Game Drives

Game Drives in the Park are an awesome way to explore the various tracks as you watch various wildlife animals wander around their natural habitat. The Game Drives are scheduled in sessions i.e Morning, Afternoon and Late evening and are done in 4×4 vehicles with park rangers who inform you about the Park and the various animals.

Best Times to Go

Morning drives: Typically 6:30 AM to 10:30 AM — ideal as many animals are active and cooler temperatures encourage movement.

Afternoon drives: Around 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM — wildlife often emerges from midday resting spots and heads toward water.

Night drives: From 6:00 PM to about 9:00 PM — available mainly around the Mweya Peninsula, with guides using spotlights to find nocturnal creatures like hyenas and civets

Dry seasons (June–September and December–February) are considered the best overall: roads are more passable, vegetation is shorter, and animals concentrate around waterholes.

Key Game Drive Routes in the Park

There are many major routes in the Park that are followed as you traverse from one point to another watching wildlife animals. These include; the

Kasenyi Plains which are the most popular for classic savannah wildlife adventures as you watch animals like elephants, buffaloes, Uganda kobs and lions.

Mweya Peninsula: Central hub for drives, especially for water-edge sightings and connecting to other tracks.

Ishasha Sector: Famed for the park’s tree-climbing lions — a rare behaviour seen in few places globally.

Channel & Crater Drives: Scenic loops along and north of the Kazinga Channel and around volcanic craters that mix wildlife viewing with dramatic landscapes.

Wildlife Animals you Watch

On a typical drive, you can encounter large mammals like elephants, African buffalo, warthogs, hippos, topi, waterbuck, bushbuck, lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, etc. There are also more than 600 species of birds in the park.

Costs Incurred

Prices vary depending on vehicle, guide, and type of drive:

Park entry: Around USD 30–40 per adult for foreign non-residents (lower for Ugandan/East African citizens).

Guided drives: Often USD 30–100 per person with a vehicle and professional guide.

Guided drives tend to yield better sightings because local guides know animal patterns and best routes.