A Magnificent 14 Day Safari in Uganda with Lifetime Experience Safaris From the planning stage and through to the very end our experience with Lifetime Experience Safaris was exceptional. The owner/manager, Jesse-Thomas Kitanywa, was always patient and understanding. This was no small accomplishment since we were two couples in our 70's and we made frequent changes and additions to our itinerary throughout the planning process. In addition, when problems arose during the trip both our wonderful guide, Sula, and Jesse were there to solve them the same day. In a country like Uganda where maintenance and modernity are not always available, we found ourselves unhappy with our accommodations in a couple of instances, but Lifetime was on top of the problems immediately, and solved them with astonishing speed, and for this attention and understanding we are very grateful. In the interests of complete disclosure, I will admit that 4 star accommodations in Uganda are not equal to 4 star in Europe or even in Kenya. We often found that our lodges had gorgeous lobby areas, and always welcomed us in the most lovely way, but the rooms we were assigned could be a hike of several minutes down a less than ideally manicured walkway, sometimes with inadequate lighting at night. (For this reason I suggest bringing a good flashlight along.) In many cases the water pressure in showers is not what we spoiled westerners are used to either. However, this being said, if you know what to expect, this is definitely not a deal breaker. For those of you with the budget, I suppose that a high price luxury tour could provide a significantly higher level of accommodations. In the end, we were more than satisfied with almost all of our accommodations. The rustic atmosphere was in tune with the surroundings and most often the grounds were beautiful and speckled with animals. One evening as I relaxed before dinner on our outdoor patio, I looked up from my Kindle to see a huge elephant grazing on the grasses not more than 10 meters from me. He stayed close by until dinner time when a staff member from the lodge came to escort us to the dining area. The tour itself was absolutely wonderful. Each day held new sights and experiences starting from the amazing cruise through the Mabamba Swamp where we were lucky to spot the elusive Shoebill. This was followed by a cruise on Lake Victoria and a visit to a fishing village and then sunset on the Lake. We drove through breathtakingly beautiful scenery and experienced several game drives where our WONDERFUL, always cheerful guide, Sula, of the eagle eye, kept pointing out animals and birds in the brush or up in trees or in the distance. I don't think we missed a single type of animal on our Safaris. Sula was ready with his own binoculars to help us see the most distant ones, and endlessly patient when we asked to stop to photograph anything - and we did ask for all sorts of things. Sula always kept our needs in mind, stopping at the cleanest facilities as well as suggesting sights of interest and enabling us to visit local markets along the way. We asked endless questions, and he was almost always ready with the answers, but when he didn't know, he said so. His knowledge of the animals, birds and plants of Uganda was huge. But maybe one of the best things about Sula was his openness to speak about himself and life in Uganda. We learned so much from him. He also proved an able photographer who was only too happy to take our cameras and snap shots of us with the animals or other sights.The country is truly beautiful. Driving along the Crater Lake road or up to Murchison Falls were just two of the amazingly beautiful days we spent on our adventure. We participated in both Chimpanzee Tracking and Gorilla Tracking, both of which are experiences that will stay in our memories forever. Even when an 11 year old male gorilla knocked into my husband, and sent my brother in law sprawling, we felt blessed to have experienced this - or at least I did.The only really negative thing I have to say about this trip was that it ended. I feel like I have made a friend for life in our guide Sula, and that I could not have asked for a better tour company than Lifetime Experience Safaris. Thank you Jesse.

Amazing!!! Our safari with Lifetime Experience Safari was absolutely outstanding and exceeded all our expectations.Our guide Sula “the Catman” was simply fantastic. You can truly feel how much effort he puts into making sure his guests have the best possible holiday. He took a lot of time during the game drives, never rushed anything, and always made sure we experienced as much as possible. Thanks to him, we learned so much about Uganda – its wildlife, nature, culture, and people. We always felt completely safe with him and very well taken care of throughout the entire trip.In a very short amount of time, we were able to experience some of the most beautiful and unforgettable highlights of Uganda. Everything was perfectly organized, and once we arrived, we didn’t have to worry about anything at all. The whole journey was smooth, stress-free, and incredibly well planned.A big thank you also to Jesse, who handled the organization. Communication with him via email was excellent – he always replied quickly, was very reliable, and answered all our questions clearly and professionally. From the first contact until the end of the trip, everything worked flawlessly.This safari was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and we can wholeheartedly recommend Lifetime Experience Safari to anyone planning a trip to Uganda. We will definitely come back to Uganda again!

