't it was filled with disappointment from Matoke Tours..
Our driver David was a good driver, and drove sensibly throughout the very long drive. However my partner and I didn't really know what was going on. David's communication with us and the other 4 tour guests that traveled with us was a bitter disappointment. He failed to give us any detailed itinerary of the day.... Yes he was only the driver but when you pay a lot of money for a trip of a lifetime I do expect some professionalism with all staff from reputable tour company.
It gets worse though.
We asked our driver to drop us off at Entebbe Airport along with another guest (so 3 of us travelling to airport) instead of going to Kampala and then going to Entebbe which can add another 1.5 hours to 2hours. The driver said he could drop us off and a Taxi would pick us up to take us to the airport. No mention of cost or price here. So one would assume that cause our driver didnt want to drive via Entebbe that Matoke should accomdate us and include this in our tour cost which was $1890 USD for the two of us.
When we got dropped of at the pickup point the taxi driver had been waiting for us for over 2 hours. We were then shocked that he was told to tell us the cost is $40 USD to take us to the airport from there. Which was a crazy price. We paid $23 USD from Entebbe airport to Kampala when we arrived, they charging over double the price and it was 15km shorter distance. We refused to be extorted like this and so the driver then called Eric one of the managers from Matoke to say we wouldnt pay that. He dropped the price to $30 USD which we had no choice to accept, it was late and we had been driving for 12 hours. When we got to airport I got driver to call Eric back and I spoke to him directory and said how unhappy I was with the situation and very disappointed and there lack of communication. He promised he would have someone email me the next day to recity the situation..... now 5 days later and nothing. Just confirms the type of company you are dealing with. You pay a lot of money and then they are trying to rip you off with a taxi.... Transport should really be included, pick up and drop off. Dont try and rip people off to make a few dollars so you can benefit more for tours that already cost us a lot of money.
The Gorilla Tours with the rangers at the National Park was perfect. But it should be and this part of the tour actually had nothing really to do with Matoke Tours as you get dropped at the national park and do the Trek with the rangers and scouts.... This part was great.. The Accommodation and the dinners we had was also amazing.
However the driver and logistics issues left a very sore taste in our month and really resent choosing Matoke Tours for our Gorilla Tour. My advice choose another company that has reliable communication.
Reply from Matoke Tours
Posted on Dec 2, 2015Dear Jason,
I am sorry to hear you were disappointed in the services of Matoke Tours during the 4-day budget group tour to seeing the gorillas. Basically I read that you expected more information from the driver/ guide and you were not pleased with the airport transfer at the end of the tour. As well the way Matoke Tours handled it afterwards should have been better. I regret this had such a negative impact on a tour that should have been a "once in a lifetime experience" indeed. I am glad you did have a good gorilla tracking and you liked Mutanda Lake Resort and the food from there.
I am really sorry that the airport transfer and communication around that did not go well and had such a big impact on a trip that seemed to be good up to that point. I have sent you an email to ask for your bank details, so I can refund you the full amount of the airport transfer. I hope this will restore a bit of faith in Matoke Tours.
Regards,
Wim Kok
Owner/ Managing director Matoke Tours
Email David | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent trip around Uganda. Well organised and planned with great mid-range accomodation
Excellent trip. Really listened to our needs and produced an itinerary line with exactly what we wanted. Level of accommodation was excellent and the activities included were perfect. Gershom, our driver, was very friendly and knowledgeable.
A perfect trip and highly recommended.
NL
Email Miranda van Nikkelen Kuyper | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
This adventure is one i will never forget,i love uganda!
Every day was a highlight for me,even the long drives we've had were fun. The gorilla's i will never forget. The hike was very hard,but when you see those animals you immediately forget the pain. The people in our group were fantastic,we were very close and everyone enjoyed this adventure. Very nice lodges and our guide Jeoffrey and drivers Mike and Sula were the best you can have,they are really fit in our group.
Thank you Matoke!
