A lot has been said about Uganda safari, but quite little about Uganda road trips. Safaris often introduce you to the wildlife side of the country, while road trips combine both the wildlife side of the country and the day-to-day life of the people. Here are some of the things you should expect on a Uganda road trip.

Wildlife Encounters

You will not encounter animals everywhere. Some people think that the moment they arrive at the appointment, in the next five kilometers, they will find free-roaming animals. That is not the case in Uganda. You might have to drive more than 200km to find any free-roaming animals, and that will be in Lake Mburo National Park.

The only thing you will likely encounter within the locality of Kampala and Entebbe is free-ranging monkeys. These are usually found in places located not far from small forests. Therefore, if you are interested in wildlife encounters, you will have to visit national parks.

Among the most popular national parks for Uganda road trips include: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Kibale National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, and Lake Mburo National Park. These will give you a collection of primate experience and savannah game drives coupled with jungle hikes.

Rainy Days

Forget the narrative of dry seasons and wet seasons. In Uganda, it is very rare to go beyond two weeks without any rain. Therefore, whether it is the dry season or the wet season, you should expect some rain showers during your Uganda road trip. The beauty is, it rarely rains for more than three hours. On average, it is usually one hour of rain.

Roadside Scammers

It is not very common to get scammed during a Uganda road trip, but that does not mean that scams do not happen at all. One of the common scams is getting stopped by two people on a boda boda wearing garage clothes, warning about a mechanical issue with your tire or something under the car.

They will then lead you to a nearby place or garage where they will pretend to do some repairs. Once they have finished doing nothing, they will ask you to pay for the repairs, but in an actual sense, no repairs were done, or they took something that was working well and replaced it with something faulty, and on top of that, you paid them.

It is recommended that you do not do any repairs without contacting the car rental agency. Whether it is a saloon car rental or a 4x4 car rental in Uganda, vigilance is always required.

Car Breakdowns

One of the things that travellers never think about is car breakdowns. Apart from Namibia, South Africa, and Botswana, most of the other African countries drive relatively old cars. This is because the banking system has not really developed in favor of the public. Purchasing new cars is relatively hard, and when they do purchase them, they usually lack the technical expertise to fix them.

In the case of Uganda, you will likely hire a car that is more than 20 years old, that is if you are travelling on a budget. Cars of 15 years and below are relatively expensive but more reliable. If you hire a car of 20 years or more, then you need to make room for roadside assistance.

The car rental agency ought to share with you their rental policy and how long they take to do the repairs in case of breakdowns. You need clarification on whether there will be any refunds for the delays. If you do not discuss these things at the start of the trip, you will likely end up disappointed in case of car breakdowns.

Friendly People

During your Uganda road trip, you will encounter people from different cultures. Unlike Western countries, Uganda is still divided according to tribes. Each region has a dominant tribe. You should not expect to hear people speak the same local language. Language handbooks are not necessary because the language will likely change every 80km.

However, it is important to note that English is Uganda’s official language. In every corner of the country, you will not fail to find someone who speaks English.

Last but not least, expect prices to be inflated based on your skin color. If you are white, there is an assumption that you have money, and things will not be sold to you based on the market price. The best option for you is to buy things from grocery stores that already have price tags.