Our 14-Day Budget-Friendly Uganda Safari comfortably allows you to see the best of Uganda. This equatorial East African country is smaller than the United Kingdom, but its location at the point where the East African savannah meets the West African rainforest jungle means it is one of only two places where gorillas and chimpanzees live alongside all the iconic Big 5 animals.
Other attractions include plentiful forest monkeys, a checklist of 1,090-plus birds, and such geographic landmarks as the snow-capped Rwenzori Mountains, the Equator line, the source of the world’s longest river (River Nile), and the ocean-sized Lake Victoria (Africa’s largest lake).
This 14-day Uganda safari tour provides you with a great opportunity to get to know this diverse country intimately and to see a wide selection of its wildlife and scenic highlights at a relaxed pace.
On this 14-Day Safari, you’ll also have the opportunity to learn about the culture in Uganda and see a variety of colorful birds. Indeed, dedicated birders might well identify 400 species on this trip.
Overview
Length: 13 nights, 14 days
Group Size: To suit you
Places to Visit: Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, Kidepo National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, Kibale Forest, Bigodi Village, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Lake Mburo National Park, and the Equator Monument.
Departure Dates: To suit you
Highlights
Day 1: Entebbe/Kampala to Gulu via Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
Day 2: Gulu to Kidepo National Park, evening game drive.
Day 3: Morning game drive and later, Karamojong community encounter
Day 4: Morning nature walk and afternoon game drive/safari.
Day 5: Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park
Day 6: Murchison game drive and afternoon boat trip upstream to the falls
Day 7: Visit The Top Of The Falls. Drive to Kibale with a Stop in Fort Portal
Day 8: Chimpanzee Tracking and Swamp or Village Walk
Day 9: Travel to Queen Elizabeth and A Crater Drive
Day 10: Game Drive and Boat Trip on the Kazinga Channel
Day 11: Tree-Climbing Lions And On To Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
Day 12: Gorilla Tracking and a Visit to the Batwa Pygmy Community
Day 13: Relaxed Breakfast & Transfer to Lake Mburo National Park
Day 14: Enjoy a game walk and return to Entebbe, stop over at the Equator.
Details
Day 1: Entebbe To Gulu Via Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
Your 14-Day Budget-Friendly Uganda Safari begins today! Your guide will meet you at your place of stay in Entebbe or Kampala early in the morning. After loading your luggage into the vehicle, we embark on a journey of about 3-hour drive northwest to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary.
Here, you will stretch your legs and get up close and personal with Uganda’s only wild rhinos on a 2-hour walking tour. From there it should only take us another hour or so to get to a hotel in Gulu City for lunch, relaxation, dinner, and overnight.
Accommodation: Gulu Churchill Courts Hotel
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 2: Gulu to Kidepo National Park
We’ll be up before the sun rises to get ready for our Kidepo visit. We’ll enjoy a good breakfast and then on a drive further northeast for about 3 hours/155km.
We’ll arrive at the lodge in Kidepo Valley National Park in time for lunch. After lunch, you’ll have some time to relax and then we are off on your first game drive of the 14-Day Budget-Friendly Uganda Safari! You’ll learn more about this wonderful Uganda safaris park as you drive along looking for the amazing mammals, birds, and more.
Kidepo is arguably the most remote safari destination in Uganda. It is also the most beautiful. Set below a range of craggy peaks bordering South Sudan, this park protects an atmospheric tract of savannah carved by two perennial rivers and studded with giant boulder-strewn hills.
Despite its remote location, Kidepo National Park offers exceptional wildlife viewing, including 4 of the Big Five (no rhino), with huge herds of buffalo, particularly prominent. Very few travelers make it up to this forgotten corner of Uganda, but the few who make the long journey northeast through the wild Karamoja region agree that this is one of Africa’s finest wildernesses.
