Packing tips
Wondering what to pack for your trip to Uganda? Check our tips below. Worth emphasising is that most genuine necessities are surprisingly easy to get hold of in Uganda’s main centres. So no reason not to travel light…Duffle bags are easier to pack in the car, and bring a separate day pack. Definitely bring insect repellent and sunblock, these are available, but more expensive and much less choice.
Your rental car in Uganda has a cigar lighter to power your devices, but you will need to bring your own audio and USB cables. If you use Spotify, do not forget to download your favourite roadtrip songs so you can listen to them offline. Audiobooks are also great fun to listen to during long drives, or whilst sitting around a campfire or lying in your tent (try a thriller!). Don’t forget to download Maps.me and IOverlander on your phone before you travel, so you can drive and walk around using GPS without needing to connect to the internet. Most campsites are plotted on iOverlander.
Take a look at the camping gear list to see whether it contains everything you need for your camping trip in Uganda. A power bank comes in handy if you’re going to be camping a lot. Bringing a fleece blanket is nice for chilling on the grass or covering up on chillier nights. We’ve seen people bringing a light weight hammock, and that looked pretty comfy. Definitely bring insect repellent and sunblock. The interior highlands are cooler in the evenings, so bring a fleece or jumper. Kampala, and to a lesser extent Entebbe and Jinja, have well-stocked supermarkets and pharmacies, where you can buy a lot of essentials in case you forgot something. Obviously, this is not the case in rural towns and villages.
Any travel literature that’s advisable to read
Your road trip rental car is equipped with the latest Bradt Travel Guide. When it comes to Uganda, we think the Bradt Travel Guide is the best. Mammals of East Africa and Birds of East Africa are also great travel guides for your safari in Uganda.
Stocking up on supplies for some serious bush cooking
We’ve noticed that not many roadtrippers cook their main meals when camping in Uganda. Either that, or you just clean the utensils very thoroughly 😉 This is understandable, as food at Ugandan lodges is generally good and cheap. We are personally big fans of cooking in the bush, and messing about while buying all the groceries is half the fun.
Uganda is very fertile and you can buy a lot of tasty vegetables like potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini and tropical fruits such as pineapple, mango, and passion fruits from small food stalls along the road. Many people use Swahili spices in their food, so you can easily stock up on things like coriander, ginger, black pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon etc. Kampala also has a lot of well stocked supermarkets where you can buy all kinds of western products, whereas provincial towns obviously have less variety. However, you should be able to find canned/dried foods like beans, rice, pasta, and noodles as well as eggs, milk, water and of course… Coca- Cola. Quite impressive how they’ve organised their distribution with outreach to even the smallest villages deep in rural Africa!
From Kampala, we always bring chicken stock, canned tuna, olives, capers, coconut milk, parmesan cheese and chorizo (keeps well in warm temperatures for quite a few days). Good olive oil and truffle oil (makes every salad or pasta taste good). Couscous is easier to prepare than rice. For breakfast, I bring filter coffee, muesli, jam and nuts. Pancakes are a good substitute for bread and milk and you can buy them everywhere. Bon appetit!
Okke baking the most yummy pancakes ever
