Mega Wild Safaris
- Office In:
- Size:
- 5-10 employees (Founded in 2015)
- Tour Types:
- Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $2,582 to $9,813 per person per day (MXN, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Email Kim | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
COVID19 Cancelled our trip and this company took advantage of the pandemic
I do not recommend booking with this company. Anne was very friendly, but the savings of a few hundred dollars turned out costing us thousands. We had a safari scheduled for early June 2020, which we chose to cancel due to COVID19. We cancelled 3 months in advance. We chose not to wait it out because we feared losing all of our money if this safari company decided that COVID19 was not a good reason to cancel and to be honest it turned out that they didn't feel a pandemic was a good enough excuse to cancel anyway. Their policy of a 75% refund less the gorilla permits was better than losing the total $6600 I spent.
However the upsetting part was that I emailed Anne asking how they planned on dealing with COVID19. I was nicely told they would give full refund less the Gorilla permit that they tell you aren't refundable (which is not true by the way.). Needless the say when I took her up on her kind offer of giving full refund.... well, there was radio silence for over a day. So I emailed again and then she finally replied telling me... Oh sorry that full refund I mentioned we could do, well we can't because i talked to people who told me I can't give it. IT IS HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE TO DO THAT. Also their website states that they give 90% refunds if canceled more than 60 days in advance but their written policy doesn't say that. Also, please check out this link and never use a tour company like I did to book your Gorilla permits- Uganda Wildlife Authority does give refunds. It's just another way for these tour companies to SCAM you. https://www.bwindiimpenetrablenationalpark.com/gorilla-permits/cancellation/
After arguing with Anne over email that it was not okay to tell a customer full refund and then change your mind. I finally accepted the refund they would give and filed a dispute with my credit card company. The crappy part is my credit card company is so bogged down right now with other travelers. Anne failed to mention to them that she had told me full refund and then took it back. She also failed to mention, I never signed a contract. She failed to mention that the Uganda and Kenya are closed right now due to COVID19. Failed to mention that it's not possible to go on a trip right now.
Overall, my experience is I got scammed. When I didn't want to rebook my trip and took her up on her offer I think she freaked out and then said, oh no... By the way, rebooking the trip would have cost me more money. Why you ask? Because the Gorilla permits cost more next year and there is a fee to reschedule. And don't forget they aren't refundable. They are refundable, just not to you if you book with this company or one like it.
So the moral of this story is, I'm totally bummed I had to cancel my trip. Yet, there are better companies out there to work with. These guys are not fully honest. The policy stated on their website versus the one given to you are different. They can decide when they feel like it if they don't want to honor something they tell you.
I will likely not win my dispute for the other half of my refund, but I have not given up. One thing I've learned in all my travel is that you need to fight for your refunds. I travel a lot. I'm a digital nomad. I'm writing this review in hopes to save another person from this experience.
COVID19 or not... I would not trust this company. They have some good reviews and it's why I went with them, but don't be fooled. You could have a great trip with them or you could get total ripped off and scammed just like me. The choice is yours. I wish you all well.
Reply from Mega Wild Safaris
Posted on May 11, 2020Dear Kim,
Thank you for sharing your feedback. We are truly sorry that we failed to meet your expectations. Please kindly note that Uganda Wildlife Authority(UWA), the only body responsible for issuing gorilla and chimpanzee tracking permits, does not offer refunds for unused gorilla permits and Chimpanzee permits but rather offers reschedules incase a customer is not able to track on their comfirmed dates. As such, the company was unable to offer you the refund for the already purchased permits because Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) did not offer us a refund for the permits we had already purchased for your tracking. Please understand that the Company issued you a refund in accordance with the refund and cancellation policy that was clearly stated on your invoice and agreed to by yourself prior to you sending the payment for the trip. We are however sorry that your experience did not match your expectations and we'll strive to do better.
Email Scott | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great Trip with a Few Hiccups
We booked this safari almost a year in advance. There were a couple of things that required me to send reminders but it was taken care of promptly. The trip had many wonderful highlights — Kenya was excellent and the gorilla trek in Uganda was truly unforgettable. Those experiences went smoothly and gave us memories we’ll treasure.
That said, not everything was seamless. Some of the planning around Tanzania didn’t come together initially as hoped, and there were a few logistical and communication challenges that made this part of the trip feel less organized. This led to some downtime and a guide who wasn’t quite the right fit. While these issues didn’t take away from the beauty of the wildlife, they did add some stress that could have been avoided with more careful coordination.
Overall, the safari had incredible moments and we’re glad we went! With better planning and coordination this could have been a smoother, more consistently outstanding experience.
MT
Email Adele | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Our tour operator provided us with the best guides ever!
