Uganda Reviews

Hi Craig. A huge thank you for the amazing trip you organised for us and your flexibilty in ensuring that all our concerns were addressed in the early stages of planning the holiday. It was first class from start to finish and I would highly recommend your services to anyone planning a trip to Uganda. Nkuringo Tours were excellent, our guide Patrick Yigo was brilliant and all of the lodges we stayed in were amazing. It really was the trip of a lifetime. The country and its people were wonderful and looking into the eyes of a silverback gorilla was an experience never to be forgotten so we cannot thank you enough for making it all possible. I have attached a couple of the many, many wonderful photos we have to remind us of our unforgettable experiences. Best Wishes for Christmas and the New Year. Margaret and Brian.

Satisfaction: Excellent.   . From the first discussion with Craig it was clear he knew the country and was able to build us a trip itinerary that fulfilled everything we wanted to do and see. Our guide Julius was fantastic, knowledgeable, welcoming and seemed to know everyone in Uganda so we always heard where the latest sightings had been.

I keep thinking about the glorious holiday that we had [Uganda & Rwanda Small Group Conservation Tour September 2023].  It is the jewel in the crown of my numerus holidays.  What made it so special, apart from being so close to gorillas and seeing all the wonderful animals that we did, was our group.  The five of us got on SO well and laughed so much.  I cannot thank you or Rainbow Tours enough.  A friend of mine from New York is looking into this holiday now. Best wishes,. Maggie.  .

Hello Craig! . I wanted to email and tell you what a fabulous trip this was! [Uganda & Rwanda Small Group Conservation Tour September 2023]  I absolutely love Remmy and I think he is the most patient man I have ever met. He is so kind and we had a lot of fun with him! Thank you so much for everything you did to make my dream come true. I had some significant and unexpected health problems come up just after I booked with you and I almost cancelled several times. I am on the mend now, and used this trip to help me with my healing. It’s been a lifelong dream to go on Safari and this trip exceeded my expectations in every way. . I will truly never forget it, each and every day was a new adventure and Uganda is the most beautiful country! . So many thanks Craig, truly. .  .

Hiya Craig,. We had the most amazing time in Uganda with some incredible experiences. The gorilla and chimpanzee treks were breathtaking and the opportunity to go out with the lion/ carnivore tracker was excellent, we even saw 3 leopards!. I just want to say a huge thank you to you Craig for organising such a special and well planned itinerary for us. Remmy was a great guide and we loved getting to know him. . It’s been a pleasure working with you over the last year or so Craig, I will certainly be using Rainbow Tours again..  . Thank you Craig,.  . Lynsey and David .

Hi Craig,. So the trip to Uganda and the Gorilla tracking - was quite frankly one of the best experiences of my entire life. Those 4 days were utterly incredible and I had the most relaxing, enjoyable and thrilling time. I cant fault a second of it to be honest because it was all perfect. Service at Rainbow - well apart from you working absolute miracles to pull the whole trip together and going well out of your way to get it done, the service from Rainbow was great. You were transparent, honest and very determined to make this happen and I am very grateful for it. All of my documents were sent through in this lovely pouch which I used for all of my documents for my whole Africa trip.Lodge - Nkuringo Gorilla Lodge was breathtaking and I'm so happy and thrilled I got to stay there for 3 nights. It was the perfect place for me and my forest suite was brilliant - I could've stayed there for A LOT longer. All of the staff were brilliant and so kind and friendly and I got along with all of them very well. I gave them all excellent feedback along with tips to reflect that.Trip highlight - I'm so happy we booked two gorilla treks. One was perfect but it was not enough. Two was the right amount and they ended up being so different. Actually I could've done with a third just to be able to go and not take as many photos and just watch them instead! Obviously the highlight was spending 2 hours with 2 different gorilla families which blew my mind - both treks ended up being so different on different terrain but equally amazing.Logistics - it was a well oiled 4 days and all of it went to plan. I was well taken care of the moment I walked out of Entebbe airport on Monday night to when Cathy dropped my back at international departures on Friday afternoon. The service and quality I received was out of this world. A special shout out goes to my driver, Charles, in Uganda / Kisoro / Bwindi - he was the sweetest guy who made my trip very special.I'll send some pics in a seperate email to you from my phone. Let me know if there's anything else you need from me. Speak soon,. Amar.

