Road notes from East Africa
Permits, park fees, seasons and road conditions for driving yourself through Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda.
Nairobi to Lake Naivasha Self-Drive: The Escarpment Road and Hell's Gate Circuit
Lake Naivasha is 90 kilometres northwest of Nairobi on the A104 Nakuru highway — a 1 to 1.5-hour drive that makes it one of the most accessible self-drive day…
East Africa Safari Photo Guide: Camera Equipment for a Self-Drive 4x4 Trip
Photography from a self-drive hire vehicle in East Africa is different from guided safari photography in several important ways. In a hire vehicle, you are…
Akagera National Park Self-Drive: Rwanda's Only Big Five Park and What You Need
Akagera National Park in northeastern Rwanda is the only park in the country that holds Africa's big five — lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, and black rhino…
Kenya National Parks Pass 2027/2028: Does the Multi-Park Pass Save Money for Self-Drive?
Kenya Wildlife Service offers multi-park visitor passes for non-resident visitors — the most relevant of which for self-drive visitors is the Savannah Pass,…
Mahale Mountains Chimpanzee Trek: The Tanzania Remote Wild Chimp Experience
Mahale Mountains National Park on the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika is the most remote major chimpanzee trekking destination in East Africa. There are no…
Kenya Self-Drive Samburu National Reserve: Dry Northern Safari Different From the Mara
Samburu National Reserve in Kenya's northern frontier district offers a safari experience fundamentally different from the Masai Mara and Amboseli. Where the…
Rwanda to Uganda Self-Drive Circuit: Gorillas Chimps and the Uganda Crater Lakes
The Rwanda-Uganda primate circuit is one of East Africa's most sought-after self-drive routes — combining gorilla trekking in two countries, chimpanzee…
Lake Nakuru Self-Drive 2027: Rhino, Flamingo and the Acacia Woodland Circuit
Lake Nakuru National Park is a 188-square-kilometre park built around a shallow alkaline lake in the Rift Valley, 160km northwest of Nairobi. The park is…
Tanzania 21-Day Self-Drive Grand Safari: North to South in One Hire Vehicle
Tanzania's north-to-south overland self-drive is the most ambitious single-country road trip in East Africa. Beginning in Arusha in the north and ending in…
Self-Drive Amboseli National Park: Mount Kilimanjaro Views and the Elephant Circuit
Amboseli National Park sits at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro and offers one of Africa's most iconic backdrops — large elephant herds moving across the acacia…