South Africa Self-Drive Holidays

Self-drive tours in South Africa

Contrary to popular belief thousands of visitors enjoy safe and trouble free self-driving holidays in South Africa each year.

They do this by driving sensibly and applying common sense. For example, we recommend being transferred to your hotel after you first arrive and having your hire car delivered, as most people do not feel up to navigating in an unfamiliar city after a 12-hour flight.

To make self-drive in South Africa easy we provide a pack of detailed directions, as well as an atlas and notes on traffic laws and etiquette.

South Africa is also only one of two Audley destinations where you can enjoy a self-drive safari as part of your overall trip, the other being Namibia.

A typical self-drive route in South Africa

Like Namibia, a self-drive trip in South Africa is easier than you might expect. The roads and infrastructure is similar to that of most places in Europe so you should have little difficulty navigating your way from Cape Town and along the world-famous Garden Route.

As well as spending time in Cape Town, with its excellent accommodation and where there's plenty to see and do, it's also the gateway to the Wine Regions and stunningly pretty towns such as Paarl, Stellenbosch and Franschhoek.

A short drive from the Winelands to the coast brings you to Hermanus, where at the right time of year you can see whales just metres from the shore. Continuing east you are well into the Garden Route itself where you will encounter towns like Plettenberg Bay, known for its beautiful white sandy beaches.

You can round off your self-drive holiday in South Africa with a visit to a game park such as Addo Elephant National Park, or if you leave your car and board a plane, you can spend a few days at the more famous and much larger, Kruger.

Remember, this is only an example and we can tailor-make a South Africa self-drive trip for you in most parts of the country. Below are examples of itineraries which are good for self-drive.