Car hire in South Africa without a credit card

Why hire a car in South Africa?

Many of South Africa's best-known sights, such as Kruger, the Garden Route and the Drakensberg, lie outside the cities. With your own car you can follow the Garden Route along the coast, drive yourself through Kruger and the other national parks, and stop in the Winelands, the Drakensberg or a small Karoo town whenever you like.

You can collect your car without a credit card at airports and in towns across the country. The pages for each place, linked above, show the prices, the pick-up points and what there is to see nearby.

Where to start your trip

Cape Town and the Western Cape

Cape Town combines the Cape Peninsula and Table Mountain with the Winelands around Stellenbosch and the whale coast at Hermanus.

The Garden Route

The N2 runs east along the Garden Route through Mossel Bay, George and Plettenberg Bay to Gqeberha, near Addo Elephant National Park. From Cape Town International Airport to Gqeberha it is about 740 kilometres. You can collect the car in one place and return it in another; see one-way car hire for the measured one-way fees.

Kruger and the north-east

From Johannesburg and Pretoria it is about 390 kilometres to the southern gates of Kruger National Park. You can also fly closer and collect your car at Nelspruit, Hoedspruit or even inside the park at Skukuza.

KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State and the Eastern Cape

Durban and Richards Bay are the pick-up points for KwaZulu-Natal: from Richards Bay it is about 75 kilometres to St Lucia in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and about 95 to the Memorial Gate of Hluhluwe-iMfolozi, and from Durban about 260 kilometres to Bergville, on the way to the northern Drakensberg. Bloemfontein lies on the N1 between Cape Town and Johannesburg, and from East London it is about 275 kilometres to Coffee Bay on the Wild Coast.

Driving in South Africa

South Africa drives on the left. The general speed limit is 120 km/h on national highways and freeways, 100 km/h on rural roads and 60 km/h in built-up areas, unless signs say otherwise. Seatbelts are compulsory for everyone in the car, and using a hand-held phone while driving is against the law. The legal alcohol limit is 0.05 grams per 100 millilitres of blood.

Your own licence is valid if it is in English and has your photo and signature; otherwise bring an International Driving Permit. Filling stations are not self-service: attendants fill the tank and can check oil, water and tyres. Many national roads between the major cities are toll roads, so carry some rand in cash. In an emergency, call 112 from a mobile phone or 10111 for the police.

Best time to hire a car in South Africa

The seasons differ by region. Cape Town and the Western Cape get most of their rain in winter, from May to August, and are dry in summer. Johannesburg, Pretoria and Kruger get their rain in summer, roughly from October to March, and are dry and sunny in winter. Durban has rain in every month, most of it in summer. SANParks says the best game viewing in Kruger is traditionally in winter. Southern right whales are seen off the Western Cape coast, around Hermanus, from June to November.

The longest South African school holiday runs from mid-December to mid-January, with shorter breaks around Easter, from late June to mid-July and in late September. Book early for those weeks, especially December and January.