Booking a safari to Kidepo valley national park

Booking a safari to Kidepo valley national park: After deciding that your next safari destination is Kidepo valley national park, the next thing is searching for a reputable local tour operator in Uganda to guide you through the planning process. Kidepo valley national park is one of the safari destinations in Uganda with abundant wildlife. It covers a total area of 1442 sq. km and has over 76 mammals, 5 primates, and 476 bird species so far recorded.

Things considered when booking a safari to Kidepo valley national park

Travel dates. The basic information needed while booking a safari to Kidepo valley national park includes the travel dates to help in the pricing of the safari based on the season you will travel. If you are looking at a low budget then it’s better you organize the safari in the low season when a few tourists are visiting the park and the lodges are cheaper.

The number of people. Group size also matters when it comes to booking as this helps the local tour to know how many people are traveling. If you have kids, you should be able to tell because their charges are cheaper.  Group size is important as it helps the safari car to use, the rooming arrangement when it comes to accommodation, and the park entrance fees.

Activities you would love to do. There are so many activities that are carried out in Kidepo valley national park so tourists will need to state what they are interested in. Tourist operators can also guide you on which activities to do while there based on what you are interested in. There are game drives, bird watching, nature walks, and hiking as well as cultural tours.

After getting all the above information then you can go ahead and request for a quotation from different local tour operators. You must tell the local tour operator your travel budget so that they make you a quotation that fits your budget. Below we are going to look at how you can book a safari to Kidepo valley national park.

How to book a safari to Kidepo valley national park

Using a local tour operator

The best way of booking a safari to Kidepo valley national park is using a reputable local tour operator. So many tour operators are in Uganda and would love to take tourists to Kidepo valley national park to see what is there.

To get a good local tour operator for your safari in Kidepo you need to take time to go on the internet and look for those that are licensed by Uganda Tourism Board.

There are so many licensed local tour operators in Uganda so tourists need to take another step of looking for those that have good reviews. There is trip advisor where you can search for a local tour operator and then see what tourists who have tried before say about the company. After going through these steps, you will land on some of the best local tour operators.

After getting about 3 local tour operators, you can then send each an email which should include the number of days you want, activities to do, time of travel, number of people traveling, travel budget, and maybe food diet. The local tour operators look at all you want for your safari and then start costing the itinerary to see how much the safari could cost you.

Tourists should choose the local operator who responded in time and that who has a fair price and good activities. If you are okay with the price a local tour operator will ask you to send a deposit of the money to confirm the safari and other money will be used to book a few things needed for the safari. Africa Adventure Vacations is one of the local tour operators in Uganda that can book you a successful safari in Kidepo valley national park.

Booking yourself

Tourists who have traveled before and are sure they can book a safari of what is needed from the start to the end can book for themselves a trip to Kidepo valley national park. Not all that much is needed to visit the national park so tourists will have a few things to book. To book the lodges tourists need to contact the owners using emails on their websites but rates are lower when contacted by the local tour operator.

Park entrance fee can be paid at the park entrance and park activities can be paid at the park headquarters. When it comes to transport, if you are to use road transport you need to contact those companies that hire cars and if you are to use air transport you need to book with the airline company you are to use so that they plan to fly you to the park.

Booking a safari to Kidepo valley national park by yourself can be very tiresome and challenging. If you are to use so many service providers you might end up dealing with fraudsters. This is why we advise tourists to always use tour operators because they are licensed and are good at what they are doing. A local tour operator will organize for you a very successful safari to Kidepo valley national park.

When to book a safari to Kidepo valley national park?

Any safari to Uganda now needs to be booked in advance and this is because the number of tourists keeps on increasing day by day. Tourists visiting Kidepo valley national park must book their safari 3 to 4 months or even more in advance so as to find accommodation facilities still available. A few accommodation facilities are in Kidepo valley national park and they are served on a first come first serve basis. For tourists who want very good lodges, they must book early when the space is still available.

Early booking in Kidepo valley national park is not all about accommodation, tourists can still book early to allow the tour operators to organize a successful safari without panic. For tourists that want to fly booking a flight with any of the airline companies needs to be done early so that they keep you a seat or seats.

Best time to visit

Tourists who want to visit Kidepo valley national park can look at the dry season because that is when the park is receiving little rainfall and plenty of sunshine. June to September and December to February are the best times to visit Kidepo valley national park because game tracks are dry and easier to drive through while the vegetation I short with clear views of different wildlife species.

Tourists can still visit Kidepo valley national park in the rainy season from March to May and October to November to get discounted rates. Lodges and local tour operators reduce prices to attract the few tourists that visit the park. The rainy season has muddy and slippery game tracks, roads connecting to the park are impassable and the vegetation is tall with unclear views of small animals.