Most peo­ple arrive in Ugan­da through Entebbe Inter­na­tion­al Air­port, usu­al­ly spend­ing a night in the city before, and gen­er­al­ly after, their Ugan­dan safari.

Once leav­ing Entebbe, the most pop­u­lar itin­er­ary is to dri­ve through Kam­pala en route to the delights of the west­ern nation­al parks, some­times stop­ping in the city to stock up on essen­tials.

For those with half a day or a few hours to kill in Entebbe, we rec­om­mend a wood­en boat tour at Mabam­ba Swamps to spot the incred­i­ble shoe­bill stork. The local fish­er­men know the vast papyrus swamps inti­mate­ly and keep watch over ‘their’ shoe­bills – which is good for their pro­tec­tion so close to a large city. We also rec­om­mend a stroll through the Entebbe Botan­i­cal Gar­dens on the shores of Lake Vic­to­ria, where you can get a head start on your bird list.