How to travel around Kampala – Walk? Cycle? Boda boda? Drive? Taxis or special hire? Matatu? Bus or coach? Train? Helicopter?!
New expats frequently ask me where the best places are to live in Kampala and I always recommend trying to live the same side of town as you work. Scroll down and you’ll understand why. Kampala does not have a public transport system as such (it’s all privately owned) but there are many different ways of travelling to and around the city. Here’s the muzungu’s introduction to the different types of transport and a few personal recommendations.
If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you’ll know I’m always up for a new adventure so I’ve tried all the different methods of transport across Kampala.
⦁ Walking
⦁ Cycling
⦁ Boda boda motorbikes
⦁ Cars
⦁ Taxis and special hires
⦁ Matatus
⦁ Buses and coaches
⦁ Train
⦁ Helicopter!
Walking in Kampala
If you’re within walking distance of where you work, then lucky you! My organisation office was in the spare room of my home for my first few years in Uganda and I was saved the hassle of fighting through Kampala’s traffic. I had no idea how lucky I was!
Walking my dogs through the back roads of Bukasa and Muyenga were some of my happiest times in Uganda. Here’s a favourite walk of ours. Once you’re in town however, walking is an altogether different matter.
It’s only in the centre of town and around the central business district (CBD) that you will find decent pavements. In other parts of town, pavements may suddenly end without warning (if they exist). Drainage covers may be there today and gone tomorrow so always tread carefully. If you have kids, forget bringing the buggy to Kampala. You won’t be able to push it very far.
Cycling in Kampala
I know very few expats who dare to cycle on Kampala’s crazy streets. I used to cycle when I lived in London but here we have little awareness of cyclists or their safety. You wouldn’t find me cycling around Kampala unless it is down by Lake Victoria or on the quiet hills of Kololo or Nakasero. Save your biking for weekends in Lake Mburo or Fort Portal. (Did you know there is an annual mountain bike tour in Karamoja?)
Boda boda motorbikes
These are undoubtedly the quickest way of getting from A to B and the city couldn’t function without them. Boda boda drivers are our best friends, our Mr Fix It, frequently our saviours – just choose with discretion. They can be a real menace too. Read my blog How to ride a boda boda.
If you take a boda boda, do yourself a favour and wear a helmet. Don’t just accept a lift from random guys driving past either. Get to know riders from your local boda boda stage or download one of the ‘ride hailing apps’ such as SafeBoda or Uber app in Kampala. Their boda riders are registered and (Usually but not always) bring you a high quality helmet to wear.
Driving a car in Kampala
Lots of people prefer the comfort and privacy of having their own cars. I bought my car from expat friends and enjoyed the independence of it for many years. What I didn’t enjoy were the many hours sweating in traffic jams at Jinja Road. Neither did I appreciate being pulled over by the traffic police for some minor offence they had just cooked up when they spotted a loan muzungu. (They pick on Ugandans too, I know!)
The weirdest occasion was one Christmas Eve when I was driving through the industrial area. The traffic policeman ahead of me motioned me to pull over. “What have I done?” I asked him innocently. He walked around the car.
“I’m pulling you over for having a faulty rear brake light” he said.
“How could you see that when you were standing in front of me?” I asked him.
“For us, we have special powers” came the reply.
Driving in Kampala – not for the nervous is a popular post by a former expat.
Taxis and special hires
This is where it gets confusing!
Private cars are called ‘specials’ or special hires.
When a British person like me thinks of a taxi, this is what I see:
![Black London taxi cab. Jimmy Barrett [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](jpg/black-london-taxi-cab72c0.jpg)
Matatus
In Kampala however, ask for a taxi (pronounced taxiiiiiii) and someone will point you to a matatu or minibus. The crowded old taxi park in downtown Kampala is an experience in itself! It can be pretty intense.
The 12 seater minibus taxis (generally white with turquoise ‘go faster’ stripes) are the cheapest way to get around but the routes can be annoying as you have to go into the centre of town to get out to the other side. People often walk a bit, take a matatu and then take the second one or jump on a boda boda for the last part of their journey.
Matatus are very cheap. There are no price lists, no receipts and no timetable. They have set prices but the conductor (who sits by the sliding door and takes your money) will frequently try and overcharge you if you’re a muzungu. It is inevitable but you will quickly get to know what’s a fair price. Most routes charge 1,000 shillings (equivalent to 20 British pence or 30 US cents). If you’re not sure how much to pay, fellow passengers will usually help you out (and scold the conductor at the same time!) Travel with loose change or small notes if you’re using a taxiiiiiii in Kampala.
