Feb 5, 2025
The best gorilla excursion day trip. - I travelled to Bwindi for the impenetrable National Park/forest excursion that takes you into Uganda to trek and see the Silver Back and his family of gorillas 🦍 . Was a quick day trip! But a full day before sun comes up and then after it goes down. But that’s with driving back and forth to Rwanda. This was a truly remarkable experience. You will not be disappointed. A gentleman by the name of Vincent helped us out with all the paperwork and permits and payment. Pros: completely legit, professional, as advertised; and will leave you speechless!! And I mean that. All of that. It was all set up in a day. And though we had some visa issues getting both into Uganda in the morning before the sun comes up by way of Rwanda and then getting back into Rwanda in the evening; we really could not complain.
The guides have scouts that are already out in the field (keeping tabs on the locations of different families of gorillas). So when it’s time the guides radio the scouts and it’s almost guaranteed to see a family. Wow. When you walk up on a family you will be changed forever. It’s insane how gentle and massive these guys are, and, all the rest of the family members (the females and baby gorillas are so cute) are all welcoming. It’s like they just treat you like part of the family. They are used to seeing us humans on a fairly regular basis so it’s like having tea with friends. I hung out with them for over an hour. And you are so close. Like you can almost reach out and touch them. But don’t do that, haha.
The guides and all the staff in the park are top notch and really friendly.
This company is well worth it. Book and worry not. It’s a memorable adventure!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nov 8, 2024
10/10 experience! - I had a truly amazing time on this tour! Ruth the person I was in contact with before my tour was very communicative, answered all of my questions and made adjustments to my trip on request. This originally was supposed to me a solo trip but I another solo female traveler was put on my tour which was a nice surprise. Farouk- my driver/guide- was an excellent source of information, very friendly, and a safe driver. While the journey was long (driving 10 hours to get there) Farouk made it easy with plenty of rest stops. The guesthouses we stayed in had staff that went above and beyond! They offered several short walks- a nature walk, a community walk, or a walk to the Pygmy people’s village. The meals were also excellent. The gorilla trek was of course the best part! The guide for that were also excellent, they shared lots of information, ensured we seen the gorillas and were able to follow them for the duration of our hour, and pointed out other wild life. The second day we went to Lake Bunyonyi after the gorilla trek. This was also great and included a boat ride around the lake. I also wanted to try to local gin and Farouk helped me to find that. The final day we drove back to Kampala and stopped to see how the local drums were made. East African Jungle Safari really met all of my expectations and went beyond. I would highly recommend EAJS to anyone and recommend Farouk as a driver. I will definitely be booking my next tour with them!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nov 4, 2023
Amazing Gorilla Trekking - This tour company is excellent and provide everything as advertised. Ruth is wonderful at coordinating and responsive. Eddie, our driver, safely drove us and navigated the roads amazingly.
We had the most wonderful time gorilla trekking and seeing the majestic creatures. The permits were secured by Ruth as part of our booking.
A few things for people to keep in mind when booking (which you absolutely should):
1. For people planning on the 3 day tour, please keep in mind that Entebbe to Bwimdi is close to a full day’s drive without stops so a 3 day tour is mostly driving outside of the gorilla trekking day. It is well worth it, but if you want to stretch your legs a bit more or have more activities, please consider adding a day to breakup a day. Don’t blame the tour company. They can’t move the airport or the gorillas.
2. The trek is not necessarily easy, depending on where your group of gorillas are. They do move around during the day. There are no trails. The hiking is more akin to back country and can be quite difficult at time. If you need a little assistance, porters are available for $20 USD. Nothing wrong with needing a little nudge here and there.
3. 100% book this —it was so wonderful!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Oct 24, 2023
Gorilla Trekking - We can not say enough about our experience with East African Jungle Safari. From our first contact with Ruth, we knew we were in good hands, she handled everything efficiently and promptly.