Hi Derek. We have had an absolutely amazing trip. I cannot express how fantastic the organisation, the guides, the accommodation has been. Perfect in every way.... Arshley and Catherine really looked after us and Arshley in particular was exceptional - so knowledgable and friendly. Uganda is a fabulous place. . A few weeks back at work and then it’s off to Belize with Rainbow Tours! . Best wishes. Paul.

Hi Craig. . I thought the trip was excellent overall. The wildlife at Murchison was superb, and what it lacked in quantity at Kidepo it made up for in the intimacy at the watering hole by the lodge.. . In terms of the lodges, obviously Apoka was great but the lodge at Murchison was in a stunning setting. Both would be slightly better if they had wifi throughout the day, and I felt their environmental credentials could be substantially improved by solar power and, in the case of the lodge at Murchison, getting rid of the single use plastic bathroom amenities. I think the buffet style food at Murchison might not be for everyone, but I got the impression that top-end options were more limited in that park.. . Joseph and Cathy were excellent hosts, and I couldn’t fault them..

Hi Craig. I had an epic trip in Uganda recently and I wanted to give you my feedback,. Don’t change anything. It’s been tough to come back to reality after such a marvelous holiday! I will never forget the beautiful sounds of the forest from my room in the Buhoma Lodge and the L’Hoest monkeys outside my cabin, the gorilla families I visited, and the chimpanzee who strolled past, just a few feet away, and who gave me a look as if to say, ‘what are you looking at?’. The itinerary was excellent, and there was plenty to do, but it was possible to relax as well. I was particularly fortunate that our group of five got on so well. Our guide, Ham, was friendly and knowledgeable. I was inspired to go to Uganda by two Dutch ladies I met on holiday, who were enthusiastic but gave me the impression that I should expect to rough it a bit. They couldn’t have been more wrong. The standard of the accommodation and the food was overall very high. On the first night I stayed in a beautiful room in the Boutique no. 5 Hotel in Entebbe and the food there was extraordinary and exceptionally creative, even measured by London standards. Buhoma Lodge and Ishasha Wilderness Camp were in beautiful locations and had some of the friendliest and most helpful staff I’ve ever come across: nothing was too much trouble and I was made to feel like a VIP. It was very helpful that the flights were booked on my behalf: I had an experience with another travel company where I had to book my own flights to Tanzania and if I’d been better informed I would have had a much less stressful journey on the way there. My only niggle would be an issue with reconfirming my return flight, which I was instructed to do in the travel information. The office in Entebbe couldn’t do it, as they didn’t have my flight details, and I ended up emailing Craig in London (in itself tricky, as I didn’t have email access in the Ishasha Wilderness Camp on my phone and one of the other passengers did it for me. It turned out that I probably didn’t need to reconfirm, but it did cause me a bit of stress. Rainbow Tours will definitely be my first port of call when I’m booking future trips, wherever they may be. . .

Hi Craig, thank you for your email. We had an absolutely wonderful holiday thanks. All of the lodges and trips were fantastic as were the drivers and everyone we met out there. Everything exceeded our expectations. It was a lovely experience, well organised with lovely accommodation. Tour guides /leaders very friendly and helpful. All excursions were very enjoyable. . Overall tour satisfaction Excellent. Service from Rainbow Tours Excellent. Service from our local partner: Excellent. .

Superb highlights; two gorilla days- two boat trips- Ugandan Dancers- Semliki lodge- Elephant plains lodge- Chimp habituation walk-Primate Lodge. Driver/guides were great; flexible and informative. . Need an extra day to acclimatise at altitude in Rwanda before trekking for gorilla. . . .

