Very positive experience for my upcountry travels. I communicated in advance to book a car for 3 days and I was informed booking was fine. I did this all while... read more abroad and driver even met me at the airport.

  Great car hire - Great service and good communication! The car was in good condition and we had no problems along the way. Very good experience overall.

  If by chance you ever need to get the vehicle repaired, you will never see that money again.
We saw the bad reviews, but concluded they might just be some... read more unlucky people, because the other reviews were quite good.

We were 4 frineds traveling through Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania in two weeks, so we rented a car from Car Hire Kampala.

To sum up all the trouble we had:
- When they gave us the car, they warned us that we need to pour engine-cooling water in the car every day. A little weird, but ok, will do.
- 10 minutes after we got the vehicle, we find out that the trunk door doesn't lock. They couldn't fix it, but we agreed that they can permanently lock it and we'll handle our stuff throgh the back doors.
- Next day we were near the Kenyan border and police warned us that the front tyres had to little profile. They really were bad tyres. The police tried to give us a ticket for that, but we talked our way out of it.
- Nothing special for 2 days, we poured water in every day and all was good. Then we encountered our first big long hill and the radiator cap blows off. The car overheated. The owner of the car told us to find a mechanic and get it fixed, so we did. We sent him proof of repairs and payment and we were on our way. As soon as we asked the owner how will we settle the reimbursement, he started blaming everything on us.
- The car overheated a few more times in the next few days until one mechanic found that the pressure cap was faulty.
- We also needed to get both of our front tyres patched a few times, because they were so thin without a profile.
- On the second to last day also our alternator belt broke, so we had to get that fixed or the car wouldn't start in the morning.

During the whole trip we were constantly communicating with the owner, sent him the receipts and so on, but he never hinted on any reimbursement. He said he needs to look at the car first, to see what was the problem.
Long story short (not really), we return the car to the driver that will take it back to Kampala, some time later it arrives and the owner just stopped replaying to us. He ignored us on every platform we could find, so here we are.

  All you need to know: how to get in touch, driver’s license, payment, Uganda’s roads and orientation

Found the 4x4carhirekampala website - their pricings for both self-drive... read more and with a driver combined with reliability and a super good SUV are the clearest selling point, as the car offers and pickups (e.g., from the airport) from all hotels I was in touch with were simply a rip off. Contact to 4x4 Car Hire Kampala was easily made through WhatsApp through their website with super nice and quick responses. Everything worked as planned, super punctual and reliable people.

Discovering Uganda by car with my driver Alan was one of the best trips I ever made. From time to time, I switched with Alan and drove on my own as well (long distances, especially from Kampala to Bwindi National Park for the Gorilla hike). Most roads are well made, speed limit between 60-90 km/h, off-road and mountains are an adventure. Important for foreigners: you need the International Driver’s License, that’s it, no additional local permit/ paper needed.

Regarding the payment: Cash is appreciated which means you either bring the amount with you or you cash it once you are in Uganda (safer option). I would recommend using ATMs connected to a bigger bank, e.g., the Victoria Mall in Entebbe, and speak to the bank staff in advance (in case there would be an issue with the card, they could help then), depending on the ATM, 2Million – 3Million Schilling can be cashed in one go. Would also recommend having at least 2 different credit cards with you.

To summarize, get a map and a good book, download google maps offline maps in addition, buy a local sim card with data and minutes to call and explore this beautiful country by car with 4x4 Car Hire Kampala.

Ask for Alan as a driver, if you are lucky, he also joins you for hikes

Highly recommended!
Thanks for everything,
Ben.

  The service was excellent - Pamela was a great help. The car was fine and brought us wherever we wanted to go without any problems. The silencer definitely needs some... read more maintenance, but we could live (and drive!) with it. I can recommend this company!

  We are a family of 5. We were road tripping Uganda for 10 days. The car that was recommended for us was perfect. We got great value for our money,... read more the service was great. Pick up and drop off like we asked. Great!

  Highly recommend - Rented SUV for a month. For safari trips they provided me with reliable suv and for my stay in capital they delivered much fancier vehicle at no charge. Highly recommend.

  Great experience - We arranged to hire a self drive van for a family trip. Unfortunately our driver was unable to travel. At only 4 days notice, we were provided with a driver... read more as well as the van, that saved our trip.
Faizo, our driver, was fantastic - a very good driver but also a great source of local knowledge, very friendly, helpful and happy to do whatever we asked.
The van was comfortable, including on the off road sections.
Would happily use 4x4carhire again