Key Motivations for Doing a Self-drive in Uganda
Though Uganda is talked about being the Pearl of Africa, that’s not enough to describe why should travel on a self-drive. Maybe it is! But several travelers have taken the step to like the tradition of exploring this beautiful land by themselves.
Self-drive as a mode of exploring, before it is considered there are several factors that have to be employed. These have motivated numbers of travelers to embark on start taking their adventure on a self-drive across the world.
Let’s discuss on the factors that excelled in forcing a number of travelers.
Testimonies
Well, those who have tested on how amazing is doing the self-drive safari in Uganda. They have proved a point that this undertaking is not like any other. With several travel guides and reviews proves how possible self-drive can be on this beautiful land. Almost travelers from all corners of the world draw to explore Uganda. The country welcomes thousands of travelers wishing for a self-drive.
Reliable car rental agencies
The number motivator of doing a self-drive in a foreign country is the availability of self-drive car rental. Many car rental agencies including Car Hire in Uganda have positioned to avail various car rental services. There are several registered and reorganized car rental agencies that operates in Uganda and as well offer outbound services to neighboring countries. When browsing through, the possibility is the highest to get the best service provider.
Improved Road Conditions
The condition of roads in Uganda is not such worrying. Today one can drive comfortably across the country and return safely. Major highways that introduces to all sub-regions of the country can be perfectly reached. You don’t a lot of days to drive through Uganda, rather will only need to have that best cruiser to explore the best of the pearl.
It’s also possible to drive for longer distance without disruption of pitiable road difficulties. Even the unpaved roads in the countryside, are maintained in the good state. Uganda Wildlife Authority has tried to maintain roads or tracks in national parks to ensure that tourist drive safely.
Today you can drive from Kampala to Kidepo Valley National Park in just one day which was impossible before. Driving from Masindi to Murchison Falls National Park at Paraa headquarter is today very possible in just one hour which wasn’t the case before. There is a great improvement of roads to facilitate your easy drive to various tourist destinations.
Best Weather
Uganda’s weather conditions are very favorable even when driving on a self-drive. The country is placed within the equatorial hemisphere and is characterized by warm weather throughout. There are two weather seasons in Uganda of which one is dry season and wet season. However, both seasons are still great and favorable for adventures and even when on a self-drive.
The dry weather is experience in the months of December to February, and another comes in June to September. This is always the perfect time of driving in Uganda, it’s favorable with dry roads that enables driving all over the country. The wet/rainy months of March to May and from Mid-September to November are characterized with a lot of showers and limited sunshine. It’s a bit challenging with potholes, slippery roads and to some areas bridges crossing are washed especially in Karamoja, areas around Mt Elgon and Mt Rwenzori and larger rivers.
But besides such cases, you can drive in Uganda throughout the years they year and anywhere in the country.
Uganda is an adventure hub
Right from Gorilla trekking which is considered the highlight of all adventures in Africa, to chimpanzee tracking, wildlife safari, birding adventures, honeymoon spots, golden monkey tracking, wild boat cruises, tree climbing lions, hiking Africa’s 3rd and 4th highest peaks all makes Uganda a special destination worthy to explore. Adrenaline adventures like White water rafting at the source of the Nile River, bungee jumping, kayaking and cultural among others. A travelers opting for something adventurous can hire a car and take a self-drive to explore all such on their own.
Variety of Car Rental
There are many chooses of vehicles to choose from when opting to travel on a self-drive trip. Particularly for safari adventures, vehicles are customized to offer adventure experience. Among safari customized vehicles in Uganda include; 4×4 Rav4 is the safari maiden car available for budget travelers. The 4×4 Prado Land cruiser TX/TZ is another perfect selection for budget. For mid-range and budget travelers the 4×4 land cruiser VX, GX, V8, Nissan patrol, the 4×4 Land rover and safari land cruiser. Don’t hesitate from taking your favorite cruiser and explore the Pearl of Africa offers on your own way.
Safety and Security
Any country which is unsafe security wise is not advisable for even visiting. Uganda is among some of the African countries that have maintained the security. The few cases of insecurity, maybe are the black spot in sea of clean waters. Uganda is safe, the security for now almost two decades is very promising and uncompromised with limited challenges of rebel characters which almost surface to the UK, USA, and even across the global. This can’t rub the truth that Uganda is safe for self-drive travelers and can cruiser to any direction of the country.
