Mbabane - Post Report Question and Answers
What kind of car do you recommend bringing to post, given the terrain, availability of parts, burglary/carjacking risks, etc.? What kind of car do you advise not to bring?
If you plan to do a lot of adventuring: Kruger, Wild Coast, Mozambique, bring a 4WD. If you plan to stay in the city, a car will be fine. We have one sedan and one SUV. - Oct 2019
I would recommend an SUV or a truck, something with decent ground clearance. The roads here are pretty terrible, especially during the rainy season. Pot holes can be huge, and there are random speed bumps everywhere. I would recommend bring or buying something relatively new, since finding decent mechanics here is difficult. A repair that would take two days in the U.S. takes a month here. You can ship some parts through the pouch, and you can get some on the local market in Swaziland and SA, but it wouldn't hurt to ship oil, filters, and other odds and ends you think you might need. - Mar 2015
Something with high clearance is better because the roads can be really awful, especially in the rainy season. - Feb 2011
I recommend a 4x4 so you can easily drive within game parks and to rural parts of the country (or Mozambique). The roads between most attractions around Mbabane are quite nice, and any car would do. - May 2010
One does need a 4X4 to get into the parks and to a few very rural villages. For everything else, though, any car is fine. - Mar 2008
