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City in Central Uganda
Photo: Niranjanoak, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Entebbe is a pleasant town built on the shores of Lake Victoria in Uganda. Entebbe offers a relaxed stop-over alternative to Kampala if you're flying into or out of Uganda, as the air is clean, the streets are safe to walk, and the old colonial gardens and parks with the lake in the background make for a serene atmosphere.
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(UWEC) Entebbe's Zoo
If you don't have a safari planned, this might be your opportunity to catch a glimpse of Africa's wildlife. It's no Singapore Zoo but, unlike many third world offerings, this is not a depressing place. There are good play facilities for children and the aviaries are especially interesting with weaver birds, shoebills and fish eagles. There's a medium-size collection of wildlife saved from captivity, including lions, rhinos, zebras, crocodiles, giraffes, hyenas, chimpanzee and others. All animals (apart from the snakes and crocodiles) are held in large, natural-like areas that gives a nice semi-authentic feeling. The trees and lianas are magnificent and you can understand why various 'Tarzan-type" movies were filmed here. Admission for foreign adults/children is US$15/10; Uganda resident foreigners USh 20,000/10,000; Ugandans USh 10,000/5,000 and you end up with 1.5-2 hours of fun. Opens daily at 08:30 and you may want to come early before the animals go hiding in the shade from the midday's sun.
There is also accommodation inside the centre so you could stay the night in a Banda (en suite circular hut with a thatched roof & fly-screened windows) next door to the (very quiet) giraffes, elands and impala for US$40/60 single/double or stay in some serviced flats next to noisier animals for US$50/70 single/double. There is also dormitory accommodation available for USh 30,000 and camping is even cheaper.
National Botanical Gardens
The gardens are not spectacular but birdwatchers and botanist will find it interesting. The gardens host stands of large trees in a park like setting, a supposed filming site of a "Tarzan" movie, a troop of vervet and colobus monkeys, along with many kinds of birds.
Entebbe's beach (Aero Beach) also features some plane wrecks that depending on your preferences may be plain ugly or interesting to explore.
Play golf at the local 18-hole golf course.
Great Indian food, good atmosphere, cheap beer. Has a bar with a pool table, and expats are welcome. Also does "Chinese" dishes, but not as the nationals of most countries would know them. There's a dance floor and the attached bakery has scrumptious strawberry sorbet imported from Kenya. Attentive and rapid service and candles on the tables after dark. Open to the mosquitoes throughout.
Most of the comfy and romantic seating is outdoors - so watch the weather. There's also an inside coffee shop and they show interesting movies every Friday night and there are Salsa lessons Tuesdays. Full Engkish breakfast USh 17,000, Spanish Omelette USh 10,000, two pancakes (either lemon and sugar, maple syrup or Nutella) USh 8,000. Pizzas and pasta dishes from USh 12,000. Daily specials include a free drink of your choice (water, carbonated or beer).
There is also a Ugandan arts and crafts shop with an extensive range adjacent.
Wood fired, clay oven pizza. Indoor and outdoor seating. Slot machines and a pool table.
Lovely little coconut grove on a golden sand, lakeside beach. Service is very slow, so plan on having a few drinks. Beautiful scenery. Don't go around dusk unless you don't mind being eaten while you eat.
Great deck overlooking the lake. Large enclosed restaurant with an extensive assortment of western and Indian foods. Arguably Entebbe's best food. Try the daily pot pie. Great coffee.
Looks like a bit of a dump but the food is authentically good.
Heineken & Guinness served and has a half sized billiard table. Also serves typical British pub grub.
Free Wi-Fi. Large clean garden, and has its own standby generator for use during the frequent power outages. Less than 6 km from the Entebbe airport.
Large and well-kept walled gardens in a quiet residential part of town make this a peaceful and secure budget option. En suite: single US$40, double/twin US$50, family US$70; shared ablutions: single US$20, double US$25; dorm: 4 bedded US$12 pp, 6 bedded US$8 pp; camping: US$5-8 pp. Free Wi-Fi & satellite TV.
Gruby, dilapidated, single storey courtyard reminiscent of a tiny stableyard just opposite the Matatu (minibus) station so noisy and dusty. Rooms are small, depressing and fly-blown with shared ablutions that are not quite as bad as the general ambience might lead you to expect. No security whatever, but Entebbe is a relatively honest place so this might not worry you as much as if it were in Kampala. Perhaps the most unusual feature is their pricing structure: a room for two people with 2 twin (beds costs USh 25,000 while one double bed costs USh 27,000. The more hygienically sensitive may prefer to camp in one of the more leafy suburban establishments for a few thousand shillings less.
