Visiting Uganda on a Budget: Budget Safaris in Uganda

Uganda is famous for having some of the most exciting and expensive forest activities in the world, as well as some of the best safaris. The cheap side of visiting the Pearl of Africa is not as well known. Uganda is also known for its friendly and helpful people, beautiful scenery, amazing wildlife, and decades of safe and stable government. Tourists can visit Uganda on a budget and see more of the amazing history of the still raw, wild, and free that Uganda covers on a large scale.

Kenya and Tanzania, Uganda’s popular neighbors, are definitely more beautiful than Uganda. Uganda might not be able to compete in terms of the number of wild packs, tourists, and tourists on holiday, but the area certainly fits a lot into a small area. Uganda is a great place for private safaris because it is small, has a lot of nature and wildlife resources, and doesn’t have a lot of tourists. The best parts of an African safari trip can all be found in this little spot.

How to Cheaply Visit Uganda

The Rwenzori Mountains in Uganda are one of the highest mountain ranges in Africa. They are covered in snow. The Nile is the longest river in the world. It runs slowly from Lake Victoria, which is the second-largest freshwater lake in the world. Mountain gorillas roam the misty jungles higher up, and one of the largest groups of monkeys in the world lives in the tropical rainforests.

Uganda’s capital and culture center, Kampala, is safer than most places in the area. Uganda is also known as the “Adrenaline Capital” because of the wide range of outdoor activities that are always being added. But how can a tourist on a tight budget go to Uganda? I’ll try to give people on a tight budget a good idea of how much they can spend on a trip to Uganda in this post.

How to Cheaply Visit Uganda

Right now is the best time to visit Uganda because it’s about to become a popular tourist spot. On the whole, the tourist industry is getting better after the travel ban caused by the Coronavirus pandemic. Hotels and safari camps in Uganda are having to raise their standards to meet the high standards of the area because it is becoming so popular.

It also has lower lodging rates than other places in the area. Uganda has places to stay for all kinds of travelers, no matter their income or taste. But before you get too excited about planning your trip, here are some ways to get to Uganda without spending a lot of money.

How to Save Money on Transportation When Going to Uganda

Uganda has a lot of different ways to get around. There is confusing but cheap public transportation, and reliable but pricey private transportation. Uganda’s public transportation is mostly made up of buses and other moving vehicles that travel on roads. It’s also the least expensive way to get around Uganda. Let’s look at some ways to get around town for less money.

Take a trip with family or friends.

When you travel by yourself, you pay for your own gas, guide, and rental car. As a family or group, the cost of the trip is split among the people who go. Like, a tour car can cost anywhere from $50 to $150 per day. Each person on vacation will cost $12.5 per day if there are four of them. This will make your safari a lot cheaper total.

Oh, oh, oh (motorbike)

A boda-boda, which is another name for a motorbike taxi, is a common and cheap way to get around Uganda. It used to be a bike with heavy panniers that was used to sneak things across borders on country roads. They now have pillions and 50 to 200 cc engines, which makes them a useful way to get around the suburbs and great for short side trips when public transportation is busy. Fares are flexible and not expensive; each trip costs less than US$2 or Ush1,000 to 10,000.

Two travelers can also ride the same bike as the rider without getting caught. There’s something beautiful about seeing a family ride the same bike. In Uganda, if you use public transportation, you will almost certainly ride a boda-boda at some time. But before you get on, you should know that the place has a bad reputation for safety. Boda-boda riders almost never get the proper training and drive safely, which is something that is usually pushed.

Because of this, the tech world has recently become interested in how chaotic Ugandan Boda Boda transportation can be. These days, ride-hailing or ride-sharing apps are the best way to get around places. If you really like Uber, you can use it on Boda Bodas in Kampala too. This is a much better choice than just calling for a bike on the street at night. Some well-known Boda Boda smartphone apps that can be used in Uganda are Taxify, SafeBoda, and UberBoda. The price is the same as for motorbikes that are called from the street.

How to Visit Uganda Affordably

Minibus cars and Boda Boda are the cheapest ways to get around Uganda if you are staying on a tight budget. There are also a steady stream of white minibuses that run along Uganda’s main road transport routes.

