About Us
Travel is the best way to learn about the world, and our African safaris make it easy to get to the heart of a destination. As the world’s largest pleasure and experience market, we draw on over 10 years of safari experience and a rich network of local Safari Guides, Directors, historians, and experts to create one-of-a-kind journeys for curious travelers to this part of the continent. Each trip offers the perfect balance of carefully planned activities and free time to explore your interests, so you’ll return home with memories that last a lifetime.
#FOUNDER
PAULINE UWEERA K.
Founded in 2017, Gap Travels Uganda is a safari tour company with a heart. My passion for wildlife, culture, community, and education drives us. Our traditional safaris span East Africa, including Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, and soon Congo.
Commonly known as Paula by my close family and friends, I was born in Mbarara city in Western Uganda. The city is famously known as the land of milk and honey. I was born to a Rwandan father and a Ugandan mother and so we travelled back and forth a lot which instigated my love for travel. I am fascinated by seeing new places and therefore established a reputation as a Tour Operator, specializing in South Western Uganda and Rwanda.
I first started in the Tourism Industry after graduating from university with a degree in Business IT at 21. I got my first travel trainee job with a tour company based in Kampala that was handling Inbound tourism at the time.
I left that tour company after a year because my interests were in outbound and community-based tourism to be able to practice a kind of tourism that was favorable for sustainable community growth.
An integral part of my life is Wildlife conservation. I am fortunate enough to be immersed in this on Safari. As a result, wildlife and local communities are at the forefront of my mind.
I then moved to Kisoro District, a town located in South Western Uganda bordering both Rwanda and the Congo and a huge tourist destination for Mountain Gorillas. It was in the Bwindi impenetrable forest and the famous Virunga mountains that I cut my teeth as a young guide and tour operator. I remember so fondly handling the Gorilla and Kigali trips every weekend for companies like Intrepid and even getting my first client in Kisoro. I was at this for about three years before I opened this website and a physical office there. I then acquired my first tour van a year after opening in 2017 and I haven’t looked back since.
I find Kisoro town to be extremely beautiful and intimate to me now. Gap Travels has since grown and we have successfully handled more than 300 clients now and increased our coverage to Kenya and Tanzania as well.
With a team of experienced tour guides, drivers, and Tour Operators, we can tailor each trip to our guests’ needs. We present an unmatched diversity of safari packages for all types of travelers, from family trips, Solo trips, Group trips with friends or Work Colleagues, and Honeymoons to educational programs and student tours covering Ancient African Tribal Cultures to Agricultural programs like Coffee and Tea.
Family is at the heart of everything we do, whether creating a truly connecting experience for you and your loved ones on Safari or welcoming you into ours. We hand-pick the appropriate accommodation options for our guests from a variety of 5-Star Cottages with Scenic Views to Local Homes with Local African People and Airbnb’s to allow our guests to experience the real natural African Lifestyle.
Unique Safari Itineraries
We know it’s the little things that will make your safari special, and our passion lies in getting the details right. Each of our safari itineraries is handcrafted by our team of safari experts to be an exciting and memorable experience from the moment you are greeted by your Tour Director until you return home.
Every traveler wants to see the world in his or her own way, so flexibility and personalization are factors we consider when creating safari itineraries. Each trip in Gap Travels portfolio includes opportunities to add excursions or tour extensions, or add any number of days to your stay with flexible transfer options.
One way that our tours really stand out is our Right Size Advantage. By traveling the world in smaller groups—capped at 6 to 18 travelers, well below the industry standard of 38—you are able to have a more personal experience at no additional cost.
Safari Directors
Your Safari Director lives and breathes local culture and customs. Truly citizens of the Africa, Tour Directors are local insiders with years of experience in sharing knowledge of regional culture and history with travelers. He or she will be the smiling face you meet on your first day, and the new friend that guides you every step of the way as you explore your destination.
You can trust your Safari Director to handle all the logistics and give you tons of background on each place you visit on tour. From knowing where to get the best cup of coffee to giving a dramatic retelling of the history behind an iconic landmark, your Safari Director will be your go-to expert.
Local Guides
In addition to your Safari Director, who knows his or her region inside and out, your local guides will be true experts on their specific destinations, whether that is a rustic African village in a Uganda countryside or a bustling wildlife sanctuary. Thanks to our regions Tour Guide network, we are able to use the best of the best and most experienced guides, adding another level of expertise and hospitality to your wildlife experience.
Safari Camps & Meals
The excitement of exploring the Africa can really tire you out. That’s why we select each of our safari camps and lodges based on comfort and location to ensure you can rest easy each night of your African trip. Our team on the ground visits every single property to find the best accommodations for you. That could mean anything from a charming safari camp deep in Bwindi jungle to a romantic boutique safari lodge in golden savanna plains. Plus, mornings are a bit easier with breakfast waiting for you in the lounge each day.
The rest of your included meals will feature local staples and specialties. You’ll get to know your fellow travelers at your welcome dinner, and come together throughout your safari to celebrate and share stories.
You’ll also have free time to choose your own meals—from late-night cap to traditional cuisine is one of the best ways to (literally) get a taste of another culture. Don’t forget to ask your Safari Director to recommend some favorite local eateries.
Have a food allergy or restricted diet? Just let us know before your safari and we’ll make sure there are meal options available to you.
Personalized Safari Transportation
We can get you where you want to go—it’s that simple. Thanks to our relationships with carriers, we are able to offer a wide range of round-trip local flight options that can get you to and from your destination comfortably and at a great value. Since we are able to fly you into a local airport at the beginning of your tour and out of another at the end, we create itineraries that make the most of your time. You won’t waste travel days backtracking to where you started.
Once you’re on safari, we’ll handle everything from private deluxe 4×4 safari trucks to flights between destinations or safari parks and so much more. You’ll drive through the “Switzerland of Africa” on a longtail drive, journey through the Murchison Falls National Park in an upgraded land cruiser and cruise on the Kazinga Channel or Victoria Nile to the food of Murchison Falls.
Our Travels Team
Planning the best travel experiences from start to finish is what our team is specially trained to do. We’ll help you find your safari, show you how to customize it with excursions that fit your travel style and even share tips for packing and preparing to go. Once you’re on safari, you can get in touch at any time thanks to our team of 24/7 On-Safari Support Specialists.
Quality is of the utmost importance, so we have a dedicated team that reads every single review that we receive and makes updates as needed. We want to give you more of what you’ve loved from us in the past and create ways for you to explore new areas.
Each time we craft a new itinerary, our Safaris Operations Team visits each destination to find the best experiences. We meet with camp owners, test out lodges, follow scenic paths for future walking safaris, and more—to ensure that each moment of your safari meets the Gap Travels standard of exceptional quality.
Our Commitment To Community Welfare
Getting to the heart of a destination should not mean harming the animals or communities that call it home. At Gap Travels, we’re proud to work with communities and non-profit organizations to implement animal welfare guidelines throughout all our safaris and help communities where we travel by employing them as porters or buying their crafts and arts.