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Food and Tipping in Uganda

Africa's best authentic tailor-made safaris

Tipping in Uganda is not obligatory but many travellers do leave tips. This extra money really helps boost the income of people working in the tourism industry. For restaurants, you can tip 10% for good service, and if you want to tip a taxi driver, then you can round up your fare.

It’s usual to tip drivers, safari and gorilla tracking guides, and porters at the end of a safari or hike. For guides, you can tip between USD$10 to $20 per day per guest, for a porter US$5 to US$10, and for a private driver you can tip US$20 to US$30 per day for the group. Most travellers also leave tips for the lodge staff (US$5 to US$10 per guest), and many lodges have their own tip box where you leave money to be shared out amongst the staff.

In terms of food, you’ll find the usual international fare at tourist restaurants and hotels. For local food served at eateries and restaurants, the most common main dish is a stew of meat, beans, or groundnuts served with posho (maize meal) and matooke (mashed green bananas). Cassava, sweet potato, white potato, yam, and rice are also common starches. Street-side snacks include things like chapati (flatbread) filled with eggs and onions (known as a rolex), mugati naamaggi (a pancake filled with minced meat and egg), and samosas.

Popular drinks are tea (try the chai-spiced tea) and coffee – two of Uganda’s crops – as well as lager beer, banana and millet beer, and fermented banana wine.

If you have any dietary requirements (such as vegan or vegetarian food), be sure to notify your travel planner in advance of your stay.

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Safari Bookings review

"Chrizaan was friendly, organized and extremely knowledgeable about lodges and safari options that we were interested in. We booked an 11 night tour through Zimbabwe and Botswana starting in Victoria Falls at Victoria Falls Safari Lodge then going to Botswan..."

Linda, United States12 Aug 2026

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Trustpilot review

"We worked with Discover Africa to arrange our first ever Safari. Chrizaan from Discover Africa did a tremendous job in first understanding our requirements and wishes and then translating them into the perfect trip for us! Everything was organized to the..."

Elke Bregler, United States21 Apr 2026

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Google review

"This was our first experience using an online booking agent and it was outstanding. Justin went through our requirements even though we were pretty sure we knew what we wanted (we really didn't!) and came up with a plan that met our needs, including coordin..."

John Colao, United States13 Apr 2026

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Trustpilot review

"This was my 6th trip to South Africa and Botswana and, as always, Matthys van Aswegen made it a happy, safe, and exciting experience! My roommate, Glenna, and I thoroughly enjoyed the trip to South Africa's Boulders Beach to visit the African Penguin Reserv..."

JJ Towler, United States02 Apr 2026

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Trustpilot review

"Working with Susan made our experience just perfect. She has everything organized and it all went so well. Her recommendations were perfect. We loved the safaris she chose, the lodges, guides, staff and the experience were wonderful."

Marlene Wheatley, Canada22 Mar 2026

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"We had a great trip in Namibia. In 11 days we did a roundtrip, which was organised through online meetings. Every thing went on as agreed on and ver smoothly. We had a very good guide/driver, who explained us a lot about the country, politics, history and m..."

Peter Esslinger, Switzerland30 Nov 2025

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