Derek and Craig. I had a wonderful time in Rwanda and Uganda and I would like to thank you both for all your efforts in arranging and planning the trip. The two guide, Augustine and Peter were first class, professional and their great humour & cheerfulness was fundamental in keeping group moral on some of the more challenging days. They were a pleasure to be with and huge asset to the tour. Personally I was happy with virtually everything on the trip, the lodges, the places visited, the food, the whole adventure! Without wishing to add any negative tones, the only fundamental changes that would have eased some tensions with some people are the following:-. - Many companies have a tip pool, which the guide leader deals with on a daily basis, in which you start out by handing over. - The first gorilla tracking in which we climbed up to almost 3200m - most did not have suitable footwear. Now I thought that your notes were clear enough, but for others the trek difficulty, the mud, the type of walking gear required came as a shock. Maybe that needs high-lighting for future trips. For me, I was happy with everything and I felt that anyone with common sense would appreciate what they had signed up for... The countries of Rwanda and Uganda are beautiful places with warm, polite and welcoming people. I feel privileged to have visited them both, and for that I thank you both. Well done both of you for doing a fantastic job. Kind Regards,. Paul. .

Craig, We had a fantastic holiday, thank you. Missing the river trip in Entebbe was obviously a bit disappointing, but that was just an unfortunate problem from Kenya Airways and you dealt with the situation well for us. All of our accommodation was great. We were really impressed with the Heaven resort in Rwanda. We thought Rwanda was a great place and were really impressed with the pride people took in their country and how clean it was. The contrast of the amount of rubbish when we crossed into Uganda was very stark. Our guide was brilliant and we felt very safe with him throughout. He was very knowledgeable and he took great care of us and made sure all of our guides looked after us very well. All of the trips were very good. Obviously, the Gorilla day was a highlight (albeit it very arduous as we had a big thunder storm the night before, so the conditions underfoot were difficult) but all of the other days were great too. The Ivy Trail was very enjoyable, as was the day with the Chimps. Fumba Beach Lodge was just what we needed at the end of the trip and we just stayed at the resort and chilled out. The KLM flights were very good, as were the Kenya Airways ones. The business lounge at Dar es Salam left quite a lot to be desired. We paid to go into the lounge at Nairobi, which was a very good decision. It cost $80 but made the 6 hour wait comfortable ( I watched India v West Indies in a T20 cricket match!) All of the organisation by Rainbow Tours was up to the very high standards we have experienced with you for a number of years now. We are sorting out our photo’s and I’ll send you some in due course. Thanks for all your help and advice in organising another great holiday for us. Best wishes. Carl & Moira

'The trip (Uganda Gorilla & Game:Group Safari) was great. Enjoyed all lodges, loved Buhoma more. All staff were great. The gorilla trekking was great - came back after 6 hours for the 1st trek. The sightings were great and the Uganda Wildlife Authority guide was engaging and passionate. The forest walk was amazing, though it had an effect on their fitness the next day for gorilla trekking. Ham (our guide) was a star. He was very knowledgeable. The vehicle was good and comfortable. Gorilla trekking was the safari highlight' .

'Dennis, our guide, was a star. He couldn't do enough. Seeing the gorillas and other wildlife was fantastic. This was one of the best holidays in Africa. . Kyaninga Lodge: this was absolutely stunniing. So friendly. . Mweya Lodge was excellent. The pet mongoose and boat ride were great. . Ishasha Wilderness Tented Camp: great fun avoiding a Cape buffalo on the way back from dinner. Mihingo Lodge: the bushbaby was great. . This was a brilliant holiday in every respect. The widlife was stunning - we were lucky we saw the gorillas after only 30 minutes walk. The cat tracking provided excellent photo opportunities and the chimp and boat rides were stunning, but above all the friendliness of the people was something to behold. . Once again thanks for organising an excellent holiday. . All the best'.

