Fun and adventureous more than I expected
Its a great experience ...
+ a sure bet that y'all cant regret. ...
The services
CH
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Uganda 2 week Safari during Covid-19
We had decided to take a rather spontaneous escape from Covid-19 over Christmas/NYE to Africa. Uganda was not even on our radar and we rather accidentally stumbled across this amazing country, rightfully referred to as the „Pearl of Africa“. Speke Uganda was the local tour operator on behalf of the german Diamir Erlebnisreisen, through which we had booked our trip. The main motivation to visit was seeing mountain gorillas, only possible in this region (Rwanda, DR Kongo, Uganda. Tip: Watch the Netflix docu „Virunga“ to get some more appetite). After this trip, I need to say that Uganda has even more to offer. Chimpanzee tracking was an absolutely amazing experience as well. Among our other highlights were leopards and lions. In fact, we had the Big 5 (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, rhino) covered after less than half our trip!! Our trip covered Zhiwa Rhino sanctuary, Murchison Falls NP, Kibale Forest NP, Queen Elizabeth NP, Bwindi Impenetrable NP, Lake Bunyoni and the very remote Kidepo Valley NP (plan with many driving hours). During the driving through the cities and villages, and the additional explanations of the guide, we got a impression of the daily life in Uganda.
David, our native Ugandan guide, was amazing. He is very knowledgeable, well educated, sympathic, professional, flexible and polite and he took very good care of us and went many extra miles to realize our extra wishes we had. Ask the boss Tony to arrange your trip with David as your guide! Speke Uganda provided a very spacious, reliable, well maintained open-top Safari vehicle (custom 2017 Toyota Landcruiser) with serious off-road capabilities. Compared to other trip operators that operate sometimes crammed mini-buses (some without open top) that can only maneuver the parks main roads, Speke is a premium operator.
We were booked on a midrange trip and accommodation and food quality was mixed. Most lodges were good, with some very good or exceptional (Kidepo Savannah Lodge). Food quality ranged inbetween ok to very good. But again, the choice of accommodation depends on the trip type/the budget.
As this might be interesting for many - about the Covid-19 situation:
Uganda has opened its borders and during the time of our visit, neither Germany nor Switzerland had Uganda on the „quarantine list“, which was the condition for us to travel. For traveling to Uganda, we got a 6 hour Covid-19 PCR test at Frankfurt airport for about 140€. For traveling back, we needed another test that was done in Kampala for about 65 USD. You will need additional travel time for going and coming back, but other than that, that‘s it. We don‘t need to quarantine and there were no other negative surprises from travel perspective.
To be fair, it needs to be said that Covid-19 might affect your experience in Uganda, however. In our case, David was rightfully extremely careful where to let us interact with locals. For this reason, we were not able to walk through markets, dine out, walk through cities or villages, which is normally something we would do to get a better feeling for the people and the country. Hand sanitization and masks were provided by Speke. Those Ugandan‘s in the hospitality sector we interacted with mostly at the hotels were also extremely careful and disciplined (temperature screenings done almost everywhere, handwashing or even once a shoe-washing stations).
On the other hand, Covid-19 has caused the cast majority of tourists so stay at home. Gorilla and chimpanzee permits were available on a less than 2-week notice (normally >6 months) and for half the price as usual (!!!). The parks we visited were amazingly empty, which is a true blessing if you have experienced looking at a lion with 20 other cars fighting for the best photo spot in South Africa.
After all, we have made the very best of the Covid situation by escaping the madness in Europe to this beautiful country.
AT
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Все идеально и достаточно бюджетно
Великолепно, сначала боялись, так как выбор компаний огромный и разброс цен большой, много критериев выбора, плюс перевод депозита до начала тура без какого либо договора. В результате остались неимоверно довольны. Самое наверное важное в Африке - это качественная еда, вода и безопасность. У нас был повар уровня хороших ресторанов в Европе, хотели его забрать с собой )) Все свежее, всегда новые интересные рецепты и ни разу никаких проблем с нашими непривыкшими желудками (учитывая достаточно сложные условия готовки), все полезное, всегда был выбор овощей. Гид Езекель прекрасный человек, очень образован, прекрасный уровень английского, искренне влюблен в свою работу и заботу о животных. Мы останавливались в палатках в центре нац. парка с дикими животными. Это конечно незабываемый опыт на всю жизнь, хоть и страшный. Мы ночью видели гиен метрах в 20 и толпу буйволов прям под палаткой, так что советую сходить в туалет пока все не уснули, ночью не факт что вы осмелитесь. В целом, не бойтесь, главное доверяйте гиду, они очень хорошо знают повадки животных. С собой надо взять: легкую одежду которую не прокусят комары (очень советую спец рубашку для сафари, так как в легком дождевике очень жарко), все возможные крема, масла, спреи от комаров, теплую одежду и термобелье (по ночам холодно) легкую закрытую обувь, шлепки для душа, полотенце, если брезгуете свой спальник или простынь-кокон, фонарь, бинокль, камеру, поуэр банк, солнцезащитные крема, очки, шапки, дезинфектор, сим карту с интернетом и контактами гида на экстренный случай, можно дождевик взять. Взяли 5 дневный тур, нам было идеально по длительности.