Once we arrived, we were greeted at our hotel Ronnie (our guide for the week) who was amazing. Ronnie is one of the most laidback, yet hard working people we have ever traveled with. He is sincere and treats his customers as if they were family. He was very conscientious and always made sure we were safe and having a great time. We highly recommend booking your excursions with East African Safari and make sure you ask that Ronnie is your guide ;-)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Aug 28, 2023
Must do experience while travelling in Uganda - Did the 3 days tour (Bwindi and Lake Bunyonyi) from Kampala
Sam, my guide, was great!! We have really interesting chats! I got to learn about the history and we've been exchanging ideas about culture in our countries which make the experience richer, allowing me to learn more about the country. And his drive was smooth and safe!
Gorilla tracking was unbelievable!! Everything in Bwindi regarding to the entrance/ permit was fast and easy.
Accomodation was good, especially the one in Lake Bunyonyi and food was overall okay. They were waiting for us in both places when we arrived with everything ready.
Ruth answered every doubt I have before booking the trip. No hidden costs and no unexpected inconvenients.
Highly recommend East African Jungle Safaris!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Aug 20, 2023
Once in a lifetime experience - We had a fantastic tour with our guide and driver Nelson from Home to Africa. The experience with the gorillas was unique and indescribable. You have to experience it. I'll just say once in a lifetime experience.
What you don't read in the reviews, but is pretty important. You should be in good physical shape for this tour and a bit of athleticism would be useful. We spent three hours through the jungle and then climbed through the jungle with the gorillas for about an hour, then three hours back again. That's not easy. One of our group had to be picked up on a stretcher because he had underestimated the exertion. And our conditions were perfect because the weather was perfect and it wasn't raining. I don't want to scare anyone, but I think it's important to mention this. Oh yes, definitely take gloves with you (leather, gardening gloves are best).
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jul 13, 2023
Amazing gorilla trek - I planned this trip last minute and these guys were great. Ruth was so responsive to my thousands of questions. They took care of transportation, lodging, food, and, most importantly, the gorilla permit that I hadn't gotten myself. I was traveling solo and never worried for a minute. In Bwindi they pair you up with other groups for the trek. Samuel subtly switched me to a different group once he got the lay of the land in terms of which groups would be hiking where (thank you, Samuel!) My group got very lucky and found the gorillas far more quickly than most do. I was at the lodge before lunch whereas other groups didn't get there until dinner. Ruth and Samuel organized a boat trip around Lake Bunyonyi to fill the afternoon, which was lovely.
My only wish was that I had been told ahead of time exactly how many people go out into the jungle with you for the actual gorilla trek. We had 1 guide, 6 trackers, 2 guards, and 2 trainees. I ended up using all of my cash on tips and cash is not easy to come by in Eastern Uganda.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jun 18, 2023
Incredible! - The 3 day gorilla trekking tour with Ronnie was amazing! As a solo traveler I felt completely comfortable and he helped give me an experience I’ll never forget.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jun 2, 2024
Professional, Personal and Committed - The trip was very well organised by Denis and professionally executed by our guide Alan. They were flexibel when we changed the pick up places for individuals.
Alan was very knowledgable and was very happy to answer all our questions. The stay at Rushaga Gorilla lodge was excellent wirh the perfect view and just the right amount of comfort.
Since the trip involves a lot of driving it would be nice to sprinkle in some stops to do some sightseeing and stretch the legs at the same time
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jul 13, 2023
An unforgettable experience - I am very grateful for the content of the tour and the hospitality of the guide.
Trekking was not easy for me.
The day I went was during the dry season and there was no rain. The trek was at most 2 hours each before and after observation. After some travel to get to the gorillas, we had to wait for a call from the gorilla chasing staff. The trekking was more tiring than I had imagined. I was exhausted. It was a good decision to leave our luggage with Kenneth, my porter.
Once the observation started, I forgot everything and just watched the gorilla family. I was gripped when I could see them looking at each other.
This trip would not have gone well without Samuel, our tour guide. He guided me throughout the entire trip except for the trekking and gorilla watching. He sensed my interest in local food and introduced me to baked potatoes, grilled corn, etc. along the way. He input information before the next event and helped me prepare.
It was a very valuable experience for me to find and participate in this tour.
I would like to thank my guide Samuel, porter Kenneth, gorilla observation guide Augustino, and others.
Review provided by Tripadvisor