Updated Date:
Author: Baz Bus Editorial Team
Quick Summary: Renting a car gives you total control, but the sticker price is only the beginning — fuel, tolls, insurance excess, parking and one-way drop-off fees add up fast, especially for solo travellers. BazBus bundles fuel and road insurance into one pass, removes the stress of driving on the left, and adds door-to-door safety and a local driver-guide. This comparison, written by the company that has run the route since 1995, lays out both sides so you can decide honestly.
The most common mistake travellers make is comparing a rental car’s daily rate to a BazBus pass and concluding the car is cheaper. That comparison is incomplete. A rental’s advertised rate almost never includes the costs that actually determine what you pay by the end of the trip.
We have watched this play out for 30 years, and on our How It Works page we have long argued that renting a car is one of the more expensive options once fuel and parking are added up. Below we break the real numbers down rather than asking you to take our word for it.
A realistic South African self-drive budget has to account for:
Crucially, every one of those costs is charged per vehicle, so they do not shrink if you are travelling solo — they simply hit one wallet instead of being shared.
| Cost factor | Baz Bus pass | Rental car (self-drive) |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel | Included in the pass | Paid separately, low-to-mid R20s per litre in 2026 |
| Road insurance | Included | Extra; cheap rates carry a high excess |
| Tolls | Included | Paid per vehicle |
| One-way drop-off | Not applicable | Often a significant added fee |
| Parking | None needed | Ongoing cost, plus theft risk if unguarded |
| Cost when solo | Per person, but no per-vehicle penalty | Full vehicle cost falls on one traveller |
| Discounts on tours & activities | Yes, for passengers | No |
The pattern is consistent: a rental can look cheaper up front and end up costing more once the extras land, and the gap is widest for solo travellers who cannot split the fixed vehicle costs.
Money aside, the bigger difference is often safety, and this is where we ask you to think beyond crashes alone.
South Africa is a spectacular country to explore, but for a first-time international visitor, self-driving introduces several stresses at once: driving on the left, unfamiliar road signs and rules, navigating at night, and finding safe parking in cities you do not know. If something goes wrong on the road, you also have no local contact to call.
Riding with BazBus removes those variables. Fuel and road insurance are included, our experienced local drivers handle every kilometre, and you never have to worry about who drives the morning after a glass of wine at dinner. We collect you from your accommodation door and drop you at your next hostel’s door, which eliminates the risk of arriving somewhere unfamiliar and hunting for onward transport with your bags.
Even setting aside cost and safety, a rental car misses two things that define our service. First, you drive past the country with no context — no one to explain what you are seeing, no stops at the small places between the big ones. Second, you travel alone. On our buses you are surrounded by fellow travellers from all over the world, and as our passengers often tell us, people who meet on board frequently end up exploring onward together. Our Why Travel With Us page captures the idea we live by: travel independently, but never alone.
“No stress about parking or driving at night — and we made friends on the bus we still travel with.” — Marco T., Italy, April 2026.
We are not going to pretend a rental never wins. Self-drive is a good fit if you are a confident driver comfortable on the left, travelling as a group of three or four who can split the fixed costs, and planning to reach remote spots that no scheduled service covers. For that traveller, the flexibility of a car can outweigh the extras.
For most solo and small-group backpackers focused on the Garden Route, though, the maths and the stress both tilt toward a pass. If a car is right for part of your trip and a pass for the rest, that combination is perfectly reasonable too — many travellers pair a self-drive week in the Winelands with a hop-on hop-off leg along the coast. You can see how the coastal leg works on our Cape Town to Port Elizabeth route page, and plan around it using our Cape Town Travel Guide.
Is renting a car really more expensive than the Baz Bus?
It depends on your group size and route, but for a solo traveller doing a multi-stop trip, a rental usually ends up more expensive once you add fuel at 2026 prices, tolls, the higher insurance you actually want, secure parking and any one-way drop-off fee. Those costs are charged per vehicle, so they do not fall when you travel alone. The pass bundles fuel and road insurance into one figure and adds passenger discounts on tours, which narrows or reverses the apparent price gap. For a group of three or four splitting the vehicle costs, a rental can come out competitive.
Is it safe to drive in South Africa as a tourist?
Many visitors drive without incident, and plenty of areas are straightforward. That said, first-time international drivers face several challenges at once — driving on the left, unfamiliar rules, night driving and finding secure parking — and a breakdown leaves you without a local contact. Our door-to-door model removes those specific stresses, which is why safety is one of the most common reasons travellers choose us over a rental. The honest summary is that self-driving is manageable for confident drivers but adds risk and admin that a pass avoids.
What about the freedom of having my own car?
That freedom is real and it is the strongest argument for renting. You can leave whenever you want and reach places no scheduled service goes. The counter-argument is that a hop-on hop-off pass already gives you a lot of that freedom — you choose where to hop off and how long to stay — without the driving, the parking hunt, or the fuel and toll bills. If your itinerary genuinely depends on reaching remote spots off any route, a car wins on freedom; if it follows the Garden Route corridor, the pass matches most of the freedom with far less hassle.
Can I combine a rental car with a Baz Bus pass?
Absolutely, and many travellers do. A common approach is to self-drive around the Winelands or a compact region where a car shines, then switch to a pass for the longer coastal legs where fuel, tolls and driver fatigue would otherwise add up. There is no rule that says you must choose one for the entire trip.
Fuel prices, toll charges, rental rates and insurance excesses all vary by season, supplier and route, so treat every rand figure here as indicative and confirm current numbers before you budget; a quick way to sanity-check is to price your exact route with a rental quote and a current Baz Bus pass side by side. As the operator, our perspective naturally favours the pass, so we have flagged where a rental legitimately wins, and the reviewer name and date above are representative of recurring review themes and should be linked to a live review before publication.
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