Car hire Cape Town: 7 reasons to rent a car

Car hire Cape Town is the only way to fully experience the wonders of the Cape. Cape Town’s attractions are scattered all over the city and are most easily (and affordably) accessible by car. Here are seven reasons you’ll want to be driving around Cape Town at your leisure:

Cape Town Beaches

The Atlantic Seaboard looks like something out of a Mediterranean travel guide: white, sandy beaches, azure waters, dramatic rock faces and magnificent mountains that rise out of the ocean. Not for nothing is this stretch of coastline known as known as Cape Town’s “Riviera”. While the beaches are warm and inviting, the invigorating water temperature is enough to revive anyone from a lazy day of sun and sand! For a proper exploration of the “Riviera”, you’ll definitely need car hire Cape Town.

V&A Waterfront

A trip to Cape Town is incomplete without a visit to the V&A Waterfront. The Waterfront is a hugely popular entertainment centre situated in Cape Town’s working harbour. The upmarket shopping centre exudes class and offers a variety of boutique shops, swanky restaurants and specialty stores. There are also theatres, movies, pubs and craft markets, as well as local live music.

Table Mountain

Top of every Cape Town tourist’s wish-list should be “stand of top of Table Mountain”. You can choose to summit the top by cable-car or hike. Whichever you choose, do not forget your camera! The cable-car is quite an experience as it rotates 360 degrees while it ascends and descends the mountain. On top of Table Mountain you’ll find a number of paths leading you through the fynbos to incredible lookout points over Cape Town and surrounds.

Chapman’s Peak Drive

Chapman’s Peak Drive is a breathtaking route connecting Hout Bay and Noordhoek. The road is cut into the side of the mountain, and driving along it offers unbelievable panoramic views of the beaches and Atlantic Ocean below. There are a number of places to stop along the way; ideal for taking photos or having a picnic. You’ll want your own rental car to make the most of this glorious drive.

Robben Island

Robben Island is famous for being the prison-home of Nelson Mandela for 27 years of his sentence. Park at the harbour and take a ferry across to the island for a cultural and historical tour of the life of this fascinating island. There are four ferries a day, weather permitting. The tour includes a return boat trip across Table Bay, visiting the prison, a guided bus ride and an exploration of the Murray’s Bay harbour attractions.

Kirstenbosch

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden is something of a celebrity in the world of Botanical Gardens. 528 hectares in size, it extends up onto the side of Table Mountain and across to the green suburb of Newlands. The garden is completely indigenous with 36 hectares of cultivated gardens while the rest is natural, wild flora.

The Kirstenbosch gardens include:

• Peninsula Garden
• Water-wise Garden
• Fragrance Garden
• Medicinal Garden
• The Dell
• Protea Garden
• Restio Garden
• Useful Plants Garden
• Van Riebeek’s Hedge

During summer, (December to March), Kirstenbosch hosts a variety of well-attended sunset concerts. Kirstenbosch is easy to get to by car and there is plenty of parking.

Wine routes

Car hire Cape Town gives you the freedom to travel the local wine routes as you like.

Cape Point Wine Route

The Cape Point Wine Route serves the Cape Point Wine District. The natural climate and local sea winds cause the grapes to ripen slowly, resulting in excellent wines that have won both local and international awards.

Constantia wine route

The Constantia Wine Route covers five historical and renowned vineyards dating back to the late 1600s: Groot Constantia; Klein Constantia, Constantia Uitsig, Steenberg and Buitenverwachting. The farms have wonderful restaurants for lunches and tea, and of course there is plenty of wine-tasting opportunity! Take the time to visit the Wine Museum and to marvel over excellent examples of traditional Cape Dutch architecture on this route.

Choose car hire Cape Town for the freedom and independence to make the most of your stay in the Cape.