Survey: The most expensive cities in Southern and East Africa 2020!

Global transportation service Hoppa has released its report into the most expensive vs cheapest destinations for 2020. The annual survey is taking a look at 100 destinations worldwide to find out which holiday destinations are most affordable and which are exorbitantly pricey. Criteria include average hotel prices per night, taxi fares, and meals for two, along with the cost of unexpected medical costs and average currency exchange rates. Flight prices were excluded. According to Hoppa's findings, Grand Cayman (a British territory) ranked as the most expensive location in the world, where costs total £459.58 per day, while Antalya in Turkey is the cheapest destination with a total cost of £63.79 per day. Seven cities from Southern and East Africa also made the list. Johannesburg in South Africa ranked as the 60th most expensive city in the world and the most expensive city in Southern and East Africa, costing international travellers £134.37 on average. Kampala (GBP130.11) in Uganda is the second most expensive city in the region and the 66th most expensive city in the world, followed by Dar es Salaam (GBP112.96 | #3, #78). According to the survey, Cape Town in South Africa is only the 5th most expensive city in Southern and East Africa and the 81th most expensive city in the world.

Photo by Keenan Constance on Unsplash

The most expensive cities in Southern and East Africa 2020:

1. (60) Johannesburg, South Africa - GBP134.37 (4th cheapest cocktails in the world - GBP3.47)
2. (66) Kampala, Uganda - GBP130.11 (cheapest beer in the world - GBP0.88)
3. (78) Dar es Salaam, Tanzania - GBP112.96 (2nd cheapest beer in the world - GBP0.95)
4. (80) Gaborone, Botswana - GBP111.31 (7th cheapest beer in the world - GBP1.20)
5. (81) Cape Town, South Africa - 110.12 (3rd chapest cocktails in the world - GBP3.43)
6. (82) Port Louis, Mauritius - 108.72 (5th cheapest hotel rates in the world - approx. GBP26.00)
7. (98) Nairobi, Kenya - GBP75.23 (cheapest hotel rates in the world - approx. GBP17.50)

Uganda: Kampala bans donations to street children!

Uganda's capital Kampala has made it illegal to offer money, food or a donation to street children. Violators of this new law could face a fine of Shs41,350 (about GBP8.65 | €9.80 | $11.00 | ZAR160.00) or up to six months in jail. According to the city's lord mayor, Erias Lukwago, the new law aims to curb the commercial and sexual exploitation of children and also penalises traffickers, agents and parents of the children found begging or selling items on the street.

Uganda: The "Kampala Official Tourist Guide 2019-2020" is out now!

The Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has released the new official tourist guide for Kampala 2019-2020. The guide book, which is available for free, is packed with usefull information about the city's tourist highlights - from travel and transport tips in and around Kampala, the coolest hang-out spots in Uganda's capital to shopping, sightseeing and accommodation options in the city. The "Kampala Official Tourist Guide 2019-2020" can be downloaded for free (pdf).

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Uganda: The "New Jinja Bridge" to open to the public in October 2018!

According to Uganda National Roads Association (UNRA), the "New Jinja Bridge" is substantially complete and will be officially opened for public use in mid-October 2018 (17 October 2018?). The new four-lane bridge is located in the town of Jinja on the proposed Kampala–Jinja Expressway, approximately 82 km, by road, east of Kampala. It is expected that the new bridge will serve as a major trade route connecting Uganda to the Kenyan port of Mombasa, Rwanda, Burundi, the DR Congo as well as Central Africa.


 
Uganda's longest bridge has a length of 525 m and a width of 23 m. The total cost of the bridge was budgeted at US$125 million. The "New Jinja Bridge" will replace the olf "Nalubaale Bridge", which was built in 1954.

Uganda: The "Kampala-Entebbe Expressway" has been officially opened for motorists!

The President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, and the the chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Wang Yang, officially opened the new Entebbe–Kampala Expressway on 15 June 2018. The 51km four-lane toll highway links Entebbe International Airport (EBB), Uganda's main international airport, to Kampala, the country's capital. The new expressway is the country's first toll highway. It has 19 fly-overs and bridges with a total length of 2,770 metres; it also hosts the Nambigirwa Bridge, the longest four-lane bridge in Uganda and East Africa with over 1,400 metres. The Entebbe–Kampala Expressway was commissioned with assistance from Exim Bank of China, with a loan of $350m (€302.8m). Construction was done by China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) and supervised by Beijing Expressway Supervision Co. Ltd. (BES).

Construction of Kampala-Entebbe Expressway is part of the measures to decongest the Central Business District to enhance #Trade movement through, within & out of the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area [#GKMA], financed by both the Government of Uganda and EXIM Bank. #UNRAworks pic.twitter.com/YvxSwuAXMt

— UNRA_UGANDA (@UNRA_UG) June 15, 2018

Uganda: Street View goes live in Kampala & Entebbe!

The capital of Uganda, the city of Kampala, as well as Entebbe, located about 35km southwest of Kampala and the location of Uganda's largest commercial airport, Entebbe International Airport (EBB), are now (since Oct. 2015) live on Google Street View!

Uganda: Kampala set to introduce city tour buses to boost urban tourism

Uganda's capital Kampala is set to get its first city tour buses to boost urban tourism. The Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has therefore signed a memorandum of understanding with Albrieux Africa Tours, which is supposed to get the product running by the end of 2015. The Kampala city tour itinerary will include stop overs at various locations, such as the Bahai Temple, the Old Kampala Mosque, the Namugongo Martyrs shrine, the Kasubi tombs, the Makerere University as well as the Uganda Museum. Tickets for the city bus tour will be available at the National Theatre, at Kabaka Anjagala Road, near Independence Monument and the Uganda Museum.

#TourBuses Kampala Capital City Authority - KCCA Visit Uganda (Tourism Uganda) Tourism Uganda Uganda Tourism Board The...
Posted by Visit Kampala on Sunday, 5 July 2015

Street Food from Uganda: Rolex (recipe)

Everyone who has been to Kampala, Uganda and/or East Africa has probably had a "Rolex". Not the watch, of course, but one of Uganda's most favourite street foods. In the video below, Ronnie and David show us how to make one of your own at home. Just make sure that you use a cutting board - not everyone has David's knife skills.

How to make a Rolex - Street Food in Uganda from Send a Cow on Vimeo.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• some cabbage
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 onion
• 1 tomato
• 1 carrot
• 1 chapati (recipe >>)
• cooking oil
• salt to taste
• chili to taste

Kudos to Send a Cow, a NGO from the UK that works hand in hand with poor families, teaching them the skills they need to build new lives free from poverty and hunger following the "Pass it On" principle.

Video: Skateboarding in Kampala, Uganda

update (13 Jan 2014): The guys from the Uganda Skateboard Union have uploaded a new video abou skateboarding in Kampala. Kudos & enjoy!


We featured a couple of skateboarding videos in the blog over the last year, but, except for one video of the adidas South Africa skateboard team in Mozambique's capital Maputo, all films were about skatebording in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. Knowing that there are skaters all over Africa, we searched the web and found this great video of the Uganda Skateboarding Union and their "Park Days" at the Kitintale Skatepark in Kampala, the first ever skateboard ramp in Uganda. Enjoy & kudos Peter, Douglas, John, Nico, Ken, Trevor, Morris, Gilbert, Titi & David and all others!



btw - checkout the Uganda Skateboard Union’s blog and Facebook page and keep up on their work and donate to the cause.