Gorillas and Wildlife Safaris

Gorillas and Wildlife Safaris

Gorillas and Wildlife Safaris
5
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
9:30 AM - 2:00 PM
About
Gorillas and Wildlife Safaris Ltd, a member of the Association of Uganda Tour Operators, is one of the few accredited Tour Operator by the Uganda Ministry of Trade and Tourism. We have been in operation since 2005. We delight in providing the most affordable luxury, mid-range and low budget safaris & tour packages to individuals and small groups/ families without any discrimination. Our major purpose is that as many as possible will visit and enjoy the unique beauty of Uganda and Rwanda with a professional and knowledgeable tour guide, through a fast, honest and professional booking service, at the best affordable price possible. So, talk to us today! We will most likely be of more help than you expect - be it gorilla tracking safaris, Rwanda wildlife and game viewing safaris, chimpanzee tracking, and bird-watching packaged tours, culture, white-water rafting, mountain climbing, name it.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda
Meets animal welfare guidelines

Awards
Travellers' Choice
2023

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(28 reviews)

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

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5.0
5.0 of 5 bubbles414 reviews
Excellent
369
Very good
29
Average
11
Poor
3
Terrible
2

Hugh P
2 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 • Couples
Firstly I would like to say we had amazing experiences seeing the chimps and gorillas in the national parks in Uganda which is exactly what we wanted. We had one week in total which my partner and I enjoyed however there were things the tour company could have done better which were predominantly around communication to us for the week long tour.

Changes in the itinerary were not clearly communicated to us which meant we stayed in different hotels to what we thought we were paying for.

We also thought we were getting a boat tour in lake Bunyonyi however it ended up being guided canoe trip.

The main issue we had was communication around the travel times between destinations. All of our travel
times ended up 2 hours in excess of the upper range given to us in the itinerary. We had a good 4wd and the weather was also not an issue.

We knew we were up for travel time during the trip and in the end it didn’t detract from our overall experience much but were disappointed that the travel times were largely under estimated to us and could easily be better communicated. GW&S promptly responded back to our email and acknowledged this.

Everything else ran smoothly around pick ups and drop offs and the Ugandan people are very hospitable.
Written 3 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Samuel T
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Couples
A simply stunning experience from start to finish. What started as a spur of the moment idea to visit the mountain gorillas turned into an extraordinary and continually delightful tour in a truly beautiful country, guided by the most genuine, and inimitable tour guide - Richard Toko. Although seemingly more common than expected ( having bumped into many self-driving couples / friends ), we had reservations around arranging transport and managing the logistics ourselves, so we opted to book the visit through a tour company which turned out to be a wise decision. Following a brief google search it was clear a fleeting visit to see the Gorillas was not going to be enough as Uganda has so much to offer. We settled on a 10 day trip, regretfully omitting the northern sector featuring Murchison falls, but including the popular spots of Kibale, Queen Elizabeth Park, Bwindi impenetrable forest and Lake Bunyoni. We contacted several companies to obtain quotations for the trip and eventually got connected with Ivan from Gorillas & Wildlife Safaris. At the outset Ivan was friendly, clearly knowledgeable & experienced in providing Ugandan wide tours; offering off the shelf packages, but was also very accommodating, providing a fully customised trip giving logical reasons as to why our suggestions may or may not work. This was great for us as we wanted to work in a couple of days without travel during the trip, something that other agencies were reluctant to discuss giving the impression that inflating their sale price with activities was more of a priority. After several conversations with Ivan we settled on an agenda, and he was continually communicative. He was also flexible with the payment options, again, an area where other agencies were not as accommodating. Our trip consisted of 5 different lodges and ahead of time we were given the option to pick from budget, mid range or luxury accommodation. Apart from the higher end “Birdsnest Resort” in Lake Bunyoni we opted for budget accommodation which were anything but. All the lodges were excellently well kept, all in stunning locations, featuring comfy beds ( with mosquito nets where needed ), a well-stocked bar, very decent 3 course menus and always friendly staff. It was hard to find fault, all lodges having their own charms. Gorillas & Wildlife Safaris were exemplary in every aspect, the highlight being Richard Toko who was purely a joy to be around and who demonstrated incredible knowledge of Ugandan wildlife and conversation in general. It was truly a privilege to be shown this beautiful country by a seasoned and inspiring gentleman.
Sam & Luana
Written 14 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Tom
Groningen, The Netherlands14 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Solo
I did a 3 day gorilla tracking safari with Richard and I had the time of my life. The gorilla tracking was amazing, and the whole 3 days were just an amazing experience, all thanks to Richard. Richard is a friendly, knowledgeable and awesome guy who just made the whole experience fantastic. He even gave me a little gift after our 3 day tour, which was very kind and heartwarming.

