Entebbe

Overview

Entebbe is a pleasant town on the shores of Lake Victoria, offering a relaxed stopover alternative to Kampala. The air is clean, streets are safe to walk, and old colonial gardens and parks make for a serene atmosphere.

Languages: English, Swahili

Why go?

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Getting in

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Getting around

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When to go

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Where to stay

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Food and drink

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Things to do

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Stay safe

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Connectivity

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Budget

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Day trips

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Go next

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Places to know

A few starting points from the guide. Check current hours and prices before you go.

• sleep

  7Seasons Hotel

  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.

  Recorded price: Single US$80, double US$100, twin US$120 en suite including breakfast & airport transfer. Visa & MasterCard accepted

  Adapted from Wikivoyage contributors

• sleep

  Bethany House

  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.

  Recorded price: Single US$40, double US$60

  Adapted from Wikivoyage contributors

• sleep

  Boma Guesthouse

  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.

  Recorded price: En suite single USD120, double/twin US$140, triple US$180 (one budget room with pvt shower room & WC opposite US$90/110 single/double) incl VAT and cooked full English breakfast pool use & airport transfers. €, GBP, UGX, USD (bills later than 2005) cash only

  Adapted from Wikivoyage contributors

• sleep

  City Park Motel

  12-bed room guest wing, clean rooms with a satelite TV, all rooms have private shower and toilet.

  Recorded price: US$36

  Adapted from Wikivoyage contributors

• sleep

  Entebbe Backpackers

  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.

  Recorded price: Private rooms USh 25,000-80,000; dorm beds USh 18,000, camping USh 10,000 (own tent) USh 15,000 (their tent) without breakfast

  Adapted from Wikivoyage contributors

• sleep

  Gorilla African Guest House

  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.

  Recorded price: US$ 30 to US$ 60

  Adapted from Wikivoyage contributors

• sleep

  Green Valley Guest House & Backpackers

  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.

  Adapted from Wikivoyage contributors

• sleep

  Imperial Botanical Beach Hotel

  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.

  Recorded price: Around US$110. Prices quoted on the website range from US$120 to $170 (without 18% VAT) but the room quality certainly does not justify such prices

  Adapted from Wikivoyage contributors

Before you go