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Apoka Safari Lodge
Midrange: Kidepo Savannah Lodge
Budget: Kidepo Savannah Lodge/Apoka Rest Camp
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner
Day 3: Game Drive & Karamojong Community Visit
After an early breakfast on day three of our 14-Day Budget-Friendly Uganda Safari, we will depart in search of wildlife in Kidepo on a 3 to 4-hour game drive in the Narus Valley.
The landscape here is truly dramatic, and we will stop for regular photographic opportunities. Kidepo is home to over 77 mammals and 500 bird species.
Many animals here cannot be found anywhere else in Uganda; these include Cheetahs, Ostriches, Bat-eared foxes, Black-backed jackals, Caracals, and Kudus. Other animals include Zebras, Giraffes, Elephants, Buffalos, Hyenas, Lions, and Leopards.
You’ll return to your lunch and some time to rest. In the afternoon, you’ll visit a traditional Karamojong homestead, known as “Manyatta” for a cultural experience.
The Karamojong people, who are closely related to the Masai of Kenya, continue to practice their traditional way of life, unaffected by modernization. You’ll learn about their traditions, see their distinctive housing, ornaments, and crafts, and be treated to a traditional dance.
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Apoka Safari Lodge
Midrange: Kidepo Savannah Lodge
Budget: Kidepo Savannah Lodge/Apoka Rest Camp
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner
Day 4: Nature Walk & Game Drive
On day four of our 14-Day Budget-Friendly Uganda Safari, we have another full day to enjoy Kidepo National Park and the Karamoja region.
We will have a morning nature walk in the park. Kidepo is one of the few parks in Uganda where you can do a walking safari. The park is a completely different place when you are removed from the constraints of a safari vehicle.
Your senses are aware of every sound and movement in the bush and you see things at ground level that you would otherwise miss. With an expert ranger guide, you will also learn a lot about the inhabitants of the park and how to recognize their tracks.
After this exciting and very rewarding activity, you will return to the lodge for relaxation and lunch. In the afternoon, you go on a game to discover more of the park.
You also tour the Kidepo Valley which is dry compared to Narus and have fewer animals. It is however a beautiful wilderness and has special features such as the dry river sandy beds, hot springs, and mountains.
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Apoka Safari Lodge
Midrange: Kidepo Savannah Lodge
Budget: Kidepo Savannah Lodge/Apoka Rest Camp
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner
Day 5: Transfer to Murchison Falls
After an early breakfast and checking out, we take a drive of approximately 400km/7-8-hour drive) via the town of Kitgum to Murchison Fall National Park, one of the most popular and largest National parks in the country.
Attractions include the world’s strongest waterfall for which the park is named and the wildly tropical stretch of the Nile River (the world’s longest river) that bisects the park as it flows toward Lake Albert. When it comes to wildlife viewing, this park offers the best big game viewing in the country and it is one of the best places to see the shoebill stork.
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Nile Safari Lodge/Paraa Safari Lodge/Bakers Lodge
Mid-range: Pakuba Safari Lodge/Murchison River Lodge
Budget: Hornbill Safari Lodge/Heritage Safari Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 6: Game Drive & Boat Trip
On day six of our 14-Day Budget-Friendly Uganda Safari, it is another early start as we will need to be up before sunrise for your morning game drive.
We’ll explore the northern plains of the park which are dotted with beautiful palm trees.
Murchison Falls National Park is home to over 450 bird species and 75 mammal species, including lions, leopards, elephants, buffalos, giraffes, hippos, crocodiles, Hartebeests, hyenas, bushbucks, reedbucks, waterbucks, Uganda kobs and more so, with a bit of luck, there should be plenty to excite you. After the game drive, return to the lodge to rest and have lunch.
After lunch, it’s time for a different point of view – from a boat on the historic Nile River.
The relaxing three-hour round trip gets you super close to all the animals (elephants, buffalos, and antelopes that frequent the river’s edge. You will also see plenty of hippos and crocodiles and get a great view of the world’s most powerful waterfall from the bottom.
