Passports and Visa
Citizens of the United States must possess a valid U.S. passport for travel to Uganda, East Africa. Your passport must be valid for 1 year beyond your intended stay in Africa.
U.S. citizens are required to get a visa for travel to Uganda. Make sure you have at least 4 completely empty Visa pages facing each other in your passport.
If you do not have a passport, APPLY NOW! Please do not wait until the last minute. You should always carry 2 extra passport photographs with you, in case of emergency (if your passport/visa is lost or stolen).
We will send you information about the Uganda visa at a later date.
Health Requirements, Physical Condition and Health Insurance
An international inoculation certificate against yellow fever must be presented at the point of entry into Uganda. This is the only mandatory immunization required for U.S. residents visiting Uganda. Please consult with your personal physician, local health department, travel clinic, or immunization center about any vaccinations you may need to update (tetanus, typhoid, polio, Hepatitis A & B), or others that may be personally recommended for you based on your age, health, and past vaccination history. Anti-malaria medication is recommended.
Although this safari is rated as moderate in general, the gorilla trekking portion of the trip is rated as High Energy. Finding a gorilla group can take as little as half an hour or as long as 12 hours. If it rains, hiking conditions may become muddy and slick. We are hiking through dense jungle in steep terrain, where the downs are as unforgiving as the ups. You must be mentally, in addition to physically, prepared for a day of strenuous exercise, and be in excellent condition, without any heart problems. It is possible that we may join our trackers in jungle bushwhacking—cutting our own paths through the steep, jungle hillsides.
You MUST have your own health insurance, and have no physical problems or conditions that would be adversely affected by riding in 4×4 vehicles on rough, bumpy roads or trekking “high energy” trails through the jungle in search of gorillas!
Traveling to Uganda: Important Information About Flights & Airfare to Entebbe
Round-trip airfare from the U.S. to Entebbe, Uganda, is NOT included in the cost of the trip package. You are welcome to work with Ciretta Green, at Travel Café in Montana, or do your own air.
Just to give you an idea of current flight schedules and prices for Africa flights from the U.S round trip to Entebbe, Uganda (June 2015), there are two airlines (Ethiopian and Emirates) that have similar schedules and the BEST connections for Entebbe, Uganda. They both arrive in Entebbe at approximately the same time, and departures are within hours of each other:
Ethiopian Airlines –
October 14, 2016 Depart Washington DC/Dulles (IAD) at 11:00 a.m. and arrive Addis Ababa at 7:15 a.m. (Oct. 15)
October 15 Depart Addis Ababa at 10:40 a.m. and arrive Entebbe, Uganda at 1:05 p.m.
October 26 Depart Entebbe at 6:30 pm, arrive Addis Ababa at 8:30 pm. Depart Addis at 10:30 pm and arrive Washington Dulles at 8:30 am on October 27.
Current Price Per Person (Economy Class): $999.82 includes departure taxes/fuel surcharges
Emirates Airlines –
October 14, 2016 Depart Washington DC/Dulles (IAD) at 10:55 am and arrive Dubai at 8 am (Oct. 15)
October 15 Depart Dubai at 9:20 am and arrive Entebbe, Uganda at 1:30 pm
October 26 Depart Entebbe at 3:30 pm, arrive Dubai at 9:35 pm. Depart Dubai at 2:20 am on October 27 and arrive Washington Dulles at 8:35 am on October 27.
Current Price Per Person (Economy Class): $996.20 includes departure taxes/fuel surcharges
Please note: These flights cannot be booked until 11 months prior to departure, and all current air schedules and prices are subject to change with no advance notice!
Making Travel Arrangements to Uganda
Once you have booked your trip with AdventureWomen, we recommend that you please call Ciretta Green at Travel Café, Montana’s Travel Agency, to look into your international air and your add-on airfare from your hometown city to Washington D.C, Dulles Airport.
1-800-247-3538 OR FAX 1-406-586-1959
email: ciretta@travelcafeonline.com
CANADIAN RESIDENTS, please call 406-587-1188
When calling, please identify yourself as an AdventureWomen traveler. If you leave a message on Ciretta’s voice mail, she will return your call promptly.
NOTE: The recent trend in travel is for travelers to finalize their plans much closer to departure time than was customary in the past. While we try to be as flexible as possible booking last minute registrants, we must often relinquish hotel space and air reservations up to 6 – 12 weeks prior to departure!
