Uganda Travel Guide

You have to visit Uganda to fall in love with Africa!

I liked the fact that noone knew what we were going to see and in the end, everybody resumed that we didn't miss anything!

Uganda lacks the infrastructure (and mentality) for ecotourism that would make this destination more desirable. The cost of accommodations around the country was extremely high and the quality of the food and lodging, for the most part was relatively low to mediocre.

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!

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

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.

Stunningly divers, incredibly beautifull, accessible to travel and very friendly people!

Unfortunately we (a friend and I) did not get to do a safari sensu strictu (with the land cruisers, zebra's, giraffes, etc) but of what I heard there are plenty possibilities available. What we did was a more adventure / hiking / chilling vacation, in which we rafted the white Nile, visited the beautiful Sipi falls, chilled on the shore of Lake Bunyonyi and climbed the Mganhinga voulcano (or is is Magahinga?!).
Uganda is easy to travel, not only due to the high concentration of attractions over a relatively small country, but also by the friendliness of the people. Infra structure is all a bit less polished than Kenia / Tanzania, which means you might have to organize a bit more by yourself and all may go a bit less smooth. From my point of view that's part of the safari experience (aka Bush Vibe).

Uganda - the undiscovered beauty

We operate together with the inhabitants of a small village north of Mityana a humanitarian project in Uganda to improve their lives sustainably. In 2009, we have for the first time together with our children (teenagers) Uganda. An absolutely worth experiencing country. In Kampala, as in many cities of other developing countries to feel optimism. In the country however, the time has stopped and the people live largely in poverty and subsistence agriculture. It is striking that all the automotive business of Indians and Pakistanis can be controlled. The chinese start the exploitation of large oil deposits seen in the northwest. therefore, the roads built in the resource-rich regions very well. European hotels are found only in large cities. But who can get along without electricity and warm water does not necessarily need to take a shower, can also opt for an African hotel.

So Many People!

If you stop for a picnic in Uganda miles from any village or sign of habitation, be sure to take out some extra fruit because by the time your kettle is boiled, you'll have a handful of spectators. Ugandans love to see visitors to their country, some will beg, some will smile, but all will welcome you.

The climate is hot and humid for much of the time, so loads of light clothes is the order of the day. We had clothes washed a few times on our trip, and that made travelling lighter. Be ready for muddy streets, and tropical downpours, but you will be back to sunshine and dust within a few hours!

Uganda is a very green country, you will get to see just about everything growing there. It is seemingly possible to get 2 crops of potatoes per year from the same field. You will see many small households growing subsistance food right beside their homes, and you'll also see huge commercial tea farms.

The accomadation varies wildly. You can find small inexpensive bed and breakfast type places, and also plush luxury lodges. Many of these are a little dated and some are a little basic, but the food is generally very good. In a few weeks of travel, we had no tummy upsets, and really liked most of the dishes.

The road network is a bit haphazard, and off the main routes the roads may only be passable outside of the rainy season, so take this into account while planning. Traffic in Kampala is hectic enough to make Italians flinch.

The wildlife parks were superb. The tree climbing lions in QENP are well worth tracking down, and the Gorilla's are a "must see".

Overall, it's a great destination. Some of the parks can arrange walks with the rangers, and this is a superb experience as you get to hear and smell live in the game parks much more intimatly than when in the back of a Toyota or Landrover.

A beautiful country inhabited by freindly people and amazing wildlife.

We were there for 3 days upon arrival at the lodge we were greeted by stewards with a cold cloth and frosty beverage. Which was a nice touch after a 7 hr ride through rural Uganda from Kampala. The food here was excellent, we felt like kings. That evening we went for a 2 hr tour into the bush and saw plenty of gazelle's,Baboon's,elephants and giraffe's. I believe our guide's name was Simon, he was very knowledgable and carried arround an assault rifle which gave us a sense of security when nature called, plus a sense of Danger which really said this was a REAL Safari.

The next day we boarded a small boat for 1 1/2 jaunt down the Nile river where we saw Crocodiles,hippo's and even more elephants. Wer also saw many types of birds and monkey's as well, all in all no shortage of interesting things to see. Our guide was very knowledgable and freindly and our tripe ended at Murchison falls where we then turned around to head back. Unparalleled beauty! That afternoon we went for one more trip into the bush with Simon and saw Lion tracks. Excellent trip and I'd recomend it to anyone.