Things To Consider When Planning A Honeymoon Holiday in Uganda

Uganda, commonly known as the Pearl of Africa, is one of Africa’s most unique and authentic safari destinations, perfect for a honeymoon holiday. You’ll be presented with a large basket of activities to choose from when planning a honeymoon safari in Uganda. The most outstanding of them all is the gorilla trekking in the lush mountain forest of Bwindi.

But planning a honeymoon holiday in Uganda is not a walk in the park: the local logistics will drive the romance out of you before you even get started. Use the services of a local tour operator to take care of all the groundwork, and you’ll find yourself with peace of mind walking down the vast lush valley while holding your spouse’s hand through the healing African tropical winds.

Here are a few tips to help you plan your honeymoon safari in Uganda’s most gifted natural lands.

Understanding what you’re paying for

Uganda is relatively affordable for safari; however, you might have to stretch your budget to get the exclusive treatment that romantic travel deserves with honeymoon holiday planning. You’ll likely be shocked to hear that an all-inclusive honeymoon suite at a camp or lodge costs about $300 to $1200 per person. That’s because they take care of everything, including meals, sundowners, romantic evenings, surprise bush touches, and accommodation in a special room with amenities befitting romantic travel.

However, most lodges and camps don’t cover activities inside the park-like game drives, gorilla trekking, hiking, and transfers between destinations. They usually cover community experiences and visits to programs run by the camp. 

Apart from all-inclusive accommodation, typical costs for a honeymoon holiday in Uganda include transport with fuel and driver, guide services, park entry fees, trekking permits, tips, and special dinners. Some operators charge operating fees exclusive of commissions, and they’re worth paying.

Your best honeymoon holiday in Uganda should be planned by a local safari operator who will manage all the logistics and manage your activities so you can enjoy the romance.

Use a tour operator

Part of planning your honeymoon holiday in Uganda includes choosing a safari operator to handle local logistical details for you. Choosing the operator early on in the planning process is essential because it can dictate your entire itinerary. A good operator will ensure you’re left to manage your intrinsic experience during the safari by shielding you from managing the trip yourself.

Choose a tour operator you can trust to understand your specific requirements and deliver to your expectations. Uganda is floating with hundreds of tour operators that will claim to manage romantic holidays. Since a honeymoon holiday comes in a lifetime, you will want to be careful about who manages your experience. The travel operator must be trustworthy and experienced in handling your various travel needs.

Choosing a great tour operator may be hard to figure out when your only connection is through the internet. Fortunately for you, we’ve written a trending piece on how to choose a local tour operator to handle your Uganda safari.

Choosing your honeymoon holiday activities

Most people’s honeymoon holiday ideas are romantic walks on sandy beaches on a tropical evening with just you, water wave sounds, and birds chirping. Uganda offers a remote affair away in the bush with an extensive list of activities to connect your newly found for each other with nature.

The most chosen honeymoon activity in Uganda is trekking into the mountain forests and spending time with the mountain gorillas. The experience is wrapped around gorillas, but it’s far more than the encounter with the primates. Spending the evenings in luxurious chalets hanging in the forest canopy with idyllic views or lush landscapes is what should compel you to choose gorilla trekking as a high priority activity on your honeymoon holiday in Uganda,

Game drives and boat safaris in Uganda are more of a private affair. There are fewer crowds of tourists likely to interrupt your romantic sunset on the savannah plains with herds of elephants and lion prides in the foreground.

Camps and lodges will usually throw in a community experience with you and your spouse. Connecting with remote cultures on an extraordinary journey like this does not seem like a settling idea. However, when you consider meeting people with deep family cultures, it will challenge the weight of your love for each other and ignite the romance in you.

A typical honeymoon holiday in Uganda will include gorilla trekking and a few romantic days in a forest resort. Or a gorilla adventure with game drives, a boat safari, and a few romantic days at the wilderness camp with a swimming pool.  

What type of adventure experience

When planning your honeymoon holiday in Uganda, make sure you chat with your tour operator about what type of adventure experience you want. Do you want a rustic, remote, and classic safari experience, or you’re more of a WiFi type that prefers beautiful modern facilities with exotic amenities? 

You may assume that you’re an explorer that can do without so much but your love for each other and then come to the Uganda bush, where facilities are limited, and complain throughout your holiday. Your honesty during planning can make or break your honeymoon experience. 

Remote, rustic camps will make do with what they can access to bring the best bush experience during your honeymoon. Usually, privileges like WiFi connection and air conditioning are not available in remote locations, and that’s the advantage of getting away. 

However, some lodges provide these exotic amenities in the wilderness, but they come with a hefty price tag. Your choice of adventure type will depend on whether you can afford the luxuries.

Do not overwhelm yourself.

One of the overlooked things about planning a honeymoon safari is fatigue brought by adding too many things to do on your trip. Uganda will overwhelm you with a bucketload of activities, but it doesn’t mean you have to do them all.

A honeymoon holiday is a special journey that involves a lot of sitting back, relaxing, and intimately getting to know each other. So while planning, try not to cut back on active adventures and include much alone time at the lodge, taking nature walks, swimming, special long dinners, and late-night star-gazing.

Typically, you can trek gorillas, visit the local communities in two days and spend the rest of the week romantically lounging. 

Best time for honeymoon holiday in Uganda

Luckily, Uganda is a tropical country with dry and wet seasons, which means you can take your Uganda honeymoon holiday any time of the year. However, the dry seasons of December to February and June to July are the best time to visit the country and go gorilla trekking in the mountain forests.

The dry season is also the peak season for most safaris in Uganda because animals are easier to spot, and treks are less challenging. If you’re planning your honeymoon safari for the dry season, use the early or late dry season dates in December of July; fewer crowds during this time, and the landscape is more green.

If you can stand the early morning rains of the wet seasons, plan your honeymoon trip to travel within September to November and March to May. You could enjoy a good discount on facilities and great privacy during this time.

Read about the best time to travel to Uganda in a detailed post.

What you should carry

What to carry is basically whatever you think you need for a romantic holiday. However, travel light avoids dispensing energy meant for happiness and romance on luggage. It is difficult to keep track of luggage when you’re traveling between continents and when an airline misplaces one of your many bags, you’ll have to wait at least 48 hours for another inbound flight.

Besides, if you’re flying or driving locally between locations, your transfer car or airline will have a limited luggage allowance. Each one should take a bag for clothing, and both of you should share another one for accessories and toiletries. You will not need fancy dinner clothing but each other on your honeymoon holiday in Uganda.

Essential things to take include a sweater or jacket for the cold evenings when stargazing. You’ll need a light pair of boots for gorilla trekking, a pair of trousers, and a long-sleeved shirt for keeping bugs off your skin during forest treks. Cary lightweight sandals or canvas shoes for those lazy evening walks, bug spray to keep the naughty ones away, and a backpack to carry your gear or snacks. A refillable water flask will be great to keep you hydrated during adventures.

Don’t forget to carry your important documents like your passport, visa, covid-19 test certificate, and yellow fever vaccine card. Visit your pharmacist and refill your first-aid box and allergy meds to make sure your fragile health is taken care of during your holiday.

Here’s a detailed list of what should be on your packing list when traveling to Uganda.