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Nile Safari Lodge/Paraa Safari Lodge/Bakers Lodge
Mid-range: Pakuba Safari Lodge/Murchison River Lodge
Budget: Hornbill Safari Lodge/Heritage Safari Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 7: Visit The Top Of The Falls & Drive to Kibale
After a relaxed breakfast today, we drive straight to the top of Murchison Falls and enjoy the spectacular view of the explosive falls from a different perspective.
After witnessing the dramatic falls and taking great photographs, we take a scenic drive of about 6 hours (366km) southwest.
We will pass through the rolling hills of Africa’s Great Rift Valley, with its ancient volcanic landscape peppered with crater lakes. We will stop in Fort Portal town near the snow-capped Rwenzori Mountains to enjoy lunch before we carry on to Kibale Forest.
After your long drive, you might want to stretch your legs by going for a wander around the area. Kibale Forest National Park is very calm and peaceful, with rolling farmland and tiny villages, where children will rush out to say hello to you.
Or just relax in your hotel with a cold drink and make sure your camera batteries are charged for tomorrow’s chimpanzee adventure.
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Crater Safari Lodge/Primate Lodge Kibale/Kyaninga Lodge
Mid-range: Kibale Forest Camp/Chimpanzee Forest Guest House
Budget: Chimpanzee Forest Guest House/Kibale Forest Camp
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 8: Chimpanzee Tracking & Swamp Or Village Walk
It’s chimpanzee day! Be at the ranger station at 8 am for your briefing, and then head out into the forest with your guide for this incredible chance to see chimpanzees in the wild.
If you’re lucky, they’ll come down to the forest floor, and you’ll be able to get within just a few meters of them. Read about the experience in full in What Happens on a Chimpanzee Trekking Safari in Kibale Forest.
If you just do the morning chimpanzee trekking adventure, then in the afternoon you can relax at your lodge/camp, take a walk around the area, or if you’re still hungry for more wildlife, head into the community-run Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary for a nature hike and a chance to see more African birds and monkeys. You can also take a cultural tour of Bigodi Village – home to two tribes.
Here, you visit traditional healers; women craft makers and traditional homesteads and listen to the storytelling of a Mzee (elderly man).
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Crater Safari Lodge/Primate Lodge Kibale/Kyaninga Lodge
Mid-range: Kibale Forest Camp/Chimpanzee Forest Guest House
Budget: Chimpanzee Forest Guest House/Kibale Forest Camp
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 9: Travel to Queen Elizabeth NP
It’s only a 3-hour drive from Kibale Forest National Park to Queen Elizabeth National Park. So on day nine of our 14-Day Budget-Friendly Uganda Safari, we have a lie-in and a leisurely breakfast and then get on the road again.
When we arrive check in to the lodge and relax for a bit before heading into the park for an afternoon crater drive. Soak up the stunning landscapes, and there is an excellent chance you’ll see amazing wildlife including masses of elephants, and possibly, if you’re lucky, a leopard.
Read More: 11 of the best lodges in Queen Elizabeth National Park
Accommodation Options
Luxury: Kyambura Gorge Lodge/Mweya Safari Lodge/Elephant Plains Camp
Midrange: Enganzi Game Lodge/Bush Lodge/Park View Lodge
Budget: Pumba Safari Cottages
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner
Day 10: Game Drive & Boat Trip
Yesterday was pretty chilled, so today it’s another pre-dawn start for a sunrise game drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park. Animals are more active in the morning, so there’s a good chance you’ll see hyenas, hippos, elephants, and maybe even some lions.
Then, in the afternoon, take a two-hour relaxing safari boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel which connects Lakes Edward and Gorge.
This short, shallow channel attracts a huge array of wildlife, including some of the densest concentrations of hippos in the world. As a result, you’re pretty much guaranteed some of the best animals spotting you’re likely to experience anywhere in Uganda.
