Note
that all information in here was valid at the time (2009) - it may well
have changed since. It's also possible that I was ripped off, that I
did some exceptional haggling, or that I accepted a price that I should
have haggled over :-) Currency indicators are £ (British pound), $ (US
dollar), and Sh (Ugandan shilling). At the time, the official exchange
rates were roughly Sh2,130=$1 and Sh3,140=£1.
Uganda
Uganda
- Little in the way of hassle, and the friendliest people in East Africa.
- ATMs are available in most towns and most (e.g. Stanbic, Barclays) accept cards on either the Visa or Mastercard networks.
- "Taxi" is often used to mean "matatu" (i.e. a shared minibus or car), so you should say "private car" if you want a Western-style taxi.
1st May 2009 $50 Visa for Uganda for 2 months for a British citizen (at the border) I think you can get up to 3 months for the same price, but when the border official asked me how long I was staying for, I said 2 months.
1st May 2009 Sh200 Toilet at the border, though the guy initially tried to charge Sh1,000
1st May 2009 The bus (which I'd taken from Eldoret in Kenya) took about 4 hours to get from the border to its final stop in Kampala (there are several stops in Kampala, so make sure you get off at the one closest to your intended accommodation).
Kampala
1st May 2009 Sh8,000 Taxi from near the bus stop to Backpackers' Hostel. The quotes I was given by drivers at the bus stop were ~Sh20,000 but I walked a couple of hundred metres away and got this cheaper fare. Unfortunately my driver didn't really know where he was going, so we ended up going round in circles and he tried to bump the price up as a result.
1st May 2009 Sh32,000 Nightly rate for a private room at Backpackers' Hostel. Mossie net but no power socket - you can use the sockets in the bar/dining area for free, but you have to pay if you ask the staff to watch it for you. Shared bathroom with hot showers. Wifi available - Sh10,000 for 4 hours, at an OK speed. This is a couple of km from the city centre, which you can walk to (sweaty ...) or take a boda-boda (motorbike taxi, not known for their safety - should cost about Sh2,000). There is a Stanbic ATM in a filling station just a few hundred metres away on the road into town. The owner of the hostel isn't keen on overland truck groups, meaning they tend to end up at Red Chilli instead.
4th May 2009 Sh3,000 MTN SIM card (including Sh1,000-worth of calls)
1st May 2009 The bus (which I'd taken from Eldoret in Kenya) took about 4 hours to get from the border to its final stop in Kampala (there are several stops in Kampala, so make sure you get off at the one closest to your intended accommodation).
Kampala
1st May 2009 Sh8,000 Taxi from near the bus stop to Backpackers' Hostel. The quotes I was given by drivers at the bus stop were ~Sh20,000 but I walked a couple of hundred metres away and got this cheaper fare. Unfortunately my driver didn't really know where he was going, so we ended up going round in circles and he tried to bump the price up as a result.
1st May 2009 Sh32,000 Nightly rate for a private room at Backpackers' Hostel. Mossie net but no power socket - you can use the sockets in the bar/dining area for free, but you have to pay if you ask the staff to watch it for you. Shared bathroom with hot showers. Wifi available - Sh10,000 for 4 hours, at an OK speed. This is a couple of km from the city centre, which you can walk to (sweaty ...) or take a boda-boda (motorbike taxi, not known for their safety - should cost about Sh2,000). There is a Stanbic ATM in a filling station just a few hundred metres away on the road into town. The owner of the hostel isn't keen on overland truck groups, meaning they tend to end up at Red Chilli instead.
4th May 2009 Sh3,000 MTN SIM card (including Sh1,000-worth of calls)
6th May 2009 Sh200 Doxycycline (per pill)
8th May 2009 Sh678,500 3 day/2 night safari from Backpackers to Murchison Falls National Park. The cost is on a sliding scale - if only 1 person does it then it's $1,000, but if 9 do it then it's $285 per person. Bear in mind that any more than 5 will make the game drives a pain, as standing up and taking pictures won't be easy in the kind of vehicle that's used. I think that Backpackers now have their own site (on my trip we camped near Red Chilli's site, used their bathroom block (cold showers), and sat in their bar each evening). Oddly (at least compared to my previous safaris), we had a driver who only drove and 2 women who did the cooking and helped set up the tents, and picked up a guide for each of the game drives.