'Our driver/guide, Moses, was there and brought us to our vehicle. Moses was very helpful and polite. He did his best to give us a great trip and we appreciated his effort. He was also very good at spotting animals on the safari. Amuka Safari Lodge: Your description was spot on so our expectations were met on this basic lodge. We were the only ones there and the staff did their best. Food was OK. So, we were fine with this place for one night.Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary: We really enjoyed this and it was fun to do a short walking safari. We were the only ones with the rangers and were able to get quite close to a group of five. I’ve seen lone rhinos at a distance before so this was very nice to be so close.Baker’s Lodge: Just wonderful. The room, food, and service was great. It was thoroughly enjoyable to sit by the river and watch it flow by. Our hut was very close to the river and one night we had at least 20 hippos right outside the hut munching away on the grass (and I mean only 2 meters away from the hut). They were noisy and kept us up quite a bit but it was the experience that we will never forget. Can highly recommend this place. Really enjoyed the falls. The park was also interesting. For so many grazing animals I was somewhat surprised not to see some cats – oh well.'

. . 'All the lodges were very good, with great food, rooms were nice and the staff. Excellent choice of accommodation. The gorilla trekking was great, the round trip lasted about 7 hours. . David was a fabulous guide and fun to be with, he was very knowledgeable and answered every other question he was asked. Gorilla trek was the highlight, the boat trip was great too'. .

Chameleon Tours were excellent, even suggesting a place to have a meal before waiting at the airport. Air Kenya were very efficient. Our guide Moses from Magic Safaris had an excellent understanding of what tourists want – we couldn’t fault him at all. The best guide we have had over eight safaris!

I am particularly grateful to Leila who gave me the confidence to book . My trip was with Rainbow Tours followed by another trip with another company and her general advice on linking the two elements was critical to the success of the total trip. My personal, grateful thanks to her.

A fantastic holiday would recommend Uganda especially the gorillas.

This was the holiday of a lifetime…All of our expectations and much more were met. Thank you!

Absolutely fabulous trip which fulfilled my dream of seeing the mountain gorillas and a family group of chimpanzees. Our guide/driver, Joseph, was amazing, so helpful, knowledgeable and a careful driver. We could not have been better looked after.

We really enjoyed Uganda. The people were very friendly and spoke excellent English. It is a beautiful green and lush country with diverse and interesting scenery and wildlife. We met very few British tourists and wonder why – they obviously don’t know how wonderful it is.

It was a brilliant holiday! Seeing the Gorilla’s was a fantastic experience on both days. Lodges were fantastic – just wondered if some choices would have been better if location was chosen to prevent 1 hour drive backwards and forward to view game etc by selecting lodge in game reserve. (I know this may not be as good a lodge – as apart from last location every lodge was brilliant.). Was very good to have one driver all week to learn about country and share experiences – possibly did not make enough of this in your brochure. Very enjoyable holiday and will look to booking more holidays from you in future. Probably Amazon next !

We would like to thank you and the Rainbow Tours Team for assisting us in arranging our holiday to Uganda. We had a truly wonderful time and the holiday went without a hitch from start to finish. Your invaluable advice on the National Parks and lodges/luxury tents to stay in, was extremely helpful and the information you provided to us was right up to date. This is the second holiday you have arranged for us and we will definitely return to you, when deciding where in Africa we would like to go to next! Full credit to you all, for your knowledge and organisational skills. Thank you once again, we thought Uganda was a beautiful country with beautiful people.

Thank you for organising a brilliant holiday! Our driver/guide, Fred, was excellent. Mweya Safari Lodge was excellent, Mweya was fantastic it is a stunning setting and was very relaxing. Mantana Tented Camp, Lake Mburo another stunning setting and impeccable service. We would highly recommend it. We would book through Rainbow Tours again.

We had a wonderful holiday and would certainly recommend your company and Uganda as a destination.

Leila, hi, we've just gotten back and I wanted to thank you for putting together an excellent itinerary for us and for making our stay very smooth and enjoyable. Most of all, I wanted to mention our guide/driver, Benjamin. He made the holiday memorable and carefree. He was very knowledgeable on every matter, accommodating to our needs, and obviously wanted us to enjoy ourselves and make the most of our trip.