Selling a gorilla trek or a Mara River crossing from another continent means promising things you cannot see: permits, camp dates and border days. We are a Uganda-based ground operator. We check what is really open, build the route on the ground, and send you one clear quote for your client.
No obligation · Availability checked before anything is promised · A specialist replies within 24 hours
The short answerA travel advisor needs a ground partner who can confirm permits, camps and transfers for a real date, then put the whole route into one quote that can be passed to the client. That is how we work: you send the client brief, we check availability before anything is promised, and you receive one quote for the route. In the trade this kind of local ground operator is often called a destination management company, or DMC. Gorilla permits and the camps for the Mara River crossings sell out far ahead, so send the dates early. Write to us about working together and a specialist replies within 24 hours.
Your client trusts you, and you are trusting us to deliver what you sold. So the first thing we do is check what is actually open for the dates: the gorilla permits, the rooms at the lodges and camps, and the flights or road transfers between them. Nothing is promised before that check, and you receive one quote for the route instead of a set of loose prices.
We are based in Uganda, so we handle the permits, lodges, transfers and guides from the destination itself, and our licence and registration details are there for you to check and pass on. That matters most on the trips that go wrong when they are handled from far away: gorilla trekking, where permits are limited and tied to a date, and routes across several countries, where every border adds a transfer day.
The process is the same for a couple on a honeymoon and for a group of eight. The quote is built on the lodge tier your client chooses, and we tell you plainly if a date or a permit is not available rather than offering something we cannot confirm.
Send the brief and a specialist checks what is open, then replies within 24 hours.
Gorilla permits are limited each day and are sold by date, and the camps for the Mara River crossings fill early, so the dates are the first thing to settle. For the busiest months we suggest sending the client's dates nine to twelve months ahead where you can. Quieter months need less notice, but the best rooms and permits still go first.
Our guides on how far ahead to book a safari and a gorilla permit and on booking a migration safari by month set out the lead times you can quote to a client.
Most advisors begin with a ready-made route and ask us to change it: more nights in one place, a different lodge tier, a beach finish in Zanzibar or the Seychelles, or a second gorilla trek. Every route is private and can be adjusted. See all our itineraries for the full list, our luxury East Africa safari page for clients who want the finest camps, and how a private trip differs from a group departure to help a client decide.
For clients who want a route across several countries, remember that each border adds a transfer day and that the flights between countries need planning. Our guide to flight logistics between safari countries explains how the pieces fit.
Your client is responsible for holding the right documents for their own passport, and the rules change. We confirm what applies to the passport before the trip is booked, and our Visa and Travel Documents page links to the official application sites. For the single visa that covers Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda, and the reason Tanzania is separate, see the East Africa tourist visa guide.
Recommend travel insurance that includes medical evacuation, and tell clients to see a travel clinic or their doctor well before they fly. Our guide to travel insurance and medical evacuation cover explains why it matters, and Tanzania requires insurance for visitors.
A short brief is enough to start: the client's dates, how many travel and their ages, the airport they fly from, the pace they like, the one thing they most want to see, and any need we should plan around, such as limited mobility or a special diet. The more we know, the faster the quote comes back, and our first-time safari planning guide is a good thing to send to a client who has not travelled to Africa before. For clients flying in from North America or Britain, see our page for a safari from the USA and our page for a safari from the UK, and to meet the people on the ground, see our private safari guides.
Routes advisors often start from. Each is private and can be changed to suit your client's dates and interests.
A ten-day Uganda and Kenya safari: a night at Entebbe, two nights in Bwindi for one gorilla trek, a Nairobi connection night, four nights in the Maasai Mara for the Great Migration and a final Nairobi night.
The essential Uganda experience: a single, focused permit trek to a habituated mountain gorilla family in Bwindi.
Two countries, two gorilla treks: Volcanoes National Park (Rwanda) and Bwindi's Rushaga sector (Uganda), crossing the Cyanika border. From $7,047pp.
The two countries that define the Great Migration, combined into one comprehensive 12-day circuit.
The essential Tanzania introduction: central Serengeti's big cats and a full-day Ngorongoro Crater descent.
Twelve days across three countries: a gorilla trek in Uganda and another in Rwanda, then Tarangire, Ngorongoro Crater and three nights in the Serengeti.
The Serengeti and Ngorongoro's wildlife, followed by a genuine week unwinding on Zanzibar's northern beaches.
Send your client's dates and group size. We check availability first, tell you exactly what is open, and send one quote for the route. A specialist answers within 24 hours.