Day 1 - drive to Masindi (~4 hours), minuscule packed lunch, then continue on to Murchison (another ~2 hours). Visit the falls then drive to campsite. The rubbish bin in the camp had no protection at all from foraging animals, which isn't good for either humans or animals. Dinner tasty but hardly massive portions (to be a recurring theme).
Day 2 - breakfast at camp. Ferry across the Nile. Be warned that a troop of baboons hangs around on the far side, and will aggressively try to steal any food you might be holding (even if it's in a bag). Game drive. Lunch back at camp. Boat cruise up to Murchison Falls in the afternoon. (Our itinerary said we'd be hiking to the top, but we didn't.) On returning to the camp, we were told it had been flooded by a sudden rain shower - I would perhaps have considered this purely as bad luck, but exactly the same thing had happened recently yet no steps had been taken to prevent/remediate it happening again. Dinner at camp.
Day 3 - breakfast at camp. Drive to Kaniyo Pabid (~1.5 hours). Chimp trekking for 1 hour (it took ~20 minutes to find them, then an hour of observing them). Lunch. Drive back to Kampala.
Summary of game seen: colobus monkey, baboon, giraffe, elephant, water buffalo, eagle, red bee-eater, crane, heron, blue kingfisher, pied kingfisher, warthog, stork, hippo, monitor lizard, crocodile, chimp.
I would summarise by saying that this was the least professional and worst value of all the safaris I did in Africa. Also, if you've been to Masai Mara and the Serengeti, Murchison will seem a little dull by comparison (but most parks will ...), except for the chimp trekking.
15th May 2009 Sh16,000 Taxi from Backpackers to Kalita bus stand.
15th May 2009 Sh12,000 Bus (Kalita) from Kampala to Fort Portal, leaving at 8AM and taking 4.5 hours, including a 15 minute break after 2 hours. (I'd originally hoped to go on the post bus, but the Post Office told me that they no longer run one on this route.)
Fort Portal
Day 1 - drive to Masindi (~4 hours), minuscule packed lunch, then continue on to Murchison (another ~2 hours). Visit the falls then drive to campsite. The rubbish bin in the camp had no protection at all from foraging animals, which isn't good for either humans or animals. Dinner tasty but hardly massive portions (to be a recurring theme).
Day 2 - breakfast at camp. Ferry across the Nile. Be warned that a troop of baboons hangs around on the far side, and will aggressively try to steal any food you might be holding (even if it's in a bag). Game drive. Lunch back at camp. Boat cruise up to Murchison Falls in the afternoon. (Our itinerary said we'd be hiking to the top, but we didn't.) On returning to the camp, we were told it had been flooded by a sudden rain shower - I would perhaps have considered this purely as bad luck, but exactly the same thing had happened recently yet no steps had been taken to prevent/remediate it happening again. Dinner at camp.
Day 3 - breakfast at camp. Drive to Kaniyo Pabid (~1.5 hours). Chimp trekking for 1 hour (it took ~20 minutes to find them, then an hour of observing them). Lunch. Drive back to Kampala.
Summary of game seen: colobus monkey, baboon, giraffe, elephant, water buffalo, eagle, red bee-eater, crane, heron, blue kingfisher, pied kingfisher, warthog, stork, hippo, monitor lizard, crocodile, chimp.
I would summarise by saying that this was the least professional and worst value of all the safaris I did in Africa. Also, if you've been to Masai Mara and the Serengeti, Murchison will seem a little dull by comparison (but most parks will ...), except for the chimp trekking.
15th May 2009 Sh16,000 Taxi from Backpackers to Kalita bus stand.
15th May 2009 Sh12,000 Bus (Kalita) from Kampala to Fort Portal, leaving at 8AM and taking 4.5 hours, including a 15 minute break after 2 hours. (I'd originally hoped to go on the post bus, but the Post Office told me that they no longer run one on this route.)
Fort Portal
Power outages seem pretty common here.
15th May 2009 Sh13,000 Nightly rate for a private room with shared bathroom at the Continental Hotel (note only one of the shared bathrooms has hot water). Towel and breakfast included (the price is only Sh11,000 if you opt not to have breakfast).
