Entebbe airport
 

Does anyone know if it is safe to spend the night in the Entebbe airport? My daughter will be taking a flight from Nairobi which arrives at 11:15 pm and is taking a 9:00 am flight from Entebbe to London. Has anyone spent time in the airport in the nighttime?
Thanks from an anxious mother.

Hi elyse

I would not recommend it, mostly because the airport will likely be empty - it looks like there are no arrivals or departures between her flight and 5am. (you can see this at www.flightstats.com, use the EBB code and select the tab for 'by airport')

She should make arrangements with a nearby hotel for transfers to and from the airport. I say hotel because they'll have their own vehicles, desk staff, etc. to manage the transfer professionally - 4 star will be up to international management standards. It may be difficult for a guest house or B&B to manage a late night/early morning request, but not impossible if you find one that is reliable.

I've stayed at the Imperial Botanical Hotel, but the Windsor Hotel and the Imperial Resort Beach Hotel are closer to the airport.

I don't want to discount other establishments or ways of doing it, but as a frequent traveller in various parts of Africa, this is the kind of thing I would spend a bit more money on to ensure I don't get stuck or miss my flight. Were time not such an issue (and the cost of missing a flight, etc.), I'd personally be more open to figuring it out as I went (and steering clear of the big hotels, too, as a matter of personal taste).

Finally, from my experience and from the reports of others, Uganda is quite safe as a country and nothing is likely to happen to her in any case.

But have her use a hotel :-)

I'm asking my son, who lived in Uganda for several years and made many trips through both Nairobi and Entebbe. But regardless of what he says, 11:15-9:00 is a long time to hang out anywhere, anytime. It makes sense to me to get a hotel and get 6 hours of sleep even if Entebbe is perfectly safe.

I got two emails from my son:

Email #1: totally safe. there are armed guards, and the place you'd be waiting is inside security. that being said, it won't be the most comfortable 9 hours of your life. there's a bar with a tv, but nothing resembling a comfortable chair if i remember correctly.

Email #2: of course, you could get a room at a local, relatively nice hotel for under $100.

(He's 25 and a law student, for point of reference, and lived in Uganda from July 2007-June 2009)

If you're looking for a more budget option, this place has gotten good reviews http://www.gorillatours.com/gorilla-...e-entebbe.html

We were going to stay there last year but ended up changing our trip.

While I've done it in Heathrow, Anchorage, and Narita, I wouldn't in Entebbe. It's not as bustling.

I think the opinion on safety from a young gentleman might differ if he were a young lady. Sad but true whether in Uganda or anywhere else. If she is part of a sizeable group, then it may be fine.

How badly do you need to save $75-$150? If money is that tight, and I understand how one may not have a spare $100 at certain stages in life, then I would not spend the money on international travel.

Whose idea is it to stay in the airport? Now I'm sounding like the anxious mom.

<<<I think the opinion on safety from a young gentleman might differ if he were a young lady.

I can ask his girlfriend -- she was there the same two-year period!>>>

DONT stay in the airport, basta. Its a tiny airport, with nothing to speak off in the arrival hallexcept touts. What on earth are you going to be doing there for 10 hours???

Take a taxi and go to a relatively cheap motel, e.g.Sophies Motel. If you can splurge a bit: Boma guesthouse.There are, literary, 3 minutes away.