Travel to Uganda Guide

Uganda also known as the Pearl of Africa is located in Eastern Africa and Kampala is its capital and largest city. Uganda’s tourism is driven by majorly its beautiful landscape, wildlife and culture. It is here the rare African gorillas can be found, located in the game reserves, mountain regions where and forest reserves. A visit to Uganda will give you an insight into the rich heritage and culture of Eastern Africa.

Time to visit: All year round.  Moderate sunshine and showers.

Time Zone: GMT +3

Language: English is widely spoken

Visa to Uganda

All persons intending to travel to Uganda for a holiday, business, tourism, study or for medical reasons are required to apply and obtain a Visa on Line. Applications can be filled at the following link: https://visas.immigration.go.ug/

The decision taken on the application will be sent electronically through the email provided by the applicant, once approved, an approval letter will be sent as an attachment to the email provided. Print it out and present it  together with a valid passport / travel document at the port of entry or Airport.

What is required for the Visa application?

• Passport copy (bio-data page)
• Recent Passport-size Photograph
• Vaccination Certificate (Yellow Fever) and Visa fees -$50 per person.
• You should have at least two free pages in the passport for each country you are visiting

If you are travelling to other East African countries, we recommend that you apply for the East African Tourist Visa (multiple – entry) to Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda can also be obtained the same way – on line at $100 dollars per person.

Travel Insurance

We strongly recommend that you take out all the necessary Travel Insurance before commencing on your journey.

We require the details of your insurance policy for our records before you will be permitted to depart on tour so please keep these with you at departure. The medical insurance is so important in the case of an emergency in a remote area (which is most areas we travel to) you will have to be airlifted. If you do not have medical insurance, you will need cash (which means thousands of USD) or you will not be helped during this critical period where every minute counts. Please double check the small print of any ‘free’ credit-card insurance.

Your insurance must cover you in the instance that you need to be airlifted to a hospital. Many insurance policies do not cover adrenaline sports i.e. bungee jumping and skydiving – please check this before you book the activity.

Medical insurance is usually relatively inexpensive, and we recommend that you buy a separate policy in your country of origin. If you purchase insurance in Africa please note that it will not cover you to be returned to your own country in the event of an emergency, it will only return you to the country in which you purchased the policy.

Vaccinations

It is mandatory that you present a Yellow Fever Vaccination card upon arrival at the Airport. . If you are visiting a country where the yellow fever vaccine is required, you must get it at least 10 days before travel in order to allow time to develop immunity. Once you get the vaccine, you should be given a stamped and signed “International Certificate of Vaccination” (aka Yellow Card). The Yellow Card becomes valid 10 days after vaccination and is good for a lifetime (previously 10 years). The Yellow Card must be presented as proof of vaccination and should be carried with your passport.

Weather

Uganda is near the Equator which explains its weather, it only shines or rains. The rainy seasons tend to be from February to April and October to December, but this varies in different areas and it can rain any time of year, especially in the forest and mountainous areas. The temperatures on the plains tend to be between 21°C and 30°C and in the mountainous areas they can go down to 10°C in certain months, especially November. 

If you are carrying US Dollars, always make sure that they have been printed after 2009 and if possible, request that your bank provides you with notes that are not torn or severely creased as you may find that the bills will not be accepted if they are not in a good condition.

Request that your bank provides you with a range of bills so that you can use the smaller ones for tipping and the larger ones for settling bills if required. Carry your cash in a flat money belt on your body however always keep a small amount in a more easily accessible place so that you can access it easily if required. 

Tipping

In general tipping is only for exceptional service and is not at all compulsory or expected. In restaurants is expected and is around $5-$10 for good service, more if you have received exceptional service, and, feel free not to tip at all if you received poor service. If in doubt please ask your guides. It is expected to tip porters and car guards. Ask your guides how much is appropriate in local currency.

Be Mindful & Alert

 The guide has authority on tour at all times and this includes decisions regarding the safety of our guests on tour.

 It is important that you inform us of any medical conditions or prescription drugs that you are taking such as diabetes or asthma etc. as we are sometimes 300km or more from the nearest medical assistance. This is especially important if your medication has to be kept at a certain temperature, we must know about this beforehand.

 Please report to your tour leader immediately if you are feeling even slightly ill as they may need to make plans for you to get to medical assistance promptly.

 AIDS is an enormous problem in Africa. HIV estimates range between 20% and 50% of the population and in some areas, it is even higher than this. Please be careful and practical, condoms are cheap and freely available. 

Photography

Please ask the guide to stop if you would like to take photos at any time as everyone’s photo requirements are different. Please stock up on memory cards and spare camera batteries before departure as these can be difficult to find en route and there are not always charging facilities available.

Please take care of your photographic equipment in the dusty areas we pass through. At some camp sites power points to recharge batteries for video/digital cameras are available, but you will have to provide the necessary connections and adaptors. Please refrain from taking pictures at border crossings, government buildings, and military installations and avoid photographing army, police or anywhere else if your guide advises against it.

Please remember we are guests in the countries we visit and respect local customs and feelings. Certain tribes do not allow their picture taken so please ask your guides before photographing whether it is permissible or not. You may also have to pay a nominal fee to take photos of some local people.