You'll probably think you're at the wrong place when you arrive and see the red tiled roof, immaculately shaved lawn and smartly clipped box hedge. Once you go inside, it's clear that this place doesn't see too many big-spenders. The reinforced concrete construction with internal courtyard keeps the public areas cool but make sure there is a fan in your rather dilapidated but not too unsanitary room. Like most tourist offerings in Entebbe, there's a 24/7 armed guard and a high wall. There is a standby generator. Two channels of centrally-selected satellite TV are available in most of the rooms and almost all have an en suite shower, wash hand basin and WC. Make sure you ask for a mosquito net since most of the room windows are not screened. Intermittent Wi-Fi via Orange cellular ISP and a meagre breakfast is included in their tariff. The 8 bunk dormitory on the first floor is a light and airy room with windows (without net screening) opening on to a mature shade tree. The large bathroom for this dorm actually has a hip bath and hot water and each bunk has individual mosquito nets. Popular with those few UN staff that have to pay for their own accommodation. Main business is budget safaris. Room tip: Room 7 on the second floor is larger and quieter than most, is fairly effectively mosquito screened (May 2014) and has views from 2 windows in two walls set at right angles. Camping US$4/5 Dorm $17.
Winnie's Guesthouse
Quiet, private 10-room guesthouse in Kasenyi. All meals available on-site.
Free Wi-Fi, free airport transfer, free breakfast.
Oceanic House
12-bed room guest wing, clean rooms with a satellite TV, all rooms have private shower and toilet.
Budget-friendly guesthouse with mango trees on the lawn, colorful gardens, 20+ en-suite rooms (single, double, twin, triple, deluxe) with mosquito nets, wardrobes, desks, and garden views. Private bathrooms include hot-water baths/showers and free toiletries. Free high-speed WiFi (strongest in public areas), free secure parking, and 24-hour front-desk service. On-site restaurant and bar under the mango tree. Breakfast is complimentary: continental, halal, or vegetarian. Children’s playground, bike hire, spa treatments (massage, manicure/pedicure), room service, and paid airport shuttle. 4×4 car hire available on-site for day trips.
4-storey ferro-concrete hotel has 37 Queen-bedded rooms, 5 twin-bedded rooms & 1 family room being renovated. All rooms have individual air-conditioning and well screened sliding windows. Soft top, orthopaedic mattresses are particularly good quality and comfortable. Queen-bedded rooms have hip baths, wash hand basins and WC; the twin-bedded rooms are slightly larger and the bath is swapped out for a modern shower cubicle. Free Wi-Fi & satellite TV with 4 channels available including CCTV4 and Al Jazeera.
Founded as a retreat centre and hygienic, tranquil base for visiting Roman Catholic clergy and missionaries in 2007, Theresa keeps everything spotless and homely. Rooms are in villas separate from the main house at the bottom of the well-kept garden and have a double bed and a single bed, both with mosquito nets, although all the windows are also properly screened. Shower room has a flush WC and is en suite. The ceilings are high and have a fan. There is also a tiny food preparation area with running water and a sink but no fridge or cooking facilities in one corner of the room. If you e-mail, a reliable meet and greet service can be arranged from the airport for US$10. The library in the main house has an interesting selection, not all of them ecclesiastical, but there is no internet; Theresa usually answer emails promptly.
Ten Queen-bedded rooms in the family compound of retired local civil servants means that you are assured of all the local insider tips. Peace of mind comes from knowing that you are looked after by the family's personal household. Bedrooms and shower rooms are tiled and comfortably furnished; mosquito netting is unusually comprehensive. There is a relaxing garden with mango, orange, paw-paw, guava, avocado and tangerine trees and the pineapple served at your breakfast will probably have only had to travel 20 m. The view from both the main house and the front garden over the lush suburban gardens of Bugonga as the sun sets over Lake Victoria makes a fine coda to your day. Free Wi-Fi. Credit cards not accepted. Airport meet and greet service is US$10.
Opened in Jan 2014 with 6 tastefully and comprehensively furnished double rooms and 2 family rooms each with modern fitted kitchen and air-con. 25m swimming pool with an attractive, rainbow opalescent tiled bottom will open in Jul 2014. Authentic and hygienic fruit juices and smoothies in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. Kampala trained chef specializes in Italian cuisine and there is a restaurant. Free Wi-Fi (provided by a cellular link, so rather intermittent like most of Uganda). Lush garden has mature shade trees and relatively quick beverage and cake service for Uganda. Fully tiled and luxuriously equipped en suite doubles with bath from US$89 (single occupancy US$79) including à la carte cooked breakfast, with kitchenette US$119.
Relatively clean single-storey buildings in a tranquil setting with 5 rooms in the main building and another 4 in outbuildings, some with their own patio. All rooms have en suite showers, wash hand basins & WCs but maintenance is haphazard and most shower room windows are unscreened allowing mosquitoes to enter via the ill fitting adjoining door to the bedroom. A meagre breakfast and intermittent Wi-Fi is included in their tariffs. Centrally controlled satellite TV with two channels available at any one time from a larger selection. Airport transfer on arrival or leaving free of charge one way. Otherwise, it's arranged for US$10 per room. If you stay more than one night, airport transfer's free both ways. Negotiate rates for longer stays.
