10 Days Budget Uganda Safari
About this tour
10 Days Budget Uganda Safari – There is no other country in Africa – like Uganda – the “Pearl of Africa.” In 1908, in his book My African Journey, Sir Winston Churchill wrote: “For magnificence, for variety of form and color, for the profusion of brilliant life — bird, insect, reptile, beast — for vast scale — Uganda is true “the Pearl of Africa”.
The Kingdom of Uganda is a fairy tale. The scenery is different, the climate is different and most of all, the people are different from anything elsewhere to be seen in the whole range of Africa…” 10 Days Budget Uganda Safari.
This Africa safari offers you the best of Uganda’s four most outstanding national parks. These include Murchison falls National Park, a big 5 destination. There is Kibale Forest National Park where you will experience guided chimp trekking and Queen Elizabeth National Park where you will encounter tree-climbing lions. The tour will end with Uganda Mountain Gorilla tours in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Throughout your 10-day trip, you will stay at hotels that are owned by inspirational women. The prime focus is on those that directly empower young women, especially through jobs and mentorship experiences. While some of these hotels are exclusive to women only, others are open to both gender but, offer women more special treats.
Draft Itinerary
• Day 1: Arrival In Entebbe
• Day 2: Drive to Murchison falls National park
• Day 3: Early Game drive and Boat trip
• Day 4: Drive to Kibale Forest National Park
• Day 5: Chimpanzee trekking
• Day 6: Drive to Queen Elizabeth National park
• Day 7: Game drive and Boat trip to the Kazinga Channel
• Day 8: Drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
• Day 9: Gorilla trekking
• Day 10: Depature drop off in entebbe
Day-by-day itinerary
Day 1: Entebbe International Airport, Entebbe, Uganda to Admas Grand Hotel Entebbe, Entebbe, Uganda
On your arrival at Entebbe International Airport, you will be met by our Umoja Motherland Tours professional representative who will greet you and transfer you to your hotel, taking between 15 minutes depending on traffic. Overnight: Adma Hotel Entebbe Activities • Arrival • Bed and breakfast Meal plan: Bed and Breakfast
Day 2: Admas Grand Hotel Entebbe, Entebbe, Uganda to Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda
Today after breakfast, you will embark on a scenic road trip to Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda’s biggest conservation area, covering over 4000 km². Your first stopover will be at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, home to over 20 of the second biggest land mammal species, rhinos. It is one of the only three places in East Africa where you have a 99% chance of encountering white rhinos any time of the year. Established in 2005, Ziwa is a private, non-profit, animal sanctuary striving to re-populate rhinos ahead of their re-introduction into the Uganda National Parks. This follows uncontrolled poaching that led to their extinction in the 1980s. After a delightful nature walk in Ziwa’s woodland and Savannah, you will have lunch. Thereafter, you will proceed on with the journey to Murchison falls National Park, one of Uganda’s Big 5 destinations. Found in Northern Uganda, the park boasts 76 mammal species and 451 bird species that thrive in its open Savannah, tropical forests, marshland, and river system. Overnight: Pakuba safari lodge Activities • Drive to Murchison Falls National Park • Bed and breakfast
Day 3: Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda
Exploring Murchison via a game drive, boat cruise, and hiking excursion to the top of the falls. Like most African parks, the animals in Murchison are most active early morning. As the sun gets hot, they tend to shy away into distant parts of the park that are cool. In this regard, your morning game drive will start early morning, at 6:30 am. Having spent over five years exploring the park, our driver guide is conversant with the routine of this magical wildlife estate where the River Nile flows northwards. He knows where to find the respective animals such as lions, elephants, leopards, buffaloes, the rare semi-aquatic Sitatunga antelope, giraffes, warthogs, Uganda kob, and giant forest hog among others. You may choose to take a packed breakfast to eat mid-morning or eat a full breakfast upon your return to the Lodge. Upon completing the game drive, you will return to your lodge for lunch. Your next activity for the day will be a sightseeing boat ride to the falls after which the park was named, Murchison. This two-hour cruise will afford you the chance of seeing animals you didn’t register luck in finding during the morning game drive. Lots of Uganda kob, topi, giraffes, elephants, and lions come here to quench their thirst at the river bank. This creates spectacular wildlife drama as both prey and predators go against the odds to survive. As the double-decker boat cruises along the shores, you will see countless schools of hippos basking in the sun. You will also come across gigantic Nile crocodiles patiently waiting to snap and drag their prey into the water. If time allows, you will crown your boat cruise with a hike to the Top of the fall to get different perspectives of the river. You will be amazed by the sheer force of nature at the only spot where the entire river squeezes itself through a seven-meter-wide cleft. This produces a thunderous waterfall that lands with a bang after a 45 m drop. 10 Days Budget Uganda Safari. Overnight: Pakuba safari lodge Activities • Early morning game drive • Boat trip Meal plan: Breakfast| lunch| Dinner
