15 Days Uganda Budget Safari
15 Days Uganda Budget Safari offers visitors an opportunity to enjoy a variety of Uganda’s main attractions for 2 weeks. This trip is for visitors with low budget expenditure who wish to visit Uganda and enjoy some of the country’s best destinations. This trip involves exploring the primates in Kibale national park and Bwindi Impenetrable national park for chimpanzee trekking and gorilla trekking respectively. Wildlife experience in the savannah park including Murchison falls national park, Queen Elizabeth national park, Lake Mburo national park. These national park have unique attraction that make them independently attractive and worth visiting. Other attractions include; nature walks such as Ziwa rhino trekking on foot, and Bigodi swamp walk. Water experiences like boat cruises, and water rafting. Enjoy, horseback riding as added activities of your interest. The trip starts and ends in Uganda – Entebbe airport. Accommodation facilities provided are only based on budget facilities.
Highlights of the Safari
- Day 1: Arrival – Hotel
- Day 2: Murchison falls national park – Rhino trekking and top of the falls (5-6 hours)
- Day 3: Game drive and launch cruise – Murchison Falls
- Day 4: Drive to Kibale national park (7-8 hours)
- Day 5: Chimpanzee trekking experience
- Day 6: Visit Bigodi wetland – Queen Elizabeth national park
- Day 7: Game drive – boat cruise in Kazinga channel
- Day 8: Drive to Kisoro – Bwindi (6 hours)
- Day 9: Gorilla trekking
- Day 10: Another day at Bwindi – Kisoro
- Day 11: Volcano climbing/Golden monkeys – Mgahinga national park
- Day 12: All day at Lake Bunyonyi
- Day 13: Transfer to Lake Mburo national park – walking safari
- Day 14: Game drive/boat – transfer to Kampala
- Day 15: Ngamba Island and Departure
Detailed itinerary
Day 1: Arrival – Hotel
Upon arrival at Entebbe airport, you will meet our company representative/guide who will be waiting to receive you and transfer you Kampala city which is 37km away. You will be transferred to your hotel to check-in and rest from the long flight. In the evening dinner will be served and spend a comfortable night at the hotel. Forest cottages as a budget facility
Day 2: Murchison falls national park – Rhino trekking and top of the falls (5-6 hours)
Enjoy morning breakfast and drive to Murchison falls national park. En route at the Ziwa Rhino sanctuary for rhino tracking, have lunch in Masindi town. Proceed to the park entering through Kichumbanyobo gate. You will visit the top of the falls and then proceed to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay at Heritage Safari lodge as a budget facility
Day 3: Game drive and launch cruise – Murchison Falls
Early morning breakfast and then go for a game drive where you will spot various animal species like elephants, giraffes, lions, Uganda kobs among others. Return for lunch at the lodge.
In the afternoon, you will go for a launch cruise on the park’s main tourist attraction the unique Murchison Falls as well as the River Nile with its streaming hippo and serried ranges of crocodile along the sandbanks, as well as large numbers of different species getting down to drink & bathe. Dinner and overnight at Lodge as above
Day 4: Drive to Kibale national park (7-8 hours)
After early morning breakfast, meet the driver and cross the 7 am ferry for a transfer to Kibale forest national park in the western part of the country. This is a full day drive with lunch en route. Arrive late afternoon and connect to your lodge for dinner and overnight stay at Isunga lodge
Day 5: Chimpanzee trekking experience
After early morning breakfast at the lodge, connect to Kibale forest for your chimpanzee habituation experience with your packed snacks and water. You will first report at the park headquarters for a briefing before entering the forest for the activity. This a full day activity so expect to see a lot of primate species like chimpanzees, monkeys and other animals like the forest elephants, buffaloes, bush pig and duiker, warthogs, reptiles as well as a colourful variety of butterflies. On finding the chimpanzees, you will be allowed to spend 1 hours’ with them. Return to the Lodge as above.
Day 6: Visit Bigodi wetland – Queen Elizabeth national park
After your breakfast, the driver will take you for a nature walk at Bigodi wetland where you will enjoy the silence but only the whispers and sounds of birds, Bigodi wetland is where you will experience a lot of bird life and unspoiled nature and if you are good at birding, this is a great place to spot various bird species. Return to have your lunch.
In the afternoon, embark on your 3-4 hours drive to Queen Elizabeth national park, en route stop at the equator for pictures and the Katwe salt mine. Enter the park late afternoon and connect to your lodge to rest. Dinner well be served and spend a night at Pumba safari cottages
Day 7: Game drive – boat cruise in Kazinga channel
After your breakfast, you will set off to an early morning game drive. You will also encounter other animals like the lions, leopards, buffaloes, elephants, waterbuck, Uganda Kob and other types of antelopes. Then go back for lunch.