18th May 2009 Sh15,000 Taxi from Fort Portal to Lake Nkuruba (~30 minutes), though I think Sh20,000 is a more usual price. (I was told a boda-boda would cost between Sh5,000 and Sh8,000, but the road wasn't in great condition so it would be an interesting ride).
Lake Nkuruba
18th May 2009 Sh16,000 Nightly rate for a private banda at the Lake Nkuruba Community Campsite. Includes mossie net. There's no electricity available. The shared bathroom (an outdoor bamboo cubicle) includes a shower that works via a bucket arrangement that you have to fill - hot water can be provided if asked for in advance. The manager is a very helpful chap called Patrick. Have to order lunch and dinner several hours in advance. Note that this place is next door to another camp called Enfuzi, which I heard lots of bad stories about - make sure you don't go to the wrong camp.
Plenty of kingfishers by the lake, and near the camp you'll see two types of colobus monkey (best seen at sunrise/sunset), as well as the occasional turaco (bird). You can also hire a bike if you fancy braving the local roads.
19th May 2009 Sh10,000 Top of the World tour at Lake Nkuruba Community Campsite, visiting various crater lakes, as well as crops of coffee, chilli, and bananas, and of course the titular viewpoint.
21st May 2009 Sh20,000 Taxi from Lake Nkuruba to Fort Portal
22nd May 2009 Sh20,000 Bus (Kalita) from Fort Portal to Kabale, leaving at 7:10AM (i.e. 1.5 hours later than I'd been told) from the company offices and taking 7 hours, including a short break after 5 hours. I suspect this must actually have started at Fort Portal bus station, as it was pretty much full when it arrived at the company offices.
22nd May 2009 Sh10,000 Taxi from Kabale to Bunyonyi Overland Camp at Lake Bunyonyi.
Lake Bunyonyi
22nd May 2009 Sh30,000 Nightly rate for a private tent at the Bunyonyi Overland Camp. Includes 2 beds, chair, table, phone (!), deck, towel, and soap. Only power outlet is on the deck. Shared bathrooms have roasting hot water. The camp has a large restaurant with good views of the lake (and satellite TV if you're missing Premiership football). Dinner (but not lunch) needs to be ordered an hour in advance. Web access available at Sh100 per minute but really slow. Note that paying in $ is 1/4 to 1/3 more expensive than paying in Sh. A nice place, but does get a fair amount of overland truck custom, with all that implies.
25th May 2009 Sh27,000 Nightly rate for a "private" dorm (I paid for both beds in the bunk) at the Byoona Amagara camp (on an island in Lake Bunyonyi), with mossie net and candles for light. Shared outdoor bathrooms with cold water only (though you can order hot water) but great views over the lake. The camp was started by an American guy and supposedly is involved in various schemes for sustainable living. There's only limited accommodation at the camp, and it's the only accommodation on the island, so you need to book in advance - the upside is that this is a really relaxing place. The camp offers a free canoe ride to get there (though the camp pays the boatman Sh1,000), but it costs Sh3,000 for the canoe back to the mainland - it's about 45 minutes of paddling, which you can help out with. Meals are cheaper than on the mainland and the service speed varies wildly. There's a friendly (but smelly) dog called Jimmy in residence. Large free library and large (not free) DVD library. Internet available.
26th May 2009 Sh28,500 Nightly rate for a geodome at Byoona Amagara (see above), which is several orders of magnitude better than the dorm - mossie net, double-bed, tables, chairs, and a deck with a nice view.
29th May 2009 Sh15,000 Taxi from Bunyonyi Overland Camp to Kabale (specifically Home of Edirisa guesthouse). Ask the guy to stop at the hill overlooking the lake, where you can get some great views - he may offer to do this anyway.
Kabale
You can change money at the Royal Supermarket - the rate at the time was Sh2,200/2,280 for selling/buying US$, which wasn't bad, though their rate for Rwandan francs was a third worse than the correct rate.
29th May 2009 Sh15,000 Nightly rate for a twin room with mossie net, towel, and power socket at Home of Edirisa. Shared bathroom with warm shower. Free but slow wifi. Large menu. Maybe I was just unlucky, but my Friday night there resulted in little sleep as there's a nearby nightclub that seemed to be going until about 6AM.
