What it costs to drive from Joburg to Durban this December
The festive season is finally upon us, and many households are undoubtedly finalising their holiday plans after a long and exhausting year.
For people living in Gauteng, the holiday period means a chance to head down to the warm and sunny beaches in KwaZulu-Natal, but doing so means factoring in the cost of travel, from petrol to toll roads.
According to a calculation by TopAuto, anyone who plans to drive down to the coast this December can expect to spend a minimum of R1,918.34.
Cost of a holiday getaway
We used central Gauteng as a starting point to measure the route down to Durban, giving us a distance of approximately 584km with an average travel time of six hours.
Petrol 95 is currently retailing for R21.41 per litre at inland rates, following the latest fuel price adjustments that took effect on Wednesday, 3 December 2025.
With all that in mind, this is how much you can expect to spend on petrol when driving to Durban and back, depending on your car’s average fuel consumption:
| Efficiency | Fuel needed | One-way trip | Return trip |
| 5.0l/100km | 29.20 litres | R625.17 | R1,250.34 |
| 6.0l/100km | 35.04 litres | R750.21 | R1,500.41 |
| 7.0l/100km | 40.88 litres | R857.24 | R1,750.48 |
| 8.0l/100km | 46.72 litres | R1,000.28 | R2,000.55 |
| 9.0l/100km | 52.56 litres | R1,125.31 | R2,250.62 |
| 10.0l/100km | 58.40 litres | R1,250.34 | R2,500.69 |
| 11.0l/100km | 64.24 litres | R1,375.38 | R2,750.76 |
| 12.0l/100km | 70.08 litres | R1,500.41 | R2,000.83 |
| 13.0l/100km | 75.92 litres | R1,625.45 | R3,250.89 |
This is only half the equation, however, as we also need to factor in the various toll roads on the route to the coast.
There are five toll plazas on the N3 from Joburg to Durban – Mooi, Wilge, Tugela, De Hoek, and Marian Hill – which charge the following:
- Mooi – R67
- Wilge – R90
- Tugela – R96
- De Hoek – R65
- Marian Hill – R16
Passing through all five will net a travel bill of R334 for a one-way trip.
This means that it will cost at least R959.17 to drive from Gauteng to Durban this December, provided you have a very fuel-efficient car.
On the other hand, anyone who has a particularly thirsty set of wheels will spend R1,959.45 to visit the beach this holiday.
Of course, this is only for the drive to the coast, which means we need to double these figures to get the total cost for a return trip.
This means that anyone with an economical car can expect to spend around R1,918.34 while others will need to budget up to R3,918.90.
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