It is no secret, that self drive safaris in Uganda have become a very popular option than the conventional classic African safaris. The shift can be partly attributed to the freedom that comes with self-drive safaris as well as their budget-friendliness compared to the usual conventional African safaris.
There are many things you might have to put into consideration but what would be the purpose of a 20 points self-drive hacks list that does not help you understand what can be foregone and what exactly is absolutely necessary. For that matter, we bring you the top five self-drive hacks for your self-drive safari in Uganda.
Pain Killer and Food Poisoning Medication
Any Uganda safari offers opportunities of enjoying local food. However, in the quest for delicacies, you mind find yourself eating a lot of different foods that your stomach might find too hard to digest at ago. In other instances, you might be hit by blotting or food poisoning leaving you with a feeling of ending a trip that you have highly invested in.
For that matter, we recommend that you speak to your doctor before the trip so that they may prescribe you medication that will come to your rescue in case you get food poisoning during your trip. With such medication at your disposal, you only need to take a day off to recover.
On top of the food poisoning medication, pain killers can help a great deal for those who are not fond of driving for long distances. While some people are simply fatigued by long drives, other people are often hit by terrible headaches. With pain killers are your disposal, you will be in a position to get going at ease as you try to adjust to what you can handle.
Get A Local Sim card For Easy Payments and Easy Communication
You will obviously need some internet service during your self-drive trip unfortunately roaming services are fond of not matching road trip needs. A local sim card will help you have internet access as well as make it easy for you to make phone calls.
There are mainly two cell phone networks to consider while in Uganda. But instead of recommending one above the other, it is highly recommended that you get both an MTN and Airtel. The two sim cards will complement each other in areas where one seems not to have good network reception.
With a local sim card, you can make payments via mobile money using your local sim card. Since Uganda wildlife Authority is withdrawing from cash payments at the park gates, a local sim card will come in handy when making payments for park gate tickets.
Use Google Maps Instead of GPS
Instead of hiring a GPS for $3 or $5 per day, using google maps will save you a great deal. Most of the places either have a google my business account or a google pin which makes them easily traceable on google maps.
Hire A Diesel Car
Every car driver has been almost equally hit by the rise in fuel prices. It might seem like there is no longer any difference between driving a diesel car and a petrol engine car. This is actually not true. Diesel cars tend to consume less fuel compared to petrol cars. Even with the same amount of fuel, you will likely get some extra mileage in a diesel car than in a petrol car.
It is however very important to note that the diesel option is not available for small cars such as the Toyota Rav4. Even though the Toyota Rav4 is very popular among couples; it is not an option in case you wish to hire a diesel car.
Travel In the Low Season Month
The safari calendar in Uganda can be divided into mainly four categories. March to May; June to September, October to 14th December, and December to February. The most recommended time for the best car rental in Uganda rates are the months of March to May and October to 14th December. The other two segments are very busy. It is very unlikely that you will get competitive rates during that time.