We chose Gorilla Holidays after contacting many similar holidays and comparing prices. The price was very competitive, plus our friends had used Gorilla Holidays five months previously, so we knew... read more they were a good company.
Mark arranged our two week holiday based on our requirements and was always very quick to respond to any email queries I had beforehand. We were very pleased with Mark's suggested itinerary.
We were met at the airport by Jonan, in the trusty Toyota Hiace. We remained in this very comfortable vehicle for the next two weeks.
Jonan was a lovely guide, very knowledgeable and a great driver in some difficult conditions. He made our amazing holiday even better.
We enjoyed all the activities and excursions, some were chosen by us and some were added by Mark. One of the activities chosen by Mark was to see the Gorilla Guardian Village, where people who had previously been poachers, but had now been educated to not poach. They replaced their income from poaching with an income from tourists experiencing some of their way of life. This was such an informative excursion and one that we feel all visitors to Uganda/Rwanda should experience.
There were many things on the itinerary, including Gorilla trekking, chimpanzee trekking, visits to game reserves/national parks, river trips, visit the equator line etc.. All were fantastic and very well arranged. The trek to Volcanoes National park to see where Dian Fossey lived and is buried, was very moving and well worth the trek.
We stayed in many different hotels and were very pleased with all of them. Some had basic facilities, but the kindness and helpfulness of the staff, more than made up for the lack of facilities. Some of the hotels had amazing views and others has great facilities. The food in some was excellent, but again those that didn't have quite as good food, certainly made up for it in other ways. I wouldn't say anywhere served bad food, just some served better food. All of the staff in the hotels were great. Our accommodation was mid range and I feel that is what we received overall, with some being a little basic, but others being more luxurious. We would not have wanted to change any of the hotels.
The people of Uganda were lovely and friendly, those of Rwanda were friendly but more suspicious (which is totally understandable after what they have been through).
Some of the roads were a little hairy, but we felt very safe in the hands of Jonan and in the vehicle we were in.
Everything about the trip was fantastic. Some of our hotels were changed at the last minute, due to different reasons, but to us this was not an issue and we were happy to stay at whatever hotel Mark or Jonan had found for us each day.
Thank you to Mark for all the arranging and to Jonan who was a lovely guide who became a friend over the two week holiday.
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