Discover Uganda: Leisa’s TravelLocal trip

Comparatively small, on the scale of Africa, Uganda has more than its fair share of the biggest and the best. Here you’ll find the source of the Nile, the continent’s biggest lake and tallest mountain range, and many of the giants of the animal kingdom. Uganda is the most biodiverse country in Africa, with vast tracts of rainforest, marshland, plains, and snow-capped mountains. There are over 20 nature reserves to explore and opportunities for wildlife-spotting abound, from hippos wallowing in the waters of the Kazinga Channel to gorillas in the misty highland forests. Our Finance Manager, Leisa, recently embarked on a TravelLocal trip to Uganda where she was able to experience all that this country has to offer! We chatted to her all about her adventure, and asked for her tips on how to plan a trip to Uganda with help from local experts.

Firstly, what is a tailor-made trip?

Simply put, a tailor-made trip is one that is crafted uniquely for you to match your interests, needs, and budget. Like a bespoke suit, it may have some similarities to more generic, off-the-peg offerings (after all, you often want to take in a destination’s highlights just as you want a suit to have sleeves) but it will be crafted perfectly for you. The right hotels, the right restaurants, the right tours, the right timings…

Our local experts are experts at creating tailor-made trips. It’s why we’ve selected them and why we are happy to put you directly in touch with them. They live in your destination and therefore have the most up-to-date and relevant knowledge when it comes to exploring their country. No one knows a country like a local.

Why did you choose to plan a trip with TravelLocal?

Africa was an unknown for me and whilst I’m usually a confident self-booker, I just didn’t have the time or the inclination to do the research that it takes to craft a great trip this time. I was planning to travel with two friends and the added pressure of trying to coordinate all of our needs and wants was incredibly daunting. My friends wanted ‘the trip of a lifetime’ and I didn’t want to disappoint them. I have to admit that handing over the planning of our trip to someone else was hard for me, but seeing the consistently fabulous reviews that our local experts received convinced me to give it a go.

How did you find your experience with the local expert?

The organization was impressively smooth and entirely tailored to our requirements. Response times were always quick and to the point. One of our party lives in Kampala, so we had some idea of what we wanted to do. Our local expert took this outline and ran with it to put together a brilliant tour, making adjustments to enrich the trip, selecting fabulous places for us to stay, and suggesting activities to add along the route. We were provided with pre-trip information to help us prepare and when I had a last-minute visa question, our local expert Diane contacted Immigration directly and got back to me on the same day.

Once we got to Uganda, the whole trip was executed seamlessly from start to finish. Our guide was an absolute treasure, so incredibly knowledgeable and very easy company, unfazed by anything we threw at him and happy to accommodate our requests to make small changes along the way. At certain points on a game drive, you inevitably come across other tourists as the guides share information about where to find certain unusual things, but I feel like we spent the majority of our time away from places busy with tourists.

What was your favorite part of visiting Uganda?

A real highlight for me was wild swimming in the volcanic crater lakes. There are over 50 crater lakes in western Uganda, and they are stunning. Each has its own character and many of them are safe for swimming, though largely deserted, so we usually had them to ourselves. We visited several in the region of Fort Portal and then Lake Bunyonyi in the southwest. One particularly memorable moment was swimming in a secluded lake, completely shrouded in mist after a heavy rainfall. Just magical. Out for a swim another evening, we were lucky to be joined by a pair of otters and their curious kits. There are so many reasons to visit Uganda!

Are there any ‘must-try’ experiences you would recommend?

Visiting the mountain gorillas is a unique experience and Uganda is one of the few places in the world where this is possible. It’s a real privilege to spend time watching them in their forest home. It’s also fascinating to learn from the guides about the conservation efforts of the team, and to know that revenue from tourism is directly supporting its continuation. Do visit at least one of the game reserves. We thought about skipping this and I’m so glad that we didn’t. Seeing the animals in their natural habitat is really special; I found watching their behavior in the wild completely captivating!

It’s not just the big game, which is undeniably spectacular, but the bird life is off the charts. If you’re interested in birds, I’d recommend a separate outing just for them. Uganda has around 1,100 species of birds, which is around 10% of all bird species in the world. Certain areas such as Murchison Falls National Park are particularly rich in species, so if you pick your spot, you will see so much in a day.

What advice would you give on how to plan a trip to Uganda?

• Speaking from experience, I’d say let someone else do the organizing legwork! Ugandans are pretty laid-back, which is a great quality in many respects, but sometimes not ideal when trying to make plans.
• Pack plenty of sunscreen, malaria tablets (don’t skip these in Uganda), your swimsuit, a pair of binoculars, and your sense of adventure.
• Engage with the locals. The Ugandans themselves are a large part of what made our trip special: they smile easily and their friendliness is contagious.
• Use local guides, support the local communities with your business, be generous, be respectful when taking photographs, and ask permission.

Make it happen

If Leisa’s tips on how to plan a Uganda trip have inspired you, get in touch with our local experts and start crafting your tailor-made itinerary today!