I highly recommend going with Gorillas and Wildlife Safaris!!
Written 19 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sav
Austin, TX28 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Friends
My sister organized an itinerary through Gorillas and Wildlife Safari. We love that it was Uganda-owned. She worked with Ivan to put together a fabulous itinerary through Rwanda and Uganda for a short eight night trip to trek to the gorillas, chimps, and golden monkeys and with a short safari break at Queen Elizabeth National Park. It was a tight schedule (and we knew that — our schedules didn’t allow for longer trip), but my 65 year old mom and godmother kept up! We still had a few afternoons for relaxing built in. It was perfect! We saw everything we came to see and so much more. Our guide Eric was an incredible driver (most of that driving was not easy!!) and was super knowledge about the history, culture, nature, and especially the animals. For the trekking, we had separate guides (as required), but Eric guided us on our game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park, and he has an eagle eye for spotting animals and made sure we saw everything. We heded his advice and started our days very early because that’s when animals are most activity. We are so glad we did! All the hotels we stayed at were top notch (we did luxury package). Everything ran really smoothy! I will say that you do spend a lot of time in a really nice SUV but keep that in mind if you are prone to car sickness. The drives were so scenic and we saw and learned so much along the way to the different stops.
Written 31 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Marsy W
10 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Family
We did a 7 night, 8 day gorilla and Safari tour. It was fantastic - we had such a great time. Ivan was quick to respond to all of our questions and Eric, our guide, was excellent. He’s a fantastic driver and incredibly knowledgable about Uganda and the surrounding wildlife. Eric also made sure we got to see everything we wanted to see - in our case a leopard. We couldn’t have asked for a better trip. Thank you to both Ivan and Eric.
Written 29 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Frances M
1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023
This was the worst tour we have ever taken. We booked with Gaster Mawejje the Safaris Reservations Officer at Gorillas and Wildlife Safaris; paid over $11,000 and did not get what we paid for. Our driver did not speak much English and got lost twice. His vehicle was 10 - 15 years old and in terrible shape. It took twice as long (4 hours) to get from the airport to our accommodations the first day and almost twice as long (1 1/2 hours) to get to the check point for our gorilla trek. We were half an hour late, missed the orientation and the rest of the group left without us. It took 8 hours instead of 4 hours to get from Bwindi to Queen Elizabeth Park. We arrived hot and dirty because there was no air conditioning; and sore from being bounced all over because the shock absorbers were broken. Upon check in at Mweya we found out we were booked into a room with no air conditioning! We paid the tour operator for a superior room and were booked into a classic. The inside room temperature was 85 degrees F! Also we had to pay for a safari from Mweya. Our driver never showed up to take us to the airfield for our flight back to Entebbe. Upon arrival in Entebbe we found out that our reservation for a day room at Protea was canceled and not paid; although we paid Gaster for the cost of the day room. We sent numerous emails and What's Ap messages to Gaster during our tour, with little to no response. I asked for a refund after the tour because we had to pay again for the day room in Entebbe and game drive in Queen Elizabeth national park; as well as for a refund of $750 for the gorilla permits that we were charged because Gaster made a mistake and booked the permits for the wrong date. Since then we have been ghosted! There are many tour operators that offer gorilla trekking tours. We thought that by booking with a local company, we would be supporting the local economy. But instead, we were taken advantage of financially.
Written 24 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Frances, I am sorry you read about a horrible tour experience you had in Uganda. We have never had a tour with you. Everything you say is in Uganda, but we as a company don't have you anywhere as our customer. We don't have any email, or any communication showing that you went with us. Gaster last worked as a reservations officer here in 2018! We don't have your tour anywhere. I hope you get this resolved with Gaster or the proper tour agency you used. Best wishes.
Written 24 August 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Jafar M
Woodland, CA21 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023
I just returned from my wonderful 13-day trip across Uganda with Gorillas and Wildlife Safaris. My interactions with Ivan as well as my guide, Huzaima, were fantastic. Ivan was very responsive throughout entire preparation period answering all my questions and addressing all my concerns. All payments for the permits and tours went very smoothly. With Huzaima, my guide, we developed a friendship. Huza is a very kind and thoughtful person with great sense a humor. With him I felt very safe in completely unknown country. The tour per se was fantastic: within 13 days we circled entire country. The pearl of the tour was habituation experience with gorillas. I opted not to do habituation with chimpanzees and now regret it. I strongly recommend this company to work with if you want to visit Uganda.
Written 19 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kristal B
23 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2023 • Couples
We cannot recommend Gorilla and Wildlife Safaris enough! From the very beginning in planning the trip, Ivan was extremely responsive to all our questions and very helpful in creating the perfect itinerary that we hoped for. Our guide, Eric, was just as exceptional. Eric was knowledgeable not just about the country, but all the animals we would see, and everything in between. We appreciated all the information he gave us and his efforts to make our trip memorable (which it was)! Our experiences in the national parks and seeing the gorillas, chimps, tree climbing lions, etc. were everything we hoped for and more. Uganda is a beautiful country and we felt safe every step of the way. GWS coordinated excellent lodges for us to stay at and the meals did not disappoint. Do not hesitate to book with this company! If we return to the area, we would absolutely book with them again and hope to have Eric again as our guide.
Written 10 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Krysten_SF
San Francisco, CA2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2023 • Couples
There are so many good things I want to say about our trip, Ivan, and our guide Richard that I'm worried this will be a book. To keep myself in check, I'll use bullet points where I can.