These buses leave when they are full, which is every ten to thirty minutes on busy routes. They are by far the fastest and least expensive way to get around Uganda. The prices are a little higher than for buses when going long distances, but much cheaper when going within the same region, city, or town. You can get from Entebbe to Kampala in a minibus cab for at least one dollar. The trip is 38 kilometers (23 miles).

And on most lines, people pay right before they get on instead of when they leave, so there’s not much chance of being overcharged if you look around and see what other people are paying. In Kenya, minibuses are called matatus, which people in Uganda understand but don’t use. In Uganda, they are called taxis, but we’ve called them minibus-cabs to avoid confusion with special rental taxis.

Most of Uganda closely follows the rule that there can be no more than three people in a row. This makes riding in a minibus much more comfortable than in most other African countries, where four bums are normal. Every minibus cab has to have a special blue-and-white band across the middle with a taxi light sign on top. Special hire cars have to have a black-and-white band.

Special Taxis for Hire

Special hire cabs are something that people who live in cities today would know about. A unique rental car is one that you hire on your own to get you somewhere. Most urban taxis in Uganda are painted yellow and have a taxi cab light on top or in the middle (Entebbe airport taxis). They are also called “special hires” in Uganda.

While taxis are more expensive than other ways to get around, they are also much safer, as long as you book a specific rental car and bargain hard. You could also use one of those apps that lets you call a car and charge you based on how far you go. You can find them in Kampala, Entebbe, and other major cities. They are much cheaper than special hires. Download the apps from the Apple or Google stores to use Uber and Taxify instead of the others.

Taxis that are shared:

If you are visiting Uganda on a budget and you’re in a small town that is out of the way, shared cars are the cheapest way to get around. Usually, they are small saloon cars with four to six seats. They drive into their own country on roads where there aren’t enough people for minibuses to handle. Like when you’re going from Katunguru to Mweya in Queen Elizabeth National Park or from Kisoro to Buhoma in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.

When compared to minibuses, they are generally crowded and move more slowly. They also go places where no other public transportation does. The prices are fair since it might be the only way to get where you’re going. They are often, however, overstated. Drivers often charge tourists too much, so agree on a price ahead of time and try to get a good deal.

Taxis

Coach and bus services run on all of Uganda’s main roads and are, without a question, the safest way to get around on the country’s roads. Large, modern buses can travel at speeds of 100 km/h or faster on all highways. This means that for less than US$10, they can get from the capital to any of the major cities in western Uganda in less than five hours.

The best ones are Gaa Gaa Buses (North and West Nile), Elgon Flyer, YY Coaches (East), and Easy Coaches (Modern Cost and Mash Poa to Kenya). These are the best of the rest: Horizon & Swift Safaris (southwest Uganda), Kalita (Fort Portal), and Post Bus (Gulu). The cars that Link runs look like they are well taken care of and can go very fast. People think that the Post Office’s Post Bus service is the best in the country because it runs twice daily, always on time, and has a fleet that is well taken care of.

The better services leave at more or less regular times. From about 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., one or more busses leave Kampala for places like Mbale, Mbarara, Kabale, Kasese, Fort Portal, and Masindi, every hour or so.

Rent a Car

Self-drive safaris are becoming more common and are one way to cut down on the cost of your safari. It costs between $40 and $100 a day to rent a car in Uganda. You won’t have to pay as much for a guide this way. Even better, you can rent a roof tent and not have to pay for a place to stay.  Monumental Expeditions and safaris has a lot of different safari cars, from small SUVs to 4×4 land cruisers. You can get camping gear and cooking tools in these renting cars, which can save you money on food and lodging.

Other ways to get around Uganda when you’re on a budget

Private car rental isn’t always a cheap option for people who want to visit Uganda on a budget. You’ve come to the wrong blog if you want to save money on transportation. In Uganda, even gas is pretty pricey, and car rental companies charge ridiculously high daily rates. You’ll have to empty the gas tank yourself and pay national park car entry fees on top of that. Each day will cost between $40 and $150, based on the type of car.

What you can do to save money on lodging in Uganda when you’re on a tight budget

It has never been easier to travel cheaply in Uganda. Uganda has grown a lot in the past few years, and you can easily find great places to stay for your vacation no matter where you go or how much money you have. Most towns have a good selection of cheap and moderately priced hotels. Even the smallest towns usually have somewhere to stay for less than two dollars. Uganda hasn’t always had such a wide range of things to offer tourists.

