Going on a Uganda safari is exciting but sometimes the road trip to the safari destination is dreadful, it takes courage to endure it. Thankfully, you don’t have to always endure the road trip, you can actually opt for a faster and easy way to get to your safari destination. And this easy way is the flying Safari.
A flying Safari greatly reduces your transit time and allows you to spend more time at your safari destination resting or enjoying leisure time before you take on the safari activities. This kind of safari also helps you to connect to different destinations easily and in a short amount of time.
In Uganda, Flying Safaris are available for all the 10 National Parks in the country and a number of other safari destinations. The Flying safaris in Uganda typically begin from Entebbe International Airport or the Kajjansi airstrip and end in a national park or airstrips near the parks.
The country has two main local aircraft providers that are Aerolink Uganda and Fly Uganda. These both have daily flights to the major National parks and scheduled flights to the other safari destinations.
Though the aircrafts operate daily, you are required to book your slot at least in advance to ensure adequate preparations for you.
It is advisable that you carry a duffle bag to keep your packing light. The luggage weight limit for a fly safari in the country is 30 pounds so it is important to keep within the limit. That said, it is understandable that it is difficult to carry only essentials for your safari so you may have to keep your extras at our office, the first hotel of your arrival or have them driven to your safari destination by the driver guide.
As stated above you can fly to all the national parks in the country and below is the list of the parks with daily scheduled flights.
Bwindi National Park.
Arguably the most sought after National park in Uganda, Bwindi National Park is home to more than half of the remaining world population of Mountain gorillas. While getting to this famous park by road takes you about 10 hours, flying to the park will take you One hour and 50 minutes.
Flights to Bwindi are scheduled for mornings mainly and depending on the Bwindi sector you’re visiting you will land at either of two major airstrips in the region. The airstrips are Kihihi airstrip and Kisoro Airfield.
Kihihi airstrip is great if you are visiting Bwindi’s Buhoma and Ruhija sectors, well as Kisoro Airfield is perfect if you’re visiting Nkuringo and Rushaga sectors. You will have to connect to the parks by road from the airstrips and it will take you less than 2 hours.
Mgahinga Gorilla National park
Just like some sectors of Bwindi, Mgahinga gorilla national park is served by the Kisoro Airfield which is 1 hour and 50 minutes flight from Entebbe international airport. The park is about 1 hour drive from the airstrip depending on the road condition. There are scheduled dialy flights from Entebbe to this airfield daily but strictly morning hours.
Queen Elizabeth National Park
Home to the tree climbing lions, Queen Elizabeth National Park is a major safari destination in Uganda. It the closed park to Bwindi impenetrable national park so a good combination of for maximum experience in Uganda especially with little time.
The park is served by Mweya airstrip which is in the park, Kasese airstrip which is an hour from the park. The Ishasha sector is served by Kihihi airstrip which has daily scheduled flights and Ishasha sector for chartered flights.
Murchison Falls National Park
When you fly to Murchison Falls National Park, you land at either of the three airstrips – Bugungu, Pakuba or Chobe. Pakuba airstrip is located inside the park, Bugungu is in the south of the park – outside the park and Chobe airstrip in the eastern part of the park – inside the park. The flight takes about one and a half hours from Entebbe international airport or Kajjansi airfield
Kibale National Park & Rwenzori Mountains national park
You can access Kibale National Park and Rwenzori mountains national park from the Kasese airstrip which is the closest to the park and the different lodges in the vicinity. The flight takes about 1 hour and 50 minutes and sometimes has stopovers in Kihihi or Mweya airstrip. The drive to Kibale national park is about 1.5 hours from the airstrip and the drive to Rwenzori is about 30 minutes from the airstrip depending on the road condition.
Kidepo Valley National Park
Kidepo Valley National park is located in the north eastern corner bordering Kenya and South Sudan. It the farthest park from the capital Kampala and Entebbe International Airport, hence the one with the most need for flying. People flying to the Kidepo will land at Apoka Airfield which is located inside the park. From the airfield you will connect to the park by road. Flights to and from Kidepo National Park take two and a half hours, currently they are only scheduled for Wednesday, Friday and Sunday with a minimum of 7 people on board or one has to pay for the extra seats to make it seven.
Semuliki national park
The airstrip serving Semuliki national park is Semuliki airfield which is found in the Toro Semuliki wildlife reserve. The flight to Semuliki is scheduled daily but requires a minimum of four people. It is about one hour and half from Entebbe international park to Semuliki airfield.
Lake Mburo national park
This small park is located about 4 hours from Kampala and is served by Nyakisharara airstrip which is an hour and half from the park.