We thoroughly enjoyed our trip in Africa - Kenya and Uganda. Our guides Patrick and Dalson made sure about this - they were very attentive, reliable throughout and did all they could to make sure we had the best holiday possible. I would definitely recommend them.
I preferred Uganda while my friend preferred Kenya. My choice is due to the fact that the programme was more at leisure and more varied in activities - Kenya had some early starts and long hours in jeep and heat; I would have liked a little more time to settle into a hotel and chill a bit especially since the accommodation the tour operator chose for us were great. I would have done either lake Nakuru or Amboseli in a week's trip - not both. Probably would choose Nakuru as less driving. But, I know my friend would want to do it all once again so it does depend on personal differences.
The accommodation was good, comfortable, and clean throughout the trip. The food and service were also very good too. The accommodation close to Bwindi was a bit lower in standards - mostly in terms of the service, lack of warm water, poor lighting, and internet.
Transportation - I hated that mountain road to see the gorillas but I guess that can't be helped :). It is recommended to have a proper safari jeep rather than a van.
Some points for reference:
1. US dollars are preferred and only the new ones are accepted - and papers need to be flat, clean - no tears, no gem marker etc.
2. Despite paying a lot for this trip (a 2 week trip in Africa has cost us as much if not more than anywhere else in the world including the US/Canada; Central and South America; Asia) one is still expected to fork out in tips .... daily.
3. Take some clothes, and sweets for the kids waving by the roadside.
4. Check all plans in detail with the tour operator beforehand since we had one or two miscommunications. However, these were rectified. Communication was regular prior to the trip and the guides could easily contact the operator during the trip.
5. Try to go to a local dance/performance show, it is worth it!
Anne was very responsive and attentive to our needs/wants during the safari
We were very pleased with the service we received from Mega Wild Safaris, Anne was very attentive to what we were wanting for our trip of a lifetime and was quick to respond to our emails/questions. We liked having someone local in Uganda because we think it made the price more reasonable and she had contacts in Uganda, our trip was booked for Uganda and Tanzania over the Christmas holidays.
Our driver in Uganda, Kassim, was the absolute best! Unfortunately, the airline lost our luggage for 6 days and finding medicine/necessities/clothing etc is not that easy but Kassim was very patient and we were able to get a few things so we could have the basics. Anne was instrumental in locating our luggage and was able to get it to the hotel where we were originally going to stay, because of the time and curfew it was a challenge getting it to us, but Kassim was able to get a couple of his friends to drive the 9 hours and we were able to have it before the Gorilla Trekking! We enjoyed the hotels in Uganda and Tanzania, in Uganda we stayed with the locals on holiday which was a wonderful experience and we met some of the nicest people we have ever encountered. We would definitely travel with Mega Wild Safaris again and would ask for Kassim as our guide/driver. Anne is very Professional, Calm and understanding to anything you may encounter along the journey which made us feel like we were always in good hands. Uganda is a beautiful place with beautiful people! Tanzania is better equipped for tourists and our guide in Tanzania was very good, Anwar, but it was definitely more of a professional feel as a opposed to a more personal experience we had in Uganda. Overall, it was an incredible experience and we look forward to returning!
Email Lillian Tsai | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Very knowledgeable and friendly service
The communication was transparent and clear. There could have been more details about the Rhino lodge and what to expect. I appreciated Mega Wild letting the lodge know of my special diet although the lodge wasn’t consistent about the amount of salt they used. The tour was great. My guide was persistent in seeking more animals through communications with other guides and the Park.
CA
Email Gary & Ally | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Excellent value, excellent service from Mega Wild Safaris
For your East African safaris, my family and I highly recommend the excellent value and attentive service provided by Mega Wild Safaris based in Kampala, Uganda. Anne Bright of Mega Wild offered remarkable support in the planning stages, fine-tuning the itinerary to ensure our many requirements were met. During the safaris she was always available to assist with any minor issues that arose. Thank you Anne!
Through Mega Wild, we booked three private safaris totaling 5 weeks to take us to game parks in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The Kenyan and Tanzanian segments were operated by local associates of Mega Wild and timed to coincide with the Great Migration in the Serengeti and Masai Mara. On East Africa cross-border safaris you are usually handed over to a local operator in each country. All our border transfers went very smoothly aided by company reps on both sides of the border – much easier than had we tried to cross on our own.
