A fraction of our Team.
Big Apes Africa
- Office In:
- Size:
- 1-5 employees (Founded in 2019)
- Member Of:
- USAGA, UTB & UWA
- Tour Types:
- Custom budget & mid-range tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $3,469 to $17,345 per person per day (MXN, excl. int'l flights)
for a custom tour
Your request will be sent directly to the operator
If preferred, you can contact the operator directly
Reviews
NL
Email Saskia | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Extraordinary experience
It was easy to correspond with Big Apes Africa. It was a well organised and they have given answers to all our questions, with a lot of patience. The trip was well prepared, with all the handy tips Big Apes had given us before departure. We have visited one big apes family and it was a once in a lifetime experience.
CH
Email Robin | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
A Great Safari Experience with Excellent Guiding
Before starting my safari, I was in regular contact with Big Apes. I was able to share my wishes and make changes at any time, and a revised itinerary was always proposed without any issues. In the end, I did a 5-day safari that was very diverse: from the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary to various national parks, as well as chimpanzee and gorilla trekking, everything was included. The pickup in Kampala and the end of the trip in Kigali were also organized smoothly. The five days of the safari itself were a wonderful experience. The tour guide was very friendly, dedicated, and had an impressive knowledge of wildlife, which he was happy to share. He regularly checked on my well-being and took great care of me throughout the trip. The accommodations were modern and of high quality. Personally, I would have preferred something a bit simpler, as a less luxurious style suits me better – but this is a matter of personal taste. The food was very good throughout the entire trip.
One point that could be improved is the communication before the start of the safari: I only found out the evening before when I would be picked up and needed to be ready. Additionally, during the five days there was one instance where the guide had not yet received the fuel money from the office.
Email Timothy S | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We thought our guide did an outstanding job with what he had to work with.
When we reached out to Big Apes Africa - the itinerary sent over was very professional-like. However, it was never communicated with us that we needed our e-visa before arriving to the airport. With hours to spare and not enough time - we reached out to say we needed to cancel our booking and then, miraculously for an additional charge, we got an expedited visa.
With that out of the way, we loved the chimpanzee and gorilla trekking experiences. We do want to make others aware that the drive times were not communicated clearly and we spent 7-9 hours traveling each of our 4 days.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were provided, however, one of the day days our driver got lost (no GPS) and we arrived to our lodge at 10 PM and chose to skip dinner. All in all, we would recommend, but would be interested to see what a longer experience.
AE
Email Eman Ersheid | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Good
I had a good experience with Big Apes Company. Even though I chose the budget options for hotels, they turned out to be very good, and their restaurants were excellent. The only thing that I didn't like was, the Company didn't give any cash money to my tour guide/driver, every time we stopped for fuel or food, we had to wait for at least 45 minutes till the Company sends money in order for the guide to pay, which was really a big waste of time and I was really frustrated.
I really recommend you to book with them, as their price comparing to the others was the best, however, please make sure that this scenario doesn't happen to you as well, otherwise, it could really affect your trip.
BE
Email Thomas Vanderschaeghe | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Great gorilla experience
We booked a gorilla trek in Bwindi forest with Big Apes. The transport to and from the starting point of the trek was very good, and the person picking us up did a very good job. Only point was that I asked my point of contact in the back office several times for information about hour and location to pick us up and asked several times to send out the final invoice and the permits, but did not receive that information until the evening before the trek (causing stress). In the end we did the payment settlement after the tour in a hotel where we had wifi. In the end the tour worked out very well, but communication can be improved.
Email Harry | under20 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Very helpful, honest and punctual.
We had a brilliant time. The accommodation was all good and our guide made every effort to make our time enjoyable.
Gorillas were amazing.
PH
Email Karla | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
I recommend Big Apes Africa!
I did my first ever Gorilla tracking with Big Apes Africa at Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Adams really made the whole day trip memorable. My guide was very fun, relaxed, and knowledgeable about mountain gorillas at the same time and everything was amazing, nice trek, beautiful weather overall. I definitely recommend them. Peter helped me with my travel around Uganda as well. They would be a great choice!
Thanks and Godspeed :D
BE
Email Ritah | under20 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing!
My trip with Big Apes Africa is definitely one that will stay on my mind. This trip was organised on short notice with the help of one of the Safari experts at their office in Kampala and within just two weeks, everything was sorted.
Our guide Peter is only knowledgeable but the friendliest I have met.
Without a doubt, this company gave me value for money and more!!!
Email Jim | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Went above and beyond to make our trip great!
Big Apes, Peter the owner, and Ben our guide, all made our trip great. We chose Big Apes because Peter was the only one out of the companies we contacted who understood the somewhat difficult set of requirements for our trip. Not only did he create a plan to fit our needs, he personally stepped in to make it work. My wife and I wanted to make our gorilla trek on a specific date so our daughter, who working there as a visiting doctor, could join us. But she had to work the day before, and it is very long drive from Kampala to Bwindi. To solve the problem, Peter kindly volunteered to drive her himself, way into the early morning hours, to allow her to join us on the trek. As it worked out, she was able to leave earlier and Peter adjusted their trip to add in an extra safari park visit on the drive down. After our return to Kampala, when we had a couple of unplanned days, Peter made Ben and a Land Cruiser available to allow us to visit the places we chose on those days. It was very gracious of him and it made our stay easy from beginning to end.
Ben was a great guide. Our itinerary involved going a lot of places, all very far from one another, in a short amount of time. That meant Ben spent the week driving and driving more everyday on unpaved roads in terrible traffic. Nevertheless, he was always a pleasure to be with and he was always attentive to our comfort. On our first safari day, we had the good fortune of seeing a couple of lions along with the elephants, water buffalo and many other animals. It was a good day by any measure, but Ben wanted us to see a leopard. He worked his connections with other guides for current information and, after racing to chase various leads though some muddy obstacles, he got us a great up-close leopard viewing at the end of the day. Then, leaving from that location, we happened to encounter another one! Every day Ben was where he said he'd be when he said he'd be there.
I believe our trip fell somewhere in the mid-tier and was perfectly comfortable for us. Amazingly, we had no mosquitoes, but all the accommodations were well equipped with bug nets and had good food and helpful service. Our Land Cruiser was pretty well used and had a minor issue or two along the way, but given amount of driving we did and some of the places we went, that was just part of the adventure for us. Overall, our somewhat compressed trip delivered more than we hoped for, and we owe most of that to Big Apes.
DE
Email Claudia | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
10/10 stars! It was epic!
Wow – what an experience.
We would book again immediately!! Our guide was Andrew. He is fantastic: friendly, helpful, communicative, and always punctual.
The evening before departure, I received a WhatsApp message from Andrew confirming the pickup time and location. We approached the upcoming four days feeling completely relaxed and full of anticipation. We were absolutely not disappointed. Thanks to Peter, Peace, and especially Andrew for this incredible experience.
Thank you!
We hope to return to Rwanda and Uganda someday and travel with you again.
Best regards from Germany,
Claudia and Dennis (35, 34 years)
