Car rental at Johannesburg Airport
Frequently Asked Questions
Johannesburg Airport (also known as O.R. Tambo International Airport) is a gateway not only to Johannesburg itself, but also to the whole of South Africa. Many visitors pick up a hire car from the airport, so they have the freedom to discover this fascinating part of Africa at their leisure.
Just over 12 miles (20km) from the city centre, Johannesburg Airport is the busiest airport in South Africa — boasting an annual capacity of 24 million passengers. Each year, we help many of those travellers find exclusive car hire deals, from many different companies, across a range of car groups.
We help you compare prices from a number of car hire companies at Johannesburg Airport, from major brands like Hertz, Budget and Thrifty, to local firms such as Bidvest and First Car Rental. We bring you exclusive prices all year round, with no credit card charges.
Cars often come as part of a special offer to give you even better value for money (such as an additional driver or zero-excess Collision Damage Waiver at no extra cost).
Price isn’t the only factor, of course. Read the customer reviews by each deal on our site and you can see exactly what other people think of each company — so you get impartial advice that will help you make an informed choice when deciding who to rent with.
Remember: if you book a car with a full-to-full fuel policy (there are plenty of cars with this fuel policy at Johannesburg Airport), you will avoid paying any hidden fuel charges — as long as you drop the car off with a full tank.
There is an excellent range of car groups for you to choose from at the airport. From practical mini and economy cars (great for city driving), to SUVs and roomy people carriers, there is a car to suit everyone. To make the search for your ideal hire car even easier, use the filters on the left-hand side of the search results page; you can narrow the results down based on supplier, rating, pick-up location, size, fuel policy and specifications (like air conditioning and automatic transmission).
- You can drive from the airport to the city in around half an hour.
- Leaving the airport involves navigating a lot of ‘spaghetti’ junctions, so if you are unfamiliar with the area, you might want to request a GPS.
- Traffic (both around the airport and in Johannesburg itself) is at its worst from 6.30am to 9am, and 3.30pm to 6.30pm, so try and avoid driving between those times if you can.
- There are a number of fuel stations around the airport if you need to re-fill the car before dropping it off.
- Make sure your hire car has air conditioning to keep you comfortable in the heat. Johannesburg is warm all year round, but the hottest time is October-March.
- When booking your hire car, don’t forget to consider how much luggage space you will need, along with the number of people in your party.