Swaziland/ Eswatini Driving Advice and Car Hire Info
Driving in Swaziland /Eswatini
You can drive using your home countries licence or an International Driving Permit.Swaziland drives on the left hand side of the road. Main roads are in reasonable condition but smaller roads may be in a poor state of repair. Around a third of the country’s 3600km of roads are paved. The main road is the MR3 which runds from Ngwenya on the border with South Africa via Mbabane, Manzini, Hlane to Lomashasha and the border with Mozambique.
The main problems you’ll face are poor standards of driving. Speed limits are often exceeded and drivers often disobey road rules. There have been a number of car jackings on the main roads from South Africa and Mozambique. You should be suspicious of anyone alerting you to a problem while driving. Try to drive to a place of safety before stopping. Also don’t pick up hitch hikers or stop to help motorists appealing for help-this is a favourite decoy for car-jackers. Avoid travel at night to avoid crime but also as roads are often poorly lit, as are vehicles. Also stray animals may be wandering in the road at any time but will present a major hazard at night.If you travel in a vehicle other than one registered in Eswatini, you will have to complete a customs declaration form at border posts on entry and departure. A road fund levy of E50 is payable at the border. You must carry with you in the vehicle at all times proof of your customs declaration and payment of the road fund levy.
Although I try and keep the information in the site updated as much as possible, in a rapidly moving world, situations can change daily. Therefore please use the site as an approximate guide, and in conjunction with other resources in order to form your view on driving conditions, roads, safety etc.
Swaziland /Eswatini Car Rental –
National and Alamo have outlets in Mababane and Nelspruit. Avis have an office in Manzini, Europcar have an office in Mababane. Also usually features on Car rental broker sites and Web discount sites such as Expedia
Swaziland Self Drive Rules-
Most of the big companies will allow cars to be taken to South Africa and one way rentals should also be possible.
We currently have no local car rental partners in Eswatini. If you are a local car rental company who would like to feature on DriverAbroad.com please check details on our Partnering page or contact us on ADriverAbroad@Outlook.com.