EXPLORE UGANDA.
Uganda is well known to be a Classic adventure tour destination in Africa with an impressive variety of Wildlife in equatorial location that determine its favorable climatic condition, and its Friendliest people all that make it to be the Pearl of Africa.
Gate way to Uganda
The gate way to Uganda is Entebbe International Airport that lies 40 km from the Capital city called Kampala. Entebbe is serviced by a number of International Airlines, including SN Brussels, SAA South African Airways, KQ Kenya Airways, WB Rwanda Express, MS Egypt Air, ET Ethiopian Airlines, EK Emirates Airlines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines QR Qarter Airway and TK Turkish Airlines.
Alliance Express is in partnership with South African Airways (SAA) which flies direct Kigali (Rwanda), Entebbe (Uganda), Johannesburg (SA), Nairobi (Kenya), and Bujumbura (Burundi). Charter flights can be arranged between domestic tourist attractions in advance if needed. Uganda can also be accessed overland from Tanzania, Kenya, and Rwanda.
Upon Arrival Visas & Passports
Health
Visit your doctor 4-6 weeks before your trip to get the vaccines or medicines you may need. Some Vaccines may also be required for travel.
Yellow fever vaccine is essential prior to your arrival in the country. Yellow fever Certificate is issued once the vaccine has been administered and they are valid for 10 years. It’s also recommended that Hepatitis A and B, Tetanus, Polio, typhoid vaccine be administered.
Therefore a certificate of Yellow fever vaccination is required and all visitors should take Malaria prophylactic drugs and it’s advisable to drink bottled rather than Tap water.
About Uganda currency (Money)
The unit of currency is the Ugandan shillings. The US dollar is traditionally the hard currency of preference in cash, but Euro and pound sterling are also widely accepted in cash as well. Hard currency cash can be changed for local currency at banks and private forex bureau in all towns, but traveller’s cheques are not widely accepted outside Kampala. Local currency can be drawn against Visa and other major credit cards at selected ATMs in Kampala, at Entebbe International Airport, and in other few large towns with in the country.
The Forex bureau offer slightly better exchange rate than the banks. At most of the banks and forex bureaus, small US dollar bills attract a much lower exchange rate than do US$50 and $100 notes which are called big bill and older notes below 2006 are always refused or exchanged at much lower exchange rate as do the torn notes.
About Uganda Languages:
Educated Ugandans are generally fluent in English, which is the official Language. Although Swahili and other multiple languages can be spoken in the country, Luganda and other Bantu languages with Nilo- Saharan languages can be spoken.
Tipping
The question of when and when not to Tip can be difficult in a foreign country, In Uganda, tipping is not a standard practice at local hotels and restaurants, but it will always be appreciated. It is normal to tip10% at tourist oriented restaurants. Besides that, it is customary to tip your guide/driver at the end of the safari or hike, as well as porters if any that accompany you.
Food & drinks
Tourist oriented hotels and restaurants serve good western style meals, while local restaurants serve Ugandan dishes, typically matoke (cooked bananas) eaten with stewed beans and ugali (a stiff maize porridge). Electricity 240 volts at 50HZ
Business hours
Uganda is on East Africa standard time zone which is GMT+3. The official time for opening business in Uganda is 8:00AM while the closing hours is 4:00 PM in the evening basing on banks and government offices and from Monday to Saturday mid- day where as private business can run till 6:30pm depending on the nature of the business same week days.
About Uganda’s Local People & safety
People of Uganda are friendly and always willing to interact with you. To start any conversation, it’s advisable to share greetings first. On safety, we recommend you to take care of your valuable at all times though Uganda is safe, it’s not advisable to leave your valuables like money passport in your hotel room carry with you if going to restaurant for meals or drinks cameras too. If you are to leave valuable item like camera, lock them in your baggage in your hotel rooms as most of the hotels and lodges will not be liable to loss of valuables not declared with them at receptions.
When to visit Uganda
Uganda can be visited at any time of the year, though we have two dry season and two wet season; dry season stretches from mid- May up to the end of August, and wet season stretches from September up to the whole of November, then dry season again December up to the whole of February, rain march up to May. In rain seasons, travelers who intend to track Mountain Gorillas are always given a discount on the Gorilla Permit purchased.