Kampala City Traffic Hacks

Hacks for Safe Traffic in Kampala

Kampala traffic is a menace every driver wishes to avoid. Still, when it is inevitable for you to pass through Kampala, you have to consider the best options to have a smooth voyage. This requires you to identify the best time to drive through Kampala, the best days to drive through Kampala, and many other Kampala city traffic hacks. Whether you are driving a tourist driving a rental car or a Ugandan driving your personal car, Kampala is not for the soft-hearted.

Thick traffic, driving off the road, and unrestricted motorcycles are some of the things that make Kampala traffic unpleasant. Still, at times, you wish to experience the nightlife of Kampala, enjoy a good meal at one of the best restaurants in Kampala, visit some of the historical sites and other tourism centers in Kampala, or spend a night in Kampala.

Amidst all this, these are some thoughts to put in perspective in case you spend a night at a hotel in Kampala or simply shop for the rest of your trip to Uganda. Game and Shoprite are usually the go-to places for anyone planning to do shopping before proceeding to the different tourist destinations in Uganda.

Tourists and other foreigners prefer places where they have a variety of choices and where they can shop using their Visa or Mastercard. This saves them the hustle of exchanging their money for local currency.

With the above few insights, below are some of the traffic hacks to consider when driving through Kampala:

Best time to drive through the City

Ugandans work eight hours a day, usually from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm; however, there is an allowance of one hour, making it 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. This implies that most people travel between 7:00 am and 9:00 am.

The traffic in Kampala is, therefore, too thick from 7:00 a.m. to around 10:30 a.m.; to avoid the traffic, we would advise you to drive through Kampala at least between 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. (Office time).

You might not drive 50km/hr in Kampala during office hours, but you can be assured of not getting stuck in traffic for an hour. However, there are exceptions to this advice.

Best Days to Drive through the City

As stated earlier, Ugandans usually work from 8:00-5:00 p.m., but there is a culture of traveling outside Kampala on weekends. People usually move to their countryside homes on weekends, making Friday one of the busiest days in Uganda, which also affects the traffic.

Therefore, if you are planning to drive through Kampala, Friday would be the worst choice you can ever make, especially with a few rain showers.

Monday is also a busy day in terms of traffic, because; it is usually the day people come back from their country-side homes back to Kampala. This has also affected Sunday evenings since some people return to Kampala on Sundays.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday before evening would be the best days to drive through Kampala, but remember the time.

Commendable Fuel Stations

There are several gas stations all around the country, but only a few allow VISA card transactions. These include but are not limited to, Shell fuel stations, Total gas stations, and City oil fuel stations (which usually have Café Javas stopovers). Operators often recommend these three gas stations even though their fuel prices are frequently slightly higher than other fuel stations nationwide.

Regardless of the type of car, a full tank can take you between 450km and 550km, depending on the state of the road and your speed.