Sander van Zanten

I planned my very first trip to Africa (specifically Uganda) using kimkim and I could not be happier with the outcome. I was picked up at the Entebbe airport upon my arrival and dropped again at the airport after 3 weeks to fly back, and in between I had quite a few memorable adventures which I will remember for the rest of my life.
Uganda is a wonderful country full of natural parks, lakes, and wild animals, but I should say the most amazing part of my trip was interacting with Ugandan... read more

I planned my very first trip to Africa (specifically Uganda) using kimkim and I could not be happier with the outcome. I was picked up at the Entebbe airport upon my arrival and dropped again at the airport after 3 weeks to fly back, and in between I had quite a few memorable adventures which I will remember for the rest of my life.
Uganda is a wonderful country full of natural parks, lakes, and wild animals, but I should say the most amazing part of my trip was interacting with Ugandan people on different parts of the country. Ugandans are extremely warm and friendly and no matter on which part of the country you see them, they always greet you with warmth and smile and I should emphasize once again that having the opportunity to travel around the country and meeting these wonderful people has been the highlight of my trip.
I had a wonderful and knowledgable guide (Paul Buzinde) who drove me around the country for 21 days. He knew all the roads in the country, the name of all the birds we encountered in the natural parks, and most importantly made utmost effort to make the trip as smooth and enjoyable as possible. I want to use this opportunity to thank Paul for making this trip a memorable experience for me.
If you're interested in visiting Uganda, 3 weeks of road trip should take you to most of the places that tourists generally visit, but if you want to plan a shorter trip then there are some places that in my idea you should definitely visit. In no particular order they are:
1) Kidepo Valley National Park - Many visitors don't go to this place since it's in a pretty remote area but I think a trip to Uganda should definitely include visiting this wonderful natural park. I visited some 6 national parks in Uganda and by far Kidepo was the most beautiful of them because it has a very open savannah where you can see miles and miles of grasslands with overwhelming beauty. Most of my wildlife sightings also happened to be in Kidepo. In addition, since not many people travel to this park, you might easily happen to have the whole park to yourself, which was the case with me while doing my safari. Keep in mind that traveling to Kidepo will also take you through the remote northeast region of Uganda which is home to Karamojong tribe. Consider this as an added bonus in traveling to Kidepo.
2) Murchison Falls National Park - You will not see hippos and crocodiles in Kidepo but there are plenty of them in Murchison, the views of Nile river is just breathtaking, and hiking to the top of the Murchison Falls and seeing the drop from the top is just an amazing experience.
3) Gorilla tracking in Bwindi National Park - Much have already been said about this elsewhere, but I have to emphasize again that tracking gorillas and spending an hour with them is truly, truly a remarkable experience. If you plan to do only one thing in Uganda, this is it.
4) Lake Bunyonyi - Serene, beautiful lake with plenty of isolated islands scattered on top of it. You will have the opportunity to hike on the hillsides surrounding the lake and interact with local people living on the hillsides.
I would have liked to spend more time visiting the villages on the road but unfortunately this is something which I didn't think about before planning my trip. I suggest for anybody who plans to visit Uganda to consider a couple village walks in different regions of the country, specially in the Karamojong region. It will be a wonderful experience.

The trip was fantastic driving from Rwanda through Uganda the experience seeing the people, small towns was wonderful. The Gorilla Trekking was much harder than we thought at 7,500 ft above sea level. We live at sea level. Our idea was doing the Habitational on the first day and a regular trek the following day...bad idea as we were very sore after a 10 hour up and down hills including 4 hours following the gorilla family. Following day we just bailed out of the trek as we needed the rest,... read more

The trip was fantastic driving from Rwanda through Uganda the experience seeing the people, small towns was wonderful. The Gorilla Trekking was much harder than we thought at 7,500 ft above sea level. We live at sea level. Our idea was doing the Habitational on the first day and a regular trek the following day...bad idea as we were very sore after a 10 hour up and down hills including 4 hours following the gorilla family. Following day we just bailed out of the trek as we needed the rest, yet “What an Experience” I even got false charged by the large Silver Back...a real African adventure!
The food at Nkuringo Bwindi lodge was not up to par and I’m not a picky eater so I suggest you make other arrangements at that location. The staff was very nice but even when we write everything we wanted to eat down on paper, it never was correct.... a communication problem. Even Moses our driver translated but it never worked.
The best lodge was Kyaninga. A beautifully log cabin lodge with great food and wonderful staff.
Now for Kim Kim...a great tour company which allows you to deal with the tour operator in the area your traveling in. My questions about our trip were answered within an hour which gave me a feeling of confidence about the upcoming African adventure. Our driver and guide “Moses”was with us at all times if we needed anything... he was great. Overall trip was a 9 out of 10.
Bill & Sue Gordon