Matatus are good if you are on a tight budget, have a good book to read and can go to work very early (or arrive home very late). Play with your expensive phone at your peril. Thieves are known to put their hand through taxi windows and snatch phones when you’re stuck in traffic.
The downside with matatus is that they frequently get stuck in traffic, especially around the taxi park and Clock Tower roundabout. It’s not uncommon to sit for one or two hours without moving. Their drivers are often aggressive. Also, you have to be careful of your belongings on these crowded minibuses as there are lots of cunning pickpockets. One friend was relieved of her laptop in a matatu. She had no idea she was being robbed until she got out of the taxi and opened her bag to see her laptop had been replaced by bricks!
If you are using a taxi upcountry, expect to fit a lot more than 12 people in!
Note: Uganda’s matatus are twelve-seater minibuses, slightly different from Nairobi’s matatus which are buses, coaches or ‘coasters’ (slightly smaller than a bus).
Buses and coaches
Within Kampala city, Pioneer are the only bus company that I know of. Their buses are new, well-maintained with fixed routes, fixed prices and even tickets! Oh how I wish the city had more of these.
MAY 2022 I saw this same photo of me circulating on WhatsApp after a fatal bus crash. This driver was at the wheel and perished 😪😪😪 so did many others
If you want to travel outside Kampala, upcountry or across one of Uganda’s borders, buses are safer than matatus, which have a particularly poor safety record. Bus companies I have used regularly are Mash, Link and Jaguar Executive Coaches. Other people also recommend Oxygen, Coast and Modern Coaches. After the latest crash I am not recommending any of them! (But the reality is we don’t always have a choice).
Train
If you are lucky enough to live in Kireka or Namanve, you can even get the train into town! The downside is that the service is infrequent although it does have a daily timetable and it’s very cheap. Click on the image to read more about Kampala’s commuter train service.
I simply love trains. Read about my train travels across East Africa:
- On the right track – my first Ugandan train ride
- More ‘lunatic’ than express – an epic adventure on Kenya’s (in)famous train to Mombasa
- Of romance and railways. A guide to booking Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway train and a comparison between the train journey and the bus between Nairobi and Mombasa.
Helicopter
I once crossed Jinja Road by helicopter!
When I was a volunteer, I got to know the pilot of the helicopter stationed at International Hospital Muyenga. I begged him for a ride (not thinking there was any likelihood of it).
One morning he called me. “Can you get to the hospital in fifteen minutes? I have to transfer the helicopter to the grounds of the Serena Hotel to pick up a private client. You can hop in if you want to?”
God I was excited – but no sooner had the helicopter lifted off the ground than we were landing again… and that sums up my travel experiences in helicopter!
What’s the muzungu’s preferred way of travelling around Kampala?
These days I’m a regular user of one of the ride hailing apps. I use them regularly when I’m in Kampala – but the cars all cost more than they used to.
Although Uber and Bolt aren’t Kampala’s only ride hailing app, they do offer the most flexibility and for tourists and new expats, they are recognised brands that you may already have on your phone. The system works exactly the same way as it does ‘back home’ but cash is always preferred by drivers. Few of them accept credit cards. Very few shops in Uganda accept credit cards – we just aren’t there yet.
What’s great about Uber’s service in Kampala is that they have both cars and boda bodas. However, SafeBoda has 100s of bodas now and Uber doesn’t.
I can imagine the confusion and the frustration of someone new in Kampala as they are stuck in traffic. I mean, I am a local and the frustration is painful. This will definitely be helpful those visiting our beautiful chaotic city!
I certainly hope this guide will prove useful to newcomers – I mean, don’t say I have suffered Kampala’s traffic all these years for NOTHING! LOL
I love your insights!! Even though I’ll probably never need them.. it’s great to imagine what it’s like there.
Hey Dani, great to read from you. Your website is looking amazing! How’s it going?
Quite painful trafic. I stay in Nansana and work in Kololo, but always have to travel Via Northern by pass, then via the Kamwokya Ghetto, hop on a boda and find my way to Office. I so happens when i travel via kasubi -kampala i use 2-3 hours
Wow, that’s quite a journey… work the side of town you live, or work from home – best two ways to handle KLA jam 🙂
Joseph, imagine finding you on the musings blog! Gita
I can imagine the confusion and the frustration.
I think one can easily play the busy traffic by working round the timing. Peak hours are just a problem. If you can avoid them the better. For example, instead of going to Entebbe at 7pm, I either leave earlier before 6 PM or wait till past 9 PM.