A cheap safari in Africa

Also, keep in mind that the way people in Uganda use the words “single,” “double,” and “twin” is different from how people use them in the West. Couples might want to ask about the bed size in a single room instead of just asking for a double room. A lot of places now have bigger beds where two people can sleep for the price of one. When these places offer bed and breakfast, they usually only give breakfast to one guest at a time. There are some double rooms with both a double and a single bed that can fit three people.

How to Stay Cheaply in Uganda When Traveling on a Budget

In Uganda, places to stay can be luxury, middle, budget, shoestring, or camping, with camping being the cheapest. The “upmarket” or “luxury” group includes all hotels, lodges, and resorts that cater mostly to business or leisure travelers from other countries and are usually given three to four stars around the world.

Most of these hotels offer stylish, up-to-date rooms with private bathrooms, mosquito nets, air conditioning or fans, and digital satellite television (DSTV) in all rooms in towns. There are times when a premium room costs more than $1,000, which is more than $300.

This knowledge will help you stay away from the high-end accommodations, though, if you want to take a cheap vacation in Uganda.

If your wallet isn’t too big, the next group up is the intermediate one. Fundamentally, it includes places to stay that aren’t really luxury accommodations but are also too expensive or not good enough to be called budget accommodations for some reason.

They are nice cabins in well-known tourist areas that charge a lot less than their more expensive counterparts but are still clearly one or two grades above the budget range. In this price range, lodges usually offer comfortable rooms with hot water, a fan to cool the room, and maybe even DSTV. They also usually have a good kitchen and a lot of staff who speak English.

A double room with breakfast at most middle hotels costs between $100 and $300. Some are a little more or less expensive.

Travelers can find cheap places to stay in Uganda.

We still need to find you a place to stay if you want to stick to a budget while you’re in Uganda. Most of the time, these hotels are geared toward the local market and don’t meet foreign standards. Still, they will probably be pretty clean and nice, which is a big step up from the basic guesthouses you can find in most towns. Hotels and safari lodges in this group usually have a good restaurant, staff who speak English, comfortable rooms with private bathrooms, running cold or hot water, a fan, and a good mosquito net.

Accommodation on a Shoestring:

Small local guesthouses, which are common in most towns and serve almost only locals, make up most of this group. There are some that are only for campers, like Red Chill in Murchison Falls National Park and campers in Entebbe. Exclusive local ones usually have 10 rooms that look like cells set up in three walls around a main courtyard.

In front of the courtyard is a waiting area or restaurant. The quality of guesthouses varies a lot more than their prices, and this is true both within and between places. While backpacker hotels are still around, they offer a lot more than just cheap dorm beds, which are more accurately termed as budget.

In this group, there may be a lot more simple guesthouses squished together near the bus stop or market, with not much difference between them. Guest homes that are owned by women or have a lot of women living in them are often better and friendlier than those that are run by men if you’re looking for a place to stay. The new guesthouse will be the cleanest and brightest because it doesn’t have to meet many upkeep standards.

A cheap bed room usually costs between US$10 and US$50, though some places charge a bit more. Most of the time, shared baths and toilets are provided instead of private ones, and breakfast is either not included or is very small.

Housing costs at UWA-run units range from $5 to $15 per person, based on the type of room and whether they are sharing. This is the area to look at if you want to find the cheapest place to stay in Uganda, no matter how good it is. But it often includes really nice places that are also not too expensive.

Camping

In the past few years, there have been a lot more organized camping. There aren’t many well-known tourist spots where you can’t pitch a tent in a guarded site with good facilities. You can camp for about $5 a night in most places, or $10 a night in national parks. Tents at UWA cost around $20 to $30.

Getting a rental car with a tent on top

One of the best ways to cut down on the cost of your Uganda tour is to rent a car with a tent on top of it. This choice not only saves you money by not getting a safari guide, but it also comes with a roof-top tent to sleep in.

There are tents for two people and huts for a family of four. These tents are nice and cozy, and they come with camping chairs, sleeping bags, and tables with cooking tools. You will be able to change your plans as you please and spend more time in the places that interest you.

Going to eat

If you’re not picky and don’t mind not having a lot of options, you can find cheap food almost anywhere in Uganda. There are a lot of places in most towns that serve boring but full meals for less than US$2. People in the area usually eat pork or chicken stew with one of four main foods: rice, chapati, matooke, or ugali (posho), a starchy flatbread that people all over Sub-Saharan Africa eat. Matoke is a common food in many places of Uganda. It is a pile of cooked green bananas that are boiled or mashed.

