Rwanda Safari and Gorilla Trekking Tours

Our Zicasso travel agent was a dream to work with! We started our conversation with me having no idea where/what I wanted to do while visiting Africa. She took the time to ask me many questions on my preferences, must-haves, etc, and sent me recommendations on many destinations. Her knowledge of the destinations made it so easy for me to choose the best fit for me and my husband. In addition, she was able to plan our dream vacation in a very short time (approximately two-and-a-half months from contact to travel)! Lastly, her follow-through on all questions and check-ins to make sure our documentation/visas were in line, etc, made us feel confident we would have a safe, streamlined trip.

Our trip to Kenya and Rwanda was amazing! We had such a memorable time and it will not be our last trip to Africa or our last time working with Zicasso and their travel advisor.

The trip was marvelous and well planned by Zicasso’s tour operator. There were no major hiccups and all of our travel connections worked without major incident. Our itinerary included a variety of accommodations, giving us a complete African experience, and the unique experiences we had in the field will be remembered forever.

It was very well planned. Zicasso's travel specialist was responsive and flexible in the planning process and throughout the final details.

The trip was well organized and the handoffs across multiple locations were managed very smoothly, without any problems. Our Zicasso travel agent was very responsive throughout the planning process.

Overall, the organization of the trip was excellent. The guides were always punctual. The flight reservations were handled efficiently, with proactive checks for delays and timely adjustments when necessary.

However, I observed some inconsistencies in the quality of accommodations. Specifically, the camp in Tarangire did not match the standard of the other lodgings provided during the trip. Considering the cost of this trip, I was surprised by this disparity and would appreciate an explanation.

Regarding the gorilla-trekking experience, since the altitude affected me a little bit, I was concerned about the trekking, but fortunately, I felt better the next day and communicated this to the guide. Despite my recovery, I was placed in a super-easy trekking group, resulting in a trek that lasted less than 10 minutes before encountering the gorillas. While the encounter was okay (it was just a small group and I'm aware that regarding wild animals, sometimes it's a matter of luck finding them or not), the experience was diminished by the behavior of one of the two guides who accompanied us. His actions – jumping, screaming, and mimicking gorilla behavior (even eating plants) – were intended to be humorous, but came across as unprofessional. This was disappointing given the serious nature of such treks and the expectations set by the trip's premium cost. I also didn't understand the necessity of having two guides (It was explained that there would be one guide per group). I thought the whole experience would be a cherry-on-the-top thing, but unfortunately, it was not.

Finally, at the lodge in Rwanda, they wanted me to leave the room at 11am, even though the guide was going to pick me up at 1pm. I negotiated to leave the room at 11.30am, but that was earlier than the regular check-out time in most of the hotels.

Working with Zicasso’s travel agent was wonderful. She was very responsive and checked on us to make sure we were doing okay once we started our trip. She answered every question and was available as needed. On a previous trip, we used a different African travel company, which was wonderful, and our travel agent for this tour brought the same experience at less cost.