Around About Cars car hire in South Africa

Around About Cars was started by Monika Moser from Germany in 1995, with its head office at 20 Bloem Street in Cape Town. It focuses on visitors and self-drive travellers rather than corporate accounts. Most of its cars are one-year-old models, and it advertises 24/7 nationwide roadside backup.

Its booking search lists roughly 45 branches, in South African airports and cities and in Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Tanzania. If your trip is a Garden Route drive, a Kruger self-drive or a leg into a neighbouring country, that reach is more useful than one desk at one airport.

• Booking search lists roughly 45 branches: SA airports and cities plus Namibia (Windhoek Hosea Kutako, Walvis Bay, Eros, Ondangwa, Oranjemund, Swakopmund, Tsumeb), Botswana (Gaborone, Francistown, Maun, Kasane), Zimbabwe and Tanzania. (aroundaboutcars.com)
• Debit card, SA cheque card and cash payment options are offered on selected vehicle groups, and 18 to 22 year olds can rent with the under-23 service. (aroundaboutcars.com)
• Equipped camper 4x4: Group BS GWM Tank 300 camping-equipped 4x4, 5 seats, automatic, minimum 3 days rental (Cape Town/South Africa listing); motorhome and 4x4 camper pages also exist for Johannesburg, Cape Town and Windhoek. (aroundaboutcars.com)
• Free collection and return at all major airports, direct transfers and chauffeur service are advertised. (aroundaboutcars.com)
• Optional excess reimbursement product from partner Hepstar for about R25 per day (shown in the booking flow). (aroundaboutcars.com)
• Vehicles are mostly one-year-old models; 24/7 nationwide roadside backup. (aroundaboutcars.com)

Checked on 29 September 2026 against Around About Cars's official website. Numbers change, so confirm on the linked page before you call. A rental company will not ask you to pay a deposit into a new bank account by phone or WhatsApp; if anyone does, hang up and call the official number.

Sources: aroundaboutcars.com.

What Around About Cars's own terms and FAQ pages said on 29 September 2026. Rules differ by vehicle group and branch, so check the terms for your booking.

Countries Around About Cars lists for cross-border travel: Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini (Swaziland), Zimbabwe, Namibia, Mozambique, Zambia (4x4 only), Malawi (4x4 only) (aroundaboutcars.com).

Age is where the site is least clear. The FAQ says the minimum age is 18, and that under-23s usually pay a young driver fee of about R250 per day depending on car group, with the excess varying. The Under 23 page says 18-year-olds pay no young driver surcharge if they have a valid passport, a credit card and a driver's licence, even a licence one day old. The two pages disagree. Get the fee, or the absence of one, confirmed in writing before you book.

Credit cards (American Express, Diners, Visa and MasterCard) are accepted for any rental, and a company card works only if the renter's name is on it. Cash deposits are accepted on some vehicles in Cape Town only. South African debit and cheque cards are accepted for specific vehicle groups only, so check that your group qualifies.

The deposit is a security authorisation blocked on your credit card at collection. It varies with the vehicle's excess and the insurance you choose, and it is cancelled on return. No rand figure is published.

Standard cover is compulsory, and Super and Executive Cover reduce the excess. The waivers exclude glass, tyres, undercarriage damage (no collision), water, negligence, and gravel, sand or pothole damage, which matters on a road trip. The booking flow also offers an optional excess reimbursement product from Hepstar at about R25 per day.

Two more checks on the quote. Cars leave with a full tank and you pay for refuelling on return. And the home page says every booking includes unlimited mileage while the FAQ says only some vehicles, with some rates carrying a distance limit from Cape Town, so confirm the kilometres.

Around About Cars publishes a country list. Vehicles are permitted into Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Mozambique, and into Zambia and Malawi in 4x4s only. Angola is not permitted.

You need a letter of authorisation, requested at reservation, and the fee per border is shown at booking. Zimbabwe and Mozambique need 4 days' notice. Outside South Africa the excess doubles, and a further R15,000 excess applies for accidents in Mozambique, Zambia or Zimbabwe. The company also advises against visiting Zimbabwe and Mozambique, and the booking form shows Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe as on request. Raise the full route when you book rather than at collection.

One-way rentals are available within South Africa and across a border, for a supplementary fee. No amount is published, so get the fee for your exact route in writing. For a road trip that ends somewhere other than where it started, that is the deciding cost.

The About page advertises free collections and returns at all major airports, direct transfers and a chauffeur service. It does not say whether there is a terminal desk at each airport, so confirm the meeting arrangement and how much time to allow after landing.

The equipped 4x4 we found listed is Group BS, a GWM Tank 300 camping-equipped 4x4 with 5 seats and an automatic gearbox, with a minimum rental of 3 days. Motorhome and 4x4 camper pages also exist for Johannesburg, Cape Town and Windhoek. We did not find rooftop tents listed, so ask if you want one.

Overland vehicles are a different rental to a car and need different questions. Ask what camping equipment is included and what is extra, what recovery and roadside cover applies on gravel and in remote areas, and what the tyre and windscreen policy is, given that the standard waivers exclude glass, tyres and gravel damage. Ask about the excess separately for these groups.

Around About Cars suits travellers who want one-way flexibility, a published cross-border list, or a way to rent at 18 to 22 years old. Its network of affiliated branches gives it a wider footprint than a single Cape Town office suggests, but you should still confirm which branch you collect from and who handles a breakdown far from Cape Town.

For a standard airport rental in one city, price the same dates against Avis, Woodford and First before you decide.