Entebbe
A green lakeside town six kilometres from Uganda's international runway, with chimpanzees on an island offshore and shoebills in the papyrus.
- Arrival
- Entebbe International · EBB
- To the town
- About 6 km from the airport
- Private jets
- EBB, open around the clock, with customs
- Best time
- January to February · July to September
The city
On the shore of Lake Victoria.
Entebbe sits on a spur of land running into Lake Victoria, with the country's international airport at its tip and Kampala forty kilometres up the road. Most travellers pass straight through; those who stay find gardens and lake views, and a sensible first or last night on a Ugandan journey.
Most outings involve the lake: a boat out to Ngamba Island, where orphaned chimpanzees are cared for, or an early start for the swamps of Mabamba and the shoebill. The giant trees of the botanical gardens fill an afternoon. The drier months, January and February and again from July, are the easiest for any of it.
- Ngamba Island A sanctuary for orphaned chimpanzees, reached by boat across Lake Victoria.
- Mabamba Swamp A morning among papyrus channels in search of the shoebill, one of the great sightings of African birding.
- Botanical gardens Giant trees and tropical planting running down to the lakeshore.
Arriving
Landing on the lake.
Entebbe International, about six kilometres from the town, is Uganda's international gateway and the starting point for light-aircraft flights to the national parks.
- Kigali 50 min
- Addis Ababa 1 h 55
- Cairo 4 h 40
- Dubai 5 h 10
- Bangkok 10 h 10 long-range jet
When to go
January to February, and July to September.
On the equator but over 1,100 metres up, Entebbe stays at 27 to 29 °C by day all year. Rain decides the season: April and May bring more than 230 mm each, while January, February and July to September are much drier.
- 29° J 78
- 29° F 87
- 28° M 167
- 27° A 235
- 27° M 241
- 27° J 108
- 27° J 71
- 27° A 78
- 27° S 83
- 28° O 130
- 27° N 171
- 28° D 124
Where to stay
Along the lakeshore.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
-
Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort & Spa A 122-room resort on the lake with a championship golf course, a spa and its own marina.
- Speke Resort Munyonyo Lakeside resort with 335 rooms, a riding centre and a marina where private boats can tie up.
- Protea Hotel by Marriott Entebbe On the lakeshore in town, with a terrace over the water, an outdoor pool and a spa.
Where to dine
Dinner by the lake.
No MICHELIN Guide or national guide covers Uganda, and Entebbe’s own restaurants are casual. The nearest fine-dining room is at the lakeside resort in Munyonyo.
- Nyanja Restaurant Signature restaurant, Commonwealth Resort Munyonyo International Munyonyo, about 27 km from Entebbe
Elsewhere in Uganda
More reasons to come.
- Kampala The capital, its markets and the Kasubi royal tombs.
- Jinja Where the Nile leaves Lake Victoria.
- Murchison Falls The Nile forced through a gap seven metres wide.
- Queen Elizabeth A national park whose lions climb trees in the Ishasha sector.
- Bwindi Impenetrable forest, home to about half the world's mountain gorillas.
Flying to Entebbe?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.