Email Annette Williamson | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Dream come true
It has been a dream for us for so long to see the Gorillas. The trip was amazing, accommodation was beautiful from Bwindi Lodge, staff were so helpful and beautiful, our Buttler David couldn’t do enough for us. The food marvellous. Our guide very informative and helpful.The view what can I say amazing. Weather perfect. Then the gorillas
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Email David Sieb | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Perfect :)
Our Guide Abby was excellent and Uganda is amazing and the gorilla tracking was unbelievable. We would do the trip again :)
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Email Barbara Osmundson | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
After dreaming of Africa since I was 7, it was everything I hoped and more.
Wildlife was incredible. Children were incredible and so friendly! Murchison Falls was amazing!!! The jungle habitat in Kyambura Gorge was amazing. It is too bad that at Lake Mburo Natl Park, 2 apex predators are gone because of poisoning due to next door cattle ranching--missing lions and wild dogs. I know these ranchers are trying to make a living with their cattle, but historic poisoning of lions and other predators is so disturbing. Gorillas were amazing and the highlight of our trip! Protection for mountain gorillas needs to continue, and allowing locals to participate will help preserve them. It is awful about the displaced Batwa people. The government needs to give them land, and provide educational opportunities so they can make a living and not live in poverty. The government needs to provide clean drinking water from taps!!!!
Of concern is the fact that Ugandas' population is supposed to double in the next 30 years. Not enough cropland to support this, and worry about potential loss of gorilla habitat. I am also worried about the Chinese interests in oil and gas. Lots of road construction to provide infrastructure and allow their interests to exploit the oil and gas resources of Uganda. I look at Uganda, and see the greatest resources to be the wildlife, scenery, and the children!!! I think the Chinese are motivated by profit, and do not really care about the people of Uganda.
Our accommodations were excellent--we especially enjoyed Bakers Lodge, Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge, and Mihingo Lodge, and Mt Gahinga Lodge. Mt. Gahinga and Mihingo lodges were our favorites. Food was good, and we looked forward to our meals, especially at Mt. Gahinga where we shared the table with other visitors. Staff at all facilities (except at Ishasha Jungle Lodge) were extremely professional and attentive. At Ishasha Jungle lodge, the performance of orphanage kids was exceptional and I wanted to hug each child. It is a very good idea and way to bring donations into orphanages, and kudos to Ishasha jungle lodge for allowing them to perform for guests. Kudos to Edward and Elle at Nkuringo. At both Nkuringo and Mt. Gahinga--the fires in our fire places and the hot water bottles in our beds were so so nice.
Our guide Edwin was for the most part very attentive to our needs, and went out of his way to help us. He actually was able to recover forgotten camera chargers and batteries for both my husband and I. That was incredible how he knew all the other guides including those working for other companies, and was able to network and retrieve our lost chargers. He was knowledgable about the wildlife, and very informative about Uganda. We enjoyed it very much when he joined us for meals.
My only complaint about Edwin was driving too fast and too close at times when people were walking on the roadside---especially young children, and an impatience for livestock on the road, as well as an apparent dislike of boda bodas on the road. Edwin drove a lot of miles!! for us and we certainly arrived at our destinations in one piece and on time. Edwin was a skilled driver, and was able to drive in a variety of situations, including heavy traffic near Kampala, to off-the road game drives. I would recommend Edwin as a guide, but would want him to show a little more respect and consideration for people, livestock, and boda bodas also using the roads.
I absolutely fell in love with Uganda---its wildlife and people. I think I left part of my heart there, and would highly recommend it as a travel destination. We mainly went to see wildlife, but actually learned more about the people and culture. It seems like we rode a lot of miles from site to site in the land cruiser, and did get sore and stiff in the process, but we got to see many villages and people in the process of living that we would have missed had we flown from site to site. Kudos to Matoke Tours for setting up this life-changing trip for us. And thanks to Edwin for making our tour possible. We couldn't have done it without him.
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Email Ian P | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
4 Day Gorilla and Chimpanzee Trekking Safari in Uganda
I went on a wonderful solo 4-day safari in Uganda. My guide Fred was excellent. I was picked up early in the morning from Entebbe and driven to Kibale National Park. The next morning I went Chimpanzee trekking, which was fantastic, and in the afternoon I went for a community tour, which was fascinating and eye-opening, and a swamp walk, on which I saw many different types of birds, monkeys and interesting plants. The next day we drove South to Bwindi Forest through Queen Elizabeth National Park, where I saw lots of wildlife including tree-climbing lions. The following day I went Gorilla trekking. This was a magical experience and the highlight of my 6 weeks in Africa. After gorilla trekking, we drove to Kigali, where my safari ended. Overall, the experience was excellent and I would highly recommend it. I particularly enjoyed my guide Kambugu "Fred" Sunday, who was a great and knowledgeable guide.
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Email Tor | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing
Highly recommend „Grassrootz“ as safari operator. Very good in planning and executing tailored made safaris. Excellent communication, backoffice support and tour guides. I went with Emma and he is one of the most pleasant, knowledgeable and organized people to go on a tour with. Profound knowledge of flora and fauna, and history and culture of Uganda, very safe and fast driving. Also has very good relations with local people we stayed with or visited. There is no other tour operator like this. This is the company I will book all future trips with.
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Email César Manuel Noval Font | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Everything fantastic
The trip has been fantastic the best the guide dereck!
Email Kevin R | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Our trip exceeded all expectations. Awesome place.
From the start of our trip the scenery was beautiful. The wildlife was amazing on every drive or boat trip. The highlights being the gorilla trekking, the chimpanzee trekking and the lions in ishasha. All of our lodges were very clean and in great locations for the activities we had planned. Last but not least Christopher was great who put the whole thing together for us and the star of the tour was Robert our guide and great friend for the time we spent in Uganda. He was amazing and we couldn’t of wished for more. Thank you Yala Safaris. We had an amazing time.
Chris and his team were the perfect partners for our 8 day film shoot in Kampala, Uganda.
Encounter Africa Safaris and Film Crew Fixers Uganda are a highly professional service production for your project in Uganda. Communication was clear and fast from beginning to end. Everything worked out perfectly, our team was safe and in great hands. The cooperation was friendly and uncomplicated. Highly recommendable professionals! Thank you Chris and Steven!
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Email Saikat Rudra | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
My Uganda safari has left an indelible pleasant memory.
My Uganda safari is really a life-time experience. The dream that I have cherished for long has come true. My exploration started with Kibale National Park in search of chimps. It was followed by Queen Elizabeth National Park, Bwindi Impenitrable National Park and Lake Bunyonyi. Abound with a rich wildlife, Ugandan rain forests have a pristine beauty with their primates, hippos, crocs, tree-climbing lions, birds, and, on top of all, the mountain gorillas. The weather was very pleasant. The accommodations were nice, particularly the one in Queen Elizabeth National Park. The transportation was very good. My guide is an excellent young man. Except for rural roads, the highways are great. In brief, my Uganda experience is unforgettable.
Beautiful country, amazing wildlife; helpful and friendly people
The 3 day safari to Murchison Falls with Simba Tours was great, as part of a two week trip to Uganda for a wedding. In addition to the safari I loved Lake Bunyonyi in the Southwest (especially Byoona Amagara Eco-Resort); and Jinga. Kampala is stressful with all the traffic. I appreciated the 3 different drivers I had and their navigation of sometimes challenging roads. Uganda is a good value for the budget-minded tourist, but probably not the place for those who want a lot of luxury. Great cell phone reception throughout the country - better than where I live in the USA.
