Lived in Uganda for six months!
EBB is your basic African airport... when an international flight arrives the terminal (whole airport) becomes swapped. There are no gates; you just step off the onto the tarmac and walk to the terminal (about 200 meters). It's also very hot and humid, with lots of flies and flees and mosquitos and whatever else from nearby Lake Victoria. It's actually quite a pleasant airport (as most African airports are) in terms of it's rural location, and the city of Entebbe has a sort of lazy "seaside" atmosphere, with an old colonial flair, with nice botanical gardens and a zoo. It's good place to acclimatize and get rested before hitting the road. Would recommend you acquire a visa before you travel to speed immigration procedures. Bags arrive before you do, seeing as there are few other flights the airport must contend with.
The Rwenzori Mountains are very beautiful; some of few true "mountains" in all Africa, and the landscape and forests along the foothills is also gorgeous. The gorillas are also an amazing site to behold; I've seen just about everything of African wildlife, and nothing about tracking, finding and seeing the gorillas failed to impress and do nothing short of create absolute amazement. Better to book through a local operator if you can, as prices are lower, or maybe through a travel company in South Africa. But whatever the price, it's well worth it.
You can also see gorillas on the Rwanda side, and maybe see that country while you are in the area. It's also very picturesque with rolling green hills and cultivated countryside. There are some very moving and educational genocide memorials (some also very gruesome, with preserved bodies still lying in classrooms where they were slain).
While you're in the area of the Rwenzori, you might also want to stop in to see the Impenetrable Forest; it's also beautiful and still has a substantial population of pygmy people, although they live in absolute poverty. The nature is spectacular, of course, with very dense and diverse growth.
Queen Elizabeth II park, near Lake Albert, is really nothing much to see; you had better go to the parks in Kenya, Tanzania or South Africa.
The Murchison falls on the Nile are also quite nice, but quite a detour; if water does not impress, better give it a miss. An easier and more spectacular/interesting waterfall is Sipi Falls (a few hours east of Kampala), which comes from the Sipi river that has its source on Mount Elgon near the Kenyan frontier. There is much to explore there and see besides the falls, and the lodge there sits on the opposite side of the valley from the falls, and sits on a high prominory that looks down from the escarpment onto breathtaking flatlands below (lodge is very basic though; don't know what your requirements are for quality of accomodation).
If you are into water sports, are adventurous or really want to scare yourself silly, then going whitewater rafting on the (source of) the Nile from Jinja (about 1 hour east of Kampala) is an absolute must. I'm no expert on whitewater, although I've done a few rivers before, but the Nile was by far the most challenging I have done. A huge rush.
Better give most things in the North a miss, for now anyway, due to the continuing LRA violence. There is not much to see anyway.
And then there is Kampala. It certainly is no Paris or New York, but if you take the time to explore, get to know the place and have fun, it is a very vibrant and fun city. A few days to a week are a great time, and unless you want to stay at a pricey expat hotels, decent and clean hotels are fairly cheap and very convenient. On top of that, it is a SAFE city, unlike places like Nairobi or Johannesburg or Kinsasha (but still use commonsense of course).
Just a few things to do in Kampala:
- Nakasero Market: buy your fruits and vegetables
- Owino Market: An absolute must, one of the funnest markets in all Africa. One enters this extremely dense and bustling market and you really have no idea where you are going. You just walk for two hours until you emerge on another side. One can buy almost anything there, including all the second hand cloths from the West (maybe you'll find an old shirt you gave up years ago; it's really quite a laugh at times seeing old graduation shirts and the likes). Be prepared to haggle and bargain though.
- Parliament building (one can view debates from the public gallery, and some people are willing to explain the unique district system of Uganda)
- Buganda parliament (good history about the local Buganda people and kingdom)
- Makerere University: oldest university in East Africa. The students are quitie eager to show people around, talk to people etc.
- Kasubi tombs: where Buganda kings are buried, interesting historical stuff.
- Nile Hotel: on Sundays they have fun traditional dancing, and usually all the tourists and locals watching get involved, even the shy ones; a fun time.
Some nice places to go out in Kampala:
- My favorite: Rock Garden... a popular place, bar and dance club with expats, but still a very lively place, open air, good mix of local and Western music, and great place to meet people (beware very persistant prostitutes however).
- Great Ethiopian restaurant is at the T-junction about 2 km past the US embassy, on your right as you veer right, as you towards Bungga.
- Pink Panther: a more intense dance club than the Rock Garden, with mostly locals and heavy house music towards the end of the night.
Another nice thing about Uganda is that the minibuses ("matatoos") (public transport) are quite reliable and easy to use, once you have got your bearings. And it is dirt cheap. Best to have a local explain fares to you, however, to avoid being cheated. There are no metered taxis, but there are taxis to hire; you must negotiate a price before departure. Again, get to know the local rates before you use them, otherwise you will pay triple the normal/standard fare.
A side note... Ugandans call foreigners (non-Africans), and especially white, "muzungus." It basically means white person, but also has connotations of wealth, education, means etc. etc. Don't be offended if every stranger you meet/pass by calls you that.
Ag, man... I really have gone on quite long enough. Sorry about that. A bit exciting to find someone who actually wants to go to Uganda though, instead of just South Africa! Good luck!