The first safari with our two adult children started in Nairobi and took us to Tsavo East and West National Parks, Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary and Amboseli National Park. Our Kenyan guide-driver, David, was a delight and took great care of us. The wildlife viewing was superb, especially the big tuskers, and the accommodation top-notch. In Tanzania, we visited the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area and Serengeti NP (staying in different sectors of the park over five nights). Our days on safari in Kenya and Tanzania were spent in excellent, well-equipped and comfy Toyota Land Cruiser pop-up-roof safari vehicles. The days began after the crack of dawn and ended 11 hours later before dusk, which was exactly how we wanted them: filled to the max. Sightings were abundant and lavish, informed by our trained, experienced guide-drivers who tended to our every need and ensured our safety, made us feel at ease from the get-go and knew how and when to get things done so we never had to fret about doing a thing. From the Serengeti, we were seamlessly deposited at the Seronera Airstrip for our flight to Zanzibar (for a few days of beachside relaxation at the excellent My Blue Hotel).
Our second safari for my wife and I, included Masai Mara, Ngorongoro, Serengeti and Tarangire NP. It was as excellent as our first.
Needless to say, we saw an incredible amount and variety of wildlife, including not only the Big 5, but 5 crossings of the wildebeest over the Mara River over two days. The sheer richness of the Serengeti/Maasai Mara ecosystem has to be seen to be believed and seeing it with expert guide-drivers like those furnished by Mega Wild associates made for an unforgettable and richly-rewarding experience.
Our guide-drivers, David and Julius in Kenya, and Martin and Jackson in Tanzania, were simply delightful -- mature, friendly, reliable, respectful, knowledgeable, safety-conscious, always on time and both took impeccable care of us. Martin, always smiling, doted over us and the kids, and Jackson summed it up perfectly when we first crossed into Serengeti NP and he said: "Welcome to my office!" We entrusted ourselves fully into their most capable hands.
The accommodation, both tented and lodge-based, was always comfortable and, at times, even luxurious. The food, though sometimes repetitious in its buffet offerings, was nonetheless hearty and nourishing. Everything ran smoothly and like clockwork.
Our third safari in Uganda, wholly operated by Mega Wild, started and ended in Entebbe. It took us to Queen Elizabeth NP, Kibale NP for chimpanzee tracking, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest NP for the unforgettable experience of mountain gorilla tracking and Lake Mburo NP. We highly recommend friendly Uganda for primate viewing, wildlife viewing and bird watching in a more laid-back environment than the more commercialized safaris in Kenya and Tanzania.
We had the pleasure of meeting the children of Olives’ Hope orphanage in Bigodi to whom Mega Wild donated 10% of our safari cost. Our driver, James, performed heroic measures to help me retrieve a cellphone that fell into a latrine pit – but that’s another story! A small scheduling glitch in Bwindi was deftly handled by Anne – it was an advantage to have a local operator that could fix things quickly.
In short, you need not look any further than Mega Wild Safaris for your next safari in East Africa, we highly recommend them.
For your East African safaris, my family and I highly recommend the excellent value and attentive service provided by Mega Wild Safaris based in Kampala, Uganda. Anne Bright of Mega Wild offered remarkable support in the planning stages, fine-tuning the itinerary to ensure our many requirements were met. During the safaris she was always available to assist with any minor issues that arose. Thank you Anne!
Through Mega Wild, we booked three private safaris totaling 5 weeks to take us to game parks in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The Kenyan and Tanzanian segments were operated by local associates of Mega Wild and timed to coincide with the Great Migration in the Serengeti and Masai Mara. On East Africa cross-border safaris you are usually handed over to a local operator in each country. All our border transfers went very smoothly aided by company reps on both sides of the border – much easier than had we tried to cross on our own.
The first safari with our two adult children started in Nairobi and took us to Tsavo East and West National Parks, Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary and Amboseli National Park. Our Kenyan guide-driver, David, was a delight and took great care of us. The wildlife viewing was superb, especially the big tuskers, and the accommodation top-notch. In Tanzania, we visited the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area and Serengeti NP (staying in different sectors of the park over five nights). Our days on safari in Kenya and Tanzania were spent in excellent, well-equipped and comfy Toyota Land Cruiser pop-up-roof safari vehicles. The days began after the crack of dawn and ended 11 hours later before dusk, which was exactly how we wanted them: filled to the max. Sightings were abundant and lavish, informed by our trained, experienced guide-drivers who tended to our every need and ensured our safety, made us feel at ease from the get-go and knew how and when to get things done so we never had to fret about doing a thing. From the Serengeti, we were seamlessly deposited at the Seronera Airstrip for our flight to Zanzibar (for a few days of beachside relaxation at the excellent My Blue Hotel).
Our second safari for my wife and I, included Masai Mara, Ngorongoro, Serengeti and Tarangire NP. It was as excellent as our first.
Needless to say, we saw an incredible amount and variety of wildlife, including not only the Big 5, but 5 crossings of the wildebeest over the Mara River over two days. The sheer richness of the Serengeti/Maasai Mara ecosystem has to be seen to be believed and seeing it with expert guide-drivers like those furnished by Mega Wild associates made for an unforgettable and richly-rewarding experience.
