If Addo is your last stop on a Cape Town and Garden Route trip, price a flight from Gqeberha before committing to a return drive. It can save a long stretch of backtracking. The decision comes down to your flight connection, the one-way car hire quote and whether you can reach the airport without rushing your final safari.

Reviewed by Aqua Terra on 4 November 2026.

Featured photograph: elephants in Addo, Martinvl, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Display crop under the same licence.

Compare the whole journey before you book the car

Quote the same car and dates twice: once with collection and return in Cape Town, and once with collection in Cape Town and return at Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport in Gqeberha, code PLZ. Airports Company South Africa lists car hire at the airport. Confirm the exact branch and return hours with your supplier. Avis explains its one-way fee for returns to a different location; get the full quote for your booking rather than assuming a fixed charge across firms.

Fly out of Gqeberha: add the one-way fee, airfare for everyone, checked bags and any overnight stop before your onward flight.
Drive back to Cape Town: add the extra fuel, any mileage charges, meals and a realistic overnight stop if needed. Include the value of the holiday time spent returning west.
Check the onward ticket: ask the airline what happens if the first flight is late. A domestic leg bought separately from an international departure can leave you arranging your own replacement if you miss the second flight. With separate tickets, consider an overnight buffer.

SANParks puts the Cape Town-to-Addo drive at about nine hours. Use that as an indication of scale, before stops and traffic. A loop still makes sense if you want to visit different places on the way back and have the time for them. For coastal bases and night allocations, start with our Garden Route itinerary guide.

Pick the gate for your overnight stay

Check the exact location of your booking before driving to Addo. SANParks advises using the N2 via Colchester for Matyholweni or approaching Main Camp via Paterson and the R342 when travelling from Gqeberha. Follow the park's published directions for the gate you need. The drive through the park between the southern gate and Main Camp is a safari route with slow speeds, so leave time for it. The park also lists vehicle restrictions for that route; confirm them if you are towing or travelling in a bus.

SANParks publishes separate entrance and game-area information. Confirm the times at your camp for your dates. A November traveller asked whether a southern entry, sunset outing, sunrise outing and airport transfer fit around one night. Give yourself one main safari outing that works even if you arrive late. Treat a second drive as optional and leave when the airport plan says to go.

Choose your last night around your flight

For an early flight, sleep in Gqeberha. Finish the park visit the day before. You remove the risk of relying on a gate opening, a long road transfer and a rental return before check-in. If you are leaving Addo for a later flight, confirm the route with reception, decide whether you need to refuel and set a departure time from the camp. Give the hire company time to check the vehicle and keep your return receipt.

Gqeberha rooftops and a South African flag from Donkin Terrace

View from Donkin Terrace, Gqeberha: Kay-africa, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

A night in the city can be part of the holiday. If you arrive with daylight and time for a guided outing, see our Donkin heritage guide. For the Cape Town end of the route, allow time for the peninsula before heading east. If you want to base that part of your holiday in Simon's Town, check availability at Aqua Terra.