BR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Our trip was worth every penny
We enjoyed our trip to Lake Nakuru and Masai Mara. My family and I were received at the airport by the driver/guide who I must say seemed upbeat about his work. He briefed us about the entire safari and patiently listened to our queries etc. We were able to see most of the wild animals during the game drive, the scenery around the park was breath taking. We were amazed about the variety of bird species that we saw. We plan to another holiday in Tanzania and hope it will be as good as the one in Kenya.
Thank you StarMount safaris, you were very professional! see you next year same time
IT
50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
TRULY INTERESTING EXPERIENCE
The tour has been very well organised, we got all the necessary info before leaving. On site we found 2 great guides (Ali and Mau) who gave us lots of explanations and has been very friendly. We were lucky enough to see all the big 9! The accommodation in the lodges and tent camps has been as expected, clean and very well organised, very good food (good variety and choice). It was our first safari, our expectations have been met. One of our cars had an accident so we had to stay all in one for half a day but we were able to continue our tour without missing any parts (poor Ali had to work hard on the car!).
many thanks, a great holiday!|
IT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent Staff and Arrangements, Responds to eMails, Highly Recommended
I planned the entire trip with Chris over the email. He responded promptly to all questions. To reduce my cost, I paid in cash (a mix of $s, Rwanda Francs, and Uganda Shillings) at the start of the 3D/2N Gorilla Safari. I was picked up promptly from Kigali and brought over to the border where my guide/driver Steven picked me up and we continued to the Rushaga Gorilla Heaven Lodge where I stayed for 2 nights. First day was relaxation. Second day we started early and left for Bwindi NP where Steven arranged the easiest trek for me. The trek was [still] arduous [for me] and would have been better to have a porter who can carry your stuff as well as assist on the rough terrain. All of us slipped and fell several times over but that was part of the fun too! However, to their credit, all the staff on the trek were very helpful. Seeing Gorillas in their natural habitat was a magical experience. Since we were given the easiest trek, we were back by 11:30 AM, while many other groups hadn't even reached their assigned Gorilla family. Rest of that day was relaxation and on the final day, we started early and after lunch and stopover at Equator, we were in Kampala by 5 PM. Steven was very helpful, professional, and well-known to all. He answered all my questions and was knowledgeable.
This was a very enjoyable, relaxed and slow-paced safari. I highly recommend Encounter Africa Safaris to all - they did a great job!
One improvement suggestion: please include coffee as well as cold-drink as part of the lunch on the third day.
NL
35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Perfect break from the city
Was able to see a lot of wildlife in a short time, during a one-night stopover in Nairobi. First idea was Nairobi NP to be a kind of extended zoo, but is really a vast place so close to the city, where you can easily spot wildlife (no elephants). Driver / guide was very flexible.
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great value for money
Communications were great with foot slopes. We got picked up and dropped off at the airport and they provided us with 2 extra nights at the hotel free of charge. The hotel in Arusha (Venice Hotel) was clean, had AC and even hot showers. The food was average but this was to be expected. The safari itself was excellent. Be prepared to spend a lot of time in the jeep getting to and between different parks. Having said that our driver had 15 years of experience which meant that we saw all the animals (including the big 5) we wanted to and had a fantastic time.
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great adventure at Masai Mara
We have been to Kenya, for a safari in Maasai Mara as a part of our honeymoon trip in February 2018. It was our first time and we didn’t know what to expect.
Wildebeest Safaris organised for us a package that included pick-up at our hotel in Nairobi, Land Cruiser with a pop-up roof, a private driver/guide for 3 days, 2 Night in Savora Mara camp (full board service), drive back to Nairobi. The lodge was amazing, staff was friendly and food was fresh and abundant.
The drive from Nairobi to the camp is very long and the road very bumpy (it will give you as they call an African Massage) but the driver was really professional, friendly and very cultivated which help us to enjoy the trip. Also, you will start to see Zebra, Antelope, Wildebeest... when you enter the Maasai Mara reserve which is a while before the park entrance which gets you in the mood. On our way back, the second driver mentioned to us that if we had a minivan we could drive faster to Nairobi which is worse knowing in advance.
We manage to do a game drive every day, and on our first day, we spotted a Black Rhino at 4km of our camp entrance, only after 5min the game started, which is extremely rare. Luck was definitely with us as we saw the big 5 and more even though that was not the hight season and we spent a very short amount of time in the park. Most of the animal we saw had babies with them which was really cute! The one we watch the most were the Elephants, which sometimes cross the road front of the cars, but we also got very close to Lions, Cheetah, Cub Hyenas, Leopard…. Our very skilled and humble guide was very attentive to our need & wish and he has been an extra mile to make our dream happen. Compare to others driver our guide respected the rules ( speed, distance to animal...) of the park for which we have a lot of respect and I hope that all guides were doing the same. With a bit of patience, it’s totally possible to respect the animal and still be in a very good spot to take a photo. I encourage everyone to be aware of those rules and ensure their driver respect them.
