Two weeks of camping in Uganda was an absolutely spectacular experience we’ll never forget. But the most common question we get isn’t about the nature, the wildlife, or the Ugandan people. You want to know how much our roadtrip in Uganda cost. So here’s our full itinerary and a detailed budget breakdown.
Our Route
This time around, we took planning a bit more “seriously” and mapped out where we should end up each day and roughly what we’d do there. The plan changed several times along the way (partly because Google has no idea that most roads in Uganda are unpaved, so a 5-hour drive actually takes at least 11 and a half), but in the end we managed to tick off everything on the list — except for the chimpanzees.
Camping in Uganda – Our Accommodation Itinerary
Planning a trip to Uganda is tricky, and finding a decent guidebook is even trickier. We’ll save you the hassle of buying useless guides — the best one, in our opinion, is Uganda by Andrew Roberts, which you can order online. We recommend it wholeheartedly.
We camped most nights in Uganda, though we treated ourselves to a proper bed every now and then. Here’s a detailed breakdown of where we stayed. All the places had hot water, but don’t count on wifi — some advertised it, but it only actually worked at the Via Via Guesthouse. If you need internet, grab a Ugandan SIM card with data, or consider picking up an eSIM from Holafly before you go.RoadTrip Uganda #1: Vy dva v Ugandě určitě umřete
Day 1 + 2: Via Via Guesthouse
A charming guesthouse in Entebbe, where we landed at three in the morning. It turned out to be the best accommodation we found in all of Uganda — which is exactly why we came back for our last night too.
Accommodation cost: $50/night for a private room, breakfast included Meal cost: $5–$7 for lunch/dinner Booking: Via Via
Day 3: Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
We camped right inside the park where we went on a rhino tracking trek. We pitched our tent on a camping area the size of a football pitch.
Camping cost: $10/person (no breakfast) Booking: Ziwarhino.com
RoadTrip Uganda #2: Když se zelený ráj změní v peklo
Day 4 + 5: Red Chilli Camp in Murchison Falls National Park
Red Chilli is a brilliant campsite right in the heart of Uganda’s largest national park. Hands down the best staff we encountered anywhere in the country! It’s a gorgeous oasis, located just three minutes from the Nile ferry crossing where morning safaris begin — making it the perfect base camp.
We used the camp as our base for a half-day self-drive safari and a three-hour boat cruise on the Nile.
Camping cost: $8/person Booking: redchillihideaway.com
Day 6: A Hotel You Should Definitely Avoid!
We couldn’t manage the full drive and had to stop for the night at the Glory Summit Hotel in the town of Hoima. First, you won’t find the hotel because the address is wrong on both Booking.com and their website. When you finally track it down, the receptionist won’t be able to tell you your room number, won’t know where breakfast is served, and will have absolutely no idea whether there’s still a chef in the kitchen. Oh, and they’ll slap a 5% surcharge on card payments. 🙂
Accommodation cost: $35
Day 7: Rwenzori Mountains – Rwenzori Trekkers Hostel
Before setting off on our two-day mountain trek, we took advantage of the option to stay in a room on the premises of the trekking company that was taking us into the mountains. A simple room with a bed and mosquito net served us well.
Accommodation cost: $15/person including breakfast (camping $8)
Day 8: Rwenzori Mountains – Kalalama Camp
On our two-day trek, we overnighted at a camp we crawled to after seven hours and 1,800 metres of elevation gain. Trek cost: $250 per person (includes guide, porters, food, snacks, and hut) Booking: rwenzoritrekking.com
Day 9: Simba Safari Camp
About an hour and a half from the Rwenzori Mountains, roughly 100 metres from the equator, and 10 minutes from the entrance to Queen Elizabeth National Park, you’ll find Simba Safari Camp. The restaurant staff will treat you like royalty — as long as you order in advance and go for at least a three-course meal. 🙂
Camping cost: $6/person Booking: ugandalodges.com
Uganda RoadTrip #3: Jak si nás přišla osahat gorila
Day 10: Queen Elizabeth Parkview Tourist Hotel
After a full day of driving around the national park on safari, we pulled up on the other side at this luxury resort overlooking plains full of elephants. We were the only guests, and they tried to rip us off, but everything worked out in the end and we actually quite enjoyed it. 🙂
Camping cost: $10/person Booking: qeparkviewlodge.com
Day 11: Rushaga Gorilla Camp
If you want to trek gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, you’ll need to stay at one of the nearby lodges. Be prepared for higher prices — the Ugandans know full well you have no other option.
