Car rental SA vs. Namibia

Thorn Tree forumCountry forumsAfricaNamibia
Enter custom title (optional)
This topic is locked
Last reply was
341
…
Send as an e-mail
Send as an e-mail
theoman2008
theoman2008

We are going on a road trip through Namibia and Botswana. We are flying in to Jo'burg and now have a choice:
1) renting a car in Jo'burg and driving to Namibia - Botswana and then back to Jo'burg
or
2) flying to Windhoek en renting a car there and driving a loop trough Namibia and Botswana back to Windhoek and fly back to Jo'burg.

Aside from the additional distance one would have to cover to get from Jo'burg to Windhoek by car, are there any other considerations such as price of car rental, quality of car rentals, etc?

Which car companies are recommended for hiring a 4x2 car in Windhoek?

View last reply
Report
1
rvgerven
rvgerven

I would definitely go for option 2. The drive from Joburg to Widhoek is around 1700 km and will take you at least 20 hours. I would reccommend you to spend those 20 hours in Windhoek or Joburg as the drive from Windhoek to Botswana and back is long enough!

Furthermore, if you plan to visit any National Parks you will probably need a 4 x 4. Unfortunately I can not reccommend you a car rental company in Windhoek.

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report
2
nathalie2
nathalie2

if dont plan to visit south africa, i would also suggest flying to windhoek (via joburg) and picking up your vehicle there. for namibia and botswana, you want to hire a 4x4 car with a roof tent.

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report
3
timvanseveren
timvanseveren

depending where you are in the netherlands, there are direct night flights to windhoek from frankfurt, very convenient
for namibia in any case you are definitely better off with a 4X4, lots of road is gravel, smaller roads "sand"

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report
4
quindio1961
quindio1961

We'll be in Windhoel May 14th and will like to take the loop to the northern part in about 7 days please contact us and we may share cost w/you guy if you'll be willing to be there on the 14 sorry but our dates r fixed

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report
5
wildtrips
wildtrips

Hi,
It really depends on your travel travel itinerary. One way car rentals are expensive, so you should really return the car where you picked it up. If you are planning a long road trip through Namibia and Botswana, you can have a circular itinerary starting and ending in Johannesburg.
Check this one for example: www.wildtrips.net/africa.htm
You can see from the map and the trip report that by renting the car in Johannesburg we had an initial long drive, but then it was all about enjoying Namibia and Botswana and Vic Falls. It was the best and cheapest solution.
Instead, if you stick to Namibia you'd better fly to Windhoek and rent a car there.
Enjoy your trip.

Copy and paste the url below to share the link.
Permalink to this post
Report
6
drivenamibia
This post has been removed because it may not have met our community guidelines.

This topic has been locked by a moderator.

Pro tip
Lonely Planet
trusted partner