Month: November 2021

Covid 19 vaccinated travelers now have it easy in Rwanda

Rwanda is finally easing up on covid guidelines and requirements for travelers entering the country. A new set of covid guidelines for 2021 were announced, by far the most important update for any traveler planning to visit Rwanda is; there is NO hotel quarantine for fully vaccinated travelers that are entering Rwanda.

Over the last many months, all travelers, irrespective of vaccination status had to test on arrival at the airport and then transferred to a designated hotel to quarantine and wait for the results expected to come back in 12 hours. That meant all planning for travel to Rwanda had to include an extra day of quarantine, at own cost moreover. This was discouraging for many as it interrupted planning and increased costs. Those that couldn’t postpone their visit to Rwanda anymore and traveled found the quarantine quite unbearable, you know, having to keep to your room for more than 12 hours and the thought of the results coming back positive would cause paranoia and panic! It was quite dramatic finding travelers at the end of their quarantine and just received their negative results literally running out of their rooms like they were running out of a burning house!!!

Unvaccinated travelers unfortunately will have to go through this experience – test on arrival and hotel quarantine.

Other covid requirements still in place for all travelers to Rwanda:

  • All travelers have to do a PCR test 72 hours before the time of arrival in Rwanda and produce the negative covid 19 PCR test results upon landing at Kigali Airport.
  • All travelers will be tested upon arrival at the airport for a cost of USD60. Vaccinated travelers will continue to their booked hotels or homes and self-isolate as they wait for their results. While unvaccinated travelers will be transferred to designated hotels for quarantine and await results.
  • All travelers must complete the passenger locator form and upload the COVID-19 test certificated and vaccination certificate (for those vaccinated) before taking the flight to Kigali. Here is the link to the passenger locator form: https://travel.rbc.gov.rw/travel

As more people have been vaccinated and countries now reopening up for travel now is good time to visit Rwanda for vacation, go gorilla trekking in the volcanoes, chimpanzee tracking in Nyungwe or take a big game safari trip to Akagera National Park Rwanda’s only savannah destination. It is a good time before the crowds returned. The winter birds are also arriving and so it’s the right time to book a birding tour to Rwanda.

Latest covid guidelines for travelling to Uganda (as of November 2021)

The covid 19 pandemic situation in Uganda has improved a lot from what it was during the Delta variant spread that took the country by storm mid this year 2021. A lockdown had even been put in place for about two months as the delta variant raged. But as we get to the end of the year 2021 there is no lockdown and guidelines are being relaxed favoring travel. Uganda has also been kicked off the red list of many countries which had prohibited travel to and from Uganda. Vaccines have been acquired and the population is being vaccinated.

You can now go ahead with your plans to visit Uganda for safaris. This is in fact a good time to track the gorillas in Uganda, go chimp trekking and enjoy a wildlife safari tour to Murchison Falls National Park and other big game parks, before the crowds return. The wintering birds have also started arriving and now is the right time for birding trips to in Uganda.

As a tourist planning travel to Uganda, take note of the following important guidelines:

Negative covid-19 test certificate

All travelers are required to present a negative covid-19 test certificate of a test done not older than 72 hours before your flight to Entebbe International Airport

Testing on arrival at the airport for all travelers

All travelers coming to Uganda, irrespective of vaccination status, will undergo a covid-19 PCR test on arrival at the Entebbe airport.

Testing booths have been set up at the arrivals and as soon as you land you will be directed to a waiting health official to take the swabs from you.

Thereafter you will continue to be cleared at the immigrations and you can leave the airport to your hotel and wait for your results that come back after 2 – 4 hours.

Once results come back negative you can proceed with your travels throughout the country.

If, however, results come back positive you will be required to quarantine at the hotel for some days and undergo treatment till subsequent tests come back negative. All this at your cost. The government also provides free quarantine centers where you can be moved to if you won’t manage the cost of hotel quarantine.

Get your Uganda visa online

All tourists and visitors are required to apply and get their Ugandan visas online. For now, NO more physical acquiring of visas on arrival or at foreign missions and embassies.

The Uganda tourist visa costs $50

Here is the link for the visa application: https://visas.immigration.go.ug/