How much it costs to drive from Johannesburg to Durban at R24 per litre
South Africans planning to make the trip from Johannesburg to Durban can expect to pay a minimum of R1,035 for their efforts with a fuel-efficient car, and twice that by the time they make it home.
The cost of travel reached a new high point over the last few years as petrol prices exploded and toll gate rates crept up at an alarming rate.
The one consolation is that fuel costs are not the worst they’ve ever been, as petrol saw an appreciable dip of R1.24 per litre this month, but there’s no doubt that planning a holiday is still an expensive endeavour for the average motorist.
City to coast at R24 per litre
The journey from central Gauteng to the coastline in Durban is roughly 584km long and will take just over six hours.
The inland price of petrol 95, the most popular option for local motorists, is currently set at R24.25 per litre for petrol as of June 2024.
We can use this figure to calculate the travel cost at different consumption rates:
| Efficiency | Fuel needed | One-way trip | Return trip |
| 5.0l/100km | 29.20 litres | R708 | R1,416 |
| 6.0l/100km | 35.04 litres | R850 | R1,699 |
| 7.0l/100km | 40.88 litres | R991 | R1,983 |
| 8.0l/100km | 46.72 litres | R1,133 | R2,266 |
| 9.0l/100km | 52.56 litres | R1,275 | R2,549 |
| 10.0l/100km | 58.40 litres | R1,416 | R2,832 |
| 11.0l/100km | 64.24 litres | R1,558 | R3,116 |
| 12.0l/100km | 70.08 litres | R1,699 | R3,399 |
| 13.0l/100km | 75.92 litres | R1,841 | R3,682 |
The fuel expenditure does not tell the whole story though, as there are five main toll gates dotted along the N3 towards Durban.
These are the up-to-date fees for each of the toll booths:
- Mooi – R66
- Wilge – R88
- Tugela – R94
- De Hoek – R63
- Marian Hill – R15.50
The combined total for these checkpoints is R326.50. Thankfully, e-tolls were finally scrapped this April so they no longer add to the tab.
We can therefore deduce that it will cost between R1,035 and R2,168 to drive from Joburg to Durban in June 2024, depending on the efficiency of your wheels.
The end result is that you will pay between R2,069 and R4,335 for the round trip from Johannesburg to Durban with petrol and toll prices where they are at the moment.
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