John545

IM looking for a 5-7 day gorilla trek in Uganda, but I've discovered that many of these tours do not even operate unless there are at least 2 passengers on the trip. I've seen some 5-6 day tours I would love, only to be told that there is no one else signed up. In one case, a great tour had no one at all booked for the entire month of June !! Doing that alone is not much fun, and makes for a very expensive tour.

Does anyone know of good operators that have regular group tours ? I find it hard to believe that so few people are taking these trekking tours.

Thanks in advance for your replies !

John

TravelBeyond

Hi John,

Have you looked into the option of doing something tailor made rather than joining a group tour? If you are looking at strictly gorilla trekking in Uganda, you can purchase a seat on a scheduled flight from Entebbe to Kihihi or Kisoro (depending upon where you are staying). The lodge in Bwindi can then come collect you at the airstrip and assist you with transfers to park HQ for the treks themselves. Meaning, you don't have to have a driver and guide to get to Bwindi nor whilst staying there. When your gorilla trek is completed, the lodge can transfer you back to the airport for your flight back to Entebbe. A good tour operator can book meet/greet services for you in Entebbe, city hotel, flights, Bwindi accommodations and permits.

If you are seeking to do more in Uganda outside of gorillas, it may require for you to have a vehicle and guide at your disposal.

I hope this helps.

Kota Tabuchi

John545

Kota, thanks so much for your reply. Your suggestions on how to do a trek-only trip are excellent. But given the time and cost coming from the US, I'd like to supplement the trek with other things over a 5-8 day stay - game drives, perhaps a boat excursion on Lake Mburo or Kazinga channel, etc. Doing these things in a group is much more fun

thursdaysd

Sounds like you are looking for a group tour to Uganda, or maybe even Africa, rather than a specific gorilla tour. There is no shortage of group tours to Africa.

You might start here: http://www.intrepidtravel.com/us/uganda

CaliNurse

Hi John. You don't say which company you've contacted , so I'm hoping these provide some new possibilities:

The company that owns Nature Lodges runs group tours using their own accommodations. I've stayed in one place--Airport Guesthouse Entebbe , charming and great intro to local style; another, Travelers Rest in Kisoro, is lovely (I stopped for a drink) and is where Dian Fossey used to stay between long visits to the gorillas:

https://www.gorillatours.com/our-tours/
http://www.naturelodges.biz

There's also G Adventures:

https://www.gadventures.com/destinations/africa/uganda/

Good luck. Uganda's people and places are wonderful!!!

Of the boat trips on lakes you've mentioned, --Kazinga Channelin QE is a MUST-DO; Lake Mburo is not.