Port Bell has a rail link and a railroad ferry wharf used for International traffic across Lake Victoria to Tanzania and Kenya.

It is located at the end of a narrow inlet of Lake Victoria, approximately 11 kilometres (7 mi), by road, south-east of the central business district of Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city.

[3] The port is named after Henry Hesketh Bell, a British commissioner, who took over administration of Britain's interests in Uganda in 1906.

When the first stage of the Uganda Railway was completed in 1901, the railhead was at Kisumu, 12 hours journey from Port Bell by ship.

The nearby Silver Springs Hotel was originally built by the British Overseas Airways Corporation as a rest stop for passengers between long flights.