20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Overall we had an amazing experience on safari, also our driver was very knowledgeable and friendly
Good points:
Food – it was always hot and cooked fresh, there were always options for veg and non veg
Additional add on’s such as Lake Nakuru were worthwhile paying for as they added an extra experience and sometimes gave us a break from being the van
Campsite – all 3 were very decent, bed linen, towels and hot water. Always had a bed and mosquito net and there were areas to hang out after meals
Scenery! The views were amazing, regardless of whether this was in the parks or driving across the country!
Driver – Ambrose was excellent, very knowledgeable and always knew the places to find the animals with the best views
Points to note:
Generator – power only for certain amount of time, always check before going to sleep what the timing will be
There is a possibly of having ‘outdoor’ toilet and shower
You will need your passport to get into Masi Mara Park
The distance of driving was more than expected, especially from Lake Nakuru to Amboselli
It would be good to have a map to understand distances covered and the different areas
Be prepared to be sold merchandise at each stop/break
Collection at the airport was confusing. Had to call and text Dennis (an international call!)
CA
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A Memorable Experience
We booked a private 2 week luxurious Gorilla Tour. With our prior extensive travel experiences, we would classify our tour with Gorilla Tours in Uganda, as less than luxurious.
Our communication with Virgo and the organized itinerary was great.
The accommodations were clean and the Nature Lodges were wonderful. The ambiance created with evening campfires and the ability to hear the sounds of the local wildlife close by, we enjoyed immensely. The convenience of having an ensuite shower(sometimes outdoors!) and bathroom facilities gave us the feeling of “glamping”. A four course meal was served every evening and we found the servings generous. We would have felt better to have the option of a smaller serving size, with an offer of more, if needed.
On the Gorilla Tours web site they advertise: Drive around in the best 4WD Toyota Land Cruisers......
The vehicle breakdowns and tire repairs totalling 6 events disappointed us. We would recommend the company develop a protocol prior to sending a vehicle out to ensure it is road worthy and has the necessary equipment to change a tire. A jack that is too small and nothing flat to put the jack on, when on a bumpy dirt road, requires creative interventions.
In our opinion, it is imperative to have protocols in place that allow drivers to function well, especially to stay awake while driving. When sending a mechanic to repair our broken vehicle it resulted in unsafe driving the following day, due to the driver being responsible for picking up the mechanic at 3am. We appreciate the efforts to not interfere with our itinerary, however a replacement driver would have been safer.
We’d recommend requesting the drivers mentioned in other people’s 5 star reviews, as we had challenges with communication with our driver and there appeared to be a lack of knowledge pertaining to what we saw. We appreciated his knowledge of birds.
Overall our amazing adventure of seeing the rare and awesome mountain gorillas and many other animals and birds in beautiful scenery, resulted in a memorable experience in Uganda that we would highly recommend to others.
DK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
One of the best in a life time
It was a wonderfull experience...Beautifull places The Ngorongoro, Serengeti..One of the beautifull places in the planet..Thank you TOMODACHI..
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent safari, nice guide and wonderful experience
The staff at Furahia are wonderful. They were recommended to me by a friend and did not disappoint. The driver guide was knowledgeable and easy going. He knew when to explain and also when not to be too present. He was very nice and a good travel companion during our safari.
Where Furahia stood out was at problem solving. On encountering the unexpected, it really matters what company you chose. Furahia was excellent at solving problems that we encountered during our safari and at Zanzibar. They were easily contacted, good in communication and they solved our problems right away.
I would definitely recommend Furahia as your safari organiser.
PE
35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A good guide makes the difference. Some days were absolutely great!
We had two great guides, who were knowledgable, took the time to explain things, stopped when we wanted to, etc. And we had two guides that were quite terrible, pretty much making what could have been an excellent day, quite a frustrated one.
Please take the time to evaluate guides, train them, etc.
Overall our experience was quite good, with all the other apects of the trip.
ES
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very good balance of price and quality
Everything was perfect. The only thing I would improve is to comunicate to the guests any change before starting the trip.
The safari and the driver were amazing, the accomodation not bad, and the communication can be improved a little bit.
We want to make an special mention to our driver Arony. He was the best guide we could have.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Transportation and communication was efficient and tour guides were friendly and informative.
The safari tour was exactly as expected and all involved went out of their way to make our stay comfortable, enjoyable, and entertaining.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good guide/driver who made the most of uncontrollable circumstances
We did a 3 day/2night shared safari to Serengeti and Ngorongoro. It was amazingly easy to set up this safari. Our contact person was accommodating even when we had to switch days. We were picked up at a reasonable time from our hostel. It was a shared safari so we had to pick other people up. The car was somewhat cramped but still comfortable. The drives once in the parks were amazing. Our driver spotted many animals, even a leopard sleeping in a faraway tree. In the end, we managed to see all of the big 5. The food was delicious,but the cook was slow to prepare the dinner meals. It rained during our first night in Serengeti and our guide adjusted our schedule accordingly. The biggest hiccup came when the car had to be filled up with gas. The petrol station in the Serengeti didn't have any so we had to wait for trucks to come from Arusha. We continued our game drive during this wait, but in the end, we arrived at our campsite in Ngorongoro well past dark. I don't know what could have been done differently. Overall it was a good experience.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great team and very passionate about their work.
Perfect time to go on a safari, the weather was good, the people were nice and the service was really good.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience!
This was my first safari and I wasn't disappointed at all!! Was a solo traveler, but had no problems because of that!
Food and water were provided as planned throughout the whole period.
PROs:
- managed to see all the Big 5 in Masai Mara thanks to Robert, our guide. Very experienced driver, took us out of some pretty complicated roads, cheers for that! Also stopped at Lake Naivasha even if it wasn't on our schedule, very flexible person!
- in Amboseli Boniface, our guide - very entertaining and funny, plus giving us a lot of information about the park and the animals.
CONs: the accommodations mentioned on the website are not ones you actually book into.