Bus from Kampala to Kabale

In October we will arrive in Uganda and this will be our first trip to Uganda. The first days will
be a bit rough as we will be spending (too) much time on the bus but afterwards we will hopefully
find time to relax. So, the plan is to take a night bus from Nairobi to Kampala arriving in Kampala
on Wednesday morning, to spend a day and a night in Kampala and to take another bus to
Kabale on Thursday morning. My questions are:

1. We are considering the so called post bus from Kampala. Would anybody advice against it? If so, what would you suggest?

2. How good are the chances that we get two tickets for that day given that we will only be able to purchase
   the ticket one day before? Where would we actually buy the ticket?

3. I will do some research on my own but if somebody can suggest a midrange hotel not too far away
   from the post office, I'd appreciate that.

Thanks in advance for any advice

Xiangqi

In the meantime I found out that the Holiday Express Hotel is located very close to the General Post Office where the busses start. It's in the center and probably a bit noisy, has anybody been there and can tell me about pros and cons? Is this a location considered to be more dangerous than other parts of town?

Xiangqi

Post Bus is clean, not too uncomfortable but tends to be VERY slow, they stop at the Post office in every single town (and quite a few villages too) on the way to pick up & deliver mail. Took us nearly six hours from Mbale to Kampala the one time we tried it (double what a matatu takes). Driving non-stop from Kampala to Kabale takes 7 hours minimum, so the Post Bus would take forever. I'd go down to the new taxi park on Luwum St and get a Matatu (Minibus) instead if I were you.

Regarding accommodation, if you walk down William St (between Kampala & Bombo Rds) past the Hotel Equatoria and take the first right after the Equatoria there are several hotels along there on the left. A couple of them aren't too great (someone told me the Gloria hotel doubles as a brothel) but the best of the bunch is the Samalien, which has plain but clean double rooms with bath (hot water) for about Ush45,000 including breakfast - & some of the upstairs rooms have balconies with good views across old Kla. The staff are friendly and your stuff will be safe.

Have a good trip & take Care in Kabale,

Rgds,

David

Thanks David, I will consider your hotel recommendation. About the post bus: Yes, it's slow but it also has the reputation to be safer than most competitors just because post bus drivers are not driving like hell. I read a couple of personal reports of travellers and according to these reports the bus took between 8 and 9 hours from Kampala to Kabale. That would be acceptable for us but if somebody knows for sure that the bus takes much longer we might want to reconsider.

Xiangqi

Took that postbus Kampala-Fort Portal last year. Was ok. Was indeed quite slow, but furthermore nothing to advice against.
We simply bought the tickets the day before in the post office of Kampala, exactly where the bus departed.
And slow is relative....to Fort Portal I remember another bus, don't remember the company (Jaguar can it be?) that was faster...only we met her back half an hour before Fort Portal when she had a breakdown :-)))) So hey....
Haven't slept in Kabale, passed through it to be based at Lake Bunyoni.

Thanks for your reply, koelan. I think we will take the post bus. And sorry
for the ambiguity in my question related to the hotel. I was asking for
a hotel close to the post office in Kampala and not in Kabale but after
reading your reply I realized that my question could be understood in
both ways.

Thanks again

Xiangqi

Post bus is the way to go. It may be slow (7-9 hours) but it leaves at a certain time unlike the regular busses that may take three hours to fill up before they leave. And the matatus are just too uncomfortable for such long journeys. Enjoy Kabale.

I would highly recommend using the Scandinavian bus from Nairobi to Kampala. They are more expensive than others but comfortable and reliable. Failing that, use Akamba. Don't use any of the others.

Thanks SipiMan! It was already clear to me that Akamba and Scandinavian are the two main options but so far Akamba was my favourite. Why would you prefer Scandinavian over Akamba?

Xiangqi

Purely because I have used Scandinavian, who were very efficient, and not Akamba. I think Akamba has two buses, one of which is a deluxe (more comfortable version) so I would probably take that one if you choose them. I also know that the Scandinavia bus has their office in the centre of Kampala - a good place to arrive into. Having said that I'm not sure where the Akamba office is.