31st May 2009 Sh10,000 Shared taxi from Kabale (from the bus-stop) to Kisoro, taking about 2 hours 20 minutes. There's also supposedly at least one bus originating in Kampala that passes through Kabale on the way to Kisoro, at some time between 5AM and 7AM. You can't buy tickets in advance.
15th May 2009 Sh13,000 Nightly rate for a private room with shared bathroom at the Continental Hotel (note only one of the shared bathrooms has hot water). Towel and breakfast included (the price is only Sh11,000 if you opt not to have breakfast).
18th May 2009 Sh15,000 Taxi from Fort Portal to Lake Nkuruba (~30 minutes), though I think Sh20,000 is a more usual price. (I was told a boda-boda would cost between Sh5,000 and Sh8,000, but the road wasn't in great condition so it would be an interesting ride).
Lake Nkuruba
18th May 2009 Sh16,000 Nightly rate for a private banda at the Lake Nkuruba Community Campsite. Includes mossie net. There's no electricity available. The shared bathroom (an outdoor bamboo cubicle) includes a shower that works via a bucket arrangement that you have to fill - hot water can be provided if asked for in advance. The manager is a very helpful chap called Patrick. Have to order lunch and dinner several hours in advance. Note that this place is next door to another camp called Enfuzi, which I heard lots of bad stories about - make sure you don't go to the wrong camp.
Plenty of kingfishers by the lake, and near the camp you'll see two types of colobus monkey (best seen at sunrise/sunset), as well as the occasional turaco (bird). You can also hire a bike if you fancy braving the local roads.
19th May 2009 Sh10,000 Top of the World tour at Lake Nkuruba Community Campsite, visiting various crater lakes, as well as crops of coffee, chilli, and bananas, and of course the titular viewpoint.
21st May 2009 Sh20,000 Taxi from Lake Nkuruba to Fort Portal
22nd May 2009 Sh20,000 Bus (Kalita) from Fort Portal to Kabale, leaving at 7:10AM (i.e. 1.5 hours later than I'd been told) from the company offices and taking 7 hours, including a short break after 5 hours. I suspect this must actually have started at Fort Portal bus station, as it was pretty much full when it arrived at the company offices.
22nd May 2009 Sh10,000 Taxi from Kabale to Bunyonyi Overland Camp at Lake Bunyonyi.
Lake Bunyonyi
22nd May 2009 Sh30,000 Nightly rate for a private tent at the Bunyonyi Overland Camp. Includes 2 beds, chair, table, phone (!), deck, towel, and soap. Only power outlet is on the deck. Shared bathrooms have roasting hot water. The camp has a large restaurant with good views of the lake (and satellite TV if you're missing Premiership football). Dinner (but not lunch) needs to be ordered an hour in advance. Web access available at Sh100 per minute but really slow. Note that paying in $ is 1/4 to 1/3 more expensive than paying in Sh. A nice place, but does get a fair amount of overland truck custom, with all that implies.
25th May 2009 Sh27,000 Nightly rate for a "private" dorm (I paid for both beds in the bunk) at the Byoona Amagara camp (on an island in Lake Bunyonyi), with mossie net and candles for light. Shared outdoor bathrooms with cold water only (though you can order hot water) but great views over the lake. The camp was started by an American guy and supposedly is involved in various schemes for sustainable living. There's only limited accommodation at the camp, and it's the only accommodation on the island, so you need to book in advance - the upside is that this is a really relaxing place. The camp offers a free canoe ride to get there (though the camp pays the boatman Sh1,000), but it costs Sh3,000 for the canoe back to the mainland - it's about 45 minutes of paddling, which you can help out with. Meals are cheaper than on the mainland and the service speed varies wildly. There's a friendly (but smelly) dog called Jimmy in residence. Large free library and large (not free) DVD library. Internet available.
26th May 2009 Sh28,500 Nightly rate for a geodome at Byoona Amagara (see above), which is several orders of magnitude better than the dorm - mossie net, double-bed, tables, chairs, and a deck with a nice view.
29th May 2009 Sh15,000 Taxi from Bunyonyi Overland Camp to Kabale (specifically Home of Edirisa guesthouse). Ask the guy to stop at the hill overlooking the lake, where you can get some great views - he may offer to do this anyway.
