Car hire in South Africa for foreign visitors

Bring, as originals:

• Your driver's licence, valid, unendorsed, with a photograph and signature.
• An international driving permit if the licence is not in English.
• Your passport.
• A credit card in the main driver's name.
• Your booking reference and, sometimes, return travel details.

On the card: the deposit is a pre-authorisation, held not taken, and released after the car is returned. On a foreign card it can take longer to clear than a local one, and your bank's foreign transaction handling may make the amounts look odd. Tell your bank you are travelling so the hold is not declined as suspicious.

Debit cards are accepted by many South African operators but with conditions.

For a Garden Route or Cape Winelands trip, an ordinary compact car is fine. For Kgalagadi, parts of the Karoo, or an itinerary with a lot of dirt, check the gravel road rules before you book, because standard agreements often restrict unsurfaced roads.

• We drive on the left, and the driver sits on the right. Give yourself a quiet half hour before joining a highway.
• Fuel stations are attended. Stay in the car, say how much you want, pay by card or cash, and a small tip for the attendant is normal.
• Distances are long. Johannesburg to Cape Town is roughly 1,400 km. Cape Town to the Garden Route is a comfortable day. Plan fewer stops than you think.
• Four-way stops are common and work on order of arrival.
• Minibus taxis stop suddenly and often. Leave following distance.
• Robots means traffic lights. When they are out, treat the intersection as a four-way stop.
• Animals and pedestrians appear on rural roads, especially at dusk. Avoid long rural drives after dark where you can.
• Roadblocks are routine. Carry your licence and IDP, be polite, and expect the vehicle documents to be in the car.

South Africa's national routes carry conventional toll plazas operated under SANRAL (sanral.co.za). You pay at the plaza by card or cash. Budget for tolls on long N1, N2, N3 and N4 drives.

The Gauteng e-toll gantry scheme was switched off in April 2024 and formally closed by Cabinet in June 2026, so the overhead gantries on Gauteng freeways no longer bill. Conventional plazas elsewhere are unaffected. Check sanral.co.za for the current position on any route.

Traffic fines are issued against the registered owner, which is the rental company, who then redirects the fine to you and charges an administration fee. Fines can surface weeks after you have flown home, so keep the agreement.

Fuel policy is usually full to full. Refill near the drop-off point and keep the slip.

You cannot simply drive a South African hire car into Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho or Eswatini. You need written authorisation from the operator, arranged in advance, together with the vehicle documentation pack the border requires. Many operators refuse cross-border travel on some or all vehicle classes.

Fees apply on both sides, they change, and they are the responsibility of the traveller. Give yourself weeks rather than days to arrange it, and read the cross-border permit guide before fixing an itinerary.

One-way rentals within South Africa are a separate thing and are usually available for a fee.

• Keep bags and devices out of sight, in the boot, before you set off rather than at the destination.
• Lock doors while driving in urban traffic.
• Use secure parking where it is offered, and pay the car guard a small amount.
• Plan routes with GPS but sanity-check them, since the shortest route is not always the sensible one.
• If you break down, stay with the vehicle in a safe spot and call the roadside number on your agreement.
• After any accident, report to the SAPS within 24 hours and get a case number, or your cover can fail.

None of this should put you off. Large numbers of visitors self-drive here every year without incident.