Colonial homestead set in extensive and lush gardens with abundant bird life, this boutique hotel has attentive, friendly and helpful staff looking after its 16 rooms. There is a large and comfortable guest lounge and an adjoining games room with guest computers and scanner. Printing a boarding pass is free, other printing & photocopying for USh 500 per page. All bedrooms & ablutions are effectively fly-screened and have digital safe, TV with 7 individually controlled satellite channels including Al Jazeera, BBC World News, CNN, Fox & M-NET movie channels, desk & chair and an outside patio well equipped with electrical outlets. Rooms 1 & 2 have hip baths. There is both a standby generator & lavish provision of lead acid, battery-backed inverters. Each accommodation building has solar powered water heating with a good head of water. Extraction fans are wind powered and mineral water is available from water coolers and jugs in each bedroom. Bird tables and baths are well maintained. The children's sandpit has shade umbrella, swings, slides, toys, toy-car & a pirate castle for climbing. All interior areas, bedrooms, restaurants and the pool area are smoke-free. Reliable and fast Wi-Fi provisioned by Infocom UG.
There is an intimate restaurant adjacent to the sparkling, small pool where breakfast, lunch from noon & dinner is served. Room service is 24/7. Pan-fried tilapia was USh 28,000 (May 2014) and served with some of the nicest boiled potatoes in Uganda (as might be expected from an Irish-owned establishment), three different vegetables and fragrant, rosemary bread. Lemon meringue pie with home-made ice cream was USh X15,000. There is a separate patio restaurant adjacent to the reception area for non-house guests to be entertained and served.
A large hotel with 229 rooms on land allegedly originally grabbed from the Botanical Gardens by someone with political clout; perhaps appropriately, spectacularly ugly and menacing looking marabou storks up to 5 feet tall and with wingspans of more than 10 feet across now regularly prowl the car park. Mainly used for conferences and functions and there are many large meeting rooms dotted around the grounds. Can get rather depressing when no meetings are in progress as it is very quiet and the service is somewhat lacking. The "beach" is very small and swimming is forbidden but, in compensation, there is an enormous swimming pool. Bill Clinton stayed here, and you can stay in his suite for a nightly rate of US$600 according to the web site. Ordinary rooms are of a good three-star standard but you may need to call maintenance once or twice.
You'll either loathe or love this massive and architecturally distinctive building very different in scale and style to the other buildings in Entebbe. Inside, there is a large atrium with glass fronted lifts at each end. Like most of Uganda, service is slow, and rather hit and miss. Its 181 rooms spread over four floors are large and furnished in an Arab potentate style with good views over Lake Victoria and the extensive grounds but have poorly functioning, central air-conditioning. If you open the windows that have no screens to cool off, the lakeside location means your room will then quickly become an entomologist's delight after dark. Business people will appreciate the Ziba conference centre with its 1000 seat capacity equipped with six hi-tech screens descending from every corner of the ceiling, with a follow-on camera and a cordless digital sound system remotely controlled. There's a simultaneous translation system. In addition to the Ziba are nine other conference halls. There's also an amphitheatre. However, first impressions of the loose guard rail in the lift and dribbling shower in the changing rooms rather set the tone. Try your haggling skills and you may end up with a bargain in this often empty hotel.
This tiny godown or sari-sari type kiosk not only repairs suitcases, zips, footwear and other leather goods but also will attempt to rescue the rollers on your case. The owner is honest, although his English limited but there are lots of bystanders glad to help. Next door but one is a photographic studio for passport size photos for visas, etc.
Supermarket on the ground floor with a well stocked hardware and sundries emporium on the first floor.
Has a Visa/MasterCard ATM. Also has an ATM at Entebbe airport.
Air conditioning is not really necessary for most people in this part of Uganda and there are now some tenants in this mall which opened in 2014 that include fashion shops, an optician, 3 banks, Western Union agents, a Le P'tit Quebec offering 12 types of panini for USh 15,000 and Yummy Yoghurt selling 100 g of frozen yoghurt for USh 5,500. There is a KFC, clean toilets, and a large Carrefour Hypermarket, a UAE based franchise by Majid Al Futtaim, Middle East restaurant, Cafe Javas, a Ugandan-owned eatery with branches in Uganda's main Cities like Kampala and Mbarara, LC Waikiki shop, electronic appliances shop, Telecom service centres for Airtel and Mtn. The restaurants and supermarkets accept cash, visa card and mobile money payments.
Has a Mastercard/Visa card ATM.
By road
To get to Entebbe from the rest of Uganda will usually involve passing through Kampala.
To and from the airport
A special-hire taxi from the Entebbe airport to Entebbe town cost USh 15,000, or you can walk to the airport gate 500 m and get a Boda-boda motorbike taxi to Entebbe town for USh 5000.
By boda-boda
The fastest and most dangerous method is the boda-boda: motorcycles that you see all over town. You won't be in Entebbe long before being propositioned by a boda rider.
By matatu
Matatus are a series of licensed minibus taxis that follow relatively pre-set routes all over town (and many other parts of the country).
By special hire
If you aren't up for the thrill of the bodas and don't have time for a matatu, then saloon car taxis - also called special hires - are readily available near the matatu park. Few taxis have meters.
Choose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.
Entebbe · International · EBB
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