Day 4: Kibale National Park, Uganda to Bigodi Community Walk - BICOWA, Kibale, Uganda
Hot Air Balloon Safari. You won’t regret casting your fate to the wind in this sightseeing tour of Uganda’s biggest National Park. Even those who fear heights will love every minute of this adventure. This is partly because it is not a bumpy flight as it takes place early morning, a time of the day when the wind isn’t turbulent. Thanks to this early timing, you will behold beautiful colors, and watch the sunrise in all its glory whilst the moon disappears behind the horizon. After a nourishing brunch, you will depart for a 7-hour road trip to Kibale Forest National park for another dose of Africa vacation. Found in South Western Uganda, it is a tropical destination that is ranked as Africa’s primate capital due to its diversity of 13 primate species. These include chimpanzees, blue monkeys, red Colobus monkeys, the rare L’Hoestmonkey, grey-cheeked mangabey, baboons, black-faced vervet monkeys, pottos, and bush babies. Bigodi swamp and community visit. Overnight: Chimpanzee Forest Lodge Activities • Drive to Kibale Forest National Park Meal plan: Breakfast| lunch| Dinner
Day 5: Kibale National Park, Uganda
Chimpanzee trekking in Kibale forest National Park After breakfast, you will be dropped off at the park headquarters ahead of your tracking of habituated Chimps, as planned to start at 8 am. Having undergone habituation, most of the chimps are chill and not nervous around tourists. On the contrary, they are so free. During the one hour, you will spend with them, you will watch them fight, play, harvest fruits, and bond by grooming one another. Don’t panic in case their young ones try out newly learned intimidation techniques. If lady luck is on your side, you might come across as many as five different families as you hike through the forest. Even though your group will comprise up to eight tourists, you will feel like the ranger guide is just there for you. He will answer all your questions and fire up your tour with well-timed jokes about chimps. Later in the day, you will head out for a nature walk in Bigodi wetland for an encounter with over 130 bird species, 8 different primates, multicolored butterflies, and semi-aquatic Sitatunga. The tracks and log bridges over the rivers at this community-owned initiative are routinely maintained. As such, you don’t have to go through hell before finding the animals. You will local lunch at tinka’s homestay Overnight: Chimpanzee Forest Lodge Activities • Chimpanzee trekking Meal plan: Breakfast| lunch| Dinner
Day 6: Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda
Drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda’s most visited park. Today, your driver will take you via Kasese towards Queen Elizabeth National Park, set on the floor of the Rift Valley, in the shadows of Uganda’s highest mountain, the Rwenzori Mountains. Overnight: Marafiki Safari Lodge Activities • Drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park Meal plan: Breakfast| lunch| Dinner
Day 7: Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda
Explore the park by pursuing a boat cruise on Kazinga Channel, a game drive to see Big 5, and a nature walk to encounter the park’s 600 bird species. Start your day early with a 6 o’clock coffee or tea wake-up call. The morning game drives here are captivating and the landscape is so beautifully laid out with gorges, huge valleys, mountain ranges, forests, and blue lakes. As you pursue the game drive, you will have the pleasure of viewing babies of elephants, cape buffalos, antelopes, and bush babies. You will tag along with your packed breakfast. You are free to feast on it as the game drive unfolds at the Kasenyi sector. It is a preferred breeding ground for antelopes and Giant Forest Hog, Africa’s largest pig. This abundance of prey attracts lions and other predators like the elusive leopard! After your safari, you will head back to the lodge for a few hours of relaxation by the pool and lunch. In the afternoon, you will take a boat for a water safari on the Kazinga Channel, a wide river that connects the two lakes of Edward and George. The boat is lovely and well looked after. Both its upper and lower deck is pretty basic but comfortable and bigger than anticipated. It has extensive shade cover to protect you from burning sun rays. This two hours cruise is likely to be a big highlight of your trip! It will be guided by expert Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers. They will happily help you identify many of the Channel’s 100 bird species. These include African Skimmers, Great White Pelicans, Spoonbill, and several Bee-eater species. At Kazinga, Hippos wallow at the edge of the water, huge Nile crocodiles bask in the sun and elephants come down to drink. Overnight: Marafiki Safari Lodge Activities • Game drive • Boat trip Meal plan: Breakfast| lunch| Dinner
