5 Tage Gorilla & Wildlife Safari in Uganda

I'd like to start by saying that our guide, Elias, and the accommodations were superb. The experience we had was definitely made better by Elias and the comfort, food quality and friendly staff at each of our stays. We also were able to participate in the main highlights of the 5 Day Gorilla and Wildlife tour - the Chimp and Gorilla trekking. And both of these are amazing opportunities and very memorable. However, our experience was riddled with stress and last minute changes. We had booked this tour (through Viator) several months in advance of our arrival. And although we received confirmation of the trip a week before hand, I had tried multiple times to contact the company regarding some questions with no response. As we were sitting in the NBO airport, departing for EBB - 12 hrs prior to our anticipated pick up - we get an email that the tour was cancelled. I then received a message on WhatsApp from Friendly Gorillas saying that they can book us a similar itinerary, we just have to pay through their website and that there is an additional credit card fee. So while this felt really sleazy and like a scam, we felt we needed to go along so that our trip wouldn't be lost. After payment went through, I was made aware that *I* was supposed to add in 4% to the final cost to cover that fee, rather than the charge just being applied to the payment. Now we had to add stopping at an ATM to get several hundreds of dollars to cover this extra cost. Apparently the ATM exchange rate and the accepted Uganda exchange rate are two different prices and what had seemed the correct number was $24 short of the total. We were told this needed to be made whole immediately so we didn't face any "complications" with our itinerary. After returning home and reviewing their website, the cost we paid (the Viator cost + extra fee) is close to what they charge for the Luxury accommodations. Our standard lodging was wonderful and I have no complaints there, but it definitely seems as though we got scammed. All of our activities were scheduled very last minute. We had to adapt to changes for a large part of the trip. Our Chimp trekking was postponed because they didn't sort out the reservations, and because of this our QENP park permits expired, preventing us from entering the park at the Isasha sector to see the Tree Climbing lions (that the guard told us were just inside the gate that day). While it wasn't all bad, and we did have some really amazing moments, there was a looming cloud over our time in Uganda that really dampened the experience.

Un voyage époustouflant! Merci à Hedi de nous avoir accompagnés et énormément appris sur son pays durant ces 5 jours. Nous nous sommes sentis en sécurité avec lui. Les logements étaient très bien, note spéciale au dernier qui était somptueux ! Nous avons eu la chance de voir un lion grimpeur. Merci également à Brenda pour ses différents échangent rapides. Manon et Pierre

Wir haben die 5 Tage Primatensafari mit Schimpansen und Gorilla Trekking gemacht, die absolut erstaunlich war! Wir kamen aus nächster Nähe, sahen den Schimpansen bei der Jagd zu und teilten ihren Tod und folgten einer 6-köpfigen Gorillafamilie mit einem Kleinkind. Unser Besuch beim Batwa/Pygmäen Stamm war ein wunderbares kulturelles Erlebnis. Unser Guide Noah war kenntnisreich und informativ über die Gegend, Kultur und Tierwelt. Anthony war per E-Mail, Whatsapp ansprechbar und machte einen Videoanruf, um Details zu finalisieren. Die Kosten waren angemessen und die Unterkünfte waren gut. Ich empfehle Friendly Gorillas!