Wilderness trips are my passion and I have traveled all over the world. I did a safari in Uganda in 2009 and told my now husband that he needed to see the gorillas. He had also never been to Africa.

I randomly found Ivan's company by doing Google searches (should have come to TripAdvisor to begin with). One of the many things I love about Ivan's company are the various choices a traveler has, e.g. budget/mid/upscale accommodations, internal flights, etc.

I knew exactly the itinerary I wanted (having been in 2009). I chose mid-range because I didn't want to feel like I was staying at the Ritz when I'm in Africa. I wanted a more "rustic" feel. The mid-range options turned out to be so nice, I wondered if I should have gone budget. :) Kidding, but mid-range was amazing.

I also knew that my husband would not like to do long drives so we took 4 internal flights to several of the villages we stayed.

Ivan arranged everything down to the smallest detail. And when one of our flights decided not to fly us to our next location (full plane), Ivan quickly found a back up flight. Ivan is on it...every detail!

Highlights
- We saw everything! After we landed in Murchison on way to lodge, there were road blocks of giraffes and elephants (my husband was thrilled)

- I wanted 2 gorilla excursions and Ivan asked if we wanted to do gorilla habituation (more time w gorillas, less tourists). We did one of each visit: "normal" gorilla visit and habituation. We liked habituation more.

- Our guide Richard was perfect. He is incredibly smart and well-read and has a progressive mindset (we're from California). He is such a kind and gentle person and we had amazing chats about so many topics. Richard also appreciated my husband's sense of humor (my husband is very funny) and the three of us laughed our way through 10 days together. It was like a 10-day comedy show through Uganda.

- We did not have a bad meal ever. In fact, the food was so good and healthy, we both lost weight (in a good way). If anything, there was too much food and by the 3rd day, I was asking for 1/2 portions for every meal.

