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
An amazing, undescribable and exceptionally well-organised safari in North Tanzania !
We made a 11-days group safari to Northern Tanzania followed by one week in Zanzibar, with Matoke Tours from 11 till 30th of September 2014.
To resume this experience in a few words ?
An amazing, undescribable , wonderful and exceptionally well-organised trip !
Everything was perfectly arranged: a very good driver/guide Elias, comfortable and “good-memories-creating” special accommodations, unique game drives, very tasteful food and a very good 4x4 jeep.
We were very lucky during the game drives, with special thanks to our professional driver/guide Elias. We witnessed the following special situations during the safari:
· A couple of dating lions (oh yes) !
· A real catch: 4 female lions prepaired and attacked a group of buffels: they catched the little one…
· 2 fighting giraffes 5 meters away from our vehicle
· A female lion, carrying her 3 weeks old baby in her mouth, only 2 meters from our vehicle.
· 5 leopards, one crossing the “road” only 3 meters before our jeep
· A Serval Cat
· A group of elephants, enjoying themselves in a very small mudd pool a few meters away from the 4x4.
· A Rhino (although being very very far away)
· A thunderstorm on the Serengetti, early in the evening. This was an amazing show of colors from sun, rain, dust, ….
We travelled together with 2 other Belgian couples and this was a very nice experience.
We can strongly recomment Matoke Tours for travelling to Tanzania. From the beginning of our contacts and demands for information, till the end of the booking process, as well as just before departure, they were extremely well organised and replied within 24 hours (mostly within 4 hours) on all of your eventual questions. They provided honest, realistic and to the point information. If you have special requests, they take them into consideration wherever possible.
It is also good to know that in Tanzania, Matoke Tours works together with Easy Travel. Just take a look at the rating of Easy Travel on Tripadvisor: they are number 2 in safari’s in Tanzania ! In case of problems onsite, you can also trust on them.
Something very professional too was the debriefing at the end of the safari at the Easy Travel office in Arusha.
If you have plans to go on safari, don’t hesitate and get in contact with Matoke Tours !
You won’t be disappointed ….
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Super service for my last minute booking!
Thank you for the great service in booking my last minute flight-in to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest NP to track gorillas. I did not have time to go to their office, but everything was handled quickly on the phone and by e-mail. The Gorilla Tracking permit was even delivered at my office! The lodge (Lake Mutandwa Resort) was good value (with good service, excellent food and lodging) and everything was arranged well: the flight, the transport, the permit, the payment arrangement. I really can recommend Matoke Tours to everyone (I already did) and will certainly use their agency again. And of course the gorillas: it was quite a hike, but you can approach them until very close distance. One of us was even touched by a gorilla male crossing the path which caused some nervous giggling (on the part of the humans). Thank you!
BE
Email Marc & Hilde from Belgium | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Uganda and Matoke are in our hearts, with special thanks to Bella (our guide) and Alex (our driver)
We just got back from the 15 days roundtrip to Uganda with MATOKE (spotted at the travel exhibition centre in Antwerp). At booking, we were disappointed to hear this "short" trip has a native guide (not Dutch speaking). However, what an advantage it turned out to be, that we had a local guide (Bella) and driver (Alex), black and speaking the native language!!! including their enthusiasm, expertise and experience, never a dull moment. We were in an exceptionally small group (only 6, probably due to the rain season (allthough we mainly had rain at night and while we were on the road in the bus)) and she took us to places where would never have been able to / allowed to / dare to come with a Dutch (read: white "mzungu") guide: As per our suggestions for loose moments on the road, we have visited an open market, a small public school, a gospel church on a Sunday morning, the busy market in Kampala.
The (instructions for the) preparation, organisation, programm itself, timing, guidance, professional local guides and rangers, accomodation and follow-up were perfect! All hightlights visited, all wildlife spotted (the gorilla's even within the hour), all distances do-able, all meals in the hotels and the lunches on the road very nice, "lekker", and safe.
A few memorables:
Murchison Falls N.P.: We could get out of the bus to stretch our legs for a moment: Alex peels pineapple and hands us the juicy segments while we were watching hippo's and while a single male elephant just walked by! Adrenaline!
Bwindi impenetrable forest: Taking pictures of a big gorilla at 8m in front of us, hearing something from behind, happening to be a younger gorilla passing by at nearly 2m! Adrenaline!
Taking a shower at Bush Lodge, outside the wooden tent/lodge, in the rain, after the personnel brought 4 cans of hot water! Hilarious! Hearing the day after that the hippo's sometimes come for a walk near the lodges at night ... scary ... was that what I heard last night?
Traveller's warning: only small minus: really do check if the swimming pool is clean before taking a swim (KONTIKI). Buy an ointment for insect bites locally, because the Belgian version does not help. If you have shoe/leg protections ("getten"), use them, so no safari ants can get through your socks.
Thank you MATOKE and Bella for learning us so much about Uganda, its people, habits, nature, ...what a personal and correct service! You wish yourself such a guide on every trip!
And thank you to our 4 co-travellers for the nice company!
