Getting around in Uganda

One way to travel Uganda independently is by hiring your own car. Hiring a 4×4 is highly recommended, because most roads are unpaved and are often extremely bumpy and potholed, and most of the roads in the national parks are only suitable for 4x4s. However, driving on rough Ugandan roads is not for the feint hearted, and if you don’t have much experience driving in Africa it might be best to think about hiring a driver for your trip.

If you don’t hire a car, your options for getting around cities are shared taxi vans (known as matatus) and boda boda motorcycles (but note that both matatus and boda bodas have high accident rates). The safest option is to take private taxis (the taxi-ride app Uber operates in Kampala).

 

For long distance travel between major towns the most affordable option is coaches, which are slow and can be crowded – and they do have accidents. The most hassle-free way to travel around Uganda is to fly: Aerolink (www.aerolinkuganda.com) flies to Uganda’s top five national parks, Eagle Air (www.eagleair-ug.com) has scheduled flights to six towns across Uganda and also operates private charter flights, while Fly Uganda (www.flyuganda.com) offers private charter flights to all of Uganda’s airstrips as well as custom flying safaris.