Uganda Travel Guide
The primary stages of planning a safari to Uganda can be confusing especially when
you have many options and decisions to make. Each region and park in Uganda has
got a unique adventure to offer to the visitors, be it enjoying the scenery, getting to
know people and their culture, having a game view or a private and romantic safari?
Uganda has it all. But for you to make a rational decision, you need to ask your self
some of these questions that may contribute to your decision making in planning a
safari to this part of Africa that is best described as the pearl of Africa.
1 How much time do you have for a holiday?
2 What are your particular interests?
3 What is your budget?
4 Why choose Uganda?
5 which parks do you recommend?
6 Other than national parks what else will I see or do while in Uganda?
7 Are there special activities you would want to combine with your safari?
8 How rich is bird life in Uganda?
9 Should I go with a small group or by myself?
10 What are the things to watch for as far as prices are concerned?
11 What is the best time to tour Uganda?
1 How much time do you have for a holiday?
An average safari duration to Uganda is between 12 to 20 days, although safaris can
be as short as 3 days and as long as you may want it to be. What ever duration you
choose to have I assure you that it will never be enough to enjoy all that Uganda has
got to offer. However very important to note is that while planning your Holiday to
Uganda, should always bear in mind the travel time to and from Uganda, a journey
that on average takes 2 days of flight to and from Uganda.
2 What are your particular interests?
Do you have special interests like bird watching, mountain climbing, game viewing,
honeymoon holiday, wild life photography or experiencing local communities? Do you
want to have some time off to visit friends or enjoy the country by your self? Considering
all these helps to maximize your enjoyment while having a value for your money safari.
3 What is your budget?
To a large extent this will help to determine what type of safari and accommodation
you will have. Uganda safaris cater for all types of budget so do not worry what ever
your budget is will not limit your enjoyment of the safari.
4 Why choose Uganda?
Uganda is gifted by nature, where else in the world will you climb an equatorial snow
capped mountain, watch the mountain Gorillas in their natural habitat, spot over 1000
species of birds, enjoy the wild games in their natural habitat, go white water rafting in
the river rapids that are 10 times that of Zambezi? All this in one country? In Uganda it
will not only be that, you will also enjoy the heritage of the warm welcoming people
with their diverse cultures, customs, dance and languages.
5 which parks do you recommend?
Like mentioned before each park has got some thing unique to offer to visitors,
depending on your interests you may find memorable moments from each park.
For more information about each park please visit national parks page
6 Other than national parks what else will I see or do while in Uganda?
There is a lot to do and see while in Uganda this depends on where you are, each
region has got some thing for every one, but the highly recommended ones are in
Kampala city, Jinja town, Mbarara town Fort portal town and kabale town.
Kampala city,
Kampala city puts out a welcome mat to travelers of all walks of life. This friendly city
offers many unique discoveries that will make your time here not only memorable but
special too. The most common ones are the
Kampala night life, the city has got a dazzling night life, popular places include steak
out, TLC club, silk club and Ange Noir discotheque. Others are Kampala Casino, grand
casino, Rock gardens, just kicking, to mention but a few.
Dinning out, What is your favorite barbecue joint? This is a question asked often in
Kampala city, the city signature food is served up to more than 100 barbecue
establishments, the secret here is that the barbecue is slow –smoked for almost 10 hours.
Ask people what they associate most with in Uganda, you will probably get a variety of
answers, but the most common one will likely be Beer. Whether you are looking for a
family friendly or a romantic bar in Kampala you will find it.
Uganda’s unspoiled environment and the climate without extreme provide the ideal
conditions to produce high quality organic food ingredients, our fish, beef, lamb dairy
products, fruits and vegetables give our chefs and cooks one of the worlds best to work
with.
Entertainment. Kampala city offers a large amount of theaters opportunities, for a city
of its size, Kampala boasts of more than 30 theaters offering theatergoers live
performances almost every weekend ranging from regional touring musicians,
professional theater troupes and local production. The most common ones being the
national theater, theater Labonita, the Ndere troupes Afrigo band.
7 Are there special activities you would want to combine with your safari?
Is your heart set on witnessing the wild animals migrating, the wildebeest hunting? or
you want to stay on an island on lake Victoria? What about sport fishing in the lake or
fishing on river Nile for the Nile perch? Would you like to explore the bush on a walking
safari? By the way have ever thought of sleeping in a tree house?
8 How rich is bird life in Uganda?
In terms of size, Uganda is the richest country for birds in Africa with more than 1000
species already recorded, Uganda has got almost half of the species known on African
continent. Queen Elizabeth alone has got 550 recorded species, 350 species have
been recorded in Bwindi. This big volume and diversity covers miraculously a space
which keen birders can cover in a relatively short visit.
9 Should I go with a small group or by myself?
For the independent traveler this is the way to go, in consultation with us you will choose
how long you will stay in a particular place, kind of accommodation e you want,
activities you will participate in . although you are given a driver who doubles as a
guide, he does not accompany you to every activity, as you go on a game drive or
any other activity, you are given a local guide that is more knowledgeable about that
particular activity. These is sociable too because as you go for such activities, you mix
with other people from other groups.
But you can also join a small group safari in a scheduled safari. These are good for
people who enjoy the camaraderie’s of traveling with a few others of like minded
people. This is highly recommended for people who a cost minded and are traveling
alone. Also first time visitors find it rewarding as they enjoy the group experience.
10 What are the things to watch for as far as prices are concerned?
Always make sure that all the essential things associated with the safari are included in
the quoted price, things like ground transport, meals, accommodation, drivers/guides
and all park entry fees or permits should be included. Never confuse things, a low up
front quote with a bare dry bones trip is not what you want, look for quality and value
for money, other wise you will end up spending over USD 1500 on Airfare to Uganda
and you end up being disappointed by a poorly run and inferior safari.
11 What is the best time to tour Uganda?
Uganda has got a pleasant climate year round little variation in temperatures. Day time
temperatures range between 25 to 30 degrees centigrade. The altitude ranges from
1000 to 2500 meters above sea level though there are some higher altitudes like in
Bwindi and Rwenzori mountains that can go as high as 5100 meters.
Map of Uganda