About

  My friend and I have overall been disappointed by this tour company.

The main issue has been the guide /driver, a very kind man who unfortunately didn't possess... read more the necessaty dynamism and self confidence to be a guide, and who was rather extremely soft spoken and mannered. We had a hard time communicating with him and having our questions answered throughout the whole holiday.

It wouldn't have been a major issue in itself hadn't his gross time mismanagement made us miss our evening flight on the last day. We followed his advice on departure time (even waited for him in the morning!) and clearly mentioned multiple times the latest we had to be at the airport. We ended up arriving 20 mins before our flight. He didn't take any possible traffic in consideration and even wanted us to stop at the Equator when we had already been delayed by lunch.

I have of course tried to have the new tickets (300$) reimboursed by the company. We managed to reach the manager Anthony, whose Whatsapp answers had been a bit patchy throughout the week already, after 1h30 of the phone ringing out.
Despite admitting it was their fault and knowing we had to take the following flight as my friend would have otherwise missed her international connection, he came up with various excuses until it was too late and we didn't have any another choice than to pay ourselves. Also, despite initially saying he wanted to reach a compromise and somehow help, he has since stopped answering my messages (as expected).

The manager had also booked some - if not all - the accomodation at the last minute. I had asked them one month and a half in advance to book a specific place - way below the budget the package allowed, by the way - where a friend stayed, and they told us the night before our arrival in Uganda that the place was fully booked for the first night. Luckily my friend, knowing we were supposed to come, had kept a room for us, but hadn't this happened we would have missed our stay there even after specifically asking for it well in advance (and, I repeat, this place was a homestay way cheaper than the category we were supposed to have).

Last but not least, the car (whose doors didn't hold open and whose icebox didn't work) broke for two days in a row, making us us miss a whole game drive one afternoon and part of it the following day.

I add that I live in Africa and both my friend and I have already quite extensively travelled the continent. This was the first time we had such issues with a tour operator.

  This was the most amazing trip ever. Friendly gorillas are true professionals. Their prices are competitive, their guides are excellent and so knowledgeable, and their tours are planned and well... read more organized. Anthony and Toni kept us abreast of all the plans of the tour since before we even set foot in Uganda. They were also flexible and allowed us to add more activities to our tour: we even ended up extending our trip with them. If you are between travel companies, think no more. Friendly gorillas is the way to go. Ask for Toni our tour guide!

  Our adventure was irresistibly great and amazing. We are happy to have chosen Friendly safaris.

The vehicle used, the booked lodges and food was amazing.

Strongly recommend them.... read more

  Anthony, the owner was very accommodating & communicative. Tonny was our guide for the 5 days journey- always make sure we were safe and had everything we needed before... read more beginning a new adventure-even when he was not the official guide (every primate excursion includes its own guide, such as a designated park ranger). Our most memorable excursions include chimpanzees and gorillas; we had an amazing and unforgettable time encountering these primates.
Every accommodation was comfortable with excellent service. Uganda has breathtaking landscapes and the nicest people. We had a wonderful trip and highly recommend this company!

  Our adventure was irresistibly great and amazing. We are happy to have chosen Friendly safaris. The vehicle used, the booked lodges and food was amazing. Strongly recommend them.

  My 6am early start including stopping for gas right out of the gates (guess they forgot they were picking me up and going to Maasai Mara). 2nd stop was... read more heading NW from centre of Kampala (opposite way of Maasai Mara) to the office to get 2 tire covers that’s required to enter the park (no idea why they’re wasting my time to do this and it wasn’t done the night before + we waited for 30 minutes for Anthony to show up). 3rd stop was an hour outside of Kampala at a “cheap” gas station to actually fill up the tank. 4th stop was an issue with the back wheel that seemed to go away 5th stop was because the radiator was over heating (a local gave us some water) 6th stop was to exchange the $100 USD bill Anthony had given the driver for gas etc. I did the currency conversion myself because what kind of rate are you going to possibly get 3 hours outside of Kampala and who could possibly exchange that much! 7th stop was getting 3rd party insurance for me the tourist in the vehicle 8th stop was the battery connection that came loose because of all the bumps at high speed 9th stop was the radiator again 10th stop was to get the radiator fixed at a spot with a mechanic The actual tour & hotels were great. The only thing you need to worry about for the gorillas is getting there and back as it’s all cookie cutter/ same thing by all tour operators. Ask for pictures of your vehicle, what year and model, last time it was serviced, any issues with the vehicle historically, what happens if it breaks down etc in the middle of no where. Took us 13.5 hours to get there and soured the experience. …