Frequently asked questions

A car and a vetted driver by the day, booked and paid for online. Altas Drive is a joint venture: Setsgo (Pty) Ltd sources the vehicles and drivers and runs the trips, and Novo Lab (Pty) Ltd runs the booking platform and takes the payments. Our office is at Ground Floor Waterstone Building Stonemill Office Park, 300 Acacia Rd, Darrenwood, Randburg, Gauteng 2195, South Africa.

All nine South African provinces, and six neighbouring countries: Eswatini, Lesotho, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, and Malawi. Your day can start in any province. The map on the home page shows roughly how long each trip takes by road.

We don't currently drive into Zimbabwe or Zambia. If your trip needs either, talk to us, because we may be able to arrange a local operator on that leg.

Professional drivers sourced and vetted by Setsgo. Every driver and vehicle listed with us must hold the licences, operating permits, roadworthy certificate and passenger liability insurance the law requires, and no driver is scheduled for more than 12 hours in a day.

The VW Kombi (up to 8 passengers), The Hyundai H1 (up to 8 passengers), The Hyundai Staria (up to 9 passengers), and The Mercedes-Benz V-Class (up to 7 passengers). The vehicle class you book is the class you get, or one better at the same price.

From R3 703 a day with our driver, within the province you start in, everything included. Every price is per vehicle per day and all in: the vehicle, the driver for up to 10 hours a day (12 when you leave the province you start in), and every fee. On a trip with overnight stays, your driver's accommodation and meals are never a separate bill: they are in the price, or shown as an extra before you pay. Cross-border trips and bookings longer than 14 days are priced by an agent before anything is payable. You see the exact price on the booking page before you give us any details.

Neither. You pay per vehicle per day, so a full car costs the same as a car with one passenger in it, and no meter runs while you're in a meeting. More days cost less per day, because the booking fees are charged once.

Up to 10 hours of driving and waiting when you stay in the province you start in, and up to 12 when you leave it. Tell us on the booking page how long your day is and the price includes it: each extra hour is about R53, and a day longer than 12 hours gets a second driver. Unplanned extra hours on the day are charged afterwards at the same rate.

Yes. The extras we offer are on the booking page, each with what it adds to your price, and they are part of the one total you pay. For anything that isn't listed, add a note for the driver when you book, or ask for it from your account afterwards.

On a trip with overnight stays, your driver's accommodation and meals are never a separate bill: they are in the price, or shown as an extra before you pay. A trip there and back in a day has nothing extra.

Novo Lab (Pty) Ltd is not registered for VAT, so no VAT is charged. The price you see is the price you pay.

On the booking page, in four steps: your day, your vehicle, your details, then review and pay the 50% deposit. You see the price from the first step.

A 50% deposit, paid by card on the booking page. The balance is only taken once your car and your driver are confirmed, so a booking nobody can fill never takes the rest of your money.

By email at every step. Paying the deposit holds the booking; we then confirm the car and the driver and email you their details. You can check where your booking stands any time on the Track a booking page.

Yes, but not straight off the booking page. Trips longer than 14 days are priced by an agent, who confirms the figure with you before anything is payable.

Yes. Put the traveller's name and mobile number on the booking so the driver can reach them, and make sure they know our terms: by booking for them you accept the terms on their behalf.

Yes. Add the company name on the booking page and it appears on the booking and the receipts. For regular or group travel, open a business account: colleagues book on it and pay from a prepaid balance.

Yes. Choose "Car only" on the booking page and you'll see the price straight away. We deliver the car and collect it when you're done. The price is the car's day rate plus a driver to bring it and a driver to fetch it, and you pay online like any other booking.

A valid driver's licence for whoever will drive, which the driver delivering the car checks at handover. You're responsible for the car, its fuel, tolls and fines, and any damage, until it is collected. We recommend our driver, who knows the roads and handles the fuel, tolls and parking.

By card on our secure payment page, run by our payment partner NjiaPay. By arrangement you can also pay by EFT. The name the payment shows under on your card statement is given in our terms, under paying.

The only place to pay is your booking page on our own website, which hands over to the payment provider's own page. We never email banking details, and we never ask for a card number by phone, email or message.

Yes. Every step is emailed: the booking request, the confirmed quote, the deposit, the confirmation with your driver, the balance and any refund. Your booking page always shows where the trip stands.

Once your car and driver are confirmed, their name, number and the vehicle registration are emailed to you. They are deliberately not shown on the booking page, which is keyed on a reference that gets read out on calls and pasted into chats.

At the pick-up address on your booking, at the time you gave. For an airport pick-up, put your flight number and terminal in the note to the driver.

Send us a message on the booking in your account. Your driver's day is the hours you booked, and waiting counts towards them, so a delay only costs extra if the day runs past those hours.

Cancel 7 or more days before your first day and your deposit is refunded in full. Inside 7 days the deposit is kept. The balance is only ever taken once your car and driver are confirmed, and if you have paid it, it is refunded in full whenever you cancel. You can cancel yourself in your account: it shows what comes back before you confirm.

Sign in to your account, open the booking and ask for the change there. We'll tell you whether it can be done, and whether the price changes, before anything is changed.

Then everything you have paid is refunded in full, whatever the date.

At least 5 days. Every trip out of South Africa carries a permit, a letter of authority and border insurance, and those are arranged by us before you travel. Cross-border trips are priced individually. Tell us where you are going and an agent confirms the cost, the permits and the border insurance before anything is payable.

Every passenger needs their own valid passport and any visa their destination requires. The vehicle's papers, permit and border insurance are ours to arrange.

Malawi is routed through Mozambique rather than the usual Zimbabwe corridor, which adds roughly two days of driving in each direction. Your quote is confirmed by an agent before anything is payable.