Great Uganda experience with a reliable local expert We just finished a two-week tour through Uganda and Rwanda with Lifetime Experience Safaris and had an excellent experience.I highly recommend booking directly with a local operator. There is no need to use a European agency; booking locally is more cost-effective and ensures that your money stays within the local economy to support the people who actually live and work there.Jesse customized the tour exactly to our wishes. He was incredibly transparent about costs and surcharges for specific options. All permits for Gorilla and Chimpanzee trekking, as well as National Park entries, were perfectly organized in advance. The communication via WhatsApp prior to our arrival was very fast and reliable, which gave us a lot of confidence in booking from abroad.Our guide, Gerald, was outstanding! He is highly experienced, funny, and his calm demeanor took the stress out of challenging situations like border crossings. We felt safe at all times. Being a local, Gerald has deep knowledge of the country, wildlife, and people, and he interacts with everyone with great respect.We were always well looked after, with plenty of water provided in the car and good stops for lunch during our long drives.Also great "crisis management": Our luggage arrived several days late due to the airline. Jesse and Gerald handled everything—coordinating the pickup from Entebbe and transporting it across the country to us while we were already in a remote region. Their flexibility and talent for improvisation are unmatched.Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, Jesse and Gerald! This was a beautiful and authentic way to explore this wonderful country.

Amazing 8 day family Safari in Uganda! Just returned from the most amazing family adventure on safari in Uganda with @lifetime.experience.safaris and our legendary guide for the week Sula!Lifetime experience safaris were recommended to us by a colleague who had used them a couple of years ago and they continue to deliver amazing holidays!Jesse was really responsive from the outset. Hugely helpful in advising, showing us options and ensuring we had everything we wanted included in our adventure, all at relatively short notice.We chose a week tour which included Chimpanzee trekking, community walks, game drives by truck and boat in Queen Elizabeth National park and the Kazingo channel, Gorilla trekking in Bwinidi as well as a night in Lake Bunyoni and then a memorable visit to Lake Mburo National Park finishing with a walking safari with Giraffes!The lodges recommended to us the entire trip were perfect for what we wanted. Always looked after by friendly staff and all with breathtaking views from bedroom and sometimes a swimming pool!Sula our guide was the highlight of the trip. Nothing was ever too much trouble. Knowledgable, kind, and caring at all times. He showed us Uganda and gave the whole family a wonderful understanding of Ugandan culture, wildlife and geography. We cannot recommend him highly enough - a true legend, and waved to and greeted by friends all over Uganda - very special to share the week with him.If you are thinking about a Safari in Uganda, Lifetime Experience Safaris will ensure you have the most memorable and enjoyable time.Thank you for giving us the family adventure and holiday we all had hoped for!

Amazing experience! Worth it. Great driver. Jesse was recommended to us by friends and we were very happy with the itinerary and our trip. Seeing the gorillas is truly an amazing experience. Well worth it!We started and ended in Kigali rather than Kampala and that was a great option. A big shout out and thank you to our driver and guide Chris Atumanya. He made the experience very enjoyable. He was professional, very knowledgeable about the area, ready to help. Made the boarder crossings quick and easy. Would 100% recommend him as a driver/guide.

A True Lifetime Experience We had an amazing holiday. We slightly tweaked the itinerary to become a fourteen day break and amended a couple of lodges - Jesse was incredibly helpful in organising the tour and always responded very quickly to our queries. The main attraction to planning the holiday had been to do the gorilla trek and yet Uganda had so much more to delight us. We enjoyed all the trekking with white rhino, chimpanzees, gorillas and golden monkeys. Being so close (and I mean within centimetres) of a chimpanzee and a gorilla, in their natural environment will be memories that last forever. The lodges were all comfortable, clean and focussed on providing good food. Travelling in February worked well as it is quiet season and the lodges and parks were not busy. The biggest thank you has to go to Gerald, our driver and guide. We felt safe throughout ( and the roads are difficult either due to crazy driving or crumbling dirt tracks); we laughed a lot; he ensured we tried local foods and learned about Ugandan life; and he ensured that every part of our tour was the best it could be. He really went beyond our expectations, from small things like getting our boots cleaned on our last day before we packed our case, to really important things like arranging for us to do the shortest gorilla trek as Andy had damaged ligaments in his shoulder before the trip.

