See more of South Africa, your way
South Africa is home to some of the world's most exciting road trips, and hiring a car gives you the freedom to explore on your own terms. With the flexibility of car hire you can experience some of the must-see destinations of South Africa, from the wildlife of Kruger National Park to the scenic Garden Route, and the spectacular beauty of Cape Town.
Get ready to truly immerse yourself in the colours, cultures and characters of South Africa.
Partnered with Hertz, rent a car in South Africa and begin the adventure of a lifetime, navigating the legendary mountain ranges and coastlines that this beautiful nation is famous for!
Whether hitting the game reserves in a 4x4, touring the cities or making tracks to the penguin beaches on the outskirts of Cape Town, the easiest, most fun (and happily, best-value) way to tick South Africa off your bucket list is undoubtedly behind the wheel.
We've highlighted some key routes to get you started but believe us, there's plenty more road trips to discover. So what are you waiting for?
This classic route takes you through some of the most sublime landscapes anywhere in Southern Africa. Begin in Cape Town, before journeying into the captivating beauty of South Africa’s charming winelands and on to the coastal town of Hermanus. Spend some time in the Karoo region before travelling back along the breathtaking Garden Route, where Knysna, Plettenberg Bay and the stunning beauty of the Tsitsikamma National Park await.
Consider taking a few days to explore Cape Town, then trundle down to Hermanus to go whale spotting or get closer to a Great White on a cage dive before catching the scenic Route 62 through the Karoo desert. After all that driving, climb into a 4x4 and let your game ranger take over – it is definitely time to go on safari. We have a great choice of lodges that put on day and night safaris so you'll never run out of things to keep you busy in the great outdoors!
The Winelands stretch far and wide from Cape Town, but for us the main routes are around Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. Although Stellenbosch is a traditional Cape Dutch town, it has a large university so feels very youthful and fun. A bit further on Franschhoek has a traditional, upmarket French village feel, and our own Sir Richard Branson even has a hotel here.
Why not visit our South Africa page for inspiration on where you may want to take your rental car. Or take a look at our top flydrive deals in Cape Town and Johannesburg to find your perfect road trip holiday.
Flydrive deals
We have a range of Flydrives available across South Africa, from the dramatic Panorama Route to the stunning natural mountain ranges of the Western Cape. Or if a safari is on your list, start in Cape Town then take a meandering drive along the famous Garden Route ending in one of our wonderful game reserves.
Check our Flydrive deals or use the search bar above to find your perfect holiday.
Get your car hire sorted out as part of a South Africa holiday package and you’ve got everything you need for the ultimate driver's dream... What are you waiting for? Get that engine revved up and get going!
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We are continually reviewing our flying schedules, taking into account the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) advice against all non-essential travel. Depending on when you are due to travel, your holiday may be affected and we’ll email you to let you know as least 21 days before travel.
Your next holiday is only a click away - our website has thousands of options ready to book. But if you need more help, just give us a call on 0344 472 9646.
Looking for inspiration? Explore our destinations and holiday types and save your faves to your very own Wishlist. Or dive right in to our 2021 holiday offers.
Over the past few weeks, we have repatriated our customers from overseas who wanted to come home.
Please visit this page to keep up to date with the Government’s travel advice on returning to the UK, and to register for email alerts.
With many customers needing our help, we are prioritising those customers due to travel before 31 December 2020. Log in to Manage my booking where you can message us about your options or you can give us a call. Bear in mind you may have to wait longer than expected. We continue to review this and working to open up these options to more customers. In the meantime check out our FAQs to see if this can help answer any immediate questions.
Rest assured; we will notify you as soon as we know if your holiday has been affected by email.
We are continually reviewing our flying schedules, taking into account the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) advice against all non-essential travel. Depending on when you are due to travel, your holiday may be affected and we’ll email you to let you know as least 21 days before travel.
If you need to speak to us to change or cancel your booking you can call our team on 0344 472 9646 or chat to us on SMS/Whatspp via Manage my booking.
For the latest information on Covid-19 you can check our FAQs here.
Don’t worry if you’ve missed a payment or just need a little more time to pay; we have options available to help you. If your holiday is going ahead as planned, you can continue to pay for your holiday in Manage my booking, even if travelling in less than 12 weeks. If you’re unsure, you can delay any additional payments by choosing a new time to travel by requesting a call back in Manage My booking for one of our team to look at options. If your holiday is more than 6 months away, you may wish to set up a Direct Debit to spread the cost. This can be arranged whilst rebooking or afterwards in Manage my booking.
We understand that you may wish to change your holiday plans and we appreciate the need for flexibility.
We'll be in touch by email letting you know how to register to change your holiday plans. You can also log into Manage my booking to find the details there.
Please look out for emails from us or visit our dedicated Covid-19 (Coronavirus) page for the latest updates.
If we haven’t notified you of any changes, your holiday will be going ahead as planned but if you prefer to move your holiday to a later time we can help. You can call our team on 0344 472 9499 who can look at options for you.
Payments are being prioritised based on when the request was made, working in order from March 2020 onwards. We will always try to process refunds at the earliest opportunity, for requests before August our maximum timeframe is 120 days. As we are steadily reducing the maximum processing time for each new request, for refund requests made in August, we expect the maximum processing time to be 80 days, from the date the refund is requested. For those requesting a refund in September, we expect it to be processed within a maximum of 60 days, and then reduce to 30 days for refunds requested in October, before returning to normal levels.
To finalise the amendment, one of our customer advisors will phone you. We need to work through amend requests in departure date order so we can prioritise those with the most imminent travel plans, so you may have a longer wait than usual until we’re able to ring you back. We will help everyone that wants to move their holiday.
You can contact our team by emailing feedback.backhome@virginholidays.com to discuss options on unused portions of your holiday. If you need to contact our team about amending an existing holiday or requesting a refund please log in to manage my booking.
The easiest way to contact us while you are away is via WhatsApp. To get the conversation started, click the link and type "hello” .
or you can get in touch with our in-resort team during local opening hours
Find contact details for your location
Outside of local resort office hours you can call us in the UK +44 (0) 344 472 9626 (option 2) or email us duty.office@virginholidays.com
If you are in the USA or Canada please email: USAreps@virginholidays.com.
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