Afternoon, go for a 3 hours launch cruise along the Kazinga Channel into Lake Edward, this cruise will let you pass through a place of the highest concentration of hippos and you may also see many animals drinking at the water’s edge. The cruise also offers good platform for photography, bird watching and games. Dinner and overnight stay at as above
Day 8: Drive to Kisoro – Bwindi (6 hours)
After breakfast, meet your driver to depart for Bwindi. Proceed to Bwindi with en route lunch in Kabale town then drive through the rolling hills of Kabale and Kisoro, arrive early afternoon at the lodge where you will check-in, have dinner and spend a night at Ichumbi Gorilla lodge
Day 9: Gorilla trekking experience
Have breakfast and transfer you to park offices for briefing about Mountain Gorilla trekking by a local guide. The time taken is usually between 2-8 hours depending on the movement of the gorillas. Meeting the gorillas unexpectedly is one of the most captivating lifetime experiences. You will have a chance to observe and take pictures at very close range. You will observe adults feeding and groaning among themselves. After an hour with the long-awaited gorillas, your guide and rangers will lead you back to the starting point where your driver will readily be waiting to transfer you back to the lodge. Depending on the time you return from the trekking activity, you may do an optional community tour. Have dinner and overnight stay as lodge above.
Day 10: Another day at Bwindi – Kisoro
You will have breakfast and embark on one of the many optional adventures in Bwindi including Batwa experience, guided forest walk or a tour of the villages around the Park. Have lunch and in the evening, drive to an accommodation near kisoro to spend a night bringing you closer to Mgahinga national park and also have your dinner at Travelers’ Rest Lodge – Half board.
Day 11: Volcano climbing/Golden monkeys – Mgahinga national park
Wake up early and drive to Mgahinga national park for briefing from your ranger guides about the hike. The park is located on mount Gahinga one of the 8 Virunga mountains with the lowest height of about 3,474m. The hike is between 6-8 hours hike depending on your fitness. You will hike through the bamboo cover, if luck is on your side you may encounter the golden monkeys and the gorillas. Reaching the top is so fulfilling and interesting as you enjoy the cool air and the breeze from the giant lobelia in the carter swamp. You will then return at your starting point to meet your driver and go back to your lodge to rest.
Alternatively you can do the golden monkey trekking activity on the same mountain. The activity takes 2-6 hours depending on the location of the golden monkeys. On finding them, spend an hour the monkeys before you return to meet your driver to drive back to the lodge.
Day 12: All day at Lake Bunyonyi
On this day after you enjoying your breakfast, you will set off to Lake Bunyonyi to chill and relax. This is a 2 hours’ drive arriving Bunyonyi late morning. The lake is located between Kisoro and Kabale in the southwestern Uganda close to the border with Rwanda. It’s believed to be the second deepest lake in Africa with the depth between 44m and 900m and its about 7 to 25kms wide.
Take a boat trip to some of the fascinating islands on the lake – Kyahugye Island where you will find some wildlife including the Zebras, waterbucks, impalas and Kobs or visit Akampeine Island where pregnant unmarried girls were dumped to die. Return in the evening at the lodge to relax and chill. Dinner and overnight stay at Bunyonyi Overland resort
Day 13: Transfer to Lake Mburo national park – walking safari
After breakfast, meet your driver and be transferred to Lake Mburo national park. Enter the park and connect to your lodge for lunch, relax then later go for a walking safari with a ranger guide. This activity is not different from a game drive except that you will be viewing animals on foot. Expect to see animals like the Zebras, Elands, Impalas, Topis, and Buffaloes. Spend the rest of your evening relaxing at the lodge at Eagles Nest Lodge
Day 14: Game drive/boat – transfer to Kampala
After breakfast, depending on your how you want to explore the park, you will either go for a morning game drive or do a boat trip on Lake Mburo. Later set off to Kampala/Entebbe, en route lunch in Masaka town and Equator. Proceed to Kampala then drive to Via Via Guesthouse in Entebbe for dinner and overnight stay
Day 15: Mabamba swamp and Departure
After breakfast, connect to Mabamba swamp for a bird watching experience. You will take a canoe ride to the island where you will get closer to different bird species that reside here especially the rare shoebill stork. Later afternoon, return to to Entebbe, have lunch at your hotel, relax before your prepare for your flight back home.