Our guide-drivers, David and Julius in Kenya, and Martin and Jackson in Tanzania, were simply delightful -- mature, friendly, reliable, respectful, knowledgeable, safety-conscious, always on time and both took impeccable care of us. Martin, always smiling, doted over us and the kids, and Jackson summed it up perfectly when we first crossed into Serengeti NP and he said: "Welcome to my office!" We entrusted ourselves fully into their most capable hands.
The accommodation, both tented and lodge-based, was always comfortable and, at times, even luxurious. The food, though sometimes repetitious in its buffet offerings, was nonetheless hearty and nourishing. Everything ran smoothly and like clockwork.
Our third safari in Uganda, wholly operated by Mega Wild, started and ended in Entebbe. It took us to Queen Elizabeth NP, Kibale NP for chimpanzee tracking, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest NP for the unforgettable experience of mountain gorilla tracking and Lake Mburo NP. We highly recommend friendly Uganda for primate viewing, wildlife viewing and bird watching in a more laid-back environment than the more commercialized safaris in Kenya and Tanzania.
We had the pleasure of meeting the children of Olives’ Hope orphanage in Bigodi to whom Mega Wild donated 10% of our safari cost. Our driver, James, performed heroic measures to help me retrieve a cellphone that fell into a latrine pit – but that’s another story! A small scheduling glitch in Bwindi was deftly handled by Anne – it was an advantage to have a local operator that could fix things quickly.
In short, you need not look any further than Mega Wild Safaris for your next safari in East Africa, we highly recommend them.
Email Joselynn Lebron | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
James was very helpful, social, and accommodative.
James’ hospitality was outstanding from when he picked us up from our accommodation throughout the journey. He was always attentive, flexible, patient, and eager to ensure we were comfortable and enjoying every moment. It was clear that he genuinely cared about providing a meaningful and personalized experience.
This safari exceeded all our expectations and created memories we will treasure forever. If you are considering a trip to Uganda, I would wholeheartedly recommend Mega Wild Safaris—they truly go above and beyond to deliver an exceptional experience right from the booking process all through to the end of the trip.
BE
Email Tom | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Beautiful first safari experience
After doing some research ourselves we asked for a quote from 5 different safari tour operators. All proposals were very similar but in terms of pricesetting there was a difference. We choose for MWS for different reasons. After we decided to focus on MWS for our first safari trip we had a good experience in the preparation and organisation of our trip. Quick answers whenever we had any questions or remarks. Also flexible in terms of changing for example a hotel .
The safari itself was above expectations.
Experienced drivers excellent vehicles everything executed as we agreed .
We would like to thanks MWS and in particular Anne our main contact and our both drivers David and Vincent.
65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great operation - great partners and very easy to work with
We just returned from a custom 16 day safari with Mega Wild and couldn't be more pleased.
We chose Mega Wild because from day one of the process, Anne was responsive and very helpful.
Our trip included gorilla trek in Uganda plus Masai Mara (Kenya) and Tanzania with a few days in Zanzibar before our long trip home.
Our guides were knowledgeable and seemed to be able to match the pace we wanted. They went out of their way to give us the best possible experience.
We really enjoyed having hot lunches even in the middle of the Serengeti while some of the other tour groups had cold lunch boxes with sandwiches. Little things like that can make a difference!
We definitely recommend Mega Wild. You won't regret it.
Email Rodrigo Pineda V. | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Mega Wild Safaris: The Best Way to Experience East Africa
On Christmas morning 2024 I decided to kick off the planning of our dream vacation. I sent a few inquiries via SafariBookings.com and, within eight hours, Anne replied with a complete itinerary proposal and thoughtful follow-up questions to be sure she could craft the trip of a lifetime.
They truly nailed what we wanted and delivered incredible value for money. Working with a local agency felt meaningful—we were supporting the region directly—and they ensured every detail was covered. We ultimately chose a Kenya + Uganda itinerary that balanced sweeping savannah landscapes with unforgettable encounters with great apes.
I especially want to highlight Uganda, which is probably underrated by many Western travelers. Don’t miss the chance to spend time there: the wilderness, tea and coffee plantations, lush scenery, and warm people are extraordinary. Even though it is less developed than Kenya, the experience is remarkable and authentic.
Communication from the agency was sharp and efficient, exactly what I appreciate. I didn’t have to sit through endless calls; my expectation was for them to handle everything—and they did. We had zero issues during the entire trip.
I wholeheartedly recommend Mega Wild Safaris to anyone planning an East African adventure, and will encourage my family and friends to do the same.
A huge thank-you to Anne, Julius, and Isaac for giving us such a memorable first taste of Africa.