Hiring a Car

One way to explore Uganda independently is by renting a car. It’s highly recommended to hire a 4×4 vehicle, as most roads are unpaved, often extremely bumpy, and full of potholes. Additionally, the roads in national parks are generally suitable only for 4x4s. However, driving on Uganda’s rough roads is not for the faint-hearted. If you lack experience driving in Africa, it might be wise to hire a driver for your trip.

Urban Transportation

If you choose not to rent a car, your options for getting around cities include shared taxi vans (known as matatus) and boda boda motorcycles. Be aware that both matatus and boda bodas have high accident rates. The safest urban transportation option is private taxis, and the ride-hailing app Uber operates in Kampala.

Long-Distance Travel

For long-distance travel between major towns, the most affordable option is to use coaches. These are often slow, crowded, and have a record of accidents.

The most hassle-free way to travel around Uganda is by air. Aerolink (aerolinkuganda.com) flies to Uganda’s top five national parks, Eagle Air (eagleair-ug.com) offers scheduled flights to six towns and private charters, and Fly Uganda (flyuganda.com) provides private charter flights to all of Uganda’s airstrips and custom flying safaris.