Uganda Self-Guided Tours and Trips

This trip is packed with so many amazing experiences. At the beginning of the week we were walking in amongst giraffe, middle of the week trekking to see gorillas and searching for pangolins. By the end of the week, walking amongst golden monkeys. We had two guides, Robert and Umar, both were safe drivers and great at spotting the wildlife as we drove along. Along the way, we stopped at various organisations working to either save the wildlife or to support women in work - so make sure you have space in your case and to take some extra money as I am sure there will be something to tempt you. Weather is a bit hit and miss, you do a lot of time in rain forests and as such, gaiters are probably a good idea - I didn't have them and had a boot full of mud by the end of the day. Be prepared for some long drives, though they will be broken up with plenty of stops. The locals are extremely friendly and do enjoy when you join in with activities such as dancing, so make sure to have your dancing shoes at the ready. Overall an epic adventure that I struggle to put into words!

What an amazing tour this was. We had three incredible close up wildlife experiences, with giraffes on the walking safari at Lake Mburo National Park, with the mountain gorillas in Bwindi National Park and with golden monkeys in Volcanoes National Park. The mountain gorillas had to be the highlight, not least the 5 day old baby, but each encounter was breathtaking. Our tour leader Robert and Umar were both excellent drivers and local guides and did all they could to make sure everyone saw and enjoyed as much as possible. There is a lot more to this tour than the wildlife - the countryside is spectacular, we visited community support groups, learned about the Rwandan history at the moving Genocide Memorial in Kigali, tried banana gin and plenty more. The lodges we stayed in were impeccable, in great locations and with plentiful food. All in all a highly recommended trip.

Great trip with fantastic service and memories

An absolutely outstanding trip - I visited Uganda in 1994 to see Gorillas and the wildlife etc - so this return trip was to see how the country had changed. There were a lot of changes but some things have stayed the same. The people are still so friendly, helpful and hospitable. Obviously the greatest expected highlight is trekking to the Gorillas and it was beyond expectations - our guide Robert had arranged for us to trek to the same family group I had seen 31 years ago - a small but extremely meaningful gesture - that is what makes a trip memorable. Getting literally a few feet away from the entire family group was sensational. But there is so much more to this trip - Walking with Giraffes and Zebra, admiring the Golden Monkeys, Dancing with the Ride 4 a Woman group, Laughing with Batu Tribespeople, making coffee from the bean, drinking the Banana Gin and reflecting on history at the Rwanda Genocide Memorial. The accommodation was superb - the lodges are all in the countryside environment - so you are surrounded by wildlife. The "Hot Water Bottles" and roaring fires make a very homely feel. There's even a couple of swimming pools at the perfect points in the trip Food was outstanding - maybe just a little too much - but extremely tasty, varied and offering the chance to experience local cuisine. One Tip - most places accept US Dollars - but in Uganda they are very meticulous on the quality - they MUST be clean, fresh, flat notes. No rips, tears, added pen ink or marks. Moderate pace is the perfect grading - Early morning starts but most days we had some spare time to relax, chill, enjoy the sights, drink and laugh. A highly recommended trip!

An excellent trip, with the highlight being the mountain gorillas, but there was far more to this trip than I was expecting. The walking safari was also excellent, we were very close to giraffes. There are a lot of cultural experiences in this trip, which are excellent as you get to see how the local communities benefit from tourism and learn about their background. However, these all come with purchasing opportunities 'please buy from us and support this project' etc etc. So beware - do not do all your shopping at the first project! Hotels were better than expected in most cases, however the Kampala hotel could be improved on. It was very noisy with music noise most of the night.

Our Explore tour was amazing and we certainly got to see what we had wanted to see. I especially enjoyed the smaller group as we all got to know each other quite well. The accommodations were great and our tour guides were outstanding. We did find the long drives between Safari's, especially on such rough roads, very gruelling. I also felt that the vehicle that we travelled in was not the greatest. Perhaps this is due to the trucks travelling over the rough roads. The one recommendation that I would give that would provide for a more interesting experience is to give the Tour Guides a small microphone that they could wear while driving. It is almost impossible to hear what they are saying and they are a wealth of information. You could just amplify their voices to make it easier to hear, or even better, each traveller could wear a little receiver and the commentary would come through it. Unfortunately, we missed so much of the great information that the Guides were giving us, especially those in the back seats, as we were unable to hear them.