Entebbe Airport is the only international airport in Uganda at the moment (there’s a proposed project to start building a new international airport near Kibale National Park). It’s a small airport with one terminal.

It can get pretty hot inside the airport. There doesn’t seem to be air conditioning. Still I had my warm layer as I tend to get cold on planes.

When we arrived into Entebbe you head straight for immigration. This took about an hour and we couldn’t figure out why. The lines just weren’t moving. After you complete immigration you collect your bags and head outside. It was all very seamless.

{Food + Drink at Entebbe International Airport}

Before you go through security there are 3 restaurants in the airport: on the bottom floor called Crane Cafeteria which serves made-to-order sandwiches, burgers, fries, spirits, fresh fruit juice, as well as potato chips, chocolate bars, cookies, soda and packaged juice in case you just want to grab and go. It’s a sit down place that makes fresh food. We had a veggie sandwich and fries and it was pretty good. They’re cash only.

There’s a TV playing news or sports games and a flight info board showing flight times and what time check in is.

There’s a restaurant on the top floor as well with views of the runway but it seemed like it was only for employees.

And on the 2nd floor there’s another cafe which serves samosas, sandwiches fries, potato chips, candy bars and other things. The veggie samosa was pretty good – all peas, no potato. They also have a TV and right around the corner are seats with outlets as well as a row of stores to buy Ugandan jewelry, crafts and gifts.

{Ugandan Crafts + Gifts}

If you want to buy Ugandan crafts, jewelry and other trinkets buy them BEFORE you go through security.Prices for the same or similar items were 2-3x in the stores after security. I bought these three statement necklaces for $10 USD each.

When I went through security and checked out one of the stores inside – they were selling similar necklaces for $20-$35 each!

The stores don’t have matching earrings for the necklaces but I think I can find something to wear with each of them.

{Food + Drink Post Security at Entebbe Airport, Uganda}

Once you go through security there’s another Crane Cafeteria. That location takes credit card with a $10 minimum. There are a couple outlets near the high tables. We managed to snag one which was nice – otherwise I wouldn’t be able to write this post right now as I’m waiting for my flight out of Entebbe International airport.

Smoking. I didn’t see any smoking areas inside or outside the airport. I seemed like you’re not allowed to smoke inside the airport. And now that I think about it, throughout my two weeks there, I think I only saw 1 or 2 people smoking and both of them were tourists.

{Getting Into the Gate for Your Flight}

The gate for your flight will open anywhere between 1-3 hours before the flight time. And you go through another baggage security screening and passport check. Once you pass through there you can’t leave and there aren’t any restaurants nor places to buy food, but there are restrooms.

{Hotels Near Entebbe Airport}

There are several hotels near Entebbe Airport. We stayed at the Boma Guesthouse for a night. It was nice with a big comfy bed, a warm shower and WiFi, which is exactly what we needed after 24 hours of flying/travel.  It is only about a 10-15 minute drive from the airport. Boma Guesthouse was perfect for us as we just needed a place to stay for a night before catching our flight to Murchison Falls the next morning.

Breakfast was included and had breads, pastries, coffee, and juice. There were other dishes too like eggs but the selection for vegans and vegetarians was limited to the items above.

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{My Uganda Itinerary}

Entebbe – 1 night (quick stay after late night flight arrival)
Murchison Falls – 3 nights
Fort Portal – 2 nights (Kasese airstrip)
Bwindi – 4 nights (I did two gorilla treks + day trip to Ishasha; Kihihi airstrip)

I flew to each destination instead of driving which would have taken 6-9 hours per location. Uganda has one domestic airline called Aerolink. The planes fit around 20 people. There’s a strict 15kg per person luggage limit. And they do not allow hard shell bags. Most people travel with backpacks and duffels.

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Enjoy your trip to Uganda! Keep adding those stamps to your PassportPages!

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