5 days gorilla & Wildlife safari in Uganda

I booked a gorilla trekking tour with Friendly Gorillas for a group of ten travelers. Unfortunately, due to a government‑issued travel restriction and an Ebola outbreak, our trip had to be cancelled. What followed was an extremely frustrating experience with this company’s refund process. Despite repeated assurances, Friendly Gorillas failed to refund the full amount owed. The Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) later confirmed that our gorilla and chimp permits were never purchased, meaning those fees should have been refunded at 100%. To date, only a small portion of the total amount has been returned, and the company has repeatedly delayed or avoided addressing the outstanding balance. Communication with the operator has been inconsistent, and attempts to resolve the matter have required UTB intervention. This experience reflects poor business practices and a lack of transparency. I strongly advise future travelers to exercise caution when booking with Friendly Gorillas, especially regarding payments and permit fees.

We had a group of ten set up for a safari in early July. Then Ebola hit DNC, and Uganda started getting cases. We were getting do not travel alerts both from State department and the Embassy's of both US and Uganda and the STEP app. This trip was to happen after a volunteer housing build. That build was cancelled due to Ebola scare and moved to another country. We cancelled 45 days before the safari and per their website and policies. we should have been reimbursed 75% of what we had paid. we were reimbursed less than 25%: 5.2 The following cancellation charges apply to the basic program rate: 60 days or more prior to arrival 20% charge 59 – 32 days prior to arrival 35% charge 31 – 8 days prior to arrival 50% charge 7 – 3 days prior to arrival 75% charge 48 hours or less prior to arrival 100% charge Anthony was terrible to try to work through this issue. Would not reimburse through credit card paid on. Many people had to try multiple ways to get reimbursed. He was picked up and held for 3 days by authorities and asked to show proof of purchase and or permits for parks or accommodations which he did not produce anything. The Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) then wrote a letter asking him to reimburse us properly, which he ignored. This is a dishonorable outfit if any issues at all. There are plenty of safari outfits out there, so be careful who you choose.

We had such an amazing time during our trip organized by Friendly Gorillas Safaris. Our guide Noah was very keen and carefully drove through the bumpy roads and ensured our safety throughout the trip. We was very knowledgeable a bout the animals and taught us so much. ' We were in touch with Tony before and throughout the trip and he made sure everything went as planned. I couldn't recommend them more if you need value for your money

We had an amazing time with our 5 days trip that as carefully organized by Friendly Gorillas team. Throughout the time our preparation we receive updates concerning our trip from Brenda and she constantly kept checking in on us during the trip to ensure all was well. We checked every box we had for this trip and wait to to use them again for our next trip. Our accommodations we very descent and we loved each one of them.

We had a group of 10, a post trip after a volunteer work week in Uganda. Due to the Ebola outbreak , our company moved the build week to another country- opposite side of the continent. We had no choice but to cancel this 5 day tour, about 7 weeks prior to the scheduled date. After many emails, questionable explanations, we received about 25% refund. Despite our request he could not provide any documents that he had spent any $ on permits/lodging etc , to us nor to the Uganda Tourism Authority. I cannot recommend this company from an honest business standpoint. It was an awful experience.

It was a solo yet memory filled experience right from my first inquiry to the last day of the trip. Everything was smooth. My tour guide Eddie was beyond friendly and had an eagles eye for even the smallest animals. The most memorable moment was my first sight of the mighty Gorillas in Bwindi. I highly appreciate and recommend friendly Gorillas safari

+8

we had the most amazing time in Uganda accompanied by our very Friendly tour guide Elias. The support team that handled tour preparations were very kind and responded to every question we had in time. Bliss even went an extra mile to give us a video call during some of the sessions. We were very lucky to see the rare tree climbing lions in the Ishasha sector or Queen Elizabeth while exiting for Bwindi. I highly recommend this company because they met all our expectations and even delivered more than we imagined.

+2

I'm really impressed with this 5 day safari with Friendly Gorillas. From day one, they handled everything very professionally - from hotel pickup to permits, food, accommodation - everything was perfect. The moment of searching for the gorillas in the Bwindi forest filled the whole team with excitement. When the gorillas with the family stood in front of us, it seemed that it was worthwhile to come so far just to see this moment. Then on a game drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park, I saw elephants, lions, buffaloes - many animals from close quarters. It was also great to see hippos and crocodiles on the boat ride of Kazinga Channel. The guide was knowledgeable, calm, and took care of us the entire time. The car was a new 4x4 Land Cruiser - very comfortable. This 5-day experience gave a taste of true African adventure. Enjoyed a lot!

I'd like to start by saying that our guide, Elias, and the accommodations were superb. The experience we had was definitely made better by Elias and the comfort, food quality and friendly staff at each of our stays. We also were able to participate in the main highlights of the 5 Day Gorilla and Wildlife tour - the Chimp and Gorilla trekking. And both of these are amazing opportunities and very memorable. However, our experience was riddled with stress and last minute changes. We had booked this tour (through Viator) several months in advance of our arrival. And although we received confirmation of the trip a week before hand, I had tried multiple times to contact the company regarding some questions with no response. As we were sitting in the NBO airport, departing for EBB - 12 hrs prior to our anticipated pick up - we get an email that the tour was cancelled. I then received a message on WhatsApp from Friendly Gorillas saying that they can book us a similar itinerary, we just have to pay through their website and that there is an additional credit card fee. So while this felt really sleazy and like a scam, we felt we needed to go along so that our trip wouldn't be lost. After payment went through, I was made aware that *I* was supposed to add in 4% to the final cost to cover that fee, rather than the charge just being applied to the payment. Now we had to add stopping at an ATM to get several hundreds of dollars to cover this extra cost. Apparently the ATM exchange rate and the accepted Uganda exchange rate are two different prices and what had seemed the correct number was $24 short of the total. We were told this needed to be made whole immediately so we didn't face any "complications" with our itinerary. After returning home and reviewing their website, the cost we paid (the Viator cost + extra fee) is close to what they charge for the Luxury accommodations. Our standard lodging was wonderful and I have no complaints there, but it definitely seems as though we got scammed. All of our activities were scheduled very last minute. We had to adapt to changes for a large part of the trip. Our Chimp trekking was postponed because they didn't sort out the reservations, and because of this our QENP park permits expired, preventing us from entering the park at the Isasha sector to see the Tree Climbing lions (that the guard told us were just inside the gate that day). While it wasn't all bad, and we did have some really amazing moments, there was a looming cloud over our time in Uganda that really dampened the experience.

A breathtaking journey! Thank you to Hedi for accompanying us and learning a lot about his country during these 5 days. We felt safe with him. The accommodations were very good, special note to the last which was sumptuous! We had the chance to see a climbing lion. Thanks also to Brenda for her various quick exchanges. Manon and Pierre

+8