US
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great itinerary and lodging with spectacular views
I chose the 5-Day Kibale Chimps & Bwindi Gorilla Trek Uganda Safari for the second leg of my African vacation. Communication during planning was excellent. On the day I arrived in Entebbe, we were going to leave directly from the airport to start the safari. The guide was late. I called him since I had been given the number, and he seemed annoyed, asking me if I had called his boss. He said he had been told that I would arrive at 6:30, when in fact it was 6. Getting through customs was easy, so I had to wait for about 30 minutes. We got on our way in any case. I had just came off a great trip in Kenya, and I found this guide to be a bit closed off. We didn't really talk much, even over lunch.
When we arrived at the first lodge, Isunga, he just dropped me off and said he would see me at breakfast. I guess the guides don't eat with the guests at this place, but I had some of my best moments on the previous safari hanging out with my guides and it would have been nice to spend a little more time with a local resident. The experiences on the treks were incredible. I would only suggest that they remove the "game drive" wording from the description regarding the passage through Ishasha. Passing through the park on the main road to Congo doesn't really constitute a game drive. The scenery in the mountains is simply incredible. My guide was opening up a bit by now (on our 3rd day together) and telling me about the crops, markets, and some of the land owners in the area. The Bakiga Lodge was beautiful, and I appreciated the briefing about their conservation and rainwater harvesting efforts to benefit the community. I was able to have meals with my guide here, and we were able to start having cordial conversations.
We had a couple of misunderstandings, but I think we had everything worked out by the end of my trip.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Best holiday ever!
We had a wonderful trip with Ababa safari tours and travels. Our guide, Hamsa, was really caring and has nice stories about Uganda, his experiences and the animals. Robert organized it very well. I liked our stay in Queen Elizabeth National Park at Engiri Game Lodge. My high light was the gorilla that trekking. I could really recommend a safari with this agency. You could add one day at the Lake after the hikes, for some relaxation. :-)
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
very patient and was very open to and accommodating what our group wanted to do
Simon was great and very prompt in communicating! I would definitely book with him again if back in Kenya.
NO
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Personal service and follow up, both before and during the trip.
Good communication and service. Our expectations was fulfilled.
Some misunderstanding when entering Mikumi National Park lead to a unexpected double payment of entrance fee, but this was solved by the operator, after we returned home.
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Review about Okonjima Nature Reserve by Javier Elías Guzmán Téllez
Not as many species of big animals as in Etosha. The bush is monotonus, but the termite mounds, dry riverbeds and hills are mysterious and magnetic.
I gave a low puntuation for bush vibe because if is a totally fenced area (although it is big and leopards manage to move acroos the fences if the want) and you have no doubth you will see the cats (that's why you go there), but the cheetahs are not really wild.
The trail system is very good and you can spend time searching for small wildlife and some anteloppes on your own with no dangerous animals around, (except snakes, of course).
Not many species of birds, but good for white tailed shrike, sandgrouses, rockrunner, finches, owls... Also in gamedrives you can tell the driver to stop for birds if other passengers agree.
Brown hyaenas are easy in night drives: the seem pigs eating the rubbish they served to them. we saw two of them with many jackals and two porcupines, all gatther around the garbage. Not so wild, but interested indeed.
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
As my first safari everything amazed me. I can say my dream to see african wildlife became true
Contrast feelings. In my opinion local people is plundered of their birthrights. The certitude of being in a totally wild territory flew away by the fact that allmost all the country is fenced and packaged and most of the wildlife intensely managed, although I do not deny this is, in some cases and for certain species, the best way to assure conservation.
Anyway, this is not true for the main place we visit (4 days, 3 nigths), etosha. Here the only artificial elements are the man made waterholes (some are natural) and the roads, but this is why you can see the animals here. As it was my first safari ever, everything was amazing. We even saw many rhinos (both) and lions in our self drives. After Etosha we went to Okonjima for leopards and cheetahs. The first are free born radiocallared animals and they guarantee you good observations, but the rescued cheetahs are semi-domesticated animals. Also here brown hyaena, ardwolf, mountain zebra, elephant shrew and white rhino. As birders we enjoyed tracking in this reserve. The guides were superb and the standard rooms were actually luxury: you could see a lot of life lying in the bed.
