This Jinja Transportation Guide tells you how to both get to and from Jinja, and also how to get around once there. Used in conjunction with our Uganda Transportation Guide, you should be able to get as much information as necessary to plan your trip and see as much as possible in the time you have available. However, our Jinja tours can also help you get around and see the highlights of Jinja.

Jinja Transportation Guide

Getting to Jinja

By Air

Jinja, situated 85 km to the northeast of the Ugandan capital of Kampala in Eastern Africa, is easily accessible by air. It is recommended that you travel to Jinja either through the Kampala airport or the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, Eastern Africa's main air-traffic hub. There are regular bus connections to Jinja. Kimaka also has an airfield.

Airlines operating from Europe to Nairobi include KLM, Ethiopian Air, Emirates and Kenyan. From Nairobi, you can reach Entebbe in just over an hour. The airfare from Europe could prove to be really steep; there are however a large number of attractive deals. Kenyan Air is perhaps the cheapest airline and KLM the most expensive.

By Road

From the west of Jinja to the capital of Kampala, 54 miles away (87 km), you have a tarmac road in pretty good condition. The journey should take you about two hours by bus; if you're travelling by car, you'll make the trip in about an hour and a half. There is another tarmac road leading to Tororo, about 62 miles (100 km) to the east of Jinja; it is however in poor shape. To travel from Jinja to the other Ugandan towns, you can make use of the minibus taxis and buses.

Connecting the larger towns of Uganda to Kampala are 70-seater public buses. While there are many bus operators, there is usually only one operator per route. You can also make use of the Uganda Post Bus. Jinja is along the East African Highway, which connects Mombassa to Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and eastern DR Congo. From Kampala, you can make use of the 30 passenger coasters and 14 passenger taxis (called matatus). Buses plying from Tanzania and Kenya to Kampala can drop you off en route.

Road Distances: Kampala 80 km, Dar es Salaam 1691 km, Nairobi 578 km, Entebbe 117 km, Mombasa 1498 km, Arusha 854 km. From Kampala to Jinja, you can get aboard a matatus for just about 3000 USh. If the same journey is made by a coaster, it should cost you about 5,000 USh. Travelling from Jinja to Kampala by a coaster should cost you about 4,000 USh.

Minibus taxis and buses are common modes of transport to Jinja. The approximate time taken and rates to various destinations from Jinja are as follows: Mbale (two hours, USh 6000), Malaba (two hours, USh 7000), Busia (two hours, USh 6000), Kampala (1½ hours, USh 4000). From Nairobi to Jinja, an over night bus will take about 10 hours. The bus stops at the Kenyan side of the border at 3.00 am or thereabouts.

By Train and Ferry

It was only toward the close of the 19th century that Jinja gained prominence. A port connected Jinja by lake steamers to the Port Florence (today known as Kisumu), Port Bell and a few other focal points around the Lake Victoria. 1912 saw the opening of the Busoga Railway, which ran from Jinja to Namasagali. It now became easy to transport the cotton being produced in the verdant regions around the Lake Kyoga.

By 1923, the Uganda Railway ran as far as Jinja, and it became relatively easy to travel by land to the Kenyan coast and Nairobi. Jinja is now one of the major stations of the Uganda Railway and is also a popular port for Lake Victoria ferries. Since the early 1900s, access to the railway has been by ferry. The lines run until the railhead at Kisumu.

Getting Around Jinja

By Mini Bus Taxi (Matatu)

Matatus are the most common means of transport and travel in Jinja. In case your destination is not catered to by the matatus, you can opt for a pick-up truck. A shared 14-seater Toyota mini bus, it is usually white and the body has a horizontal, chequered blue band around it. While the fares are reasonable, it is comparatively more expensive than a public bus. Though there are many matatus, they're usually overloaded.

The police are generally successful in curbing the number of passengers on board in Kampala. However, when you're away from Kampala, it is usual to find yourself among twenty other passengers.

Enquire about the fare with fellow passengers. It is usually collected by the conductor en-route. You will be expected to pay only when your destination is almost near. If you want to stop the vehicle, shout 'STAGE' to the driver. Getting out of a matatu can prove to be a troublesome affair, but passengers don't seem to mind the hassle.

By Pick-up Truck

The pick-up truck is ideal for rough roads that matatus cannot handle or during times when the passenger traffic is really insignificant. It is typically found along rural routes where produce has to be transported to the market.