The central and only international airport of Uganda is located in the suburbs of the capital city of Entebbe. It is located on the shores of Lake Victoria and almost on the equator.
It is a city of decent size, the first contender for the title of the capital of the country, but does not have much development, since it is limited by a lake and an airport. This airport is also used by UN forces to supply the nearby part of Africa.
Note: according to allcitypopulation, the population of Uganda is 47.12 million (2021).
The airport serves several international air carriers, so there are several flight options to get to Uganda:
- Egypt Air regular flight on the route: Moscow — Cairo — Entebbe
The flight departs from Domodedovo airport, transit transfer to another aircraft in Cairo, arrival in Entebbe.
The journey takes about 11 hours, of which: Moscow – Cairo – about 4 hours, transit – 1 hour, Cairo – Entebbe – about 5 hours.
The flight Moscow-Cairo-Entebbe is carried out on an Airbus 320 aircraft. - Regular Turkish Airlines flight on the route Moscow – Istanbul – Entebbe.
The flight departs from Sheremetyevo Airport F (former Terminal 2), transit transfer to another aircraft at Istanbul Airport, arrival in Entebbe.
The journey takes about 11 hours, of which (one of the many options is indicated since the Moscow-Istanbul flight operates 4 times a day): Moscow-Istanbul – about 3 hours, transit – 4 hours, Istanbul – Entebbe – about 6 hours.
The flight Moscow – Istanbul – Entebbe is carried out on an Airbus A320 aircraft. - Emirates regular flight on the route Moscow — Dubai — Entebbe.
The flight departs from Domodedovo airport, transit transfer to another aircraft at Dubai airport, arrival in Entebbe.
The flight Moscow – Dubai – Entebbe is carried out on an Airbus A320 aircraft. - Regular KLM flight on the route Moscow – Amsterdam – Entebbe.
The flight departs from Domodedovo airport, transit transfer to another aircraft at Amsterdam airport, arrival in Entebbe.
The flight Moscow – Amsterdam is carried out on a Boeing 737-700 aircraft. The
flight Amsterdam – Entebbe is carried out on an Airbus A320-200 aircraft.
The journey takes about 14 hours, of which: Moscow – Amsterdam – 3 and a half hours, transit – about 4 hours, Amsterdam – Entebbe – about 7 hours. - It is possible to get to other routes, for example, first to Nairobi, then by domestic airlines to Entebbe.
Visa to Uganda
For citizens of Russia, a visa is required to travel to Uganda, which can be applied for online. In addition, you should purchase travel medical insurance in advance, without which traveling around Africa is simply unreasonable.
Customs
Duty-free importation of two hundred cigarettes and one liter of spirits is allowed into the country. The import of fruits, seedlings and seeds, drugs, explosives, firearms is prohibited. It is forbidden to export gold and diamonds, ivory and animal skins without a special license from the customs authorities.
The import of foreign currency is not limited. The export of the national currency is prohibited (at least formally: tourists still usually drag away several banknotes as souvenirs).
Phone numbers
For calls to Uganda from Russia, the standard character set is used: long distance access 8, international access 10, then the country code 256 is added, then the area code:
- Kampala – 41
- Jinja – 43
- Mbale – 45
- Fort Portal – 483
- Masindi – 465
- Masaka – 481.
And here is detailed information about communication and Wi-Fi in Uganda.
Transport
The transport system in Uganda is not particularly developed, but at the same time, the main roads passing through the whole country are of good quality. The cities are connected by regular transport links, mainly carried out by minibuses with a capacity of 8-10 people or by small buses (20-30 passengers). A taxi-bus (like our Gazelle) is called “Matata”. Dirty inside and not always positive amber. In each “matate” there is a conductor, who also called the “manager” of trips.
There is an interesting mode of transport, typical for the cities of Uganda – “bodaboda”. “Bodaboda” is a motorcycle with a seat instead of a rear rack. The “chauffeur bodaboda” will take the passenger to wherever he wants for a small fee, while the distances practically do not matter. “Bodabod” can be found day and night, in the city and outside the city, in the field and in the mountains. Auto-taxi is twice as expensive as “bodaboda”.
“Bodaboda” this word came from the English border – “border”, pronounced in the local version as “boda”. In earlier times, the population often “dangled” across the border to neighboring countries for all sorts of things, including bruliks. The fastest of all these trips were performed on small light motorcycles, mostly Japanese 125 cm3, and they traveled across the border back and forth, that is, two borders – “boda-boda”. Subsequently, the spelling was simplified to “bodaboda”. Transport is very fast, traffic jams, which in large cities of Uganda are no less than in Moscow, pass very quickly, but there are a lot of falls and injuries, especially for female passengers, as they sit sideways and fall on their backs very easily during any maneuvers.
Car rental in Uganda
Car rental in Uganda, as well as around the world, is carried out by specialized companies, the so-called “rent-a-car”. The average cost of a middle-class car varies from 50 USD to 75 USD, the average cost of an SUV is from 100 USD to 150 USD, you can rent a minibus for 180 USD – 250 USD.
It should be noted that traffic in Uganda is left-hand drive, and all cars are right-hand drive. Therefore, for those who are “not confident in their abilities” on the “back” road, advice: take a car with a driver. The driver can act as an interpreter, as well as a conductor.
Tourist safety
Uganda is safe for tourists. A distinctive feature of the cities of Uganda is the absence of pestering merchants of souvenirs and unnecessary trifles. You can safely walk both in national parks and in cities. Still, it is necessary to be careful outside the cities, since animals (elephants, lions, hippos and others) are free in their movements.
Before the trip, it is worth getting vaccinated against yellow fever, which ensures the safety of tourists around the world in countries with a tropical climate. Prevention of malaria will also be useful.
Language
In Uganda, in the kingdom of Buganda, headed by their Kabaka – the king, there is the people of Baganda, who speak the language of Luganda. A feature of the Luganda language is that all changes are carried out by changing the front of the word, and not at the end. For example, in the singular the word begins with “mu”, and in the plural it also begins with “ba”: munafu – idler, banafu – idlers.
