Book point-to-point when you have one fixed trip, such as an airport transfer or a single drive to a meeting, and nobody needs the vehicle afterwards. Book hourly, by the half day or full day, when you have several stops, waiting in between, or a programme that might change. In Cape Town the turning point usually comes at the third leg of the day, or as soon as the driver would otherwise drive away and come back.
The real question is who carries the risk of the day changing. On a point-to-point booking, that risk is yours. On an hourly booking, it is built into the hire.
Point-to-point vs hourly chauffeur: the difference
| Point-to-point | Hourly (half day or full day) | |
|---|---|---|
| What you book | A trip from A to B at a set time | The vehicle and driver for a block of time |
| How it is priced | A fixed fee for the trip, per vehicle | A day rate per vehicle, with set hours and kilometres |
| Waiting | Only what the trip includes | The driver waits as part of the hire |
| Changes on the day | Usually a new booking | A message to the driver or concierge |
| Best for | Airport runs, a dinner, a single meeting | Meeting days, tours, events, roadshows |
At West Landau, airport transfers are point-to-point at a fixed fee per zone and per vehicle, with the first 60 minutes after actual touchdown included. Hourly hire comes in two blocks. A half day is five hours and 100 km inside the Cape Town metro. A full day is ten hours and 250 km, which covers the metro, the Winelands, Cape Point and the Whale Route to Hermanus. Time or distance beyond the block is billed at the overtime and distance rates on the quote.
When point-to-point is the right booking
Point-to-point is the sensible choice when the trip is self-contained:
- An arrival or departure at Cape Town International.
- A transfer from the airport to a Winelands hotel, with nothing else planned that day.
- Dinner out and back, with a fixed collection time agreed in advance.
- A single meeting, after which you are staying put.
In these cases, paying for the driver's time between trips buys nothing. If you are travelling light, alone, and to a central address, an e-hailing car may well be enough for the shorter of these. A private transfer earns its place when the arrival needs to go right the first time, with luggage, children, guests or a schedule. What a private airport transfer in Cape Town includes explains the detail.
When hourly hire is the right booking
Hourly hire becomes the better option as soon as the day has moving parts:
- Three or more legs. Hotel to a meeting, on to lunch, on to a second meeting. Each leg as a separate booking means a separate wait for the vehicle.
- Waiting at each stop. Meetings, tastings, a site visit. With hourly hire the driver stays close to the vehicle and is ready when messaged.
- An uncertain finish. A dinner that may run late, a meeting that may overrun. The vehicle is there when you are.
- Luggage or materials left in the vehicle. Samples, presentation kit, shopping, golf bags. They stay in the vehicle between stops.
- A group that may split. With two vehicles on hourly hire, part of the group can leave early.
Tours and Winelands days are always hourly in practice. A day of tastings in Stellenbosch, for example, involves several stops and a driver who waits at each one. Our guide to half day or full day chauffeur bookings helps choose the block.
Three Cape Town days, worked through
A director with one meeting. Lands at 08:30, a meeting at Century City from 10:00 to 12:00, then a flight out at 14:30. Two point-to-point transfers work if the meeting ends on time, but the director may wait for the second car. A half day, five hours and 100 km in the metro, covers the arrival, the meeting and the return, so this is a close call. If the meeting might run long, take the half day.
A day of four meetings across the city. Waterfront at 09:00, Claremont at 11:00, lunch in Constantia, the CBD at 15:30. Booking each leg separately means four waits and possibly four different drivers. A full day keeps one driver and vehicle throughout and absorbs a meeting that moves.
A Winelands lunch for clients. Collection in the city at 10:30, lunch in Franschhoek, back for 17:00. Franschhoek is about 75 km from the CBD, about an hour outside peak traffic. The whole day sits inside a full day of ten hours and 250 km, with the driver waiting at the estate.
As directed, and the multi-day booking
Hourly hire is sometimes called an as-directed booking: you direct the driver through the day rather than booking fixed trips. What an as-directed chauffeur booking means covers how it works in practice.
For visits of several days, a multi-day booking runs at a discounted daily rate with one dedicated driver per vehicle for the whole booking. That suits roadshows and conference weeks, where the driver learns the routine by the second morning.
Common questions
Is hourly hire always more expensive?
Not always. For one trip, point-to-point costs less. For a day of several trips with waiting, a single day rate is often comparable to several separate transfers, and it removes the waiting between them. The concierge can quote both so you can compare.
What happens if we run over the hours?
Overtime is billed per hour and extra distance per km at the rates on the quote. The driver does not let it run without the concierge knowing.
Can I start with transfers and switch to hourly?
Yes. Tell the concierge as soon as the plan changes, and the booking is requoted.
How far does a full day reach?
A full day of 250 km covers the metro, the Winelands, Cape Point and the Whale Route to Hermanus. Further afield is quoted individually. For more on how pricing is built, see how a private driver is priced in Cape Town.
To get the right booking, send the concierge the date, the addresses in order, the times you know and how many people are travelling. The reply is a written quote, and if hourly hire suits better, it will say so. The corporate chauffeur page sets out the day blocks.