Buffalo Safari Lodge
Lodge and resort · Katunguru, on the Kazinga Channel · Savannah Lodges
Mid-range
Boundary unconfirmed
Owner/family-run
Buffalo sits at Katunguru by the Kazinga Channel bridge, on the main road between Kasese and Mbarara. Which side of the boundary it stands on is genuinely unsettled, so read the area note before you assume entry is part of the deal. The position suits the channel cruise and the Kasenyi plains, and this is one of the rare addresses here that states it is open all year. Ishasha remains a three hour drive south.
Pros and cons
Pros
- A named Honeymoon Safari package exists, from $1,150 per person
- 25 private acres at Katunguru, with family houses and cottages
- One of few lodges here that states a year-round season
- Packages bundle park entry, a game drive and a boat trip
Cons
- The site contradicts itself on gate distance; boundary status unsettled
- Room rates in the booking module contradict each other
- The Rack Rates page is empty, with leftover template text elsewhere
- No child age policy or minimum age found for young guests
What's here
- Restaurant
- Family rooms
Read from Buffalo Safari Lodge's own website in July 2026. Anything not listed we could not confirm, which is not the same as it being absent.
What the park charges on top
The rate above buys you a bed. Queen Elizabeth National Park charges its own entry fee for every day you are inside. Here is what that adds up to.
- Park entryCharged per 24 hours rather than per night.
- $40per person, per day
- VehicleA Ugandan-registered 4x4, the usual hire car, at UGX 30,000; a foreign-registered 4x4 pays $150.
- $8per vehicle, per day
Three nights means three days inside, so two adults sharing one vehicle pay $264 in park fees before anyone pays for a bed.
Entry is sold in 24-hour blocks that begin when you pass the gate, so a trip that starts at midday and ends at 16:00 two days later is charged as three days, not two.
The full fee schedule for Queen Elizabeth National ParkRates at Buffalo Safari Lodge
From $750 per person, package. The page headed Rack Rates 2026 to 2027 is empty, and the room prices in the booking module contradict each other, with a standard single priced above a deluxe double and one cottage page still carrying template text about a trek in Nepal, so those figures are left out here. What the owner does publish reliably are packages per person: a two day Buffalo Lodge Trip from $990 covering two nights full board, park entry, a game drive, a boat trip and ground transfers within 200 km; a Deluxe Stay from $750; and a Honeymoon Safari from $1,150.
What the rate covers is not confirmed. We do not know yet whether meals, drinks and activities are included, so read this as the bed only.
Every figure on this page is in US dollars.
Indicative 2026 rates, read in September 2026 from each property's own website, rate card or factsheet. Twenty-three of the forty-two publish a rack rate of their own. The other nineteen say on request, and no agent or tour operator figure has been used to fill a gap. Watch the basis, because it decides whether two numbers can be compared at all: some quote per person per night sharing, others per room, per tent or per cottage, and meals sit inside some rates and outside others. Park entry is extra almost everywhere at $40 per foreign non-resident adult per 24 hours, plus the vehicle, and the Kazinga Channel cruise is $30 on top.
Questions about Buffalo Safari Lodge
Is Buffalo Safari Lodge good for a honeymoon?
Yes, the lodge sells a named Honeymoon Safari package from $1,150 per person, alongside a two-day Buffalo Lodge Trip from $990 and a Deluxe Stay from $750. What exactly each package includes beyond park entry, a game drive, a boat trip and ground transfers within 200 km is not broken down further, so ask for the full itinerary before booking.
How much does Buffalo Safari Lodge cost?
Buffalo sells itself mainly through packages rather than room rates: a two-day trip from $990 covering two nights full board, park entry, a game drive, a boat trip and transfers within 200 km; a Deluxe Stay from $750; and a Honeymoon Safari from $1,150. The lodge's own room prices in its booking module contradict each other, so treat any individual room figure as unreliable until confirmed in writing.
Is Buffalo Safari Lodge inside Queen Elizabeth National Park?
That is genuinely unsettled. The lodge's homepage says you sleep in the middle of the park, while its own FAQ page says the nearest gate is a twelve-minute drive, and both cannot be true. The address given is a plot at Katunguru a kilometre off the Kasese to Mbarara road. Ask directly which side of the boundary you would be sleeping on before you book.
Is Buffalo Safari Lodge good for families?
It has family-sized units: a Family House sleeping five and, by the owner's count, up to seven family cottages with interconnecting rooms. We found no child age policy or minimum age published anywhere on the site, so ask about that directly when you enquire about a family booking.