Amazing Safaris Experience We had an unforgettable time during our trip to Uganda, and I wanted to take a moment to thank the Travel Agent Jesse Tomas for his outstanding support. His suggestions were invaluable in helping us make the most of our experience. We truly appreciate how he took the time to verify and recommend options that perfectly suited our needs and also with flexibility.Another special shout-out to our safari guide, Siragi. He was absolutely fantastic! He arranged the best timings for capturing wild animal moments, and his expertise really enhanced our safari experience. We also had some incredible interactions with the baboons and the local community, which made the trip even more special. Siragi’s passion and knowledge truly made this an unforgettable adventure.Highly recommend this experience to anyone planning a safari in Uganda!

Smooth communication, superb guide Lifetime Experience Ltd did a fantastic job during our trip to Uganda and Rwanda! The whole organisation went smoothly thanks to Jesse Tom and every detail was taken care of to ensure an unforgettable experience. We had our own unique plan and thanks to Jesse Tom’s suggestions we could fit in the 14 days with all of our activities: Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, Murchison Falls NP, Queen Elizabeth NP, Nile boat tour, chimpanzee tracking, community walks, markets, gorilla tracking, Volcanoes NP, golden monkey tracking, Lake Kivu, tea plantation visit, hot springs, Kigali, Nile rafting, Kampala. We organized all accomodation by ourselves but we would like to give a special mention to our Gerald, who is a professional driver and guide as well and has an incredible knowledge of the country's natural beauty and culture. We could not ask for a calmer, nicer, more knowledgable all-round person. We felt safe and comfortable throughout as we explored the wonders of Uganda and Rwanda. The 3+1 Land Cruiser worked well and took us through the muddiest roads as well. Highly recommended to anyone looking for a truly memorable African adventure for a reasonable price.

Loved our Lifetime Experience Safari! Jesse-Thomas and I were in touch for months to plan and adjust the ideal itinerary for my friend and I. Jesse was incredibly helpful and accommodated everything we wanted and removed things we didn't. We finally decided on an 8 night one way journey from Entebbe to Kigali visiting Murchison Falls, Kibale chimps, Queen Elizabeth, Bwindi gorillas, Lake Bunyonyi, Volcanoes National Park and Kigali. Everything went well and the accommodation was all very nice. Highlights were Murchison Falls NP and Bwindi gorillas. Both just completely amazing experiences. My only advice would be to not try and jam too much into too short a space of time. We were very rushed for the first half of the trip and it became exhausting and we didn't have time to enjoy relaxing at our lovely lodges. Not to mention poor Gerard, our guide, who had to drive the whole thing. Special mention to Gerard who was a wonderful guide, very safe driver and all round great human. We learned so much from him not just about the animals and sights but about history, politics and culture. He really is a knowledgeable and lovely man and he made sure we got to do everything in the time we had. There were no major hiccups on our journey. One thing was that when we were there in July, at bunyonyi and volcanoes it was very hazy. We were not able to enjoy any viewpoints. Worth investing if that's normal at that time of year, maybe go another time or just skip those places if you aren't particularly interested. The gorillas and chimps tracking is worth the expense despite the hefty price tags. Once in a lifetime stuff and we got very close to these animals. It was better than we even imagined. Murchison Falls themselves were breathtaking. I've been to all the major falls of the world but these ones are just incredible because you get up so close to the sheer power of the falls and there's almost no fencing and no crowds. So it's a really close with nature experience that you can't get in a lot of places these days. Not to mention the Nile River cruise and the land safaris in some beautifully green landscapes. Don't hesitate, get onto Jesse now!

Wonderful Safari Experience I had booked with a different company that failed to show. I contacted Lifetime and Jesse did went above and beyond to try to get us out on the same day, but time had become a factor. He scheduled us for the following day with our driver and guide, Sula. Sula was very knowledgeable, personable, and made sure that my mom and I were comfortable. He also made sure that we saw every animal in the park. We were not disappointed. We only wish that we had more time.