This is a country you drive. Hire a car for the Garden Route and Kruger, fly the long hops, and use Uber inside the cities. Distances are far bigger than the map suggests.
- This is a country you drive, on the left, on a road network that is good by any standard - and hiring a car is the normal way to do the Garden Route and Kruger.
- Never leave anything visible in a parked car, ever, anywhere. Smash-and-grab at traffic lights is common enough that locals drive with bags in the footwell.
- Avoid driving after dark outside the cities - unlit roads, pedestrians, livestock and potholes are a bad combination.
- Petrol stations are attended, so you do not pump your own fuel and you tip the attendant, as you do the car guard in an orange vest.
- Kruger gate times are absolute - being inside after closing is a fine - and never get out of the car except in designated areas.
Driving
- South Africa drives on the left and the road network is good by any standard, particularly the N1, N2 and N3.
- Hiring a car is the normal way to do the Garden Route, the Winelands and Kruger. Rates are cheap and fuel is cheaper than Europe.
- An international driving permit is not required if your licence is in English and carries your photograph.
- The Gauteng e-toll system was scrapped in 2024, so the Johannesburg highways no longer bill you. Other toll roads take cash or card at a barrier.
- Petrol stations are attended. You do not pump your own fuel, and you tip the attendant ZAR 5 to ZAR 10.
- Never leave anything visible in a parked car, ever, anywhere. Smash-and-grab at traffic lights is common enough that locals drive with bags in the footwell.
- Avoid driving after dark outside the cities. Unlit roads, pedestrians, livestock and potholes are a bad combination.
- Car guards in orange vests will watch your car in any car park and expect ZAR 5 to ZAR 10 when you leave.
Flying
- The country is enormous. Johannesburg to Cape Town is 1,400 km, which is a two hour flight or a 14 hour drive.
- FlySafair is the low-cost operator and is genuinely cheap on the main routes. SAA and Airlink cover the rest.
- Book domestic flights early for December and January, when the whole country moves to the coast.
Cities
- Cape Town's MyCiTi network is good on its routes and useless off them. The card is called myconnect.
- The Gautrain links Johannesburg, Sandton, Pretoria and the airport and is the only rail worth using in Gauteng.
- Metrorail commuter trains are not recommended for visitors on safety grounds.
- Uber and Bolt work in every city and are how you should get around at night.
Kruger and the parks
- Self-driving Kruger is easy and rewarding on tarred roads in an ordinary car.
- Gate times are absolute. Being inside the park after the gate closes is a fine and, in season, that is 18:30 or earlier.
- Book camps through SANParks directly, months ahead for school holidays.
- Never get out of the car except in designated areas. People are killed doing this every year.
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