How a tourist can bargain for a favorable price in Uganda - Uganda Safaris

Though its part of business,overcharging and bargaining in Uganda have become so common and if its your first time in the country,you may pay much for less.So its advisable that you take note of the prices of the prevailing charges before you set off for a gorilla Safari to Uganda.Many tourists come with a lot of money but due to ignorance about bargaining norms in Uganda,they end up over spending and run short of money.

Ugandan shilling notes

Therefore tourists in Uganda will sometimes need to bargain over prices at some instances for example when buying curios.However,it should be understood that the fact that a curio seller is open to negotiations does not mean that you were initially overcharged or ripped off.Curio sellers will generally quote a price knowing well that you are going to bargain it down and it is not necessary to respond in an accusatory manner.It is impossible to say by how much you should bargain the initial price down unless you are used to it.What some people do, is to mention a price half that the seller has suggested so that he doesn't keep so far away from the real price.The best way to prepare for bargaining is to make a survey in the shops to see how much different shops charge for what you want to buy and then get an average of the total.Other instances where bargaining and overcharging is common are;chartering a private taxi, organizing a guide,and when buying some market produce.

When it comes to tourists,sellers in Uganda seem to charge relatively higher prices because they think that they are ignorant of the prevailing prices.This explains why tourists in Uganda are always seen moving with guides and deal with travel companies mostly to avoid any form of cheating.Minibus-conductors often try to overcharge tourists.The best way to counter this is to check the correct ticket price in advance with an impartial party,and to book your ticket the day before you travel.If you fail to do that,you will have to haggle with these conductors in order to reach at an agreed transport charge.

Something you should know about overcharging and bargaining is that it is the fact of being overcharged that annoys,the amount itself is generally of little consequence in the wider context of a trip to to Uganda.But this overcharging among Ugandan traders is due to the economic conditions in the country given the fact that generally Ugandans are much poorer than they will ever be.So when they see tourists from developed countries,they always struggle hard to get as much money from them as possible where needs be.

However,not everything in Uganda is hiked because there is a bargaining and overcharging norm .Some goods and services are out of this bracket and once a trader or service provider tells you the price,it is the last price.For instance prices in hotels,restaurants and shops are generally fixed,and overcharging in such places is too unusual for it to be worth challenging a price unless it is blatantly ridiculous.