Kabale
You can change money at the Royal Supermarket - the rate at the time was Sh2,200/2,280 for selling/buying US$, which wasn't bad, though their rate for Rwandan francs was a third worse than the correct rate.
29th May 2009 Sh15,000 Nightly rate for a twin room with mossie net, towel, and power socket at Home of Edirisa. Shared bathroom with warm shower. Free but slow wifi. Large menu. Maybe I was just unlucky, but my Friday night there resulted in little sleep as there's a nearby nightclub that seemed to be going until about 6AM.
31st May 2009 Sh10,000 Shared taxi from Kabale (from the bus-stop) to Kisoro, taking about 2 hours 20 minutes. There's also supposedly at least one bus originating in Kampala that passes through Kabale on the way to Kisoro, at some time between 5AM and 7AM. You can't buy tickets in advance.
Kisoro
- The Travellers Rest is a nice place to eat here. It's where Dian Fossey used to stay, and has a good selection of books you can read while you're eating/drinking, as well as plenty of sinister wooden masks on the walls.
- Internet access at IP is quite fast.
- You can book accommodation/treks in Mgahinga NP from the Uganda Wildlife Association (UWA) office - apparently sometimes they can also offer lifts to the park.
- There is a Stanbic bank which accepts Mastercard-network ATM cards.
2nd June 2009 Sh60,000 Private taxi from Kisoro to Mgahinga National Park (returning 2 days after). I arranged this with a guy called Thomas who was often hanging around the hotel, but he wasn't particularly reliable either with me or the other group at the hotel who used his services. This is a really bad road, and the ~14km can easily take 45 minutes to an hour (or longer if, as happened with me, the car breaks down part way through). It's fairly flat, so you could walk it if you really fancied some exercise.
Mgahinga National Park
2nd June 2009 Sh30,000 Nightly rate for a private banda with mossie net at Amajyambere Iwacu Community Camp (though the UWA office in Kisoro had told me it was Sh20,000). The ensuite bathroom has a composting loo, and a shower comprising a bowl and a jerrycan of warm water. No electricity. Meals need to be ordered well in advance, particularly if you want to have meat. The camp is metres away from the park entrance. Great views of the volcanos, and a good selection of birds. The place has a small library, 90% of whose books are in Swedish (!) One of the camp staff, Charles, is now running Lubega's Camping Site with his wife, next to Kanyanchu Visitor Centre in Cabakwerere Village, Bigodi (PO Box 733, Fort Portal). There is a sign post on the Fort Portal-Kamwenge road south after Kibale Primate Lodge - the camp is 30 minutes' walk south from there, and 10 minutes' walk north from Nkingo Safari Hotel. He said he would be charging Sh10,000 per person for camping, including breakfast and laundry. He was extremely helpful, so if you're looking for a campsite near Kibale then check out Lubega's.
2nd June 2009 $30 Entry to the park
2nd June 2009 $20 Golden monkey trekking. This started at 9AM (though the UWA office in Kisoro had told me it would start at 8AM). My guide Kenneth was informative - we also had an armed guard in case of buffalo/elephant encounters. Trackers had been sent out beforehand, and it took us ~1 hour 45 minutes to reach the monkeys. You're only allowed an hour with them. They're quite hard to see, as swathes of the forest are thick bamboo, and the monkeys have no reason to come to the ground - probably best to have some binoculars with you. The whole session lasted about 4 hours.
Kisoro (again)
5th June 2009 Sh1100 Stamp for postcard to Europe
5th June 2009 Sh1200 Stamp for postcard to US
6th June 2009 Sh15,000 Private taxi from Kisoro to the border with Rwanda at Cyanika (see below). I was definitely overcharged for this - the driver said the road was bad but it was actually fine and only took ~20 minutes.
6th June 2009 Sh15,000 Private taxi from Kisoro to the border with Rwanda at Cyanika (see below). I was definitely overcharged for this - the driver said the road was bad but it was actually fine and only took ~20 minutes.
Border crossing at Cyanika (though I think that's the Rwandan side - not sure what the name is on the Ugandan side)
6th June 2009 The FX rates offered at the border are definitely competitive - I got a better rate here (for changing Sh to Rwandan Francs) than I was subsequently able to get in Gisenyi in Rwanda.
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