South Sudan

Africa > 🇸🇸 South Sudan

The city by city Car or no Car advice for South Sudan can be broken down into three similar questions - do you need a car in South Sudan;  is it worth it (based on costs), and ultimately - should you rent one? (a balance of the two).

🚆 🚌⛴️ Do we need to rent a car in South Sudan?

These scores are based on the quality of public transport and other travel options. If these are good enough to see the main points of interest, then you don’t need to rent a car.

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💰💶💳 Is it worth hiring a car in South Sudan?

These scores reflect the practical factors that affect whether renting a car is convenient, good value, and stress-free.

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🏙️ Main Cities in South Sudan

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Should you rent a car in South Sudan? Short answer: ❌ No — and visiting itself requires extreme caution. South Sudan 🇸🇸 remains one of the most unstable countries in the world. Although Juba has pockets of normality, the wider security situation is volatile, roads are unsafe, and the infrastructure for tourism is extremely limited. Because of this, renting a car is neither practical nor advisable ❌🚗.

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Security First: The Real Situation 🚧🛑

• Armed conflict continues in several regions, with unpredictable flare-ups ⚠️.

• Banditry and road ambushes remain common outside Juba.

• Humanitarian organisations move in armed convoys, not independent vehicles.

• Travel after dark is widely discouraged, even within the capital.

➡️ For safety reasons alone, driving yourself is out of the question ❌.

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Car Rental Reality in Juba 🚘

While a handful of international hotels and agencies offer vehicles, they are:

• Extremely expensive 💸

• Usually supplied with a mandatory driver 👨‍✈️

• Often bundled with security arrangements

Self-drive is effectively not allowed or strongly discouraged. That’s how serious the driving environment is.

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Road Conditions 🌍🛣️

Even if security were perfect (it isn’t):

• Roads outside Juba are poor, mud-blocked in rainy season, and sometimes impassable.

• Bridges are unreliable.

• Wayfinding is weak, and fuel availability varies wildly.

This makes South Sudan one of the least suitable countries in Africa for independent driving.

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Alternatives That Actually Work ✅

If you must travel within the country:

• Hire a car with a driver through your hotel.
  They handle checkpoints, navigation, and security.

• Fly internally (UNHAS or NGO charters if authorised).
  Public flights are rare and inconsistent, but flying is safer than road travel ✈️.

• Stay mainly in Juba, where hotels, restaurants, and the Nile waterfront offer limited but safe-ish options.

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Tourism Reality Check 🛑

South Sudan is not a leisure destination at the moment. You’ll find:

• ❌ No functioning tourism industry

• ❌ No predictable transport

• ❌ No safe long-distance routes

• ❌ No protected areas easily reachable by foreigners

Any visit tends to be NGO, diplomatic, or specialist, not holiday-based.

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Verdict 🧭

Should you rent a car in South Sudan?
👉 ❌ No.
Not only is self-drive unrealistic, but the country itself requires serious risk assessment before visiting at all.

If you want to explore East Africa safely, consider:

• Kenya 🇰🇪 

• Uganda 🇺🇬 

• Rwanda 🇷🇼 
  All offer vibrant cultures, wildlife, and far more reliable transport options.

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🚗 ✅ ❌ Summary Table

This summary brings together taxis*, how much you really need a car, whether it’s worth it, driver options, local driving rules, and an overall recommendation. *Taxis act as a hybrid between private cars and public transport, so they aren’t counted in the overall public-transport or non-car scores. 🚕  This site is planned for full launch on 1st January 2026. Full terms, advice, FAQs, disclaimer etc to follow.