Day 8: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, Uganda
Today we will depart for Bwindi Impenetrable Forest from Queen Elizabeth National park. After you breakfast, you will embark on your enjoy to Rushaga a sector of Bwindi where you will spend two nights. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is a UNESCO Natural World Heritage site and one of the richest biological and botanical regions in the world. The forest covers an area of 331 km² at the south-western edge of the western Rift Valley. Bwindi’s most-revered species are the approximately 400 wild Mountain Gorillas (2011 census) that make up half of the world population of these gentle apes. After a few hours in the vehicle, you may enjoy an afternoon walk (1hrs) around the village of Rushaga (your home for two nights) and a chance to visit one of the handicraft shops or to meet the Batwa, the ancient forest-dwelling tribe. Overnight: Four Gorilla lodge Activities • Drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park Meal plan: Breakfast| lunch| Dinner
Day 9: Bwindi National Park, Kanyashogi, Uganda to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, Uganda
Breakfast Roughly~30minutes-7hrs Walk in search for the Gorillas+ on finding them spend 1hr with the Gorillas: You will be up early on the morning of your Gorilla Tracking for a good breakfast in preparation for the day’s physical activity. You will report for registration at the Uganda Wildlife Authority ranger station by 8 AM. After a briefing by the rangers, your gorilla trek will start. The trek usually takes between three and six hours so a reasonable degree of fitness is required, as well as a strong pair of walking boots or shoes. The rangers will guide you through the village gardens and into the jungle-like forest. They will escort you through the sometimes thick bush, occasionally hacking the dense undergrowth with a machete as you search to locate the gorillas. The mountain gorillas are under 24 hour monitoring for their own safety, so you’re almost guaranteed to see them. The rangers monitor each gorilla family by keeping in close radio contact. In part due to gorilla tourism, the population of gorillas is slowly increasing but the species remains critically endangered. Gorillas and humans share almost identical genetic material and their health must not be compromised by coming into contact with human diseases (via our food, for example). To reduce transmission of disease from humans to gorillas, you will also be advised to keep a distance of 7 metres from the gorillas. Once you have located the gorilla family, you will be asked to leave all your belongings to one side, and approach the gentle giants, just with your camera. The guides will interpret the animals’ behaviour and advise on what you are watching. Females and their young, young males and even a dominant Silverback may be seen: feeding, playing, interacting with each other, or just sleeping! You will never forget your encounter with the gorillas. They will be quite curious to see you! You are allowed exactly one hour with the gorillas before returning to base. Overnight: Four Gorilla lodge Activities • Gorilla Trekking Meal plan: Breakfast| lunch| Dinner
Day 10: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda to Entebbe, Kampala, Uganda
Depart for Kampala following the end of your Africa Vacation after breakfast, we start our journey back towards Entebbe and the guide will drop you at 2 friends' hotels in Entebbe.
What's included
– All Budget accommodation on Half Board (HB), Full Board (FB), or Bed and Breakfast (B&B) basis as quoted in the text – 4x4WD pop roof landcruiser and fuel – English-speaking tourist guide – 1 gorilla permit per person – 1 chimp permit per person – Game drives and walks – Entrance fees to the national parks – All boat tours – Taxes – Free mineral water in the vehicle during the tour – AMREF emergency evacuation insurance
– Visa fees – Drinks / alcoholic drinks – Additional meals – Tips – Activities not part of the described program
What to know
This tour can be customized. Please get in touch with me.
Route & locations
Entebbe International Airport, Entebbe, Uganda to Admas Grand Hotel Entebbe, Entebbe, Uganda