Every year, thousands of travelers hop into vehicles and trade the boredom of their daily routine for the thrill and pleasure of the open road. These adventures have become extraordinary experiences where visitors even elevate the road trips from simple drives down the secluded highways to soul-seeking journeys. However, the unpredictability, bad weather, traffic jam, in-car arguments, getting lost, car troubles, screaming, or unruly children sometimes make your Uganda road trip stressful.
Road trips require some bit of planning and when you anticipate some challenges, it becomes easier to know how to prepare and solve them. Therefore don’t lead unruly children, traffic jam, bad weather, in-car arguments, or car troubles stress and spilled your outstanding road trip. We bring you 7 tips for a stress-free Road trip and they include;
Keep the children busy and entertained
Children can get easily bored with long journeys, hence making them restless and therefore you have to always remember that the best way to get them interested is by being involved. Make sure that they are always involved in the planning process because you might need their opinion on where they would like to go, activities they like swimming, sports, or even game drives. During the road trip, you can keep them busy and entertained by packing tablet computers, giving them the chance to watch their favorite shows at the comfort of the journey, play games, drawing, and paintings, listen to audiobooks, and many other exciting things.
Get your car thoroughly checked before undertaking the Road Trip
Just get a chance to drive along any highway and you will be sure to see a broken car on the side of the road. This is one of the most stressful situations on a road trip because it can greatly affect your plans for several hours to even days. While such situations cannot be entirely inevitable, there are several things you can do to minimize the chances of getting stuck while waiting for a tow truck or finding a nearby mechanic. Thoroughly check the screen wash, oil, tire pressure, air-conditioning, coolant, brakes, wipers, seat belts, Brake fluid, power steering, lights, and many others. If you rent a car in Uganda, it is also important to check for physical damages like scratches then take photos to avoid taking responsibility for something you didn’t cause.
Plan your route
While the idealist ponders of travel bloggers are sometimes of the opinion that discovering the countryside with little or no plan and getting lost adds to the fun, is exciting and stress-free, it doesn’t work that way. Accommodation facilities are sometimes full, traffic can be busy hence making your road trip stressful and more challenging than you actually anticipated. Every plan you make doesn’t have to be well scripted but it is crucial to have general plans on places to visit and accommodation facilities to spend overnights. Also, make sure to inquire about cancellation policies so that you are fairly treated when you change plans and many others. Don’t also forget to plan in advance if any roads can be avoided because of heavy traffic or on-going road works to save time and avoid stress.
Be prepared for any breakdown
Always be prepared for any breakdown such as mechanical problems during your road trip, to have the required tools and equipment at your disposal. Problems such as flat tires happen from time to time and the best way to solve them is carrying your jack and tire iron then make sure that you know how to use them. Don’t forget a spare tire to always change flat tires as well as gasoline, hammer, screwdrivers, rubber mallet, and wire cutters for your road trip.
Pack some snacks and drinks
Pack enough snacks and drinks (especially water) to keep everyone’s hunger and thirst at bay during self drive in Uganda until you get to your final destination. Most travelers carry energy bars, fresh fruits, or dried fruits such as plantain chips, prunes, apricots. If you are planning to undertake long journeys, you should consider packing sandwiches and also make sure to carry small bags/dust bins to keep rubbish.
Plan for enough fuel/gas
Most travelers resent spending money at the fuel pumps but good and smooth driving can actually help a full tank go far. Fill your tank and sometimes it saves carrying some extra fuel in jerrycans in case you are traveling to remote places and National Parks in Uganda with limited fuel stations.
Plan for en-route stopovers/or breaks
There is nothing stressing and uncomfortable than being pressed on the road and not sure of how far the nearest en-route toilets are, hence you can find a convenient place to stop and ease yourself along the way. In Uganda, highway fuel stations, supermarkets, and tourist centers have public toilets (at a small fee) where you can answer call of nature or better still stretch your legs.