Cost efficiency
Traveling on self-drive is more less costing that having an operator to handle everything on your trip. A lot of costs are bypassed when considered hiring a car and drive your own way. In the post Covid era many travelers are looking for cost efficient way of exploring the world. And one of the most effective way is foregoing some of the costs which is done in the way of hiring a vehicle and take a self-drive.
The topography
Uganda has a varying topography which is not so much worrying as far as driving is concerned. Right from the northern and northeastern the topography is relatively of flat plateau. Some parts of Eastern re steep sloping especially around Mt. Elgon, and rest of the region is flat mainly with wetlands. The central regions is gently sloping and making it possibly okay to drive throughout the region. And the western region characterized mainly with steep slopes, however with stony roads that support the vehicle to cruiser even in rainy seasons without getting stuck.
Uganda has one of the betters roads to cruise through safely even in rainy seasons. The topography makes it easy for travelers to drive whenever they feel like cruising.
So, with such motivation factors one should always consider Uganda a destination to think about when planning for a self-drive to Africa.
Read MoreHow to Avoid Uganda Car Rental Scams
Have ever been in a car rental scam? If not , this a page that will guide you about car rental Uganda scams .After arriving at your holiday destination, you’re usually tired from the flight, bogged down with luggage and just wanting to get to your hotel.
If you’ve hired a car, you want to get in it and go as soon as you can. Many of the car hire firms know this, and many will take advantage of the fact.
The ‘discovered damage’ ploy is one of the oldest tricks in the car hire book, and this costs tourists millions money each year.
When you arrive at the car rental office, glance over the car, sign the papers, take the keys, and drive to your hotel.
Throughout your holiday you drive carefully, taking good care of the vehicle. You will return it to the office on the day of your departure, only to have the tiniest of dents or the smallest of scratches pointed out to you.
You dispute it but it’s too late, you find your credit card – which you needed to provide details of to get the car in the first place has been hit with a huge bill for repairs.
To the saddest, this scene will be a reality to many visitors each year. More and more car hire firms are catching on to the fact that there’s even more money to be made out of tourists than just the cost of the rental. But this doesn’t mean that renting a car should be avoided as long as you know what to do and how to protect yourself, you can avoid becoming just another statistic.
After arriving at the rental lot, don’t appear to be in a rush so that you cant be cheated by these Uganda car Rental scams.
Ask for the car to be driven into a well lit area, or even outside if it’s during the day. You need to examine the car as thoroughly as possible, both inside and out. Take your time with this, if you notice any damage whatsoever, however small, report it to the rental staff and make a note of it yourself.
If you have a digital camera, take photographs, with the date/time stamp on if possible. Check underneath the car for signs of an oil leak or any other damage.
Inspect the windscreen for chips, and examine the doors and bumpers for dents or scratches. Open the car and check the upholstery and all the fixings to make sure they’re clean and without scratches or tears. Open the boot and ensure the spare wheel is present, with air in the tyre.
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How to Connect with Locals on Self Drive Safari
There are two ways to travel to other countries; You can buy a tour package, join a group and travel to a country, you will choose to stay at a nice hotel, eat where other tourists eat, travel to the museums , the scenic sights and the historical buildings, shop and you will go home with many photos. The second way to travel is by going on your own or with a friend, having made the decision to make friends with the local people, to get to know the culture and the customs through the eyes of the people who live it every day. This is the travel to real experiencing the country in case you want to return home knowing that you really understand the people and their culture. Below are the ways on how to connect with the local people on a Uganda self-drive safari.
Always find someone from the country in your own town before you go; you can visit the local university where you can meet the international students organizations and get the right information for one of the students from the country where you will be traveling. You can meet with them and ask them about the country, the culture and the local sots to hang out when you get there. By this you will have local knowledge in advance of your travel. Many of these students have got families and friends back home and they might offer to introduce you to them by emails of Facebook before you travel. You will have the right contact person who can help out get you around and explore the local life style.
Always learn the language; there are courses all over the internet, sign up for one and get the common expressions so that you can speak the language. This will help you to fit in when you go out to the local bars and restaurants. As you start conversations with some of the locals who eat there, make sure you get some friends who will be willing to show you around.
Hang out at the college or the university; this might sound like strange but this will surely help connect easily with the local students who will be willing and ready to show around. You can even get into the homes of the locals which is a great experience.
