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Uganda · Central Region

Kampala: how to get there and around

Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.

Kampala is the capital of Uganda (Central Region), 1,223 m (4,012 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Entebbe International Airport (EBB), 34 km (21 mi) from the centre. Our booking partner lists 1,594+ places to stay.

Key facts

Population1.7 million
Elevation1,223 m (4,012 ft)
Area189,000,000 km²
Time zoneAfrica/Kampala (UTC+3 now)
CurrencyShilling (UGX)
Dialling code+256
Driving sideLeft
Plug typesBS 1363
UN/LOCODEUGKLA
People are calledKampalan
Coordinates0.316, 32.582
Kampala

Open Kampala in Google Maps

Daylight in Kampala runs from about 12 h 9 min a day in late December to 12 h 11 min in late June (computed for 0.32° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.

Getting there

Kampala is served by one airport with scheduled flights. The closest large one is Entebbe International Airport (EBB), 34 km (21 mi) from the centre, whose 12,000-ft runway is long enough for long-haul wide-body aircraft.

Flights to Kampala: every airport, routes and times

Buses to Kampala · Driving and car hire

Where to stay

Our booking partner lists 1,594+ places to stay in Kampala (statistics below are from the first 1,000). Of the 582 with a star rating, the largest group is 3-star (371), and 15 are five-star. Across 64 properties with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 8.2 out of 10. Guests have left 19,154 reviews in total.

Hotels in Kampala: the full picture, and book

What people come for

UNESCO World Heritage in the city: Kasubi Tombs.

Tours, tickets and day trips from Kampala

Nearby cities, and how to get between them

Twin towns and sister cities: Kigali.

Common questions

Which airport serves Kampala?

Entebbe International Airport (EBB), 34 km (21 mi) from the centre.

How big is Kampala?

About 1.7 million people live in Kampala, across 189,000,000 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).

What time zone is Kampala in?

Africa/Kampala, currently UTC+3.

What currency is used in Kampala?

The Shilling (UGX). Traffic drives on the left.

How many hotels are there in Kampala?

Our booking partner lists 1,594 or more places to stay in Kampala, bookable on this site.

Which cities are near Kampala?

Kakamega (241 km), Kigali (377 km), Mwanza (317 km), Nakuru (394 km), Nansana (8 km).

Where these facts come from

  • GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
  • Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
  • OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
  • Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines

Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.