Uganda is also known for its groundnut sauce. The local version of doughnuts, called mandazi, taste better when they are fresh out of the oven than when they have been sitting out for a day. You can get Mandazi in shops and hotels. Food sellers near bus stops and markets often sell cheap food. Even though it’s cheap, most tourists quickly lose interest in such a fare. People like to eat the Rolex lunch on the street.

The only thing on top of this is a fresh omelet, chopped onions, tomatoes, green peppers, and thinly sliced lettuce. The latter are put in a plastic bag rolled up inside the former, which is how the name comes about.

A lot of famous “local” bars and clubs have Rolex street vendors with metal hot plates, a charcoal grill, and a cutting board. Rolexes are a favorite among tourists, gap-year students, and volunteers because they taste like the kind of African street food your mom told you not to eat. Prices range from 60 cents to a dollar.

There are a few nicer places that serve Western or Indian food and cost between US$5 and US$10. These restaurants are often connected to high-end or moderate-priced hotels. In Kampala and Entebbe, where food costs about US$10 per person, there is a lot more to choose from. Most of the time, good park cabins serve good food.

In Uganda bush hotels, vegetarians are often not given enough options (the only exceptions are fancy or Indian restaurants). People who are going on guided trips should let the safari company know ahead of time about this or any other food limits. It’s important to know that many things in Uganda are named in Swahili, so learning more Swahili or Luganda might come in handy.

Putting food on your own table

Instead of going out to eat, you could make your own meals with food you get at markets and stores. There are different kinds of goods available depending on the time of year and where you live, but in most big towns, you can always find a store that sells chocolate bars, biscuits, pasta, rice, and frozen meat. Markets are the best places to buy fruits and vegetables because they are cheap.

In most places, you can buy sugarcane, paw-paws, avocados, mangoes, coconuts, oranges, pineapples, and potatoes. If you know exactly what you need, you should shop in Kampala, where big foreign stores like Shoprite and Game have a wider range of goods. Some good supermarkets, for instance, have a lot of foreign choices.

Drinks

Branded soft drinks like Pepsi, Coca-Cola, and Fanta are easy to find in Uganda and don’t cost too much compared to other places in the world. If you don’t like the fizzy stuff, stores in Kampala and other big cities sell high-quality packaged drinks like Splash, as well as fruit juices from South Africa that are brought in. The water from the tap in Uganda is not safe to drink. Mineral water in bottles is easy to find and comes highly suggested.

Warm drinks:

Chai, a flavored sweet tea made by boiling all the ingredients together in a pot, is the most popular hot drink in the area. In some parts of the country, ginger and cinnamon sticks are often added to chai to make it taste better. Another famous hot drink is African tea, which is whole milk boiled with tea and spiced with ginger.

For less than 60 cents, you can get a great cup of tea with cream. One of Uganda’s most important things for making money is coffee. Still, you probably won’t find a Ugandan in a cheap hotel who knows how to make a great cup of coffee. Unless you’re in a high-end hotel or diner, the coffee will almost always taste weak and watery.

Beer

The main drinking drink is lager beer, which is made by Nile Breweries and Uganda Breweries, which was one of the first companies to do this. All local beers cost $1 for a 500ml bottle in bars and up to $3 in some high-end hotels. Nile Special is the most popular beer among tourists, but some like the milder Bell better.

Eagle Extra has 6.5% alcohol, so it’s a good choice if you want to get drunk. Kenya Tusker and Congo Primus are two of the best lagers in Africa. They used to only be sold in places close to their borders, but now you can find them all over the country. You should try the local millet beer (Marwa) if you’ve never been to Africa. It’s not awful, but most people only need it once.

Wines

Many supermarkets, tourist-class hotels, and bars sell a range of high-quality South African wines for around US$10 to $20 per bottle. This is crazy for South Africans, who know that the same wine would cost 20% less in their own supermarket, but it’s not impossible in international terms.

Whisky

Bond 7 Whisky and Uganda Waragi, a local gin, can be bought for very little money in different bottle sizes or 60ml packs. These are great for hiking in remote areas or bringing to fancy hotels for a cheap drink in your room at night.

