Choosing a tour company

This question of what to consider when choosing a tour company for a safari is a common one and so frequent. However, the question is no so surprising mean while there are so many tour operators in the tourism market and all will make promises to give you the best tour once chose especially when you know nothing about them. There is a way of improving your chances of making the right choice and the decision of which safari company to give you your dream African safari, this will also help you in avoiding the ones that might turn your safari a tragedy. There are also three simple steps to follow.

Never allow this to happen to you; with this, try to choose a company due to the cheapest price since some of these operators are looking to just live not to provide good service to the visitors. These are people that are not tour operators but they just hide behind the real operators that provide great service. What does this bring out to the tourists that whenever you want to travel, be ready to make a good choice of the tour operator who will value your money that you saved for the decades to enjoy your safari.

There are those people who also just pretend to know a lot about tourism but in the real sense they cannot provide the services behind the industry and these have also destroyed our name in the name of wanting to make money out of our tourists. The websites they own have forged reviews on the trip advisor, safari bookings and many different flat forms which will bring you to trust them thinking that they will give you the best and you end up being disappointed.

There is some good news about these fake operators, since most of them have been shut down and closed, so the main question here is to avoid the fake tour operators when you are choosing a tour company for your holiday. You apply three steps and you will reduce on the risks of these operators.

Get recommendations from others

The best advice you will get about a tour company that you need to choose is from the real people who have ever used the same company on any tour. These can also tell you exactly how that company performed for them and will give you the first hand information without leaving anything untold. This will be a good way to shortlist all the companies that you have information about and then decide on which is good for you.

More so in case you don’t know anyone who has been on a safari in any country, you don’t have to worry since there are many websites on the internet that show a list of safari reviews and the travel diaries that are also written by the people who have previously gone on the trip. You can also find these and learn from them. These have also got many tips and recommends that you can learn that are also helpful and valuable for your own trip.

You can also check their credentials.

As a tourist, you will also need to know about each and every bit of the tour operator that you want to choose, you can also check the credentials of the safari company you are planning to use in order to make sure they are so reputable. More so, make sure that even the guide you are to use is listed. The most common associations to be checked also include; KATO which is Kenya Association of tour operator, TASA is also a tours and safari Association of Namibia, TATO that is Tanzania Association of Tour Operators, ATTA, ASTA and many more.

Always ask the right questions.

You now have a tour company in mind and you have done some great research to find out more about it, it’s now time to get in touch. What are the questions do you need to ask in making sure you get the best value for your money? Find out how many other people will be able to join the safari, by this, some companies also make other people join your tour without notice and this can become so unpleasant for you.

You can also ask about the policies of payments, since most of the company’s peek the client’s money until the tour occurs and in the likely of the event of the company under liquidation, your will also need to know the correct location and the address of the company offices.

Always inquire about the available permits/ book and pay the deposit in advance

Get to know whether there are available gorilla permits. The information about the availability of the permit can be accessed from the websites of any government body responsible for issuing out these permits. For the case of Uganda, UWA also provides the whole information and Rwanda Development Board also provides the permit information for Rwanda.

After knowing the available permits, you can book through any of these bodies and then pay for the deposit money in advance. Booking should also be done 6 months before the trekking date. This is because the demand for these permits and for the purposes of the timely allocation of the gorilla families among the trekkers

Booking for the accommodation facility

Immediately after knowing which permits are available and the location of the gorilla families, you will then book for the hotel or the lodge. This should also be near the gorilla trekking starting point so that to ease the movement from the lodge to do gorilla trekking. You will select any of your choice as you find them online and book with any.

Booking of these lodges need payment of the deposit for the reservation purposes. Though even after booking and payment of the deposit, you also need to keep in contact with these lodges for the updates and any changes.

Looking for the means of transport; Having booked the lodges and the permits, you will have to get the means of transport there are many car hire companies in Uganda with whom you can book with for the airport pick up as well as the transfers. You can also hire with any company for all the days you will be on a trip. Some lodges and the hotels also have the airport picks; you can also ask about this with the hotel/lodge you will book with.

You can also use public means of transport, like the buses, Matatus, bodas and these can take you to the next destinations.

What to pack; You can be prepared for the forest life. The mountain gorillas live in the forested areas with changing weather, slippery grounds and much under growth with the thorny bushes. You must also pack the hiking boots, long sleeved shirts, hats, panties, hand gloves and the rain coats. This will also help in the case of changing weather changes.

About Tipping; This is not compulsory but is also helpful. You can also choose to tip the guide and other service providers or nay other service provides especially in the lodges and hotels. Tipping is also a form of appreciation and the motivation for the service providers.