Etosha is vey good for raptors (martial eagle, bateleur and secretary, but we missed pygmy falcon) and steppe-land birds, but not so much for passerines, as you can not leave the car. For photographers: the most of the day the light is too bright and the sky leaden
The surrealistic vision of game, seemingly floating over the salt plan, seems a sweet alutination. The only night we spent camping at okaukuejo I will never forget: 7 black rhinos, including cubs playfully approaching elephant bulls (until a blast of water from his trunk made the cub run to mother's shelter), a genets and a hyaena (with a jackal as squire) in the waterhole. When I went to sleep the roar of lyons made my marrows shake.
The best place for lions where Nebrownii and Okondeka waterholes. We tried a lot with cheetah, but no luck in 4 days.
CA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Fabulous Vacation!
We booked an 11 day Luxury vacation with Uhuru Travel & Tours which included a safari to Lake Manyara, Serengeti and NgoroNgoro Crater. Let me start off by saying that the country is absolutely GORGEOUS! The people were friendly and the animals we saw on safari were so beautiful. I was shocked at how many animals we got to see. It was beyond what I had imagined! What a once in a lifetime experience it was!
We stayed in some really fabulous luxury accommodations, and some more mid range as well. We did run into some trouble with payment issues for getting into the parks that gave us some setbacks. We also had our car break down twice, which is understandable once you consider the bumpy dirt roads they are driving on all day long, but did take away from some of our time spent in the parks on Safari, and also made us really close to missing a flight. My one complaint would be that although we booked a "luxury" safari, the car we received for our safari was more in line with "budget" level. It was quite old and obviously also needed some work. Although the car was older, our driver/safari guide John was absolutely wonderful. He was helpful and informative and we really enjoyed his company.
After Safari, we flew to Zanzibar where we spent some time in Stone Town, and then Karafuu beach resort. Uhuru arranged all of our tours, flights within the country, and transfers between places, and delivered on all aspects. We always had someone pick us up/meet us whenever needed and all accommodations and arrangements were taken care of with no issues.
Although, I was concerned on our first night when we arrived, as well as the next morning. Our itinerary simply said early morning game drive after breakfast, but there was no indication of timing. The person that had picked us up at the airport and driven us to our hotel had no information for us as he was just the driver Uhuru had arranged. We did not know what time to be ready the next morning or if anyone would be showing up. Because of this we got up super early and then just waited to see what would happen. We finally heard from someone at 8am saying they'd be there at 9 to pick us up. I did not like being left hanging and wondering what was going on. It would have been better if they'd left some information for us at the hotel or called us the night we arrived. Or at least given us a specific time on our itinierary so we'd know when to be ready to go.
So that lack of communication from Uhuru upon arrival in Tanzania was a little bit dissappointing, but the communication we had before the trip with the planning process was great. We spoke with Abdhalla while booking and he was great at answering all of our questions and was very quick with his replies.
So all in all, there were a few small concerns, but in the end everything worked out well and we really did have an amazing trip booked through Uhuru.
QA
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
great knowledge of the parks and great services
We had a great time doing the safari with Nyange, as our driver was nice and knowledgeable. the lodges were very nice and even though the plan was changed without us knowing, it was always at our advantage with better lodges.
I definitely recommend going with Nyange for safari tous as well as trek to Kili which we also did with Nyange.
Communication before the trip was excellent and Praise answered all our questions quickly.
Hidden Gem
The park is marvellous.
Less traffic means more time with animals and birds.
Weather is moderate though does get hot most of the year.
Best time to travel is July or August as its cooler then.
Elsa Kopje is the best place to stay and for the budget people the KWS self help bandas are sufficient.
Patience is the key thing in Meru NP as it does get dusty most of the times and also the heat can take its toll.
Chances of seeing Lion or Cheetah are not as high as Maasai Mara but are often seen. Other animals like Elephants, Rhinos, the rare Kudu, Somali ostrich, Giraffes, and many more are abundant. So is the bird wildlife. Great place for Birders.
Need a minimum stay of 3 nites to enjoy and understand this park.
I would definitely recommend this park to those who are looking for real safari.
US
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
It was an interesting experience.
The safari trip was really interesting. The bus driver was very nice, he picked up us on time and brought us coffee and snacks. The tour guide who took us to safari was nice too. He tried his best to take us to see as many animals as he could on that day. The only thing I would suggest the company to do was, I wish the company could allow us to pay by a credit card; it was troublesome to find a bank/ ATM if you don't stay in a hotel in downtown. Generally, it was a good experience. I recommend you to travel with Tanzania Mwangaze safari.