Can you actually drive a rental car across borders? Usually, yeah — but it comes down to the rental company's rules and where the car's registered.

Speaking of which, does registration country matter? It does, more than people expect. Cars registered in Uganda tend to be the easiest option for cross-border trips, because the rental companies there are used to sorting out the paperwork ahead of time — insurance that covers Kenya and Tanzania, temporary import permits, all of it. Try to cross a border in a Kenyan- or Tanzanian-registered car without planning ahead, and some companies will just say no.

Insurance-wise, you'll want a COMESA Yellow Card. Think of it as one insurance policy that follows you across the whole region, so you're not stuck buying new cover every time you hit a border.

Beyond that, expect to carry a temporary import permit for the vehicle, the logbook, and often a letter from the rental company giving you permission to cross borders. You'll sometimes see a COMESA license or carnet mentioned too — worth asking your rental company directly what they provide.

Which borders can you actually use? Rental cars generally move freely between Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda. DRC's off-limits, though, and right now the Rwanda–Burundi border is closed — if Burundi's on your list, you'd need to go in through Tanzania instead.

The border crossings you'll actually hear about are Rusumo between Tanzania and Rwanda, Gatuna (also called Katuna) between Rwanda and Uganda, and then Namanga or Isebania between Kenya and Tanzania, and Malaba or Busia between Kenya and Uganda.

Can you actually pick up in one city and drop off in another? Yes, that's pretty standard — pick up in Nairobi or Mombasa, drop off in Kampala, Entebbe, Kigali, Arusha, Dar es Salaam, or Zanzibar. You'll pay a relocation fee for the privilege, but it's a normal thing companies offer.

And yes, on top of your daily rate, budget for a one-way drop fee plus a fee for each border you cross. Almost nobody escapes these.

As for an actual route — one that comes up a lot starts in Entebbe, heads through Kampala, then loops through Rwanda, Tanzania, and Kenya. If you can time it for June through September, you'll catch the wildebeest migration, which is when the wildlife viewing is at its best.

What should you actually rent? A Toyota Land Cruiser, manual, with solid 4x4 — that's basically the default answer everyone gives. The older LX 76 or 78-series models get mentioned constantly, especially the ones kitted out with a pop-up roof and a rooftop tent for camping along the way.

Is the driving itself hard? Not really — the region's agreements make it fairly easy to move a rental vehicle between Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania, as long as you've squared away the paperwork with your rental company beforehand.

And if it's your first time doing something like this — you'll probably be fine. Every guide says roughly the same thing: get your documents sorted before you leave, because incomplete paperwork is what actually causes delays at the border, not the driving itself.