Car rental in
South Africa
Places to start your journey in South Africa
Discover South Africa
Car Rental Across South Africa with SIXT
South Africa rewards drivers. The distances are long, the surfaces on the main routes are good, and the places worth seeing are rarely near a station. SIXT South Africa runs twelve airport branches, from OR Tambo and Lanseria in Gauteng to Cape Town, Durban, George on the southern coast and Kruger Mpumalanga on the edge of the park, with city pickups in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban and East London.
Three categories cover most South African trips:
- Compacts and sedans: economical over long freeway stretches and easy to park in the Cape Town city bowl or Sandton.
- SUVs: the sensible choice for gravel access roads into game reserves and for the mountain passes of the Drakensberg and the Cape.
- Double-cab bakkies: load space, height and a towing option for camping kit, boards or a trailer.
Every vehicle comes from our premium fleet. Add a child seat, additional driver or navigation system when you book, then manage the reservation in the SIXT app. Reserve your car rental in South Africa online.
Driving in South Africa: Local Rules and Habits
South Africa drives on the left and uses kilometres. Getting behind the wheel of a car rental in South Africa needs no special skill, but a handful of local conventions catch out first-time visitors far more often than the traffic itself does.
Rules of the road
- Speed limits are 120 km/h on freeways, 100 km/h on rural roads and 60 km/h in built-up areas, with fixed and mobile cameras on all three.
- Four-way stops are common at intersections without traffic lights. Whoever arrives first goes first, and drivers keep to it strictly.
- Traffic lights are called robots locally. When the power is out they stop working entirely and the intersection reverts to a four-way stop. Treat it that way even when others do not.
- Tolls are collected at plazas on the N1, N3, N4 and several other national routes, and most take cards as well as cash. Ask at the branch which apply to your route.
- Rural roads carry livestock, wildlife and pedestrians, particularly at dawn and dusk. Driving between towns after dark is worth avoiding.
Fuel, parking and payment
- Petrol stations are staffed. An attendant fills the tank, checks oil and water and cleans the windscreen. Self-service is not a thing here, and a small tip is customary.
- Car guards watch parked vehicles in most city streets and shopping areas. A small tip on your return is the norm.
- Drivers must be at least 18 and have held their licence for two years. Under 21 a young driver surcharge applies, and the larger and premium categories set the bar higher again.
- A licence issued in English needs no International Driving Permit. That is unusual in the region and it covers most visitors. If yours comes from a country outside the international treaty, bring a certified translation and show it with the original.
- Credit and debit cards from recognised issuers are both accepted, with additional fees on debit. Prepaid cards, cheques and cash are not.
Road Trips and Border Crossings from South Africa
Long-distance driving is really the point of car hire in South Africa, and the routes below are all comfortably reachable from a SIXT branch.
- The Panorama Route, Mpumalanga. Blyde River Canyon, God's Window and the Three Rondavels sit along a single stretch of road roughly four hours away from Johannesburg, with Kruger's western gates just beyond.
- Route 62 and the Klein Karoo. The inland alternative between Cape Town and the Eastern Cape runs through Montagu, Barrydale and Oudtshoorn, quieter and drier than the coastal road.
- The Drakensberg. Around three hours away from Durban, the northern and central berg give you the Amphitheatre and the Sani Pass, which climbs into Lesotho and needs a four-wheel drive plus cross-border approval.
- The Wild Coast. From East London or Mthatha, the R61 opens onto Coffee Bay and Hole in the Wall.
Cross-border drives are possible and worth planning properly. SIXT permits travel into Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Eswatini, and into Mozambique, with written permission issued by the branch and at least 72 hours of notice. A per-country fee applies, certain premium categories are excluded, and one-way rentals are allowed within South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. Arrange it when you book rather than at the counter.
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*Our Customer Excitement Score is based on a survey sent to all customers who booked in South Africa. The score is an average of all customer responses.