Always engage with the couch surfing community, this is a website that will help you get the right into the local scene, it has locals from nearly every country in the world opening their homes for the travelers to stay while they are in their home towns. In case you are planning in advance, you can have all your lodging take care of by staying with the locals in their homes. This is also a good place and community to ask for all sorts of travel, get to know the best in the wall bars and meet the locals who will take you around town with you for a few hours.
Eat where the local eat; the best way to learn a country is through food. Even though so many traveler eat from the hotels or in the restaurants. The food at these places is nothing like what the locals eat. Always choose the restaurants that are filled with locals, even if they look less alluring that your usual diner. You can easily make friends with your waiter and the bar tender and return every day. These will take you places when they are off at work. You can as well locate families that open their homes to the foreigners for a meal. Some charge a bit, but the bigger value is to eat real food and get to converse with the local people.
Always find out about the local events; there might be holidays or the special events or the festivals going on while you are there, so be sure to find out about these and plan to attend them. In case you have not taken the time to do this, you can ask the waiters or the bartender where you usually take your meals. You can be in position to find out how the people in your host country celebrate, what they wear, what they eat, and what the events and festivals mean to their cultural history.
Always find a crafted vacation planner; since many people want to travel outside, there are many companies that plan personalized trips. These connect with the locals in countries and will arrange for the personal local tour guides and even opportunities to stay in homes or share the meals with the local families. The main advantage is that the locals are already known to the company so they are safe hosts for the foreigners. The planner can be a great source of information about where to go and what to see for the great local experience rather than just the touristic one.
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5 Ways to Save on Car Hire in Uganda
Did you know that you can save some money on car rental in Uganda? Are you a budget traveler and you want to save on car rental while on Uganda safari? Car hire in Uganda is exceptionally one of the best ways through which most travelers on African adventures can easily realize their long term dreams. While Uganda car hire at times tends to be costly to some travelers, taking a self drive car hire or even guided tours in the pearl of Africa will certainly help you save some money that you would use to off set other costs or add more activities that you would wish to participate on while on Uganda safari. If you are planning to rent a car for your adventures in the pearl of Africa, there are some extra charges that are worth avoiding and they are explained below and at the end of day you would have saved something for yourself.
Do not take extra insurance
Almost all Car Hire Agencies in Uganda offer comprehensive insurance for the vehicles on hire but unfortunately some travelers will still need to take up additional insurance as a way to keep their property and themselves safe from any risks. Undertaking this means additional cost on your side. It is advisable that you first cross check with your insurance company if your personal insurance can be off set in your car hire travel or not. This will save you from additional insurance cost that you wanted to pay for your own safety. Majority of Car Hire Agencies and not all, tend extend their insurance only to their car hire and in case you are interested in zero payment for risk or zero deductable then this will be a bit costly on your side.
Make sure that you cross check thoroughly the car prior setting off
Given that the same car would have been used by majority of people and may be servicing was not done, make sure that you check thorough the car rental before setting off otherwise you will incur costs on damages that were not caused by you. Where possible take pictures on some parts with cracks as this will save you from extra charges when you return the car. Some of these damages can be hidden that even the Car Hire staff won’t notice which requires keen attention and thorough inspection prior embarking on your long awaited safari.
Do not return the car rental later than the agreed date
Return the car as stipulated in the agreement otherwise you will incur a premium fee for visitors who drop back the car hire later than the set date. Note that car rentals are largely for commercial and any day missed means a loss to them which you will be carried to you.
Never drop off the car rental with no fuel
Majority of Car Hire Companies in Uganda offer visitors vehicles with half or full fuel tank and if you happen to be in this bracket then make sure that you return the car as it was given to you. If you decide to drop it with no fuel or less of what was given to you this will mean violation of terms and conditions that you agreed with Car Rental Company in Uganda and this will also mean that you will incur a penalty fee.
Reduce on paying for additional services
Car Hire Agencies in Uganda set a cost on baby seats and GPS and yet you can also get these on your own. To be on safer side, you have to come along with your own gadgets, you can download or up date Google maps on your smart phones that will work as a GPS to help you as you navigate through the remotest areas in Uganda. Consider packing your own gadgets where possible and save some money that you would have spent on additional services.
In conclusion, there are many ways on how you can save on car rentals in Uganda; however with the few that have been listed above we believe that you won’t incur extra costs. This will assure you of a memorable experience in your life.
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