Car Rental / Car Hire – Cape Town Airport

 

Most visitors hire a rental car at Cape Town Airport car hire companies, on their arrival. There are a number of car hire companies, situated very conveniently at both the domestic and international arrivals and departure halls at Cape Town International Airport. This is probably the most convenient location for car hire, if you’re arriving on a flight to Cape Town.

Distance to Cape Town

The airport is twenty minutes from the centre of Cape Town. Most visitors will head into town for accommodation and hotels, as there aren’t many hotels conveniently located at the airport. The only one worth mentioning is the City Lodge. Even so, you will most likely still need to hire a car at the Cape Town airport.

Car Hire Companies at Cape Town Airport

Most major international and local car hire companies such as Hertz, Avis, Sixt are represented at Cape Town Airport. They all take online bookings. Book in advance as the cheaper cars aren’t usually available at the last minute.

Finding the Car Hire Desks at Cape Town Airport

It isn’t more than a moment’s walk to the car hire desks. There are no complicated shuttle services needed to get you from the airport halls to the rental cars. The airport is sufficiently small and it is easilly traversed on foot. The layout is pretty easy, so you don’t need to worry about getting lost whilst finding your rental car or the car hire company’s desk.

Types of Car Rental Vehicles

You can take your pick from any car rental agencies. They all do a range of different cars for hire. You can hire sedans, with or without aircon, manual (stick shift) or automatic. You can even hire campers, or 4×4s.

Cape Town Street Map

If possible, bring your own street map or road map. The ones provided by the rental car companies are never brilliant. They will be OK to get you into Cape Town, but beyond that you will need to make a plan.

Here is a road map showing how to get to the City Centre from the Cape Town Intermational Airport.

View Cape Town Airport to Cape Town City Bowl in a larger map

Safety

Note that the N2 highway into Cape Town is probably the worst introduction to any city one could imagine, as it is surrounded by squatter camps. Don’t deviate off the highway until you get to the Cape Town suburbs, as it isn’t safe. The squatter camps have some of the highest crime statistics in Cape Town. Here’s an article that gives you more information about crime and safety in Cape Town.