Camping cost: $35/person (with breakfast and one main course) Booking: rushaga.com
Day 12 + 13: Paradise Eco Hub
We desperately needed this little paradise. The resort sits on a small island on Lake Bunyonyi and has everything you could possibly want in Uganda.
For your money, you get a level of comfort that’s rare in Uganda (we didn’t camp here), though the huts have no electricity (just a battery-powered light), you need to order food several hours ahead so they can fetch ingredients by boat, and the wifi they advertise on their website doesn’t actually work.
Silas, the resort manager and your ever-present guide, will take care of everything for you from start to finish. Pay for the half-day excursion ($15/person) where he’ll take you by boat around the islands, to a local school, and on a short hike to a viewpoint. Accommodation cost: $60/night for a luxury nest Booking: paradiseecohub.com
Day 14: Mburo Safari Lodge
For our last night in Uganda, we decided to splash out. We pooled all our remaining shillings and treated ourselves to a luxury chalet for $220 that included lunch, dinner, and breakfast. They had by far the best chef, and we were treated like VIPs. Before the meal, they brought us a warm, damp towel (!) to wash our hands, and that kicked off an hour-long gourmet experience. An hour long because it took them ages to serve each course. 😀
Accommodation cost: $250/chalet Booking: mburosafarilodge.com
Day 15: Via Via Guesthouse
We ended up right where we started. 🙂 We only popped in for a few hours, had dinner, and then headed to the airport.So, How Much Did It All Cost?
Uganda cost us roughly €2,200 per person. That includes flights (around €440), medication and vaccinations (which we didn’t have any of, so it came to nearly €200/person), and gorilla trekking permits (about €400/person).
We flew from London, so those flights are factored in. If you’re flying from another UK city, budget accordingly — but there are decent connections from Manchester and other hubs via Nairobi or Addis Ababa with airlines like Ethiopian Airlines or Kenya Airways.
We didn’t scrimp on the road. Wherever possible, we camped, but we gave up cooking after the first day (it gets dark far too early, and the malaria-carrying mosquitoes come out at 5 pm). So we mostly ended up eating at restaurants for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
We bought whatever caught our eye, but we weren’t exactly throwing money around either. A typical meal at a hotel or campsite restaurant runs $5–$7, and while you can grab a chapati from a street vendor for pennies, you probably won’t want to eat them every single day. 🙂
Budget Breakdown:
Entry Fees Will Bleed You Dry
Park entrance fees, gorilla permits, and the two-day mountain trek alone cost us nearly €1,600 between the two of us. Ugandans routinely charge foreigners many times more than locals. It’s not a scam — those really are the official prices. It’s perfectly normal to pay $45 per person for 24-hour entry to a national park (not a minute longer — a soldier with a Kalashnikov checks you on the way out), plus another $30 for your vehicle. Add accommodation costs, multiply by the number of days, and prepare for some serious sticker shock.
Uganda on Half the Budget of a Tour Company
We compared our costs with what a UK-based tour operator would charge for a similar itinerary. We found one running a very similar route, albeit with fewer nights (4 fewer). It turned out we did the whole thing for roughly half the price of their package, and we saw considerably more (including a two-day trek into the Rwenzori Mountains). And those 4 extra nights are absolutely worth it 😇
| Our DIY Trip | Tour Operator | |
| Car (= freedom of movement) | YES | NO |
| Number of nights | 14 | 10 |
| Gorilla permit included | YES | NO (+ ~€400/person) |
| Medication & Malarone included | YES | NO (+ ~€200/person) |
| Total cost | ~€2,200 | ~€3,600 (+ €600) |
Tips and Tricks for Your Vacation
Don’t Overpay for Flights
Search for flights on Kayak. It’s our favorite search engine because it scans the websites of all airlines and always finds the cheapest connection.
Book Your Accommodation Smartly
The best experiences we’ve had when looking for accommodation (from Alaska to Morocco) are with Booking.com, where hotels, apartments, and entire houses are usually the cheapest and most widely available.
Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Good travel insurance will protect you against illness, accidents, theft, or flight cancellations. We’ve had a few hospital visits abroad, so we know how important it is to have proper insurance arranged.
Where we insure ourselves: SafetyWing (best for everyone) and TrueTraveller (for extra-long trips).
Why don’t we recommend any Czech insurance company? Because they have too many restrictions. They set limits on the number of days abroad, travel insurance via a credit card often requires you to pay medical expenses only with that card, and they frequently limit the number of returns to the Czech Republic.
Find the Best Experiences
Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can book guided walks, trips, skip-the-line tickets, tours, and much more. We always find some extra fun there!
