Uganda Travel Guide

You won't be disappointed. You will see so many different animals and so many beautiful scenic. You will miss Uganda when you return home.

Uganda is a very green and fertile country, with wonderful scenery and friendly people (most of them speaking kind-of English). A minor downside is that the big wildlife is spread over several NP's (we didn't visit them all, so we didn't see girafs f.e.). I would recommend tracking Mountain Gorilla's in Mgahinga NP, a few days rest at the magical Lake Bunyonyi (we stayed at Byoona Amagara Island Retreat), tracking chimps at Kyambura Gorge (QE NP) and going for a whitewater rafting on the Victoria Nile (we went with Adrift).

In my opinion, the best travel guide to Uganda is 'Bradt Uganda'. We had so much use for this book: it's clever, informative and funny! It really added an extra dimension to our travelling in Eastern Africa!

Uganda was a pleasant surprise. I was there for 2 weeks and it was amazing. It is definitely in the top 5 places I have been in the world with it's beautiful layout in Kampala (the view of the city from one of the many hills is incredible), to the wildlife of the Nile.

Nice nature, beautifull kind people

Nice nature parcs, good weather!, nice accommodations in the nature!, I did the trip with a Dutch organisation: Matoke Tours. It was really nice!

Excellent for mountain gorillas, and for a good not too touristy safari experience

I found Uganda to be a fantastic place. The highlight was, without doubt, the mountain gorillas which were truly breathtaking when seen in their natural environment. I found the way the treks were organized to be very good, making the whole experience accessible, but without it feeling too sanitised. I also enjoyed the other parts of my trip - while the game drives are not up to the quality in terms of number of animals that you might find in other reserves (so I am told - this is my only experience of safaris so far) what is great is that they are a lot quieter than other reserves in other countries. We saw a post-kill pride of lions ripping apart a warthog carcass and there were only a total of 6 or 7 vehicles around - something I believe is not likely to happen in places such as Tanzania which are more developed. The lodges were, without exception, fantastic - great food, nice atmosphere and friendly staff. The trip was expensive, but we did a lot - several boat trips, chimpanzee trekking and of course the gorilla trekking. It might not be somewhere you consider unless you are either a birder (Uganda is meant to be great for birds) or going to see the Gorillas, but for me it was a perfect place for mixing safari and trekking.

Great "off the beaten path" destination away from the usual tourist traps

Though it is a country that is tourist friendly, it can be experienced in an "off the beaten path" way. The people are very friendly where ever you go. In Kampala there are low cost guest houses and hostels i.e. Makerere University Guest house for the thrifty traveler to 4-5 star accommodations like the Sheraton and Munyonyo Speke resort on the shores of Lake Victoria. The weather is moderate for the equator (low 80s during the day with about 30% humidity) due to the elevation which averages around 4,000 ft. Transportation is pretty much like anywhere you pay for what you get but generally it is a lot cheaper than other safari destinations like Kenya. The food is good especially the fruit. For fine chinese cuisine in Kampala I recommend Fang Fang restaurant which has two locations in the city. For good African fare any of the nice restaurants in the hotels will do. The scenery especially around Lake Victoria and in the west as you head to the Ruwenzori Mountains is exquisite with tall grass savannas with undulating green hills and terraced farming plots winding around the hills and valleys.. On the way to the north you will cross the Nile at Karuma falls a real spectacular site. The source of the Nile at Jinja is another must see. Uganda is a great place to see and experience. It's one place where the old and the new seem to thrive side by side in a tenuous yet complimentary harmony

I am not really in to birding, but I did notice quite a few different types of birds and some interesting coloured birds and our guide, a Park Ranger was able to tell me about them; but as I said, as I am not a birder not I'm not sure if this what one would be looking for. Having said that, if you have an interest in birds, I would assume you have an interest in wildlife in general, so I think it is still a not to be missed destination.

Fabulous primate destination

Primates were great. Inches away from Mountain Gorillas and 20 feet from Chimps on a walking safari. The River Cruise on the Kazinga had amazing views of hippos, elephants, birds, etc.
Food was surprisingly good. Very uncrowded. Accommodations were very good. Queen Elizabeth safari not up to Serengeti or South Africa standards but still ok. Guide was great. There were two of us and a guide and Land Rover for a week. Rarely saw other tourists. The locals were colorful but not sure they really liked us being there, esp if we took photos of them.
All in all, not on the beaten path but the experience is one not to be missed.

Great wildlife, less crowded than Tanzania, stronger bush vibe than Namibia, great place for safari

I had game drives both in Queen Elizabeth NP and in Murchison Falls NP. At Queen Elizabeth I had good wildlife sightings along the Kazinga Channel and I did a walking safari with a ranger at Ishasha, where I had the chance to see a large school of hippos from quite a short distance. Game drives in Queen Elizabeth NP were extremely good for scenery, maybe I expected more wildlife. Accomodation/food: I always camped; accomodation at Ishasha was extremely basic, as well as the restaurant (food was enough and acceptable anyway). Accomodation and restaurant were better at Mwenya Campsite (still basic, though). Hippos are never far from the campsites!
Murchison Falls NP: great sceneries and game drives, lots of animals, especially giraffes. Navigation to Murchison Falls was definitely good both for sceneries and animal sightings (birding too). Accomodation and food at Red Chili Campsite were good (and the beer cold!).
In both parks we were accompanied in our game drives by rangers, all of them nice, providing interesting infos and very good in finding animals.
An extremely good experience overall.

The jewel of East Africa, a MUST-SEE travel destination!

We spent the first 3 days of our trip in Kampala with side trips to Jinja, Entebbe and Ngamba Island. On day 4 we were picked up by a private tour guide. He would be with us for the remaining 5 days of our trip which included Gorilla trekking in Bwindi, Queen Elizabeth NP and other sights along the way. Our guide spoke decent English, was very affordable and his knowledge of the local flora & fauna, wildlife and history made him an invaluable part of our Ugandan experience. We asked him to show us the ‘real’ Uganda and he delivered! He took us to visit with local families, we watched a group of local men make alcohol from fermented bananas and stopped by a wedding in progress where we were greeted by friendly locals and invited to join the party.
The weather was perfect, cool in the mornings and evenings and warm throughout the day (never hot). The Ugandan country side is simply stunning….green patchwork covers the mountainous terrain and the people are some of the friendliest I have ever encountered. We also had incredible food throughout our journey including a delicious tilapia dinner on the shore of Lake Victoria (for the low price of $1.30).
The gorilla trekking was the highlight of our week but we also did a boat tour of the Kazinga channel which was wonderful!
I've travelled all over the world and I can honestly say that Uganda was my absolute favorite destination. The friendly people, incredible scenery, affordability and abundant wildlife make Uganda a “must-see”!!