Uganda/Rwanda
 

I am in the planning stage of a trip to Uganda and Rwanda. I have a basic itinerary of 12 days. It includes Murchison Falls, Kibale, QEP, Bwindi gorilla trek and then on to Rwanda for one night in Kigali and one night in Gorilla's Nest for another trek. The price I have from Travelust is almost half of the same itinerary from Volcanoes Safari. Most of the accommodation is the same except for Bwindi Gorrilla Resort as opposed to Volcanoes Lodge and Volcanoes Virunga Lodge in Parc National des Volcans. I have only one other concern and that is I can book Volcanoes thru a travel agent in Canada, whereas I must transfer money to Travelust.
I have only done that once before with Diethelm Travel for a SE Asia trip which was perfect, but still a worry until the trip begins that it is a reputable company.
Any opinions ?

Such a drastic difference in price prompts me to ask this basic question.

Are both of them group or both of them private safaris? So you are comparing like trips.

They are both with private 4x4 and driver. When comparing itineraries, they are identical. We were in Kenya and Tanzania last year and it was amazing, so we are very excited to go back to see another part of Africa. The company which I booked thru then gave me a quote using Volcano properties. I was happy with their service however after seeing how much more their quote is for this trip it is making it difficult to use them again. We are planning for mid Feb/2008.

I have done a similar 12 days safari with another company but at a very friendly price and there services were very wonderful, Try shopping around the companies and compare the prices 1st.
However most companies use the wire transfer as the method of payment while others, you only transfer your money for the gorilla permits and pay the safari fee when you arrive.
Enjoy your safari

Have you asked each of the company's why their price is so much higher or lower than the competition? I'd be interested in the response.

Norval: I used Travelust this past winter and they were wonderful. When we were booking or trip, we found that other tour groups had virtually the same itinerary, but large differences in pricing. Anyway, we threw caution to the wind, wired the money, and Travelust was nothing but professional the entire time. I will happily answer any other questions that I can.