NL
Email Janny | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
What a great holiday
We visited Uganda in september 2015 for a three week tour, organised bij Matoke and this was the best holiday I ever had. As from the oriëntation and booking in Holland, everything was very well organised. We had a group of 9 people and drove with two Toyota landcruisers with excellent drivers, and the tour guide made sure we didn’t have to worry about anything. They learned us a lot about the country and the wildlife. The lodges were very luxurious, the food was excellent and the wildlife incredible. We saw many mammals and birds and especially the chimpansees and gorilla’s were so beautiful and impressive, that they filled my eyes with tears. I also enjoyed birdwatching very much, there are so many species!. I feel really privileged to have been able to do this holiday. The people of Uganda are friendly and the children were waving all the time, what made us feel like a queen or the national football team. So all together I would sure recommend Matoketours. I think they do a really good job over there. Thanks for everything Matoketeam!
BE
Email Sofie | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
a good African experience
I did a tour through Uganda with Matoke. This Ugandan-Dutch organisation gave me a great experience of this wonderful nation. The places we went to were well chosen, accomodation (budget) was generally well, the driver a wonderful man, but the communication between HQ and travellers / driver were not always 100% which could always be overcome, but gave some slight disappointments. Still, Uganda is a beautiful country which has a lot to offer, so if you'd like to discover more about it, Matoke is a good organisation to get in touch with.
CA
Email Léo | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience!
We went on a 11 day tour in Uganda this summer (2015). The service of Matoke Tours was above our expectations! We had a mix of budget and mid-range accomodations. Both were very pleasing.
We were on a private tour, so only me and my girlfriend on board, which was great considering the flexibility we had on our everyday agenda.
We had the best guide of all, Anatoli! He was simply great in all aspect: lots of experience, funny, great storytelling, etc.
You shouldn't be worried to go with Matoke Tours for your Ugandan safari.
US
Email Tom and Jenny | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very happy we used Matoke tour company for our Safari in Tanzania.
Matoke Tours answered all my questions and responded to my emails very quickly. Very professional and easy to work with. We are very happy we choose to use Matoke Tours for our 9 day Migration Safari in Tanzania. Upon arriving in Tanzania we were greeted right away and from there the rest of our tour was wonderful. We had a lovely time and the lodges/tented camps we stayed were clean, good food, relaxing after a long day driving to see the animals, the workers were so friendly and polite. We were sad to leave. Our tour guide Simon was great, friendly and very knowledgeable about the Masai's and all the animals. He could spot an animal that we couldn't even see at first. We saw so many animals including the all of the Big 5, we saw the Wildebeest Migration, many lions, even lion take down a warthog which then came out from the tall grasses more lions/cubs to eat the warthog, Rhino's in the Crater, while lions walked right next to all the jeeps there and so much more. It was above any expectations we had going into the tour. For sure we will use Matoke tours again in the future.
well organized, quick friendly service, child-friendly helpful driver
quick communication, good service, I know the owner and he helps me very well, also the people in the office are helpful, polite and give me all the information I need
Email Diane | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Brilliant Safari Tour in Uganda
Matoke Tours tailor made our safari tour to our requirements. We were impressed with their response time and the package was comprehensive and well planned. Our guide and driver Caleb really ensured we had the most amazing time. He was particularly attentive and had an amazing amount of knowledge on the wildlife, ugandan culture and geography of the land which he happily share with us. we would highly reccommend Matoke tours and particularly our guide Caleb for an exceptional safari experience.
Email Marc Dankloff | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A well organised safari with special features, excellent lodges and a great guide / driver.
Matoke Tours in Uganda prepared an excellent safari package for our family. Highlights were the guided Chimp tracking, guided crater lake hike including tea plantations and village visit, a guided loin tracking tour off the beaten tracks with a Lion expert. On our game drives in Kibale, Queen Elisabeth NP, Ishasha and Bwindi we saw lots of lions, herds of elephants, an occasional leopard. Highlight of our tour was definitely the gorilla track in Bwindi, impenetrable forest, were we came eye to eye with a silverback and his family. What an amazing creatures! Further worth mentioning that we stayed at excellent safari lodges whereby Katara Lodge, Mutanda Lodge and Mihingo Lodge are worth mentioning for their good dinners and great accommodation facilities as well as their amazingly scenic locations. WMatoke provided a guide and driver Anatoli, who appeared knowledgeable about Uganda, wild life and local environment, but was above all a very pleasant chap with a great sense of humour. We laughed a lot with him and he comes well recommended for anyone who want to visit Uganda. What an amazing country and excellent safari experience.