How much it costs to drive from Johannesburg to Durban with record-high petrol prices

South Africa’s fuel prices are at an all-time high, with one litre of 95 petrol costing inland consumers R17.39.

This can quickly lead to a road trip becoming pricey.

While travelling in South Africa has certain restrictions at the moment, these will be lifted – and one of the country’s most popular routes from Johannesburg to Durban will be used once again.

Below, we take this hypothetical trip to see what you will need to budget.

The route

The road trip between Johannesburg and Durban is around 570km long, making the round trip 1,140km.

On your way there, you will drive through five toll gates as well as four e-tolls in the Gauteng province.

This comes to a total of 10 toll gates and eight e-tolls for a round trip from the Buccleuch interchange in Johannesburg to Durban using the N3.

The car

For our vehicle, we are driving the VW Polo Vivo 1.4 Trendline – as it is the country’s best-selling passenger vehicle for 2021 thus far.

It will also let us compare how much travelling costs have increased when compared to February 2021.

The Polo Vivo’s 1.4-litre petrol engine generates 55kW and 130Nm, and achieves a 5.7l/100km fuel consumption.

According to this figure, we will use 32.49 litres of petrol on our way to Durban – and roughly 65 litres for the round trip.

The fees

According to Sanral, the current toll gate tariffs for the Johannesburg-Durban route are as follows:

• De Hoek – R53.00 
• Wilge – R73.00
• Tugela – R78.00
• Mooi – R55.00
• Marianhill – R13.00

The GFIP e-toll tariffs between Buccleuch interchange and the Gauteng border for a registered e-toll user travelling during weekdays are as follows:

• One-way – R11.88
• Return trip – R23.76

For those road users that are unregistered for e-tolls, these prices will double.

Inland 95 petrol pricing, as stated on the Automobile Association website, is R17.39 per litre.

The price

Detailed below are the total costs for a round trip from Johannesburg to Durban via the N3 Freeway in a Polo Vivo.

Notable differences, when compared to February 2021, include the increase in prices of both petrol and e-tolls.