FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Many questions have been asked by the different guests in the past. We have published these questions with the best responses we made. In case you have a burning question and we have not been able to provide a timely response. Please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions below, to see if you will find a quick answer. 

1). What are the payment options available when I want to make payment for my trip?

All our quotes and invoices are issued in US Dollars. We have three payment options that we recommend our guests to use. These are;

Payment by credit card: Good to pay a deposit before arrival. We send you an invoice that will give you the link to make a payment. We also have a point of sale machine at our office and you can swipe the card to make the final deposits on arrival. This option will attract a 4% surcharge to meet the system charges.

Wire transfer: Good to pay deposits long before the trip or the purchase of pre-booked wildlife viewing tickets. This takes a maximum of two weeks to arrive, depending on the bank and country of origin. We will send you the details of our bank account and intermediary bank for you to effect this transfer.

Cash on arrival: This is can be by cash or credit card using our point of sale swiping machine. In each case, a receipt will be issued after approval of payment.

If you want to pay by cash on arrival, we accept two currencies; United States dollars (USD) and Uganda Shillings (UGX). Those paying by credit card will find options of automatic exchange of the money to the accepted currencies.

Other options of payment that can be arranged on request may include; World remit and Mobile money.

For the safety of our guests and a clean financial record for our business, We prefer that all money is paid to our bank account. This is why we don’t accept or encourage payment by western union, Money gram, or any other payment system that involves the exchange of cash to a specific person at a distance or before arrival.

2). Which bank account will my safari and accommodation payments be going to?

All payments go to Rainforest and Community tours Limited, the official and registered name of our company. The company will not accept any payments made to individual staff or agents of the business and we will not recommend any of our clients to do so.

3). Do you accept Dollars or only shillings?

We accept both US dollars and Uganda shillings. Please pay attention to the precautions about US dollar bills to be paid.
Bills of 50 & 100 before the year 2009, bills 1 to 20 before 2013 are not accepted or may be changed at low rates.
Small notes 1-20, all notes with ink/ tear/ dirt or those that are reflective due to getting into water or any liquid, will be exchanged at a lower rate or rejected.

4). Is your business cash only?

No, our business is not cash only. We accept cash, bank transfers and credit card payments.

5). Can I find any online reviews from past guests, about your safari services?

Yes, you can definitely find some online. Please find us on safari bookings. Here is the link to our account. https://www.safaribookings.com/p2802 it will be under our legal company name; Rainforest and Community tour Limited.

6).  Can I get a public bus from Kampala to Kasese any day of the week?

Yes, public buses travel from Kampala to Kasese 7 days a week. They go through fort portal Mubende road. Preferably, you should take the link bus as it is the most reliable so far. It is a green bus with the word “LINK”. Link bus is found in Kisenyi bus terminal, downtown-Kampala. From 7:00 am to 4:00 pm the next bus departs every one hour. The journey from Kampala to Kasese is around 370km and will the public bus between 6-7 hours. It is recommended that you take the bus in the first half of the day so that you can arrive at Kasese when there is still some daylight.

7). How can I contribute to the communities or the sustainability efforts of your initiatives?

Contribution to our communities can be in four levels with several ways under each level. They include;

• Level 1: Supporting our businesses by buying our products and services or advocating for them whenever you have the opportunity. some of our profits go to conservation and community development projects in Uganda. 
• Level 2: Volunteering in our projects to share your skills, expertise or to learn from our communities. This helps to cover the labor and shills exchange gaps.
• Level 3: Donating to the projects and initiatives on the grassroots community level.  the current projects are;
  • Child education sponsorship
  • The girl child rights and hygiene initiative at Bikone primary school.
  • Forest conservation and tree planting
  • Improved agriculture and agro-produce value addition initiatives
  • Sustainable tourism development initiatives
• Level 4: Provision of materials and items for children in rural schools. These can include clothing, scholastics, and E-technology equipment

In each case, we encourage you to contact our office or mention your interest to donate and we will give you the specific information you may require and the needs at the time.

8). What dollar bills may not be accepted in Uganda?

• US dollar bills (50 and 100) of the printing year before 2009, may not be accepted or exchanged at a very low rate.
• US dollar bills (1-20) of the printing year before  2013 are not accepted. If you’re lucky, they may be accepted but exchanged at a very low rate.
• Small US dollar bills of 1-20 are exchanged at a lower rate that is decided by the forex bureau or bank used.
• All US dollar bills with ink, tearing or dirt are exchanged at a lower rate or rejected.