How to save money on a gorilla safari to Bwindi

How to save money on a gorilla safari to Bwindi: Gorilla trekking is the most expensive tourism safari in Uganda done in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park and Mgahinga national park. A gorilla safari to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park requires one to be having some good money which shall be used to pay for the gorilla permits, accommodation, and transport. saving money on a gorilla safari to Bwindi is hard work but in this article, we are going to look at some of the things you can do to save money.

Travelers that are planning to have a gorilla safari in Bwindi and are looking at how they can save money here is a piece of work to read and we believe by the time you finish reading it, you would have learned different ways you can save money.  Below are different ways to save money on a gorilla safari to Bwindi.

Travel as a group

To save money on a gorilla safari to Bwindi, we strongly advise you to travel as a group because this will save you from a lot of expenses. When you travel as a group, you do use the same car hence saving fuel and when it comes to accommodation you can share beds hence saving some money.

Book your safari with a local tour operator

If you are intending to have a Bwindi gorilla safari, look at using a local tour operator to organize for you everything from transport to accommodation and food. These local tour operators do have good bargaining power when it comes to accommodation. They will talk with the lodge owners to reduce the price of the lodge for their client hence saving money. When you use a tour operator, you can tell them your budget and they will design for you a safari based on the money you have.

Have your gorilla safari in the rainy season

Have the gorilla safari in the rainy season

Bwindi is open for gorilla trekking at all times of the year so travelers that want to save on their safari can decide to visit the park in the rainy season. The rainy season occurs from March to May and October to November and during such months, the accommodation facilities are at a cheap price and the tour operators give discounts on their tour packages.

Use for affordable accommodation facilities

There are a lot of accommodation facilities in the different sectors of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park where travelers can stay. The lodges range from budget to mid-range to luxury options but when you are looking on saving money on a safari, you can decide to use mid-range accommodation facilities or even budget lodges if they offer good services. Travelers can also decide to use camps because they are cheaper and safe hence saving money.

Use cheap means of transport to get to the park

The cheapest means of transport to get to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park is road transport. The journey is a bit long taking 9-10 hours but you do get to the park in just a single day. Travelers can get to Bwindi from Kampala/Entebbe via Masaka-Mbarara-Kabale-Kisoro road and those from Kigali can cross to Uganda using Cyanika birder in Kisoro or Katuna birder in Kabale and get to the park in 3-4 hours. Air transport to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park is faster but expensive so you won’t save anything.

Choose a few activities to do on the safari

The more the activities on the safari, the more the money, and therefore if you are looking at saving on a gorilla safari in Bwindi choose a few activities. You can decide to do gorilla trekking and combine it with either birding or nature walks or community tours but not all of them. Each activity done in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park is done at a fee and therefore if you do a few of them you will save money.

Things to consider while planning to have a gorilla safari in Bwindi

Gorilla permits

When planning to have a gorilla safari in Bwindi, consider buying gorilla permits first and this is done by using a local tour operator or directly contacting Uganda Wildlife Authority. Travelers should buy Bwindi gorilla permits in advance of 3-4 months by contacting local tour operators or UWA. You will have t send them an email containing the dates of the month and year you want to travel and if they check and find permits available, you will be asked to send money and your permit shall be booked.

A gorilla trekking permit costs $700 for foreign non-residents, $600 for foreign residents, and UGX250,000 for citizens of East Africa. A gorilla habituation permit is $1500 for foreign non-residents, $1000 foreign residents, and UGX750,000 citizens of East Africa. Gorilla permits are cards that will allow you to be part of the gorilla trekking activities in the park.

Transport

When planning to have a gorilla safari to Bwindi you need to look at how you will get to the park. For travelers that use local tour operators to organize the whole safari, they don’t have to worry about how they will get to the park because the safari organizers have a variety of cars to transport their guests. For travelers that want to organize the safari themselves or even do self-drive, they will have to book the cars from those people that do car hire services.

Stay at Rushaga Gorilla Lodge on your Gorilla safari to Bwindi

Accommodation

Think about where you will sleep on all the days your safari will be going on. A local tour operator will look at your budget and book accommodation facilities that suit your money. If you are organizing the safari yourself, you will have to look for the lodges and contact them to book your rooms on the dates your safari will happen. Some of the lodges to stay at while having a gorilla safari in Bwindi include Buhoma Lodge, Rushaga Gorilla Lodge, Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge, Ruhija Gorilla Safari Lodge, Gorilla Heights Lodge, Four Gorillas Lodge, and Engagi Lodge among others.