Is it possible to travel in Uganda independently?

1. Go to Kampala first, takes an hour. Busses from Kampala to Kassese, via Fort Portal, leave regularly in the morning. Shouldn't be problem. Departure from the buspark between the old- and new taxiparks. Maybe they can get you further than Kesese, like Katwe or the Katunguru Gate. Takes up to eight hours. From there, ask a local to call a special hire/taxi (private) to drive you to Mweya (if you overnight there) or try to catch a lift from staffmembers.

2. Boatride: you might want to book this in advance, better safe than sorry. Reservations can be made at the Mweya Hostel.

3. This is a tricky one. Hardest thing would be to get away from the park. Only option I can think of is, again, a special hire to Ishaka, Mbarara or Ntungamo. From there on there may be taxi or maybe intercept one of the busses that come from Kampala to Kabale or Kisoro. This all is a big 'if' and 'maybe'.

4. Same problem as nr 3. Getting away is the hardest part.

I would skip Kigali but that's just me. Good luck.

hey ,this david living in uganda .its possible and the cheapest way is to take apublic transport but for the game parks u will need to hire game vans so to view wild animals.in case u need more assitance on abudget trip ican advice.thanks.

Thanks for the detailed post spoes.

On that schedule the OP does not have time to go by public transport. There are too many places where things can go wrong.

You can still do it without a tour, but I recommend hiring a car and driver out of Kampala. Also, it would be more convenient just to fly out of Kigali--an open jaw ticket would probably be cheaper than a roundtrip EBB and Kigali to EBB.

Peace,

BB

#2. For the QENP you can also let yourself drive around in a special hire. You don't have the view from within a van but's it's cheaper and the locals know a lot about the park (even contact the ranger when looking for animals).

I'd rather meet/pick up a driver near the QENP. Saves you quite some money (if you're on a budget, that is). If you want to, I know a reliable local guy who lives near the park. If he is able to he can also pick you op from a random place.

@ Bigbri, what is an open 'jaw' ticket? I'm not English, sorry.

Edited by: spoes

Open jaw means you fly into one airport, and fly out of another.

i.e. London to Entebbe, and then Kigali back to London.

Peace,

BB

Given your limited time I would self-drive or hire a car and driver and skip Kigali completely. As explained above there is no public transport into the national parks and using public transport to get around the country can be slow. Great if you have the time but not if you only have a few days. All cross-country transport starts from Kampala so you need to go there from Entebbe.

THANK YOU SO MUCH guys for all this information. I was getting discouraged to travel to Africa due to the high cost. The only reason I am considering Kigali is because I am planning to do a story about the recontruction of Rwanda. I am also thinking of visiting the Gorillas in Rwanda instead of going to Bwindi as it seems easier to have access to. But definitely I think I will fly in and out, instead of crossing the border.

Spoes I"would love to have the contact of the reliable local guy who lives near the park and can help me with the local transport around the park.

ongadventure: I will send you a message to ask you a few more questions.

Again guys, many thanks for all your feedback and advice.

Daniela