There are pretty several car rental options in Uganda. There is an option of hiring a car with a professional driver-guide. There is an option of hiring a car with a driver who is not a tour guide, and there is also an option of hiring a vehicle for self-drive.
It is important to note that most car rental agencies in Uganda do not rent their vehicles for self-driving hires for less than five days. Therefore, if your intention is a trip of three days, you might have to consider hiring a car with a driver. But if your trip is five days or longer and you intend to self drive in Uganda, here is the process of hiring a car.
Identify your BudgetÂ
In most cases, many companies will require you to consider a 4×4 car rental in Uganda due to the poor condition of none highway roads in Uganda. But what if you do not have to budget for that car? It is better to approach a car rental agency with a budget in mind. Therefore before contacting any car rental agency in Uganda, decide what you are willing to spend.
Google For Car rental Agencies in UgandaÂ
Once you have your budget made up, you can go ahead and do a Google search for car rental agencies in Uganda. Google will list you several options. You can filter them out by looking at their Trip Advisor or Google reviews. However, it is also important to note that new car rental agencies (the ones with few or without reviews) will likely make better offers than the established ones.
Contact Agencies That Fit Your Selection Criteria
With a short list of car rental agencies in Uganda, you can contact them with your travel dates and budget instead of making a general car rental in Uganda inquiry. This is because car rental agencies already have their set rates, which are usually pretty uniform if you hire a similar car. It is, therefore, wise to let them know what you are willing to pay instead of asking them what they want you to pay.
With this kind of inquiry, you will have room for bargaining, unlike when you first get their rates. Bargaining based on the car rental agency rates gives you less room for negotiation than when you provide the car rental agency a round figure instead of a daily rate.
Compare RatesÂ
Car rental agencies will reply with the rates they are willing to take. At this point, you start screening the agency you are going to hire the car from and asking technical questions, such as about the insurance policy.
Once you have answered the technical questions, you can choose your preferred car rental agency in Uganda. At this point, you will reply with an email informing the car rental agency that you wish to confirm your reservation.
Confirmation Of Car Rental Reservation
Most car rental agencies ask for a down payment at this stage. Once you make the down payment, your rental is confirmed with either a reservation note/ invoice stating the outstanding balance that you will likely clear at the start, the end of the journey, or closer to the beginning of the trip. It all depends on the car rental agency’s payment terms.
Agree On the Pick-Up DetailsÂ
Once your car rental reservation is confirmed, the next thing is to agree on where to pick up the vehicle. Sometimes, the pick-up is at the car rental agency’s office. On other occasions, the car rental agencies offer to deliver the car to your preferred location in Kampala or Entebbe at no extra cost.
Depending on what you find convenient, you can confirm your preferred pick-up location with the car rental agency.
Suppose your reservation was months before your hire date. It would be best if you got in touch again with the car rental agency at least a week before your trip. There are instances where your reservation could be lost due to issues such as a data breach. Contacting them closer to your trip help you ensure that everything is moving according to plan.
