Question 1

How does IMAGINE differ from a traditional safari operator?

Accepted Answer

We are a journey-design house, not a packaged-tour operator. Every journey is composed for one party, around four Collections and five Pillars. There is no shop window; there is a designer, a brief and a slow conversation.

Question 2

How far in advance should I plan?

Accepted Answer

Six to nine months for peak-season gorilla journeys. Three to four months for most other itineraries. We will hold permits before we hold lodges.

Question 3

How do you choose where I stay?

Accepted Answer

Accommodation is part of the journey, not an afterthought. We do not work from a fixed list of hotels. Each stay is chosen for you, your itinerary and the destination, weighing character, location, privacy, service and the experience around it and always subject to season and availability. Your designer will explain why each place was chosen.

Question 4

Is there a minimum journey length?

Accepted Answer

We rarely design fewer than seven nights in-country. Uganda gives back to the traveller who slows down; shorter trips tend to under-deliver on the kind of experience we stake our name on.

Question 5

What does a typical IMAGINE journey cost?

Accepted Answer

Most of our journeys fall between USD 850 and USD 1,800 per person per night, all-inclusive in-country. Private aircraft, conservation contributions and bespoke experiences sit above this range.

Question 6

Bwindi or Mgahinga, or Rwanda?

Accepted Answer

All three deliver mountain gorillas. Bwindi is the densest forest experience and the widest range of habituated families; Mgahinga is the most cinematic volcanic landscape with a single family; Rwanda's Volcanoes is the most polished and the most expensive. We help travellers choose based on fitness, photography goals and overall journey shape.

Question 7

How fit do I need to be?

Accepted Answer

Reasonably fit. Treks range from two to eight hours of off-trail walking through dense forest, often steep. We match sector, family and pace to your fitness and porters are arranged for every traveller.

Question 8

When are permits released?

Accepted Answer

Uganda Wildlife Authority releases permits up to two years ahead. For peak-season journeys we hold permits well before the rest of the itinerary is confirmed.

Question 9

Can children come on safari?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We design family journeys regularly. The minimum age for gorilla trekking is 15 and for chimpanzee tracking is 12; younger children are accommodated with parallel forest-edge or community experiences on trek days.

Question 10

Can you accommodate reduced mobility?

Accepted Answer

Many of our experiences can be adapted. We will be honest about which cannot. Speak with a designer before booking; we will design around the traveller, not the other way around.

Question 11

How much of what I pay reaches local communities?

Accepted Answer

A meaningful share. Park fees flow through Uganda Wildlife Authority's revenue-sharing model; our lodge selection and community partnerships are weighted toward operators who employ, train and source locally. We will share the breakdown for any journey on request.

Question 12

Do you offer carbon offsetting?

Accepted Answer

We do not bundle a generic offset. We do design with verified conservation partners and can route a contribution to specific projects (Bwindi forest restoration, Karamoja water access, primate research) at the traveller's discretion.

Questions,
answered honestly.

Designing a journey with IMAGINE

Gorilla trekking

Children, families and accessibility

Conservation, community and ethics