Picking the best vacation activities for your money

It’s going great to visit Uganda on a budget until you decide what exciting things you want to do on your trip. The activities you can do on safari in Uganda will decide how much money you need to spend. One of the most famous primate adventures in the rainforest is gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Mgahinga gorilla national parks. The other is chimpanzee trekking in Kibale, Murchison Falls, and Queen Elizabeth national parks.

Is it better to go gorilla trekking in Rwanda or Uganda?

You have to get a pass to see the mountain’s gentle big gorillas, but they are very expensive. Two armed rangers, a tracker guide, and other trekkers will take you into the bush to the place where a gorilla family was last seen for $800 per person. You will only be able to be near them for 60 minutes while wearing a facemask, gloves, and staying 10 meters away, unless you pay a huge US$1,500 for a 4-hour Gorilla habituation lesson.

The average price of a tour to see gorillas for a stranger.

If you can’t afford to go gorilla trekking, Bwindi is still a great park to visit just to enjoy the lush, unspoiled jungle. The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) leads walks through the Impenetrable Forest around Buhoma that last between 3 and 4 hours. The hikes start at 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. and each person pays $30

Go trekking with chimpanzees for $50 to $200.
4 day tour in Uganda to see wildlife and primates
Chimpanzee trekking in Kibale forest is better than gorilla trekking because it costs less and is easier to get to than Bwindi. The fee to track Kibale chimps is $250, but you can do it for less in other places of Uganda. In the eastern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kyambura (Chambura) Gorge is a beautiful green scar that cuts through the grassland. It’s like a little Eden full of chimps and other monkeys. This one costs $100, but in Kalinzu Forest it only costs $50.

Other common things to do on safari

You might not want to go on an adventure with monkeys. But there are other things you can do that you can spread out over the course of your Uganda tour. In the east is Jinja, which is where the famous Nile River starts.

There are many outdoor sports that can be done along the Nile corridor north of town. A steady stream of young and old tourists come to do things like whitewater rafting, quad biking, kayaking, and bungee jumping. It could cost US$140 for an organized whitewater rafting trip.

If you don’t want a thrill, there are other low-cost things to do in the savannah parks or on a self-guided hike in the hilly areas. You could also take it easy by the crater lake in western Uganda, go on a birding trip, or travel with a purpose by becoming a volunteer.

What other cheap ways are there to travel in Uganda?
We’ve already talked about the most common places to save money on travel in Uganda, but there’s more;

Get away from the crowds.

If you leave the main road, you’ll find wild, untouched places that most tourist cars won’t go. You have to see Sipi Falls, which are close to Mount Elgon. Uganda’s natural beauty includes waterfalls that are hard to see, islands that are almost empty, deep forests, and coffee and tea plantations. It’s a great place to go on a cheap holiday.

In western Uganda’s hilly areas, especially around Fort Portal and Kasese, there are beautiful views from the volcanic lakes that dot the landscape. When you get to Lake Bunyonyi on the way to Bwindi, you will definitely feel like you are in a natural setting. People often go birdwatching in Uganda’s Bunyonyi area, which has been called “the Switzerland of Africa.”

Kilembe hamlet in Kasese is right on the edge of Rwenzori Mountains National Park. It’s a popular place for serious walkers to start their journeys, and they can spend up to a week exploring the park’s diverse wildlife. In ancient times, Ptolemy and other scholars called these mountains “The Mountains of the Moon.” They are where the Nile comes from when it melts from the ice.

Some people don’t want to go into the Heart of Darkness or don’t have the money to do so. They can stay in the town for a few days and put their money into community tourism. For less than $20, you can buy a neighborhood handbook.

Planning a trip during the rainy season

The low season is the best time to visit Uganda if you want to save money. In Uganda, the low season is the rainy season. Hotel, camp, and vacation prices are going down because fewer people are traveling. This is the best time to visit Uganda if you don’t mind rain every day and want to save money. From March to May and September to November is the off-season.

This is the best time of year to take pictures because the savannah lands and the whole country are covered in green. The afternoon sun is especially nice.

During the wet season, it’s harder to see wildlife in the savannah reserves because of the thick vegetation and animals that are spread out across the plain. However, you will still see a lot of newborns and get gut-wrenching thrills as hungry predators fight with protective mothers or grab helpless babies.