Should you rent a car in Africa Should You Hire a Car in Africa? This can be broken down into two similar questions - do you need a car in Africa (in other words, will your holiday be ruined without one), and is it worth hiring a car in Africa - in other words, is car rental better value than using public transport? We'll weigh up both questions and give you a response generated by Chat GPT, together with our own curated opinion before finally giving a yes or no verdict at the end.

	country
🇩🇿	Algeria
🇦🇴	Angola
🇧🇯	Benin
🇧🇼	Botswana
🇧🇫	Burkina Faso
🇧🇮	Burundi
🇨🇻	Cabo Verde
🇨🇲	Cameroon
🇪🇸	The Canary Islands
🇨🇻	The Cape Verde Islands
🇨🇫	The Central African Republic
🇪🇸	Ceuta
🇹🇩	Chad
🇰🇲	Comoros
🇨🇩	The Democratic Republic Of Congo
🇨🇬	The Republic of Congo
🇨🇮	Côte d'Ivoire
🇨🇩	The Democratic Republic Of Congo
🇩🇯	Djibouti
🇪🇬	Egypt
🇬🇶	Equatorial Guinea
🇪🇷	Eritrea
🇸🇿	Eswatini
🇪🇹	Ethiopia
🇬🇦	Gabon
🇬🇲	Gambia
🇬🇭	Ghana
🇬🇳	Guinea
🇬🇼	Guinea-Bissau
🇨🇮	The Ivory Coast
🇰🇪	Kenya
🇱🇸	Lesotho
🇱🇷	Liberia
🇱🇾	Libya
🇲🇬	Madagascar
🇲🇼	Malawi
🇲🇱	Mali
🇲🇷	Mauritania
🇲🇺	Mauritius
🇪🇸	Melilla
🇲🇦	Morocco
🇲🇿	Mozambique
🇳🇦	Namibia
🇳🇪	Niger
🇳🇬	Nigeria
🇨🇬	Republic of Congo
🇷🇼	Rwanda
🇸🇹	São Tomé and Príncipe
🇸🇳	Senegal
🇸🇨	Seychelles
🇸🇱	Sierra Leone
🇸🇴	Somalia
🇸🇴	Somaliland
🇿🇦	South Africa
🇸🇸	South Sudan
🇸🇭	St Helena
🇸🇩	Sudan
🇹🇿	Tanzania
🇹🇬	Togo
🇹🇳	Tunisia
🇺🇬	Uganda
🇪🇭	Western Sahara
🇿🇲	Zambia
🇿🇼	Zimbabwe

Travelling Africa is unlike any other continent. In some countries, renting a car gives you freedom, solitude, and those epic long horizons. In others, it’s a straight path to stress, checkpoints, or getting stuck in sand surrounded by hyenas. So here’s a friendly guide to where you should grab the wheel and where you should leave it to the locals, bush pilots, or safari guides.

🟢 Southern Africa – The Self-Drive Paradise

If you dream of open roads and dramatic scenery, start here. South Africa and Namibia are two of the very best self-drive countries on planet Earth. In South Africa, you can road trip from Cape Town’s wine country to the Garden Route or drive yourself around Kruger National Park. Just avoid city driving at night and always keep valuables out of sight. Namibia is even better if you love peace, desert landscapes and zero traffic—just you, your 4×4 and the world’s oldest dunes.

Botswana and Zambia are more rugged. Self-driving is possible, but only if you know what you’re doing with a 4×4 and don’t panic when you see lions blocking the track. Otherwise, most travellers fly into lodges and use their safari vehicles. Zimbabwe has amazing scenery but fuel shortages and checkpoints can make it feel like you’re on a Cold War mission rather than a holiday.

🟡 East Africa – Only Drive If You’re an Adventurer

This is safari country, and safaris here work differently. You don’t just drive yourself into the Serengeti—it’s strictly a guided game drive territory. Kenya and Tanzania are best enjoyed via internal flights and 4×4 transfers arranged by lodges. The roads can be chaotic, signage patchy, and you really do not want to be changing tyres next to a pride of lions.

Should you hire a car in Africa - picnic on safari — Picnic on safari

There is one exception: Rwanda. Small, organised, surprisingly smooth roads—and gorilla trekking areas are reachable with a hired car if you’re a confident driver. Uganda is borderline; it can be done but is better handled with a driver-guide.

🟠 North Africa – Smooth Roads Meets Total Chaos

Morocco is a superb self-drive country. You can rent a car in Marrakech and explore the Atlas Mountains, desert dunes, and blue cities at your own pace. Just drop the car before entering the old medinas—those are for donkeys and mopeds only.

Tunisia is also good for self-driving, especially along the coast and into the Sahara’s fringes. Egypt, however, is a big no. Cairo driving is a gladiatorial sport, and most desert routes require permits and armed convoys. Algeria and Libya are not self-drive destinations for tourists due to restrictions and instability.

🔴 West & Central Africa – Best Left to the Professionals

This region is not a road trip zone. Public transport systems are unreliable, roads can be unpredictable, and in some countries, there are security risks and police checkpoints every few miles. Ghana and Senegal are friendly and fascinating, but you’ll get far more out of them using drivers or domestic flights. Nigeria is one of the worst places in the world to attempt self-driving as a tourist—traffic, corruption, and personal safety concerns make it a definite no.

Do you need a car in Africa?

✅ **Where You Should Drive**

Namibia – epic solitude and lunar landscapes
South Africa – freedom with infrastructure
Morocco – mountains, deserts, coastlines
Rwanda – compact, organised, scenic
Tunisia – easy coastal highways

❌ Where You Definitely Shouldn’t

Nigeria
Egypt (especially Cairo)
DR Congo
Tanzania and Kenya (for safaris)
Ethiopia

✨ Final Rule

Should You Hire a Car in Africa? If your dream is open roads, starry skies and national parks where you choose your own pace—go for Namibia or South Africa.
If your dream is wildlife, culture or ancient history without stress—skip the car and let pilots, guides and drivers do the work.