Adventures across East Africa’s attractions are not just like any other road trip but take you deep in the wild. Since the regions is still untapped with effects of mass tourism, driving for adventure in East Africa gives you a real feel of an adventure.
Honestly, there are quite a number of paved roads especially highways. However, roads getting you off the highways are mainly feeder dusty murram off-roads, they can be a challenge but they give a real feel of an East Africa Road Trip. Here we have compiled for you essential tips while driving a road adventure in East Africa.
Adjust the tire pressure Â
Very often the roads leading to most attractions in East Africa are unpaved and rugged roads. When driving through such sections especially loose sand, or sections that have a lot of corrugation, think about deflating your tires to 1.2/1.4 bar (depending on your car) and where necessary you can switch to your 4×4. Your vehicle will be a little bit firm and stable on the road at the same time you are likely not to get stuck in the sand.
Don’t drive at night
Driving at night in East Africa isn’t safe at all. Yes, you can drive carefully but what about other driver? Most learner drivers hit the road at night, there aren’t street lights in most parts of the streets. Most importantly sitting behind the wheels increase the risk of hitting wild life. Thank God national parks in East Africa do not allow driving in after 7pm, but still, most of these national parks and other protected areas do not have boundaries, so animals still roam outside freely. Animals are often seen crossing or resting on the road at night and because there aren’t any street lights, makes it hard for a driver to spot them in time.
Download Entertainment beforehand
Most rental cars for adventure come with a radio system, so you can play your own music and believe me music not only soothes the soul but it’s the best company when it comes to road trips. As I said earlier, service isn’t guaranteed everywhere, can disappoint and internet connection is rare so download playlists on Spotify or podcasts to entertain yourself especially during those road-trip hours.
Keep snacks and bottled water in the Car
Trust me you will need a back-up in your car for emergencies, if you find yourself in a situation where you need to wait for help or a long journey that takes up more time than expected to reach a certain destination you’ll need some calories. It’s nice to have some more food and water in your car. Normally you plenty of road trip snacks in your rental car and you can packed up at every fueling station.
Safety in East Africa
East Africa is peaceful politically with rare cases of highway robbery, even a single female traveler can feel absolutely safe during a self-drive trip through East Africa. While camping in the wild, some curious animals can come around your 4×4 eating leftover food from the bin. If you do some general research on the most common scams in the region, most stories you may come across related to car break-ins or petty theft happen in urban centers.
With a population of over 505 million people as according to United Nations as of November 11th 2024. East Africa is a Region that’s widely spread out and among one of the safest regions to travel to in Africa. Even safer than the popular Southern Africa.
Fear not! While renting a car in East Africa and camping a rooftop tent in remote areas of the Region, even as female travelers. It is an amazing experience with minimal of issues! The people are very friendly and happy to help you out when you’re having any problems with your rental car or anything else!
Safety Precautions with a rental car in East Africa
Research on areas of interest
Do research to find places of interest in every city/Region, research the areas you should stay away from, especially in bigger cities by finding out the crime rate. Learn the traffic conditions and distances. For townships could be a bit sketchy.
Leave no valuables in your rental car
For most cities its main street parking and shopping mall park yard, Never leave any valuables visible in your cars as this is likely to attract thieves when you’re parked somewhere. The risk is higher if your behind door glasses aren’t tinted.
Hitchhikers
Along your drive you may come across a number of hitchhikers at different times, including people in uniform and even though you may want to help people. Never trust anyone, never take anyone with you, because you never know who you end up bringing with you, so you better stay safe than sorry.
Lock doors always
Just like when you lock the doors when outside the car, Make sure you do the same while inside driving. In fact you should adopt this as a habit every time you start driving. Locking the doors is something recommended every time you sit behind wheels while road tripping basically everywhere you rent a car for self-drive. This is very crucial especially when you’re having important bags and items in your backseats because any robber can open your car when you slow down speed especially in traffic jam
Parking attendants
At the parking lots where you definitely have to leave your car parked for a few minutes or hours. You’ll see people keeping an eye on the cars and in most cases they tend to introduce themselves to you willing to keep the car safe while you’re away. You’ll highly appreciated this in certain areas and always give a little tip to the attendant. Usually $1-3 is considered normal depending how long you’ve parked at that point.
All in all, the rented car need to be taken care of well, in fact you have bought this car for the period you’re planning to use it until you return. keep it jealously and the above essential tips while driving a road adventure in East Africa will help you and if followed you’re likely to have a zero issue when you return it to the rental company station.
