Uganda Travel Guide

The gorilla safari is excellent but it seems difficult to recommend the traditional African safaris in Uganda when you are so close to some of the best animal viewing in the world in nearby Kenya and Tanzania with the Masai Mara and Serengeti National Parks.

Wildlife disappointing compared to Serengeti area

Having done a safari in the Serengeti immediately before Uganda it was always going to be difficult to live up to expectations. The quantity and variety of wildlife was poor in comparison. The people in my group who were starting with Uganda were quite thrilled with what they saw so I may be being overly harsh. Our guide explained that much of the wildlife was decimated during the Idi Amin era and is still recovering so perhaps in the future it will improve. The campsites we used varied quite widely from fairly developed areas in Jinja/Kampala to merely a flat area near the river at Lake Mburo. The gorillas and Bwindi forest in general were amazing and did make the trip to Uganda worthwhile in my opinion.

See the source of the Nile and the Mountains of the Moon in one trip.

Unlike other safari destinations in East Africa, Uganda has diverse geography--big rivers, mountain ranges and lakes-- that break the monotony of the high plains and make great backgrounds for photos. Uganda offers serious mountaineering, whitewater activities and gorilla trekking, in addition to the standard bush safari. Ugandans are friendly and more of them speak English than denizens of neighboring countries. It's well worth a visit.

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.

I got what I paid for for booking last minute!

AMAZING scenery, especially at sunrise and sunset! The weather was perfect at this time of year (dry season). Got to see a pack/herd? of giraffes, elephants, buffaloes...etc. We were able to see everything except Lions!

We booked very last minute and so we had quite a few disappointments...
- no park ranger as a tour guide - which would have helped us see lions! we were so disappointed to miss the lions!
- our guide spoke poor English and barely explained things to us
- did not go in a 4x4 land cruiser as stated...ended up in a very old van with broken A/C and extremely shaky
- Stayed at Bwana Tembo, which is outisde of the park. Good food, nice manager, but not exactly worth the mid-range price. No electricity in the rooms! Just a fan to help keep cool at night, and our driver was put in a room with NO fan at all and it was boiling hot all night. Very unfair treatment for him.

Great country to see wildlife

Murchison Falls National Park, Impenetrable Forest and the Vitunga Mountains offer great opportunities to see wildlife. People are very friendly and travelling is quite easy. Outside the national parks there is, however, not too much to see or do from a tourist perspective.