NL
Email Caroline | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
FANTASTIC and emotional trip to Oeganda and Tanzania.
Our trip to Uganda and Tanzania can not be described in one word. It was incredibly beautiful, impressive, remarkable, sometimes tiring but most FANTASTIC !!!!! What have we seen a lot. In our list of most exciting trips also takes this top position. We have many preparations have to take, and sometimes quite a bit of abdominal pain had what we would find here and we would not be one if we would get one or the hotels would be okay as well, well, well, well okay to eat sick .................................... ..and of all these obstacles, we are not one come against.
We made the most extraordinary journey of our lives. What have we seen a lot. Face to face with an almost extinct species that appear to be very friendly and showed us an hour of their lives The mountain gorillas. What an impressive and special experience. This allows almost anybody. And then the baby chimps hug in Entebbe Zoo. I get now a lump in my throat as I write about it. The unconditional love that these little monkeys give you the childlike enthusiasm and affectionate behavior still make me goosebumps. But the immense power that the lion showed when she killed a wildebeest, just before our eyes, or the huge spectacle of migration.................I can not describe.
Uganda, a country in the infancy of tourism and thus vernacular so fun! Small hotels with exceptional friendly people who really want to do it to go to please your needs. Before you Children who are the dislocated wave as you pass by car. It's just a hot tub! Presumably we have seen in Uganda may nearly purest form and it will be there in a few years or else once tourism is really taking off, but we thought this was the most fun. When we flew from Uganda to Tanzania we said on the plane together "what Tanzania can offer us even more, we have already seen so much beauty." But it is Tanzania succeeded! Again we spent a fantastic time. Unfortunately, the country has much more habituated to tourists and you notice that that makes it less pure. But absolutely no less beautiful. And impressive.
I can also say everyone from the bottom of my heart; would you EVER in your life a special trip, I say DO !!!!!!! Do not be afraid to disease, bad food or a variety of other nagging you all those fears in one fell swoop forget if you can behold. All this beauty here I feel like a lucky women that I have experienced it with my dearest friend, buddy and man.
Thank you, Eddie.
Caroline.
SE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Best safari ever!
We have done som safaris, maybe 14-15 all together, and this was one of the best ever! Matoke did a fantastic job from the very first contact with Carolien who guided us towards a very nice plan and rute. And gave us very honest answers for all our questions.
Then it was Emmanuel!! The most important person for us during our safari week. He is the best guide we have ever hade! So full of knowledge, experience and such a nice guy to spend allt this hours tigether with. And he drove very safely. Important... We highly recommend Matoke tours and we absolutely recommend Emmanuel!!
BE
Email Gerrit Lachaert (Nossegem, Belgium) | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent handling by Matoke tours
This is the 2nd time we booked a trip via Matoke Tours. First was in July 2011 when we did the Mountain Gorilla Trekking in Uganda, and now in September 2014, when we made a safari trip to Selous Game Reserve and Ruaha National Park in Southern Tanzania. At both occasions, we were extremily happy with the support, administrative handling and suggestions from Matoke Tours. From the first request till end date of the tour, Matoke Tours did an excellent job. The suggested lodges/camps were top, the transport was worldclass. Nothing else to be said. We very much enjoyed the call from Matoke Tours on our arrival in Tanzania to check if all went well. I definitely recommend Matoke Tours for your travel to Uganda or Tanzania. Great service, very competitive pricing, great choices for lodging. We plan to do another safri tour in a few years with the grand-children and we sure will book via Matoke Tours.
SE
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Excellent
After several safaris to different countries, we did our first in Tanzania. Matoke tours was a very good choice for planning and operating the tour. From Carolien and her fast and service minded answers and perfect planning, to our wonderfull guide, Emmanuel. This was my best safari guide ever! (Did my 10th safari). We can´t do anything but truely recommend Matoke tours, and, again, Emmanuel is a great guide and driver. Full of knowledge and humor.
DE
Email Hilbert Nies | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Uganda tour including Gorilla & Chimps trecking
Frank, our guide was the best guide we ever had on our tour´s all over the world. And we had a lot of tours. Congratulation to your employees, everything was o.k.
Frank
- Knows everybody
- Knows everything
- Drives very very careful
- We had a lot of fun
- See more than expected
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Chimp and gorilla tracking in Uganda
What an experience! Uganda is beautiful and we certainly had a great time! Our tour guide and driver, Musa, was knowledgeable, experienced, friendly and eager to tell us about his country. We were most satisfied with his guidance.
We will definitely return to the area probably to do something similar in Tanzania and the parts of Uganda that we missed out on.
I have recommended Matoke to many friends and hopefully they too can have the same experiences that we had. Thank you to Matoke tours for a well planned and run safari trip, the chimp and gorilla experience was phenomenal. The leopard crossing the road in front of our vehicle just outside of the Queen Elizabeth National park was an added bonus.
ES
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very nice trip!
We had a lot of expectations about the trip (and all were fulfilled pretty nice) and about the accommodation but there were some troubles in two lodges, but Matoke Tours fixed them well.
We have a very good and professional guide and driver!