Travel Review: Luxury Uganda, Rwanda, & Tanzania Tour, Entebbe, Kibale, Kigali, Gorilla Trekking, Hiking

Review by traveler

carmen c.

7.19.2022

General Info

Traveler Review

Which Country (Countries) did you visit on this trip?

Uganda

Rwanda

Tanzania

Your overall comments on the trip and the travel company:

Our tour operator (Andre) was rather unresponsive at times and when he did respond it could be weeks later. I felt he could have planned a tighter trip. His ground crew in Entebbe are lacking. An untrained newbie was sent to meet us at the hotel, while her superior (our contact) was a no show. She offered no options for the day in Entebbe such as the botanical gardens which located near the hotel was an option we learned after the fact. We would have been better off picked up at the airport by our driver who resides in Entebbe and driven to Kibale. Instead, we flew and our driver met us at the airport in Kibale! We were to go to the Dianne Fossey Museum in Rwanda only to learn it had relocated 30 minutes outside of town months ago, an example of poor planning and not staying current. Often our schedule had too many activities and travel time crammed together to enjoy it all. We went directly from a half-day golden monkey trek, into a vehicle to drive from Uganda to Rwanda, an extended stay at immigration (driver had problems with his ID) to missed museum opportunity and another drive to Kigali for one night. I felt the tour operator knowing the areas and activities scheduled, should have done a better job logistically and suggested we add a few extra days to our trip rather than make it a stressful marathon. The meals were delicious, however we felt rushed at every meal (except dinner). Example: We were scheduled to go to Gibbs Farm for lunch which was lovely, however, we were rushed through lunch to go on a long hike which was ridiculously uncomfortable directly after a three-course meal. Furthermore, the drive to lunch, the hike, and then the drive to the crater was almost a total fiasco, trying to keep this jam-packed schedule we arrived at the crater gate after it was closed forcing our guide to beg the gatekeeper to allow us in. I can provide many other examples of poor planning on the part of Andre, but my time is limited.

What were the most enjoyable or memorable parts of your trip?

What was right; all the properties (with the exception of the Protea in Entebbe), meals, and all the property staff minus one or two that needed more on-the-job training. The properties were beautiful. An extra day in each would have allowed us to actually enjoy the many amenities each offered. As stated, the majority of the staff we encountered went out of their way to provide excellent service. All the wildlife viewing and communities were fantastic but the Gorilla trekking and beauty of Uganda was the highlight of the trip. We definitely want to plan a return trip, needless to say, it will not be with this travel company.

If you could take your trip again, what would you do differently?

Hire a different tour operator. Hopefully one with better communication and planning skills. We felt once our balance due was paid in full we were basically considered irrelevant and forgotten.

Travel Company Comments:

I am sorry that the experience in Uganda didn’t meet your expectations, but we do appreciate your feedback, as this provides us with an opportunity to improve our services. Allow me to address your concerns in the order listed.

We endeavor to answer our clients quickly and efficiently. The trip was booked in 2019 pre covid and yes during this time there may have been gaps in communication however please understand that Africa (and the rest of the world) was closed down during this period and therefore when questions were asked it took much time for the Africa ground handlers to respond back. However, in the last couple of months leading up to the trip all communication was promptly returned.

The Uganda ground handler we use has been in business for many years and is extremely experienced. The lady who met you has been a meet and greater for 3 years and was trained by her superior…we don’t understand how she was a no show. The primary reason for the day in Entebbe is that until recently ( fyi-there has been many changes in the Africa covid policy over the last 3 months) we had to account for any potential covid surges where you would be required to test for Covid and then isolate in the hotel until you received the (negative) results. However, after a long charter flight from the Serengeti to Uganda, followed by clearing customs and immigration into Uganda, and transferring to the hotel, the meet and greet lady was explicitly told that relaxation by the pool was the order of the day. Based on your feedback, we have asked that in the future, the Meet and Greeter offers the option of light activities for the remainder of the afternoon upon arrival in Entebbe.

With regard to the drive from Entebbe to Kibale, as this is a 7-hour drive on very bad roads, we always schedule a flight for our clients and have your driver/guide leave Entebbe, very early in the morning to meet you in Kibale. This way you are fresh, relaxed and ready to enjoy your primate activities, which can be fairly strenuous.

The Dianne Fossey Museum has relocated to just outside of the town, but our understanding is that the reason you were not able to visit the museum was because of the time it took to clear customs and immigration through Cyanika Border post. Unfortunately, immigration points/borders in Africa can be extremely congested and while we do our best to allow adequate time, this is unfortunately beyond our control.

We have all traveled extensively through these region/countries and are extremely familiar with the surroundings. The activities were planned as part of your 18-day customized itinerary in Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda and typically all activities and meals were all planned with more than additional time to enjoy each. When we originally set up the trip with you, both cost (budget) and length of trip were significant factors in the design.. so it is confusing that you didn’t have enough time to complete the activities, when we included significant time and shortcuts (i.e. the flight to Kibale referenced above) to enhance your experience. Typically, our visitors to Africa prefer a schedule that is full of activities, so they can take advantage of the limited time that they have available, but still experience as many safari and cultural activities as possible. We shall revisit the itinerary to see where we can enhance the program.

Based on the signed trip report you left in Tanzania (which was marked “excellent” in all boxes, with favorable comments across the board) we are delighted that you enjoyed the Tanzania safari, as well as all of the wildlife viewing and communities. Additionally, we were delighted to read that the Gorilla trekking and the beauty of Uganda turned out to be a major highlight of your trip.

Thank you again for all your comments and feedback.