All about Car rental in Uganda 2024

Choosing the right car for your self-drive

There are hundreds of car hire choices in Uganda, ranging from safari car hire, Casual and family car hire, corporate car hire, bridal car hire, and Construction car hire.

Often at times, companies specialize in a particular field of car hire; for instance, bridal car hire while in other instances they specialize a little further to only hire within specified locations such as car hire in Kampala, Bridal car hire in Entebbe, safari car hire in Kigali, corporate car hire in Nairobi among other locations

The dynamics of car hire tend to change as you cross over from one field of specialization to another. However, there are also constant dynamics to look out for in every field. It is for this reason that some cars such as Land cruiser TX, Land cruiser GX, Land cruiser TZ, Land Cruiser V8, 5 doors Rav4 among others cross over in the fields of corporate car hire Uganda/Kampala and Uganda Safari self-drive and car hire.

Corporate car hire Kampala/Uganda

Corporate car hire is one of the growing fields in Uganda’s car hire industry often paired with bridal car hire. This makes it a little be more costly because cars are often hired for not more than one day.

Cars that fall in the category of Uganda’s corporate and bridal car hire include; Range Rover Sport, Mercedes Benz, Hummer, Jaguar, Chrysler, Limousine, Rose Royce vintage, and Land Cruisers.

The daily hire rates range from US$170 to US$350. However car hires that exceed one day are often for Land cruiser V8, Land cruiser GX, Land cruiser TX and Land cruiser TZ which are hired by short-term ex-pats (not more than a month). These usually go for half the price of the one-day hires.

Land Cruiser V8

Apart from the fuel consumption, ex-pats rarely consider the choice of the car in terms of the number of seats. They often desire comfort, thus most of their desired specification will bend more towards how comfortable the car is. In regards to comfort, most Land cruisers fit the category of comfortable cars.

Safari car hire (Self-drive safaris)

Uganda is one of the emerging African destinations alongside Rwanda due to the exclusivity of mountain gorilla tracking in these two countries alongside the Democratic Republic of Congo which is a beat unstable leaving Rwanda and Uganda to directly compete in the mountain gorilla tracking the market.

If there were self-drive awards, the 5 doors Rav4 would pass for consumers’ choice. This is because it is relatively affordable (budget hire ranging from US$45-US$55) and fitting for the relatively rough roads.

Though it can carry up to five people including the driver, it is often considered a four-seater because it only gives four people access to the windows; leaving the fifth person to just sit in between two people without direct access to the window

It has an automatic gear shift with petroleum fuel consumption and a tank size of sixty liters. This grants you between 450 and 600 kilometers depending on the quality of the road you are using.

Due to its size, it is not fit for rooftop tents however it has enough space in the back to carry camping gearing for four people. This includes but is not limited to:

• A waterproof tent
• Sleeping mattresses
• Clean Sleeping bags
• Camper Chairs
• Camper table(s)
• Lamp (s)
• Torch
• Kitchenware
• Storage box
• Electric cooler box
• Cutlery
• Gas cooker / Cylinder
• Jerrycan
• Water Jug
• Parcorater

The Land Cruiser TX/TZ and the vans would fit in the category of the mid-range car hire (US$70-US$100). That is anyone interested in more comfort than that of a Rav4, the Land cruiser Tx/Tz would be the best choice to consider. It has options of the sunroof, pop-up roof, and hard body; with all these options, it can be hired with a rooftop tent

In the Luxurious car hire category; we have the land cruiser V8, Land Cruiser 5 seater, Land cruiser extended (seven-seater), and the minibusses. These often range from US$120 to US$250.

Construction Car Hire

Construction car hire is one of the fields that are still in oblivion in Uganda’s car hire business. The cars in this field include; Front loaders, backhoes, graders, trenchers, cranes, bulldozers, concrete pumps, tilt rotators, concrete mixer,s and dump trucks (Sino trucks and Tippers)

Most of the above vehicles are owned by constructions companies and hire is mainly business to business (B2B). It is mainly the Sino trucks and tippers that are often hired out to individuals.

Sino trucks and tippers have a daily price range of US$200 to US$350 per day. The prices are often inclusive of the driver, insurance, and fuel. You are likely to have a discount depending on the number of trucks you are hiring and for how long.

Family and Casual Car hire

Casual car hire is one of the least popular forms of Car hire in Uganda. In most cases they are hired with a driver however there are also options for self-drive.

The following are the cars that fit in the category of family car hire: Ipsum, Ruam, super custom (though it also fits in the safari car hire category), Toyota Noah, Toyota Voxy, and Toyota Premio.

Self-drive prices range from US$40 to US$70 per day without fuel, driver, and parking tickets while hiring a driver is likely to double the price though it is dependent on where you might be driving to. Prices might be a little bit lower if you are to keep in and around Kampala.