Please keep this in mind when making your travel plans.
Liability Form and Final Payment
Part of what AdventureWomen, Inc. hopes to foster is the taking of more self-responsibility for our own lives, health, and safety. Please read the LIABILITY FORM carefully, return it with the remainder of your balance due by JULY 23, 2016.
Cancellations and Refunds
Notification of cancellations must be received in writing and the following per person cancellation/refund fees are applicable on this specific AdventureWomen trip, due to non-refundable gorilla and chimp permit fees:
*** VERY IMPORTANT! Full payment is due 90 days prior to departure date, and your FULL $1,500 DEPOSIT IS NON-REFUNDABLE. This deposit includes the full non-refundable fees for 2 gorilla permits ($600 X 2= $1,200), and $150 for the chimpanzee permit, plus administrative and cancellation fees. These permits have ALREADY been purchased by AdventureWomen and they are non-refundable.
You are highly encouraged to purchase trip cancellation insurance to cover emergency situations and trip cancellation. Information is sent to you in your registration packet.
Electricity
We strongly suggest you leave all electrical appliances (hair dryers, etc.) at home except those that operate with batteries (your cameras).
Plug Adapters and Outlet Shapes
Uganda uses the UK non-grounded power plug. This adapter is also known as type G, ungrounded.
Two parallel flat pins with ground pin – (Type G, Great Britain)
Water and Food
Bottled water is always available in our vehicles. If the water in our lodges/camps/hotels is not safe to drink, there is a thermos or a carafe of drinking water in your room, or you will be supplied with bottled water. It is important to take the advice of our guides whenever you are unsure about the safety of water. During safari, all food is very well prepared and safe to eat.
Currency, Credit Cards, Gratuities
Credit cards (Visa, MC, and sometimes AmEx) are accepted only in larger towns and some hotels but not in the markets and small towns. You should bring $600-$800 minimum U.S. cash (this should include your tip money).
Travelers are encouraged to obtain U.S. bills newer than 2003 for the best exchange rate. Make sure the money you bring is in NEW bills, not worn or torn bills, as they will fetch a lower value at all Forex Bureaus or may not be accepted outside Entebbe. Small U.S. bills in the denominations of $20, $10, $5, $1 and coins also fetch a lower value on the Ugandan market. It’s therefore important that you carry newer bills in the denominations of $50 and $100 to use for the best exchange rates in Uganda. You can bring smaller denominations for using in the markets, etc. but make sure they are not worn or torn.
Uganda’s currency is the Ugandan Shilling, but the U.S. dollar is traditionally the preferred currency. The Euro and Pound Sterling are also widely accepted. Please check the latest exchange rates before you go to Uganda.
You usually get the best money exchange rate at the airport upon arrival, and at a bank. Changing money in the hotels does not yield as good a rate.
For Tips/Gratuities, you can leave U.S. dollars or Uganda shillings.
Returning U.S. residents are allowed to bring back $800 worth of merchandise, duty free. Expensive camera equipment and jewelry purchased in the U.S. (we recommend NEVER bringing or wearing expensive jewelry) should be registered with U.S. customs prior to your departure; or you may retain your sales receipts as documentation for re-entering the U.S.
*Important information about credit cards! Please note: You should bring at least one smart card, usually referred to as a chip card, or chip-and-PIN credit card for travel to Europe and to other overseas destinations. These new cards are more secure and you are more protected from credit card fraud.
These so-called smart cards have embedded microchips in them. You will see the silver or gold microchip on the front of your card. They also have the traditional magnetic stripe, so can be used the same as your regular credit/debit card. You’ll either sign for purchases, or enter a 4 digit PIN into a terminal. (Confirm with your bank that your PIN, or 4 digit number, will be the number that you use the FIRST time that a PIN is required for use with your new card. So just make sure you remember it for all future transactions!)
It is best to have your chip card as a VISA or MasterCard, since American Express is often not accepted in many places. In Europe and in parts of Asia, they simply don’t acknowledge magnetic-strip cards anymore unless they are chip-and-PIN enabled. In addition, in any automated transactions such as train stations and gas stations, ONLY chip-and-PIN cards are accepted.
Chip-and-PIN cards have become standard in many European countries because of their superior fraud-prevention abilities. Now countries in Asia, North America and South America, and Canada are doing the same.