Accommodation Options
Luxury: Kyambura Gorge Lodge/Mweya Safari Lodge/Elephant Plains Camp
Midrange: Enganzi Game Lodge/Bush Lodge/Park View Lodge
Budget: Pumba Safari Cottages
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner
Day 11: Tree-Climbing Lions And On To Bwindi
On day eleven of our 14-Day Budget-Friendly Uganda Safari, we are back on the road again for the short drive to the southern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park (Ishasha) and a chance to track the famous tree-climbing lions that spend their long lazy days dozing in pretty fig trees.
Spend a few hours tracking and hopefully watching these rare creatures, before leaving the national park behind and heading on south to the mysterious hills of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, the home of mountain gorillas.
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Buhoma Lodge/ Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp
Midrange: Haven Lodge/Gorilla Mist Camp
Budget: Trekker’s Tavern Cottages/Buhoma Community Restcamp
Meal Plan: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
Day 12: Gorilla Tracking & Batwa Community Visit
Time for the number one attraction in all of Uganda and what may well turn out to be the highlight of all highlights of this 14-Day Budget-Friendly Uganda Safari: mountain gorilla trekking.
Put on your strong hiking boots/shoes and pack a waterproof just in case, and then meet at the ranger station to be allocated your gorilla family.
It can take anything from 2 to 7 to find them, and then you’re allowed to spend just one hour watching them. But I guarantee it’ll be one of the most memorable hours of your life.
Read More: Trekking Gorillas in Uganda – A Complete Guide
If you have time, in the afternoon or evening a local guide can take you to visit one of Bwindi’s Batwa villages. The Batwa People used to live a traditional hunter-gatherer life inside the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest until the national park was created and they were kicked out.
Now they live around the edges of the park and earn money by welcoming tourists and demonstrating their ancient traditions. A visit is a great way to learn all about them and help support the community. If you want to know more, here’s the article I wrote about the Batwa.
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Buhoma Lodge/Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp
Midrange: Haven Lodge/Gorilla Mist Camp
Budget: Trekker’s Tavern Cottages/Buhoma Community Restcamp
Meal Plan: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
Day 13: Relaxed Breakfast & Transfer to Lake Mburo
Enjoy a relaxed breakfast today and hop back in the car for the drive of about 4 to 5 hours northeast to Lake Mburo National Park. There are no lions here, so this is the place where you can get more active without fear of being eaten.
You can go on go mountain biking or horseback riding, and if your budget can stretch to it, spend the night at one of Uganda’s top places to stay, the stunning Mihingo Lodge.
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Mihingo Lodge
Midrange: Rwakobo Rock
Budget: Eagles Nest Mburo/Leopard Rest Camp
Meal Plan: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner
Day 14: Game Walk and Return to Entebbe
On the final day of our 14-Day Budget-Friendly Uganda Safari, enjoy an early breakfast at 6 am and join a local park ranger guide who knows the area better than anyone.
You will explore the park on foot (there are no elephants or lions to worry about in Mburo, so you are safe without a vehicle!).
After the walk, your final drive takes you about 4 hours from Lake Mburo back to Entebbe where you started. Split the journey with a stop at the equator to take that all-important photo and find out whether water really does go down a plughole in the opposite direction.
When you get to Entebbe City, it’s time for a well-deserved sunset drinks on the shores of Lake Victoria after all your adventures.
Read More: Things to do in Entebbe
End of the Safari
Inclusions
- Gorilla Permit
- Chimpanzee tracking permit
- Full board accommodation on the safari
- Transportation in a 4X4 safari vehicle
- Service of the English-speaking driver/tour guide.
- Bottled drinking water in the safari vehicle
- Park entrance fees
- All activities mentioned in the itinerary
Exclusions
- International flights
- Your Visa fees
- Laundry services
- Tips & gratuities
- Items of personal nature
- All meals and drinks not specified
- Optional activities and activities not mentioned in the itinerary