I took the post bus from Fort Portal to Kampala - i think it took around 5.5 hours. It was pretty comfortable and much faster than I had expected!

hi! Just came from Kabale to Kampala by post bus two days ago. Took us 8,5 hrs... pretty long actually but the going was good with a couple of longer stops when one could get out and stretch the legs. I would definitely recommend it. Did not seem to be a problem to buy the tickets on the spot.

Enjoy Uganda!

Post Bus or not to Post Bus

The Post Bus is generally regarded by travellers as being the safest option of getting form point A to point B when travelling by public means in Uganda. At some stage though you will have make the decision to put your toe into the water and climb into an overloaded shared mini bus taxi or a public bus not operated by The Post Bus to continue your journey to your final destination.

Public buses in Uganda are quite a scary experience and bring some travellers to tears as you would appear to have no control over your destiny. Asking the driver to slow down can incredibly irritate other passengers who are in a hurry to get to their destination even though they are very aware of the number of accidents that happen annually. The bus crews compete for passengers along all routes in an attempt to pick up passengers first. Rash overtaking manoeuvres are common place.

Regardless of the danger the large public buses carry hundreds of passengers daily and many travellers within those hundreds. My recommended position on the bus is about 5 seats back from the driver on the drivers side. Here you do not have to see what is happening ahead of you on the road and you are not sitting above a wheel where hitting a pot hole will get you airbourne out of your seat. My second recommendation would be that if you are two persons travelling together consider paying for 3 seats for the pair of you. The extra seat you buy within what is a row of 3 seats will allow you additional comfort and somewhere to place your day packs for what can often be a 12 hour hell journey.

In central Kampala there really is no shortage of places to find accommodation and as you are considering arriving with Akamba Bus simply walk up what is Dewington Street from their depot towards the National Theatre and ask for City Centre Annex which is a budget accommodation venue. It is close to a great Indian restaurant called Masala Chat House and close enough to the main Post Office to walk there comfortably with a rucksack. If you take a bus from the main bus park it would take some 15 minutes to walk to for City Centre Annex and in a taxi a few dollars before 06.00am. After that it would be quicker to walk such is the madness of Kampala traffic.

I realise you are probably heading to Kabale to chill out at Lake Bunyonyi. Below is a route you might want to consider to maximise your experience. South Western Uganda is so beautiful it really has so much more to offer than a few days at Lake Bunyonyi.

Day 1. Travel to Buhoma in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest on 06.00am Gateway bus from Kampala. Stay in budget accommodation in Buhoma.
Day 2. Walk 12km through Bwindi Forest to Nkuringo with Nkuringo Walking Safaris www.nkuringowalkingsafaris.com</a> , 6 hours and stay at Nkuringo Gorilla Campsite. Budget bunkhouse accommodation. Amazing views of the rain forest from 2100m and the Virunga volcanoes.
Day 3. Take a rest day at Nkuringo to experience some community activities. Simple budget accommodation and meals available.
Day 4. Proceed to Kisoro by way of 19km walking (you can do 10km of this by private hire) and 12km in dugout canoe on Lake Mutanda. Stay at Countryside Guesthouse in Kisoro. This is a great budget venue on the outskirts of town. You could decide to stay longer in Kisoro to either trek any of the Virunga in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park (15km) or go Golden Monkey tracking. If its market day in Kisoro (Monday and Thursday) the town is very busy with a vibrant atmosphere.
Day 5. Take bus or shared mini bus taxi 88km 3 hours from Kisoro to Kabale. Take private hire vehicle or walk 8km to shore of Lake Bunyonyi. Stay at one of many budget accommodation options. Meals and drinks available at all of the accommodation venues at Lake Bunyonyi.
Day 6+. Relax at Lake Bunyonyi.

Getting away from Lake Bunyonyi.
You should spend the night before you plan to leave Kabale in Kabale itself. Edirssa have a hostel in town close to the post office if you plan to take the Post Bus back to Kampala. There is a direct bus to Fort Portal also from Kabale that leaves at 03.00am and will collect you from the hostel if you advise the Kalita Bus office in Kabale you want to travel. Indeed an early start but the Fort Portal region will offer you something completely different to your experiences in the south west.