Проживание: у нас было всего 3 кемпинга. 1. Twiga campsite был за забором с очень хорошими условиями, чистый почти не было москитов, находится в селе, рядом магазин с базовыми продуктами и алкоголем, можно прогуляться к рисовым полям. 2. Simba - потрясающие виды, но возле туалета можно встретить разных животных и внутри больших жуков, в целом принять душ можно комфортно. Забора от животных нет, тут к нам ночью пришло стадо буйволов, днем была толпа обезьян и птица марабу, а на следующий день рядом с территорией гулял слон. 3. Nyani campsite в Серенгети - тут были самые плохие условия, так как там кемпинги на расхват и за хоть малость хорошие условия придется доплатить немало. Купаться мы там не рискнули, так как все было в больших пауках. На кухне был рой мух, кушать было очень тяжело. Сюда ночью приходила гиена на кухню. Ночью куча всяких звуков, так что берите наушники или беруши, а то просидите полночи с квадратными глазами )) Во всех местах была горячая вода, WiFi был только в последнем на 50Мб на устройство.
BY
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Brilliant organization! 3-Day Serengeti/Ngorongoro Crater
Our Serengeti and Ngorongoro 3 days/2 nights safari was perfectly organized from the very beginning. Emmanuel immediately responded to our request, answered all questions, was flexible in terms of dates.
The safari itself was beyond expectations. Everything was included in the price (food, tents, transfer from / to Kilimanjaro airport, 2 nights in a nice hotel before and after safari, entrance to the national parks).
Professional driver Rocky knew where the animals were and told us a lot about each creature. Chef Salim prepared several delicious dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There were options for vegetarians.
We saw animals very close. Elephants and lions approached the car. Hyenas fought for food outside our tents in the camp. On the second night, wild buffalo and pumbas came to the camp. We saw thousands of zebras, wildebeest, huge birds, dozens of giraffes, elephants, hippos, lions, hyenas, jackals, buffalo, rhinos and many other animals, except for the leopard (next time ;)
Thank you, Emmanuel and Crater Explorer team, for the awesome first safari experience in Tanzania
LV
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Luxury and professionalism
RajaTours Tanzania provided us with a 2-day (Mikumi national park & Masai village) and a 3-day safari (Tarangire, Ngorongoro and Lake Manyara). Both were of the highest quality, affordable, professionally arranged, lead by highly knowledgeable guides and, most importantly, FUN! The accommodations booked for the safaris were amazing - very comfortable and luxurious.
Thank you, RajaTours, this has definitely been an enjoyable experience in Tanzania!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Fun amazing and spectacular adventure.
My first time in a camp and overland truck. I have always wanted to go to Wasini and I knew Adventure 360 will not disappoint. There's professionalism and enthusiasm from Charity you would think she's never been there. We had an amazing time at the Shimba hills park and Wasini. The Dolphin watch was out of this world
20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing trip around western Uganda
We used this company to do a 8 day trip in western Uganda. Phionah was always quick to respond to our emails, always reliable, available and willing to provide us with all the informations we needed. The organization of our trip was challenged by all the covid restrictions in our country of origin, so we had to modify the dates twice and Phionah helped us to make this trip possible by being flexible for us and understanding. We thank her a lot for that! Our driver Gerald was way more than a driver, he was also a friend for us, a knowledgeable guide, a negotiator, there is no situation that Gerald can't handle! He made our trip so smooth and easy, arranging everything for us all the time, making sure that we were having a great time everyday, sometimes even going out of his way to go beyond our expectations. He was always available and caring. He is also a super nice person and we enjoyed sharing conversations and laughs with him. He was the best driver we could have hoped for! We had a wonderful trip of a lifetime in Uganda thanks to Gerald and Phionah, we would recommend them 100% to anyone who wants to discover this beautiful country.
50-65 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Amazing and Safe Experience during COVID
Amazing, beautiful, awe-stricken, humbled, grateful are just a few of the words to describe what my two teens and I experienced during our 6 day excursion over the Christmas holiday in Uganda. Our guide Karim was the best! I highly recommend you ask for him as he is an amazing representative of Uganda hospitality, care and service on behalf of Home to Africa Tours and Travel. We went during COVID which we were obviously hesitant about, but the safety and sanitation, was unbelievable. Actually visiting at this time offers you no crowds, ease in booking and it is extremely helpful to supporting tourism at this time for Ugandans. The landscape from the waters/rapids of the Nile to the brush of the lowlands around Lake Mburo and Queen Elizabeth National Parks, to the hills and highlands near Kibale and Bwindi National Parks is breathtaking and utterly gorgeous. An hour with the gorillas is indescribable as well and something my family will never forget. Don't hesitate, this tour company and Karim gave us an experience we will treasure always.
NG
35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Memoriable!
Every detail was taken care of: we didn’t have to worry about anything. Anything we needed was just one text message away.
The Safari tour was incredible: it is one of those things that one must experience in their life time. We had a very luxurious and comfortable experience that left us with such fond memories!
20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
It was a nice experience seeing animals u always see on tv
The communication was very good since joseph used yo give us an update for everything. It was good going game driving, boat cruising though ts my niece who went in there and she told me t was a good experience. And Joseph was very hospitable.