If you're planning a trip to the Cape and wondering whether to drive yourself, you've probably run into a lot of conflicting advice. Some of it is reassuring. Some of it is alarming. Most of it is missing the context you actually need.
We help international travellers drive themselves around the Cape every week — most of them from the UK, Germany, Switzerland, and beyond. So here's an honest, calm account of what driving here is really like, written by people who do it every day.
No drama. Just what's true.
The short version
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Can I drive on my own licence? | Yes, if it is in English and carries your photograph and signature |
| Do I need an International Driving Permit? | Only if your licence is not in English. Bring both if in doubt |
| Which side of the road? | The left. Driver sits on the right |
| Minimum age at Jimmy’s | 18 |
| Speed limits | 60 km/h in town, 100 on rural roads, 120 on the highway |
| Fuel | Attendants fill up for you. You stay in the car. A small tip is normal |
| Tolls | A few on major routes. Card or cash both work |
| Alcohol limit | 0.05 g per 100 ml. In practice, do not drink and drive at all |
The detail behind each of these is below.
Can you drive on a foreign licence?
Yes. If your licence is in English and includes a photograph, you can drive in South Africa as a visitor. That covers UK, Irish, US, Australian, and most other English-language licences.
If your licence isn't in English — as is the case for many German, Swiss, and other European drivers — you'll want an International Driving Permit (IDP) to accompany it. The IDP is simply a translation of your existing licence; you get it in your home country before you travel, usually for a small fee, and you carry it alongside your normal licence. You don't sit a test. You don't hand anything over.
That's the whole requirement. A valid licence, in English or with an IDP, and you're cleared to drive.
Which side of the road?
South Africa drives on the left, like the UK, Ireland, Australia, and Japan.
If you're coming from a left-driving country, this will feel completely normal. If you're coming from Germany, the US, or anywhere that drives on the right, it takes most people about half a day to adjust. The trick most travellers find: the car is built for it, so as long as the driver's seat is on your right and you keep yourself toward the centre line, your instincts sort themselves out quickly.
Roundabouts (we call them traffic circles) go clockwise. Give way to the right.
What are the roads actually like?
Better than most people expect.
The major routes around Cape Town and the Western Cape — the N1, N2, the coastal roads, the mountain passes — are well-built, well-signed, and tarred. The scenic drives the region is famous for, like Chapman's Peak and Clarence Drive, are properly maintained roads, not rough tracks.
Signage is in English. Distances are in kilometres, speeds in km/h. Speed limits are generally 120 on highways, 100 on rural roads, and 60 in towns unless posted otherwise.
You will occasionally meet a gravel road if you venture off the main routes into the Cederberg or the Karoo backroads, but the headline destinations are all on good tar.
Is it safe to drive there?
This is the question behind all the others, so let's answer it directly and honestly.
Driving in and around Cape Town and the Western Cape is something hundreds of thousands of visitors do every year without incident. The roads are good, the routes are clear, and the Cape is one of the most navigable parts of the country for a self-driving visitor.
The sensible precautions are the same ones you'd take in any unfamiliar city, and none of them are dramatic:
Keep your doors locked and valuables out of sight while driving — ordinary city common sense. Plan longer drives for daylight; the scenery is the point anyway, and you'll want to see it. Use a maps app, as you would anywhere. And if you're ever unsure about a route or an area, ask — we're a phone call away for exactly this reason.
What we'd gently push back on is the idea that you need to be fearful. Caution and fear aren't the same thing. The travellers who have the best time here are relaxed and sensible, not anxious.
Fuel, tolls, and parking
Fuel stations are attended — you don't pump your own. An attendant fills the tank, often cleans your windscreen, and a small tip (a few rand) is customary. Most stations take cards; carrying a little cash is handy.
A few major highways have toll gates, payable by card or cash. They're clearly signed and inexpensive.
In towns and at attractions, you'll often find a car guard — someone who watches parked cars for a small tip. It's a normal part of life here.
What about the police?
Routine. You may pass a roadblock or a checkpoint, particularly on holiday weekends. If you're waved over, it's almost always a licence and documentation check.
Be polite, have your licence (and IDP if you carry one) to hand, and you'll be on your way in a couple of minutes. This is ordinary, not a cause for concern.
Why drive yourself at all?
Because the Cape rewards it like few places on earth.
The whole appeal of this region is what lies between the famous spots — the pass you stop at because the light is extraordinary, the farm stall you pull into on a whim, the empty beach you have to yourself because you got there your own way. A tour bus can't give you that. A car can.
Driving yourself is what turns a checklist of sights into an actual journey.
Ready to drive it yourself?
From R1,450 a day · insurance included · no deposit
A gentle next step
If you've got this far, you're probably the kind of traveller who likes to understand a place before you arrive. So are we.
We've put together a slow-travel guide to the Cape — a day-by-day way of thinking about the region that isn't about cramming everything in, but about giving it room to unfold. If that sounds like your kind of trip, [it's here], and it's free.
And if you'd rather just ask us a question directly, you can. We answer every one personally.
Once you are confident behind the wheel, our 5-day Garden Route itinerary is the drive most visitors come here for - and it is tarred the whole way.
