Self Drive Uganda vs. Car Hire with a Driver or a chauffeur.
Welcome to the source of information for all your car rental queries in Uganda. Here we take all the responsibilities to bring you the necessary points that you may refer to when you choose to visit Uganda.
You may be obliged for a safari or a business trip in Africa, but particularly making a round in the Pearl of Africa. Yes, you have made the rightful choice to come to the African continent, but how are you going to navigate around?
I understand you have booked your ticket and secured your visa already, checked all the required travel documents, and also paid attention to what to pack before your departure.
With all that above scanned, the next step is asking yourself how you are going to make it in Uganda in terms of transport and all the extra movements on arrival.
However, you can choose from the two modes: renting a car and self-driving around, or hiring a car with a driver in case your interest is to visit national parks in Uganda.
It will depend on what you will prioritize, but keep in mind that both options have their benefits and challenges; in other words, let’s compare the two options and see which best fits our travelers.
Book a car and self-drive in Uganda.
Renting a car and driving yourself in a foreign country may come with pros and cons. First of all
Privacy
This is the main aspect when it comes to individual travelers worldwide. People always feel uncomfortable sharing with those they have not known for long, and so choosing to rent a car and travel without a third party or having to hire a driver to take them around gives them peace. This gives visitors much confidence and freedom en route without any worry.
Cost effective
Choosing to self-drive in Uganda also helps you minimize the costs of the trip, especially for individuals having a long trip; you don’t need to plan for driver’s fees, which may increase your expenditure on time in the country, hence a nice trip.
Creating your own memory
Every professional traveler’s will is to write their own history in a unique aspect. Self-driving in Uganda is the best way to let guests have unforgettable memories because they will interact and drive all destinations by themselves; they also mingle with people of different cultures in different communities for raw information directly from the horse’s mouth, and this is without the interference of the driver guide.
Freedom of movement
When you choose to self-drive Uganda , you have ample freedom to drive at your pace, and you can choose when to start and when to end your journey; in this case, you have to make your own itinerary every time you want a link to the next destination.
Safety on the road
Most travelers are professional drivers, of which many have already been to Africa, and they have gotten used to driving policies; they are safe taking their own drives and also kick out the road phobia that may be caused by the local drivers on busy roads.
Let’s look at the other side when you rent a car with a drive to move around Uganda.
Reflecting to have such a wonderful trip is still special. You are recommended to book a car with a driver to feel the luxurious atmosphere the moment you step in Uganda.
City Driving Skills
When you hire an experienced driver, it helps you move with peace because you are not worried about the tension. The city tends to be busy most of the time, and drivers have good driving skills to make it at every point in time.
Uganda has a lot of Bodas (motorcycle taxis). These guys come from all angles on the road, for they rarely respect the official traffic rules of the state.
You are accustomed to being extra careful while driving in the city, but hiring a driver to take you around saves the entire situation.
Maneuvering traffic jams in the city
When you have your own driver for the first time in Uganda, things tend to be very okay when it comes to negotiating with the traffic; there are very busy moments in some days depending on the time.
Rush hours may delay you if you go solo, but a driver is well versed with the best driving time in the city to dodge traffic jams; also, if unpredictable traffic starts, the driver resorts to shortcuts to save the situation.
Long distance driving with experience
When you hire a driver on your Uganda Safari, you have saved yourself from long-distance drives like connecting to destinations upcountry; this may leave you exhausted, hence interfering with your planned schedule on the entire trip.
The driver guide knows how to break the journey, and it tends to be shorter because of the allowance break time in the middle of the drive. This keeps you awake, and you will not miss anything to view on the road, hence making your trip a memorable one.
Understanding the culture of the community
The advantage of considering hiring a car with a driver is that he is very familiar with the community’s behaviors, character, and lifestyle.
There are some hostile tribes in areas of visit, especially the pastoralists (people moving with their animals from place to place looking for pasture and water for their livestock) for those enjoying to make cultural trips.
It may require the knowledge of a local guide to interact well with people because some of them are still primitive, and they may need their own to communicate with them in case of any need for information.
Some of these tribes are the Masai in Kenya in Mara, the Karamajongos in Uganda close to Kidepo National Park, to mention but a few.
Knowledge of the Roads
Killed driver guides, because of their experience in the field, are well-known and have all the updates on the nature of the roads interlinking and connecting to different destinations;
However, some roads can be impassable due to catastrophes like rains sweeping or breaking bridges, and you may need an alternative route before you waste time and fuel driving to the point that you can’t cross.
The same thing may happen to you when you want to cross using the ferry to the other islands for the cases of Lake Victoria, accessing Ssese Island from Nakiwogo or from Bukakata to Ssese and from; this requires first-hand information from the local driver guide.
Relaxing for the next destination
Once you have your personal drive with you, you are not worried about the status of the car mechanically; you will always sleep comfortably, and you will always stay fit to catch the next view along.
At leisure, you can always communicate prior to capturing nice photos; he will always pull over for you to take wonderful shoots without losing any focus. It also gives you ample time to set your lenses in case you want to take birding photos or very small objects.
Border crossing hiccups
You only need your travel document, and you have to engage in the red tape at the borders with the car document, where you will move door to door to have your papers registered, stamped, and approved.
In a nutshell, whether to go self-driving in Uganda or rent a car with a driver will always depend on a client’s priority, time, and schedule. It may be diplomatic business trip where one may have an emergency Zoom meeting and you can’t pull over due time, and here you obviously need a driver.
Before you book for your car, you may have a small budget and you can’t fix a driver, so you may choose to drive yourself in Uganda.