You’re right, timing can be everything – unless you travel on the days when everyone is taking the kids back to school.Then – oh boy, I wish you LUCK!
“For us, we have special powers”
Hahahaha… Traffic officer of the century
Indeed, award-winning!
My Sister musungu, thanks for those great insights, i have been to a few of those wonderful sights and they are really amazing. Keep it up but you totally forgot Karamoja region in North East Uganda. You will like it.
Hey Frank, thanks for dropping by.
Karamoja features in my blog 25 little-known places to visit in Uganda.
Hope you enjoy the read 🙂
its beautiful how you compile Uganda and let another see its through your lens.. Amazingly interesting
Hi the muzungu! I’m new to your blog site. Thank you for a very informative article. Traffic has always been a problem anywhere. Hahaha. I’ve been thinking of visiting Uganda for quite sometime now and this traffic, I’m kinda used to it. Lol. Uber has helicopter service now to albeit super expensive.
You will LOVE Uganda! Nice blog by the way 🙂
While in the crowded parts down town hold your bags tight. if you have a back pack with valuables, put it in the front. If you are in a taxi (especially if seated near a window) please do not use your cell phone. Be careful passing through flooded areas on rainy days while on a boda boda.
Thanks for sharing your safety tips Regina – sensible wherever you travel in the world 🙂
I am so thankful for all of your descriptions! I am writing a novel that takes place in Uganda and I need an “insider’s” tips and tricks to help me better understand how things work there.
Hi Julz, you’re welcome! Feel free to contact me directly if you need any fact checking etc. What’s your book about?
Thanks for the descriptions! I am writing a novel and I need to understand the culture as best I can!
wow!!!!, madam “muzungu”, u seem to know Kampala more than i who has lived there my whole life.
Kampala is a great city. I never tire of exploring it more!
One more thing, Late in the evening there is lot more traffic to all routes outta town, tho there are boda bodas staged at some exit routes from kampala. i.e ……i live at Bukoto tho i work from Naguru,(here its like 1/4 a km) sometimes i have issues to work upon in kampala city and they will take more than expected time some if u have less money you can actually share a boda boda for two and pay half the prices to ur destination which is 2000 ugx to all nearby places inclusive of bukoto.
Good advice 🙂 although isn’t it illegal now to have more than two people on a boda? It’s certainly not that safe…
Good to know what you pay for boda prices, although as a muzungu we usually ‘benefit’ from muzungu price. LOL. That’s another reason why I like using Uber (car or boda), I appreciate the transparent pricing.
Yeah i can help always u need to know a thing why not share all a mzungu needs to know, just in case she finds her self a victim some day.
And BTW why not write about street foods in town..i wud love to read your opinions at that..the Rolex tho well marketed in ur articals they are quite many other street foods like kikomando, gonja (plaintain), Roasted maize, nyama kyoma, nsenene and others.
I’ve noticed that when I share photos of African food on my Facebook page, everyone goes crazy!
I like ekikomando. (beans and chapati pieces). I ate it last week in Fort Portal.
I’ve written about nsenene and love roasted gonja. You’re right though – more food content required! Thanks for the tip 🙂
Very deep information for Kampala tour, This kind of places information is very rare in internet.
Thank you so much for this post. It helped me so much during my extended stay in Kampala last year. I still follow your page on Facebook, and every time you post it makes me miss Uganda.
Hi Sarah, I’m delighted you found my post useful. Thanks for taking the time to write
What were you doing in KLA? I live on the edge of Kibale Forest now but really miss Kampala! Such a great place to live.
I’m on Instagram too by the way @diary_of_a_muzungu
Come back soon!
You may, perhaps, be surprised to know that up the year 1971 the hellish traffic jams that characterize Kampala were non-existent. Uganda had one of the most efficient public transit systems in the world (and that’s no exaggeration). The Uganda Transport Corporation operated buses in the city and to every corner of the country. If one stood at any point along the main streets of the city, a bus would pass by every 15 minutes or so. There was a bus to and from any of the Kampala suburbs every 30 minutes. There was a bus to or from Mulago Hospital every 10 minutes. And, by the way, these buses included 84-passenger long buses and double-decker buses. There was no congestion, no bodabodas, no frustration. The era of traffic congestion started when Idi Amin took power. All the super buses broke down, the Uganda Transport Corporation folded, and the bus park became the Mukwano Arcade.
How interesting. Yet how sad! Kampala is a crazy place to live (and drive) yet I miss it so…
Thank you for sharing your insights into Kampala of old. I would love to read more stories from you. Thanks for dropping by.