US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Hermosa Life Tour in Rwanda Changes Lives!
What an amazing experience getting to know Rwanda and her beauty through the eyes of Yves, our dependable guide and driver from Hermosa Travel.
To post this review is not only an honest account of our group’s experience but also a note of special thanks to Oreste, the owner of the agency, and Yves, our trusted guide and friend. They are the heroes of this story.
Our adventure begins with the usual boring story of flight delays, missed connections, overnight layovers in far-off countries, and finally Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. Our traveling companions were not so unlucky and arrived in Kigali on time for a nice stayover in the Radisson Blue Hotel. The following morning, they were met by Yves, who drove them 3 hours to Akagera National Park where we were staying. He returned to Kigali airport and picked us up later that night only to drive back yet again to Akagera. That’s over 12 hours of driving time for one man and all in one day! We arrived at the park late that night after everyone had gone to bed. We were not aware of it at the time but the gates to the National Park were closed for the night and Oreste was able to get someone to let us in and escort us to our lodge. I can’t imagine this was easy. We arrived at the Ruzizi Tented Lodge around 10:30 pm and the lodge served us a hearty and delicious African dinner. We crashed in our luxury bivouac complete with a full shower and facilities to the sound of a cacophony of hippos, monkeys, birds and insects. Our couple of days in Ruzizi and the Akagera park were filled with safaris, where we saw giraffes, lions, zebras, baboons, elephants, antelope, Cape buffalo, rhinos, warthogs and an amazing variety of fowl. Our meals at the lodge were always well prepared and the staff couldn’t be kinder. We didn’t know it yet but this Rwandan kindness was to be our experience everywhere in Rwanda from the first day to the last.
We then travelled to the Volcanoes National Park and after a moderately difficult trek through mountain jungle had a life altering opportunity to personally interact with a large family of Mountain Gorillas. As fate would have it, we were part of a group of a 8 who were taken to see the Pablo Family Group, which are the progeny of Dian Fosse’s original study group in the 60’s. One of the female gorillas even tapped me playfully as she walked inches by me! This highlight experience was followed by many excursions to see Chimpanzees, Golden Monkeys, Veviter monkeys, Colobus monkeys, Mountain monkeys, and baboons. It was a primate paradise! We stayed at many luxury hotels, including the Bishops House which was a fully restored colonial era mansion once inhabited by the Bishop of Kigali (who we actually saw while guests at Serena, a hotel along Lake Kivu) and the Cleo Lake Kivu Hotel, a gorgeous six star resort hotel on south Lake Kivu with stunning views. By this time we are used to the mind blowing beauty of Rwanda, with rolling mountains of verdant green, and people, beautifully dressed, walking everywhere, going about their day and interacting with each other. There were few cell phones with their distractions and little traffic, although traffic jams are ironically common since the roads are single lanes and must accommodate throngs of people carrying supplies and produce up and down mountain roads. We visited coffee and tea cooperatives. We went fishing with local fishermen and hiked up an Island mountain surround by thousands of fruit bats. We met some amazing people, including Sandra, a guide to our fishing experience who has big dreams, speaks English with an American accent and left a mark on our heart. This lovely adventure obviously wouldn’t have been possible without meticulous and careful planning from Oreste or without the steady confidence and alertness of Yves. We can’t begin to thank them enough for one of the best trips of our lifetimes. We learned so much, always felt safe and pampered, and fell in love with Rwanda. We will be your ambassadors for life. P.S. We love our four T-shirts with the cool Hermosa logo. Thank you!
DE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Culture tour and gorilla 🦍
I was recommended to azas safaris Uganda by our friends here in Germany who travelled with the organization before , our interest was in gorilla trekking in Uganda and Hadza people in Tanzania ( lake wayside) . We contacted azas safaris on email , they made for us a great arrangements.
Gorilla trekking was epic , and Treekers lodge was great.
They organized for us a transfer to Tanzania, we met Daniel their partner at the airport, We visited a hadza people and masai people they are amazing.
Daniel told us about Serengeti national park , we would like to go back again next summer .
Thanks to Daniel .
Contact azas safaris Uganda for a good trip . Bye
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Faultless, professional with superb local knowledge
I have never been to Africa before. An Internet search provided me with a local agent, Sun Safari, and Brett Thomson. From the very first contact by email and then over several Zoom meetings, I rapidly realised that I was dealing with a very professional, ethical, and knowledgeable travel advisor. This superb organisation has an amazing Internet and IT Setup. All the camps recommended were outstanding. All flights and transfers happened seamlessly. During our holiday, he responded almost immediately to any email requests. Am truly unique and memorable African and Botswana Safari holiday with, I suspect, one of South Africa's best travel agents. I cannot recommend him highly enough.
DE
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
very organized and friendly with consideration of visitors' wishes
Smooth communication, everything went well with the pick-up from the airport and the overall transport. The wishes of the customers were taken into account, be it in terms of food, as well as the sightseeing tour.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Our tour exceeded expectations in every regard!
Prime Safaris was a pleasure to work with from our first contact with Cate in the office to saying goodbye to Annais and Charles after a fabulous 9 days! We started in Murchison Falls and made our way down the west of Uganda, including incredible game drives, chimpanzee and gorilla trekking and stunning river cruises! I highly recommend this Ugandan owned safari company to anyone interested in experiencing the lovely hospitality of the Uganda people and the diverse and beautiful national parks of this very special country. My group of 11 are well-travelled people and we agreed this adventure was the best of all of our travels!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Safari with Earthwings
Our experience on the Safari was wonderful. Martin the owner of Earthwings helped us with everything from the beginning and offered us a very competitive price. All of our accommodation was comfortable and of excellent quality. Our guide William knew everything about the animals and was always willing to help us with our questions. Without a doubt, I recommend the Earthwings service,
CA
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wonderful, well-organized experience
The trip of a lifetime! Daily we experienced new highs in observing the animals, the country and the people. The driver/guides were very knowledgeable, competent and personable. Having two vehicles for eight people was great for viewing and photographing animals. Mercy and her team ensured that all the details of the trip went smoothly and communication with them was available throughout the planning and throughout the trip. We really enjoyed the Sentrim Lodges and the tent camp in the Serengeti.
We are very satisfied with our experience with Wecam Safaris and highly recommend Mercy and her team.
US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Passionate.
Sello was the best Tour Guide. He made us feel so very welcome. Gave us all the inside scoop from African traditions to local fun facts. Truly the best. He is welcome to come to Phoenix anytime.
US
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
They were both very attentive and made our experience an unforgettable one!
We had an amazing time and they took care of every little detail from start to finish.
It was very well organized so all we had to do was show up and have an unforgettanle experience!
LU
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Asanterra assures friendly, efficient and expert attention to your personalised safari experience.
We have been clients of Asanterra since 2016. Since the beginning of our Tanzanian safari experience, we have been most impressed by and highly satisfied with the impeccable planning and services provided. The camps we have stayed at in Ruaha (Mdonya Old River, Mwagusi Safari camp) and Selous (Selous Impala, Lake Manze), each with its own character and charm, have all been excellent in terms of location, accommodation, food, and the game drive experience. Anne Saels and her staff are highly reactive in the event of plan changes (e.g. flight cancellations or changes) and are always readily available to answer any questions you may have. Anne's experience and knowledge really show!