- Days are packed with adventure: morning safaris, lunch, afternoon excursion (bat cave, swamp walk, nature walk, boat rides), late afternoon safari, dinner, bed.

Things we'd skip or change next time:
- Boat cruise in Murchison is best done in one of the "speed" boats (vs 2 story cruiser). We, and many others, got bored on the 2 story cruiser. Some people took naps or read books. LOL The falls are a must see from a boat! Just do it in the faster boats.

- Semliki can be skipped due to lack of animals to see. I'm a bit sad to say that because I want to keep supporting everyone and every village in Uganda. I think the area is in the process of trying to get the animals to come back. We did see a lot of baboons and the forest elephant. But when compared to Murchison, it doesn't feel like much.

The Semliki lodge, however, is stunning. I wish my house in America looked like the common area of the lodge. And they have a pool (which we didn't use unfortunately). We wished we were there for 2 nights instead of one just to take advantage of the gorgeous lodge, luxurious tent accommodations, scenery, and pool. Plus the staff was awesome. As we were the only guests there that particular night, we bought all the staff a drink and hung out around a bonfire with the manager and our pilot talking for hours. It made an unforgettable memory that I will cherish forever.

- In Kibale, we will opt for chimp habituation vs the regular chimp visit next time. We did the "normal" chimp visit of one hour. We had an amazing guide and took incredible photos and videos of the chimps. But the pushing by others in our group was a drag. We are not like that (always pushing to be in front) and found this experience uncomfortable.

- Take note that trekking for gorillas can be difficult. When we did habituation, the trackers were blazing a trail using machetes. (I was in heaven). During our "normal" gorilla trek, although we were in a "moderate" group (vs easy or difficult), the roundtrip hike was ~ 5 miles (7 km) with the majority down then up a very steep hill. One person in our group had to get the African Helicopter (basket stretcher) because they couldn't do it.

If you're not super fit, you can still see the gorillas. Just ask to go in an easy group.

- I think most people end with gorillas and if flying, depart from Kisoro. Apparently, Kisoro doesn't have the best weather and often flights are changed. Instead of flying out around 9-10am, our flight left at 7am. That meant a 3:30am wakeup due to 2 hour drive from lodge to Kisoro. Be prepared for your flight time to change and an early wakeup.

I am already planning our return trip in 2024 with Ivan and Richard. I need to see Kidepo National Park, as well as the gorillas (for the 4th time). It's that magical. :)

Written 9 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Martin Davies
13 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2023 • Couples
We finally managed to complete the trip we had planned for 2020 that we all understand was delayed due to covid.

I have to say that the communication in booking the trip and managing the delays and finally arriving were exemplary.

Ivan is a diligent and responsive manager. I have no issues at all with the company and highly recommend them to anyone looking to book a trip, however long.

Ivan scheduled a 15-day personalised safari for my wife and I which was superb, I didn't know what to expect but the trip was beyond words for the experience we had. The country is magnificent, the people are so friendly and what we saw was brilliant.

We booked the medium standard accommodation and all the places we stayed were exceptional for their views over either the lakes, rivers, waterfalls, or the parks that we would visit later.

The food was very good and plentiful and in 1 place fantastic.

The highlights were the Chimpanzee and Gorilla experiences. Getting so close to wild animals was amazing, their calls and activities something we will remember for ever.

However, be prepared for possibly a very long day to see the Gorillas. The troop we went to see moved and the round trip from start to finish took 8 hours, the first 3 uphill, but they are mountain Gorillas, so it was expected.

It must also praise out guide Kassim, he is a truly knowledgeable, amiable, and likable man who made the trip.

His knowledge on all the animals, birds and locations in the country is outstanding. He answered all our questions on anything we asked and expanded our knowledge considerably on the country and the people who live there.

We are truly grateful to him, and it was a pleasure to spend 14 days with him, nothing was too much trouble and his suggestions on managing the trip were always valid and, in our case, always followed.

We met as strangers but left as friends, an extremely nice man.

We are still living off the memories and will so for the rest of our time.

Written 24 June 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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