Cape Town City Guide - Getting There By Road

Cape Town's road network is excellent, with both good highways and scenic routes. This, combined with the fact that there is limited public transport, means that driving is often the preferred mode of transport for many tourists. However, visitors should note that South Africa has a very high accident rate, although most major accidents happen on the national highways outside the cities.

Roads are designated by an ‘M' for motorway, ‘N' for national roads and highways (major routes that criss-cross the country) and ‘R' for the smaller yet still key routes. Local roads, including gravel or dirt tracks, are commonly designated by a ‘C' or ‘D', if they are listed at all. The legal driving age is 18 years, though if hiring a car, most companies require drivers to be at least 23. Driving is on the left and seat belts must be worn at all times. The speed limit on highways is 120kph (75mph), 80-100kph (50-62mph) on national roads and 60kph (37mph) in urban areas. Foreign licences are valid if they are printed in English and have a photograph of the holder; otherwise an International Driving Permit is essential. Licences must be carried at all times. Mandatory Personal Accident Insurance is included in the price of the petrol, however, drivers should not rely on this and extra insurance is highly recommended. Drink-driving penalties are strict and visitors should note that the maximum legal alcohol to blood ratio for driving is 0.05%.

Foreign drivers need to be aware that car hijacking is rampant in South Africa. Doors should be locked at all times and picking up hitchhikers should be completely avoided. Unfortunately, it is essential for drivers to carry cash, as petrol stations do not accept credit cards. Nevertheless, almost all petrol stations provide ATM machines. Petrol stations are not self service and petrol attendants are on hand to fill up tanks, wash windscreens and check oil and water; a small tip is customary.

The Automobile Association of South Africa (AA) (tel: (021) 419 6914; website: www.aasa.co.za) provides general information on road travel in South Africa.

Emergency breakdown service:
AA (tel: 0838 4322/THEAA) yellow SOS telephones are available along major routes.

Routes to the city: There are three main routes leading into Cape Town. These are the N1 from the Winelands (Paarl and Franschhoek) and northern destinations, such as the Karoo and Johannesburg, the N2 from the airport, Somerset West and the Overberg via the Garden Route, and the N7 from the West Coast and Namibia.

Approximate driving times to Cape Town: From Somerset West - 30 minutes; Paarl - 45 minutes; Franschhoek - 1 hour; Johannesburg - 17 hours.

Coach services: Cape Town is linked by air-conditioned, deluxe and standard bus services to all major destinations in South Africa, including Johannesburg, Durban and Port Elizabeth, as well as some international destinations, such as Bulawayo and Harare in Zimbabwe, Maputo in Mozambique and Windhoek in Namibia. Cape Town Station, Adderley Street, is the departure point for all bus services. Service providers include Intercape (tel: (021) 380 4400 or 08612 87287; website: www.intercape.co.za), Greyhound (tel: (011) 276 8500 or 08391 59000; website: www.greyhound.co.za), and Translux (tel: 08615 89282; website: www.translux.co.za). The national booking agency Computicket (tel: (021) 915 8000 or 08391 58000; website: www.computicket.com), which has branches in most shopping malls including the V&A Waterfront, provides centralised information and reservations for inter-city bus routes. The Baz Bus (tel: (021) 439 2323; website: www.bazbus.com) is a jump-on-jump-off bus service aimed at backpackers and picks up and drops off from Cape Town's backpacker hostels. It runs along the coast between Cape Town and Durban, from where there are two routes to Johannesburg.