Testimonials

 

We are seasoned world travellers who have both done our own thing and used travel companies for the last 25 years. What I can tell you is that Sven’s knowledge, experience and organisational skills were second to none.  Everything went incredibly smoothly. He arranged the gorilla & chimp trekking permits, booked us into superb lodges and drove with both skill and excellent attention to navigation. At the outset he advised us not to try and do too much. Consequently we did not visit Murchison Falls because within the three weeks he deemed it a step too far. How right he was, this will be on our agenda for next time!

As well as looking after our every need he was able, through his local knowledge, to keep far away from the maddening crowd of other safari jeeps. Lunch stops whilst en-route were always well planned stopping in lovely restaurants that the tourist would not be able to find. He took us on early morning game walks, arranged a spot for sundowners most evenings and also organised local park rangers for night time game viewing. This holiday ranked as one of the best ever and trekking for 3 hours to sit watching a family of eight gorillas is a memory never to be forgotten. The hot air balloon flight he arranged for us was also amazing.

I recommend Sven Kroger’s tours to you without reservation. If you wish to contact me further please feel free to email me at pc.rowlands@btinternet.com

Having been fortunate to visit relations in different parts of South Africa on several occasions and fallen in love with the country I was keen to extend my knowledge of Africa.

I was keen to visit a country not so much on the radar in the UK as a holiday destination. A “significant” birthday was the prompt and Uganda the choice.

This was prompted by hearing of Sven Kroger who was willing and available to customise a holiday. Relying on his vast knowledge and experience of the country we limited a three week visit to the south west part of the country.

This enabled us to experience lakes, mountains, valleys, forests and savannahs and the amazing diversity of birds and other wildlife at a pace where we could begin to appreciate everything. 

His planning and attention to detail was excellent apart from him being such a calm, kind and thoughtful guide.

Accommodation was predominantly in Game Lodges personally known to Sven and a delight.

Highlights have to be trekking to see gorillas, chimpanzees and the game drives plus walks where often we were the only vehicle about.

Winston Churchill called Uganda ” The Pearl of Africa” and Sven did his utmost to leave me with that impression.

I would unreservedly recommend his services as a tour organiser and guide.

 

Margaret Mathews

  • The terrain in south-west Uganda is a delightful surprise.  It is not dry and arid as may be the popular perception, but green and lush punctuated with crater lakes amongst the hills and mountains.

  • A sight never to be forgotten was the moment when something disturbed the hundreds of birds resting on a sandbank at the edge of the Kazinga Channel. They all, as one – countless varieties, large and small – took off into the sky and flew two enormous circles above our heads in perfect synchronisation before landing again. It was as though it had been choreographed specially for us.

  • The chance to visit a local school and the Ndali Estate is a first hand opportunity to see how the families and children live and work.  It is a real inspiration and not to be missed.

  • A highlight towards the end of our visit was dining by candlelight at Ndali Lodge with our hosts – such good company – in the quiet and darkness of the evening, listening to the sounds of the night.The food and service matched the high standards all round and enabled us to relax and enjoy to the full the wonderful experience we had had over the previous three weeks.

  • Value for money can be seen, clearly, in the variety of activity that takes place in one day.  For example, on one Saturday: we had a lengthy view of lions, including a kill; a rare sighting of a leopard; lunch at a hotel overlooking The Kazinga Channel; a two hour boat trip on the channel with unparalled close up access to elephants, hippos, crocodiles, buffalo and birds; sundowner drinks on high ground overlooking the main lakes; and cooking a fresh fish caught in the channel that afternoon for our supper!

  • On our last night we stayed at Pineapple Guest House in Entebbe, which gave us a lovely sunset view over Lake Victoria whilst we had drinks and dinner. Sven stayed with us until the next morning when we went through security at the airport and he couln’t come any further – such high standards of consideration right to the end.

 

Sven has a deep love and understanding for Uganda, and this comes across when he explains about the culture, politics, and wildlife.  He has a wealth of knowledge and easily imparts this, building our excitement around each bend in the road.

We travelled from Fort Portal through Queen Elizabeth Park to the Impenetrable Forest. We saw Elephant, lion, Impala, Buffalo, and many species of birds.  Time was seemingly unimportant.

Sven organised our Gorilla trek which was wonderful and encouraged us to try different foods. We went birdwatching with a Ugandan man who can in a sense ‘speak to the birds’.  He makes the sounds, and the birds respond.

Moving further south we drove through various villages taking in the sights, culture, and food – nothing was too much for Sven.

Returning via Queen Elizabeth, four days later and staying by the Kazinga Channel enabled us to watch hippos and wonderful, wonderful sunsets.  Everything was organised and planned by Sven and the whole trip went without any problems or issues.

We would thoroughly recommend Sven and look forward to booking our next tour with him.

Jeanette and Michael Brady.

 

My niece, a friend, and I went on a Safari holiday with Sven’s Tours in February 2020. The tour was organised around what we wanted to do and see, guided by the expertise and local knowledge of Sven. The whole experience was beyond our expectations, it was quite literally perfect. I have spoken with other people who have been on safaris that were in large groups, followed a prearranged and set agenda, and with “company” guides, which all in all results in a very impersonal feel. This is the opposite of our holiday with Sven’s Tours. The whole experience felt very safe, personal, and unique.   

Hope to see you in 2022.

Helen

 

We had an amazing trip with Sven. A super experienced guide with great knowledge of the wildlife and birds in Ugandan parks. And we loved the places we stayed on our trip. We would completely recommend Sven’s Tours. 

Rick Versteegh – June 2021

What I loved most about travelling with Sven were three things. First of all the absolute flexibility to go wherever you want. Sven’s vehicle is very comfortable yet still robust enough to take you to every place you want and whenever I felt like returning to the spot to stake out for leopards again, we just did. Second, Sven’s knowledge of the places we went. He suprised me again and again with the most beautiful and remote sundowner spots. Third and not the very least, Sven’s company. If you are together for almost two weeks, good company is very important. Rest assured – Sven is not only very responsible, it’s also a lot of fun to travel with him. What beats drinking a beer together after a great game drive and listening to British humor?



Harriet Bingham – April 2023
 
What an incredible experience! Sven’s tailor made tour was the best family holiday we have ever been on. Sven meticulously curated our 9
Day safari trip through Mburo and Queen Elizabeth National Parks. We were 2 families with 5 kids children aged between 7 and 11. Sven organised a second car to accommodate us with Martin, an incredibly knowledgeable driver with his own network of local contacts in each park. We saw an abundance of wildlife including some incredibly rare birds including a shoebill. Of course we also saw a plethora of elephants, lions, zebra, Ugandan cob, chimps,
buffalo and hippos to name a few. My favourite experience might have been the spectacular private sundowners amongst giraffe in Mburo National Park or taking a water safari to see families of elephants drinking and swimming from only a few feet away.
I have been on quite a few safaris in my time and this one blew me away.
Sven had thought of absolutely everything and nothing was too much trouble. He has a wealth of knowledge at his fingertips and is full of interesting facts and observations, we all felt truly spoilt and overwhelmed with gratitude for this extraordinary and perfectly curated experience of a lifetime.

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