The R5,000 difference between driving and flying from Joburg to Cape Town

Johannesburg residents looking to travel to Cape Town within the next few weeks will have to choose between driving and flying, with one option saving them up to R4,824.

Choosing between the two also depends on the reason for your travel, as someone travelling alone or in a group will pay the same amount to drive there and back, while flying will cost a group significantly more.

Those who choose to drive right now will also benefit from July’s petrol price decreases, making it considerably cheaper to visit the Mother City than it was last month.

That being said, using Central Johannesburg as a starting point for motorists in Gauteng, the journey to Cape Town will cover roughly 1,397km along the N1 and take shy of 15 hours, while flying will take around 2 hours.

That is without considering travel time to and from the airport, baggage check and collection, boarding, taxiing, and disembarking.

Factoring in the distance and the current inland R26.10 per litre 95-octane petrol price, this is how much you can expect to pay to make the trip, depending on your car’s fuel consumption:

While these totals already represent a major financial undertaking, the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) increased toll fees in February.

As a result, passing through the four toll gates along the N1 – Grasmere in Gauteng, Vaal and Verkeerdevlei in the Free State, and the Huguenot Tunnel in the Western Cape – will add R252 in either direction.

This total is broken down as follows:

• Grasmere – R27.50
• Vaal – R91.50
• Verkeerdevlei – R78.50
• Huguenot – R54.50

Considering all of these factors, driving from Joburg to Cape Town can cost as little as R2,079 either way, or as much as R3,906, totalling between R4,158 and R7,812 for a round trip

What it costs to fly instead

To compare what a solo flying traveller can expect to spend, TopAuto used Google Flights data to compare the best rates for flights with every major airline for a flight booked around a week in advance.

Booking flights from O.R. Tambo International Airport (ORTIA) to Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) on Friday, 3 July, to depart on Monday, 13 July, flyers can expect to pay less than those driving.

Our search was filtered for a single adult travelling one-way in economy class from Johannesburg to Cape Town.

This practice is particularly popular on the Joburg-Cape Town route, with working professionals often travelling between Gauteng and Cape Town for work.

Below are the best results for FlySafair, Lift, South African Airways (SAA), CemAir, and Airlink, booked on 3 July.

Note that these figures are accurate at the time of writing and are subject to change based on the time and day you book:

Unsurprisingly, FlySafair, the country’s largest domestic air carrier, proved to be the cheapest option at R1,494, which is a little over R300 and 13 hours saved compared to driving.

Flying from Joburg to Cape Town with Airlink is the only option that will cost you more than driving.

For those who will need to return to South Africa’s richest province, these were the cheapest return ticket results for each airline:

This time around, South African Airways (SAA) offered the best value for money, charging the same amount as FlySafair did flying to Cape Town – R1,494.

Flying back to Gauteng works out cheaper than visiting Cape Town, with the most expensive ticket back costing only R1,719 with Lift.

Considering all of these factors, boarding with the cheapest available tickets to and from Cape Town will cost about R2,988, which is considerably less than the cheapest round-trip drive at R4,158.

Those choosing to fly instead of drive can expect to save at least R1,170, depending on their car’s fuel efficiency, as some motorists can save up to R4,824 if they fly instead of driving a less efficient vehicle.