South Africa, with all its glory is one heck of an awesome destination to visit with or without kids. The towns there are right out of a postcard with the most picturesque views you may ever come across. When visiting a new place, you may often wish to drive on those curved roads you saw in a movie or rent a car and maybe go on a road trip right along the coast. Let me tell you, driving in South Africa is quite easy BUT there are some things you need to be mindful of. Here are our 10 tips on driving in South Africa
South Africa is an absolute pleasure for those drivers who enjoy a good road trip. The iconic Garden Route is one of the most beautiful drives in the world with the first half across beautiful open fields and ostrich farms and the second half right alongside the coast. If your looking for more info on the Garden Route, make sure to check out our blog post on it by Clicking Here.
As much as driving in South Africa is fun, it also has its own challenges. There are things you should absolutely know if you plan to explore this country by car. We are going to provide you with our 10 tips to make your drive easier and for you to be aware of how driving should be over there.
1. Be ready to drive on the left hand side
This may seem daunting at first but when you are following traffic, it really does not take long to adjust to it. Just be careful when you are alone on that road that you are driving on the right side.
2. Avoid townships
As tempting as it may be to explore every corner of this beautiful country, you should avoid townships. They are deemed unsafe with a greater risk for visitors. Some of these townships may have some really great souvenir shops that are extremely reasonably priced BUT do not fall for that. Townships are located on the outskirts of major cities or along the highway including the garden route.
3. Avoid driving after sundown
Driving after sundown is not highly recommended even though it is not a complete no-no. You need to be careful and you need to be vigilant if you are going to drive after sundown – which leads us to our next point.
4. DO NOT stop at a red light at night
We landed at midnight! After getting our rental car, we were making our way to the hotel when we hit a red light. Sure enough, we stopped and got honked at by tons of cars and couldn’t understand why. The next morning when we were check out at the hotel, we were told not to stop at a red light. That is when you car can be literally broken into. There are carjackers waiting at red lights in areas with increased tourists knowing they have a chance there!
5. Do not leave valuables in the car
You can only imagine what would happen if you left your valuables in the car that too visible from the outside. Nothing of value or nothing that can attempt a theft. We travelled with our UppaBaby Vista and always kept it in the trunk of our car. All cars there have a trunk cover and we always made sure to cover the stroller even if the car was parked in an indoor garage. Someone looking into our car trunk would only see a cover – something we noticed most of the cars did there anyway making it less tempting for a break in.
6. DO NOT stop in an area you are not familiar with – even if it is to take photos off an unbeaten path
There can be carjackers waiting at spots along the highway or absolutely anywhere. They are usually waiting at those paths less taken where they suspect tourists will stop for a photo opportunity. Even along the garden route, do not stop anywhere unless you hit the bigger towns. There are tons of townships around and it is absolutely not safe to stop.
7. ALWAYS make sure you have a working cell phone with you that is fully charged
Guys I cannot stress this enough, please keep a phone charger in the car and have your phone charged at all times. You never know when you’re stuck and you need to use the phone.
8. DO NOT rent a Toyota
Apparently Toyotas are much easier to break in. If you have a choice with your rental company, try to pick a car other than a Toyota.
9. Pull into the emergency lane to give way
When driving on a highway, often times or lets say most times, if the car in front of you is slower, they will pull into the yellow emergency lane to make way for you to overtake. The drivers there are very nice and considerate of one another!
10. Rent a big car if your budget allows
Travelling in South Africa is definitely one of the best ways to experience all the nooks and corners of this beautiful country. One of the biggest things we were honestly grateful for was having a big SUV due to the long hours we were in the car while driving over 7 hours a day.
We hope you found our 10 tips of driving in South Africa helpful. I hope this will help you plan your travels in this incredibly beautiful country. South Africa is so beautiful and easily one of our most favourite travel destinations so far. We were keen to explore this country with our girls and spend long hours in the car on those beautiful scenic roads. Watch out for our new blog post releasing soon on how we manage long car trips with our girls. Click Here to read more from our South African travels.
