How much it costs to drive from Joburg to Cape Town this December

If you’re planning on making the long trek from Joburg to Cape Town by car this December, you’ll have to budget anywhere from R1,757 to R3,260 for fuel and tolls, with these costs doubling on your return trip.

The 1,400km route is one of, if not the most popular for holidaygoers over the festive season and will undoubtedly be packed with cars and trucks for the next few weeks.

If you’re going to be one of them, planning your expenses ahead of time can go a long way in ensuring your holidays remain happy.

Joburg to Cape Town

Using Sandton as our starting point, the journey to Cape Town’s city centre along the N1 highway spans 1,413km to be exact, which will take roughly 15 hours to complete provided you always adhere to the speed limits.

During the journey, you’ll pass through four toll gates comprising Grasmere in Gauteng, Vaal and Verkeerdevlei in the Free State, and Huguenot Tunnel in the Western Cape.

As of December 2024, the prices of these gates are as follows:

• Grasmere – R25.50
• Vaal – R84.50
• Verkeerdevlei – R72.50
• Huguenot – R50.50

The combined value for these plazas on a one-way trip amounts to R233, and when returning, it doubles to R466.

At the current price of R21.47 per litre for Petrol 95, this is what fuel will cost to travel from Joburg down to Cape Town, depending on your car’s frugality:

If the prices of both petrol and tolls are taken into account, we can deduce that it will cost between R1,757 and R3,260 for a one-way trip from the City of Gold to the Mother City this festive season.

For a return trip, this jumps to R3,515 for a car with an average efficiency of 5.0l/100km, and R6,521 for one that returns a reading of 10.0l/100km.