Car hire Pretoria

Introduction

Pretoria is often called the capital of South Africa, but officially it's only the country's administrative capital (the legislative capital is Cape Town and the judicial one Bloemfontein). One of the main places of interest is the Voortrekker Monument, a huge memorial dedicated to the Voortrekkers, the whites from Dutch descent who traveled from the Cape Province to the east.

Population

Officially Pretoria isn't an independent municipality; the city is part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality which has approximately 2 million inhabitants. Pretoria itself has a population of approximately 600,000.

Location

Pretoria is located in the northeast of South Africa, about 50 kilometers north of Johannesburg. The city is situated in a warm, sheltered and fertile valley surrounded by hills.

Economy

As the country's administrative capital, it's not surprising that the government is the largest employer of Pretoria, coupled with the foreign embassies and diplomatic services. It's also an educational center: the city houses two universities and other institutes for higher education. Pretoria has mainly heavy industry: iron and copper foundries, steel factories, automotive industry and engineering.

Airports

The nearest airport is OR Tambo International Airport, near Johannesburg. It's situated about 45 kilometers south of Pretoria's center and is easily reachable by rental car via the Albertina Sisulu Highway (R21). The way and exit to the airport are clearly signposted.

Public Transport

Since August 2011, public transport in Gauteng Province has significantly improved with the introduction of the Gautrain network. It's a sort of subway which links Johannesburg with Pretoria. There are also buses from the subway stations to other destinations. For security reasons we advise against using the minibuses which traverse the city. The bus connections with other cities, mostly via Johannesburg, are good. The luxury trains of Blue Train connect Pretoria with Cape Town.

Traffic and Parking

Especially between Pretoria and Johannesburg traffic is busy. It's hoped that traffic will decrease once more people choose to travel between the two cities by Gautrain. Pretoria has several parking lots and garages, but always choose a closely watched parking facility. The city lies nearby junctions of several freeways, making it easy to reach other destinations in the country by rental car.

Hotels

Pretoria has an enormous choice of accommodations, mainly midrange and luxury hotels, but you can also find basic guesthouses. It may be difficult to find a suitable hotel room, especially in the higher category, when important meetings of the parliament or other state events are ongoing. Hotels in the nearby Centurion (south of Pretoria) may then be a solution.

External Sources

For more information about Pretoria, we recommend Google and the following sources:

• Wikipedia, Pretoria
• Official website Pretoria
• Tourist Information Pretoria