Our last day with Wildebeest was a proper adventure. Because of a miscommunication between Noah and his team, we understood that our guide has been being double booked. Therefore we had to change a bit our plan, we had to reorganise our the day which was a bit annoying because we were rushed to go back to the airport and we understood that lunch was actually not included in the package as we thought. We changed of the driver on the way, when we stop at a souvenir shop.
The second driver took us to Lake Naivasha on our way back to the airport, which was a nice surprise but an expensive and quite scary experience. We did a tour of the lake on a small wood boat at sunset, and our motor got stuck in a fish net. Even Though the incident was fixed after 10/15min when the lake is agitated, the night is falling and you know that if you swim in the wrong direction you will meet an upset hippo it’s pretty scary. Also, the timing was not really well thought and because of this stop, our driver was stress that we miss our plane and was rushing on the road which made us feel unsafe as the road in Kenya are dangerous and drivers reckless. We actually saw few accidents on the way. We recommend wildebeest team to be more upfront and clear about the consequences of the different options they give to their client so we can make a more informed decision and give them the opportunity to drive more wisely.
Overall we had a good experience with Wildebeest and we are happy to recommend them but make sure you understand all the consequences of your request as they will say yes to everything to not lose a client but you might regret some of your choices. A good idea is to avoid the pick-season during which drivers overwork, many accidents happen and you will probably end up queuing behind many cars before to be able to see the animals.
KR
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great experience in Africa
I have been travel with Lenchada safaris. I was able to see all big five animals, also feels africa very well.
Guide was really good. Frendly and kind. I was not able to eat food but they were helping me to cook by my self also!
DK
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Queen Elizabeth National park and Bwindi National park
We went on a 4-day safari with Vivid Adventure Safari in the last weekend in February 2018. We visited Queen Elizabeth National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National park. The nature was very beautiful, and the tour operator always let us stop to take pictures if we asked for it. The accommodation was very good, and we had excellent food wherever we went.
If we can give you an advice when you pick this tour operator it would be that you must make sure the program is followed by the guide.
Also make sure the price you receive is for the right program because we ended up paying 300$ more than the first offer we got.
The National Parks are definitely worth a visit when you go to the Pearl of Africa. To summarize, it was an experience we would not have missed.
65+ years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
14 Day Luxury Tour of Rwanda and Uganda - Gorillas, Chimps, and Birds
We just returned from the "14 Day Luxury Tour of Rwanda and Uganda -
Gorillas, Chimps, and Birds", offered by Gatatu Safaris, and I want to give
an honest review of our experience with this local Ugandan company. We are
seasoned travelers in our 70's and have traveled extensively with wildlife
companies all over the world. We decided to take a chance booking with
Gatatu Safaris instead of an American company because we really liked the
itinerary they offered since one of us is a wildlife photographer and the
other is an avid bird watcher. Not only was it a good fit for our interests,
it was less expensive for what it offered compared to the American companies
we considered. We were overall pleased with our experience although there
were a few short comings. For example, at the beginning of the tour, our driver did not
have the promised itinerary of daily activities and they were not occurring.
Calls back to the office resolved this situation to a degree.
Since it was advertised as a bird tour, we expected to have professional
bird guides at each of the parks where birding was mentioned as an activity.
This had not been arranged ahead of time, but was handled by our guide "on
the fly", and we were never sure if we would have a bird guide or not, nor
how knowledgeable he would be. Another surprise was the game drives
themselves. The itinerary on the website listed multiple game drives at the
national parks, and this was one of the main reasons we elected to go with
Gatatu Safaris. On our travels, we have always taken game drives in safari
vehicles with pop up tops allowing the occupants to stand up and see clearly
in all directions, but this was not the case with Gatatu. The game drives
were conducted with our driver, Stephen, in the same vehicle used for
transportation between parks, a 1999 vehicle with cramped seating that was
not air-conditioned nor was the fresh air vent working, so we endured many
long, hot drives on Uganda's very bumpy and dusty roads with the windows
open. Stephen was neither a naturalist nor a birder, but he did arrange to
hire bird guides in some of the parks after we got there, and he did arrange
to rent a pop up vehicle for one of the game drives.
One thing that Gatatu Safaris handled very well was changing our
accommodations for the gorilla trekking to a location where they felt like
we would be able to do the trek more easily since we are both in our 70's.
This took a number of phone calls and a talk with the park director, so we
were grateful that they arranged this for us. One thing that could have been
better were the briefings before each day and each activity - what to wear,
how long it would take, do we need water and a hiking stick, etc.
This was advertised as a luxury safari tour, and all of the accommodations
were excellent, the best available in each of the places where we stayed,
so we were pleased with that aspect of our trip.
My recommendation to prospective travelers considering going with Gatatu
Safaris is to agree on a detailed itinerary ahead of time with the company, print
it out, and bring it with you, and be aware that it is a small local Ugandan
company and may lack the polish you expect with a high-end American or
European safari company.
