Entebbe

Entebbe is a pleasant town built on the shores of Lake Victoria in Uganda. Entebbe offers a relaxed stop-over alternative to Kampala if you're flying into or out of Uganda, as the air is clean, the streets are safe to walk, and the old colonial gardens and parks with the lake in the background make for a serene atmosphere.

See: 2
Do: 2
Eat: 6
Drink: 1
Buy: 8

19 places

Eat

4 Points

Great Indian food, good atmosphere, cheap beer. Has a bar with a pool table, and expats are welcome. Also does "Chinese" dishes, but not as the nationals of most countries would know them. There's a dance floor and the attached bakery has scrumptious strawberry sorbet imported from Kenya. Attentive and rapid service and candles on the tables after dark. Open to the mosquitoes throughout.

Mains USh 18,000-26,000; good roti USh 2,000

Drink

4 Turkeys Pub

Heineken & Guinness served and has a half sized billiard table. Also serves typical British pub grub.

8AM-2AM or when last customer staggers home

Aero Beach

Entebbe's beach (Aero Beach) also features some plane wrecks that depending on your preferences may be plain ugly or interesting to explore.

Ush 5000

Eat

Anna's Corner

Most of the comfy and romantic seating is outdoors - so watch the weather. There's also an inside coffee shop and they show interesting movies every Friday night and there are Salsa lessons Tuesdays. Full Engkish breakfast USh 17,000, Spanish Omelette USh 10,000, two pancakes (either lemon and sugar, maple syrup or Nutella) USh 8,000. Pizzas and pasta dishes from USh 12,000. Daily specials include a free drink of your choice (water, carbonated or beer). There is also a Ugandan arts and crafts shop with an extensive range adjacent.

Daily 09:00-22:00PM

Buy

Cobblers

This tiny godown or sari-sari type kiosk not only repairs suitcases, zips, footwear and other leather goods but also will attempt to rescue the rollers on your case. The owner is honest, although his English limited but there are lots of bystanders glad to help. Next door but one is a photographic studio for passport size photos for visas, etc.

Dawn to dusk

See

Entebbe Botanical Gardens

National Botanical Gardens

The gardens are not spectacular but birdwatchers and botanist will find it interesting. The gardens host stands of large trees in a park like setting, a supposed filming site of a "Tarzan" movie, a troop of vervet and colobus monkeys, along with many kinds of birds.

Eat

Goretti's Pizza

Lovely little coconut grove on a golden sand, lakeside beach. Service is very slow, so plan on having a few drinks. Beautiful scenery. Don't go around dusk unless you don't mind being eaten while you eat.

Medium sizes from USh 17,000, large USh 22,000 (May 2014)

Eat

One9 Lounge

Wood fired, clay oven pizza. Indoor and outdoor seating. Slot machines and a pool table.

Buy

Pearl Supermarket

Supermarket on the ground floor with a well stocked hardware and sundries emporium on the first floor.

Daily 07:00-22:00AmEx, Visa & MasterCards accepted with 5% surcharge.

Eat

Phaze 3

Great deck overlooking the lake. Large enclosed restaurant with an extensive assortment of western and Indian foods. Arguably Entebbe's best food. Try the daily pot pie. Great coffee.

Only cash & Visa cards accepted

Buy

Stanbic Bank

Has a Visa/MasterCard ATM. Also has an ATM at Entebbe airport.

24-hour ATMhas an ATM fee

Eat

Thammaphon Thai Restaurant

Looks like a bit of a dump but the food is authentically good.

Tue-Sun 10:00-22:00

See

Uganda Wildlife Educational Centre

(UWEC) Entebbe's Zoo

If you don't have a safari planned, this might be your opportunity to catch a glimpse of Africa's wildlife. It's no Singapore Zoo but, unlike many third world offerings, this is not a depressing place. There are good play facilities for children and the aviaries are especially interesting with weaver birds, shoebills and fish eagles. There's a medium-size collection of wildlife saved from captivity, including lions, rhinos, zebras, crocodiles, giraffes, hyenas, chimpanzee and others. All animals (apart from the snakes and crocodiles) are held in large, natural-like areas that gives a nice semi-authentic feeling. The trees and lianas are magnificent and you can understand why various 'Tarzan-type" movies were filmed here. Admission for foreign adults/children is US$15/10; Uganda resident foreigners USh 20,000/10,000; Ugandans USh 10,000/5,000 and you end up with 1.5-2 hours of fun. Opens daily at 08:30 and you may want to come early before the animals go hiding in the shade from the midday's sun. There is also accommodation inside the centre so you could stay the night in a Banda (en suite circular hut with a thatched roof & fly-screened windows) next door to the (very quiet) giraffes, elands and impala for US$40/60 single/double or stay in some serviced flats next to noisier animals for US$50/70 single/double. There is also dormitory accommodation available for USh 30,000 and camping is even cheaper.

Daily 08:30-18:30

Buy

Victoria Shopping Mall

Air conditioning is not really necessary for most people in this part of Uganda and there are now some tenants in this mall which opened in 2014 that include fashion shops, an optician, 3 banks, Western Union agents, a Le P'tit Quebec offering 12 types of panini for USh 15,000 and Yummy Yoghurt selling 100 g of frozen yoghurt for USh 5,500. There is a KFC, clean toilets, and a large Carrefour Hypermarket, a UAE based franchise by Majid Al Futtaim, Middle East restaurant, Cafe Javas, a Ugandan-owned eatery with branches in Uganda's main Cities like Kampala and Mbarara, LC Waikiki shop, electronic appliances shop, Telecom service centres for Airtel and Mtn. The restaurants and supermarkets accept cash, visa card and mobile money payments.

Daily 07:00-22:00