Best road to Durban

K

koos

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I am planning a trip to Durbs from George this weekend, which is the best road to take, and the best time to arrive there as it is the Comrades and I want to avoid traffic if possible ? We want to stay at Umhlanga Rocks and still looking for accommodation for about 2 weeks? TIA
 
Comrades, then you want to get into Durban BEFORE Sunday morning...

The quickest route is up through Bloem (N9) and then back down,
The scenic route is along the N2 through Kokstad and up to Durban. This will take you along the South Cost which can be quite pretty.

Both are about 14 hrs driving.
 
If you are on the N2 you will avoid the Comrades runners :) At the Durban end of the race they will be on the N3 and M13 - which you shouldn't be using - N2 will take you straight through to Umhlanga.
 
Glammy said:
If you are on the N2 you will avoid the Comrades runners :) At the Durban end of the race they will be on the N3 and M13 - which you shouldn't be using - N2 will take you straight through to Umhlanga.
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Shhh... we want him to drive 14hrs solid and enjoy more time in Durbs and give us MORE of his hard earned money :D

Plus if he gets here before Sunday morning, he can join in the Comrades festivities and enjoy a breakfast on the side of the road with the locals.
 
ToxicBunny said:
Comrades, then you want to get into Durban BEFORE Sunday morning...

The quickest route is up through Bloem (N9) and then back down,
The scenic route is along the N2 through Kokstad and up to Durban. This will take you along the South Cost which can be quite pretty.

Both are about 14 hrs driving.
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The part of the N2 in the Eastern Cape does get a bit "dodgy", definitely not "National Highway" material. But it's not that bad :erm:
 
Glammy said:
The part of the N2 in the Eastern Cape does get a bit "dodgy", definitely not "National Highway" material. But it's not that bad :erm:
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I had never driven between dbn & ct.
I took the "scenic" route as quoted above - never again !
Vile piece of road, littered with traffic cops trying to earn weekend money, as for pretty - too many shacks and squatter camps along the side of the road & an odd amount of cattle who tended to stray into the road as you drove towards them.
A filling station owner told me (no idea how true) but some people try chase the cattle into the road to cause an accident, then work with the police to extract large sums of money to prevent being arrested & compensation for the cattle involved in the accident.
 
Yeah, avoid the coastal route at all costs.. From PE, head up to Bloemfontein and then Harrismith and down to Durban. MUCH better BY FAR.
I've travelled both routes often between CT & DBN. Coastal route sucks b4lls.
 
I've done the coastal route a few times, and it isn't as bad as everyone here is saying.

There's a lot of roadworks, yes, and a lot of dodgy part of the roads have already been fixed.

Fog along some areas can be very bad at night.
 
The traffic going through the old tramskei can be somewhat trying on the patience, especially through Umtata.

I would rather head inland. When travelling from Grahamstown, I go through Queenstown, Elliot, Maclear and Matatiele, but from George there's no point, you might just as well go through Bloem. It's about 180km further than the N2, but much, much better driving conditions. The traffic along the N2 through Knysna, Sedgefield etc is a pain. Butterworth and Umtata are a huge pain. The road works in the Transkei are a pain. The section between Staffords Post and Port Shepstone in KZN is a pain. Just hop on the N9, and cruise at a decent speed, and the N1, N5 and N3 are all pretty decent - there may be a patch of road works on the N1 though.
 
Was listening to the radio this morning and they had some MEC on there where people phoned in and asked him questions, one was wrt a road from EC to KZN and apparently a new road meandering along the coast from east london to port shepstone is in the early stages of development. If it all pans out this could be an awesome drive.
 
ponder said:
Was listening to the radio this morning and they had some MEC on there where people phoned in and asked him questions, one was wrt a road from EC to KZN and apparently a new road meandering along the coast from east london to port shepstone is in the early stages of development. If it all pans out this could be an awesome drive.
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It doesn't actually follow the coast the whole way. It will only cut about 80km off the current N2 route. It will be a Toll road
 
web said:
It doesn't actually follow the coast the whole way. It will only cut about 80km off the current N2 route. It will be a Toll road
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Got any links? Would like to know what they are planning.
 
Colin62 said:
If you don't agree, perhaps you could say why instead of asking a cryptic question that doesn't actually provide any useful information.
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Good lord, grab a chill pill, ffs.

You'll save 200km by going through PE, Mthatha, Port Shepstone. Whether it's quicker I don't know as I have no idea what the roads around there are like. Driving all the way up to Bloem and heading east seems overboard. Last I heard there were also roadworks by Harrismith, but that was quite a while back.
 
Bar0n said:
Good lord, grab a chill pill, ffs.
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No need to call me lord, sir will suffice. Thanks for your concern, but I'm perfectly chilled. :)


Bar0n said:
You'll save 200km by going through PE, Mthatha, Port Shepstone. Whether it's quicker I don't know as I have no idea what the roads around there are like. Driving all the way up to Bloem and heading east seems overboard. Last I heard there were also roadworks by Harrismith, but that was quite a while back.
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So you don't actually know or even have a strong opinion, and haven't actually driven either route, but still wish to share that knowledge? Once more, thank you :)
 
Colin62 said:
No need to call me lord, sir will suffice. Thanks for your concern, but I'm perfectly chilled. :)

So you don't actually know or even have a strong opinion, and haven't actually driven either route, but still wish to share that knowledge? Once more, thank you :)
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No, good lord, I don't.

I did, however, express my surprise since heading all the way up north to bloem and then east seems to be a bit of a detour. I was in fact right that this is not the shortest route and not necessarily the quickest, especially if there are road works present.

To be completely factual and truthful I stated that while the other route is shorter (by 200km), I have no idea whether there are roadworks in the area, but did note that there might be roadworks around Harrismith.

I have driven the Bloem to Durban route, but not in recent months. So you see, I'm not as clueless as you make me out to be.
 
images
 
Bar0n said:
No, good lord, I don't.

I did, however, express my surprise since heading all the way up north to bloem and then east seems to be a bit of a detour. I was in fact right that this is not the shortest route and not necessarily the quickest, especially if there are road works present.

To be completely factual and truthful I stated that while the other route is shorter (by 200km), I have no idea whether there are roadworks in the area, but did note that there might be roadworks around Harrismith.

I have driven the Bloem to Durban route, but not in recent months. So you see, I'm not as clueless as you make me out to be.
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It is quicker due to the condition of the roads.

You can spend more time at 120km/h on the Bloem route, than you can on the shorter coastal route. The condition of the roads through the EC are not wonderful, you will probably spend a large portion of the time driving at 80km/h
 
ToxicBunny said:
It is quicker due to the condition of the roads.

You can spend more time at 120km/h on the Bloem route, than you can on the shorter coastal route. The condition of the roads through the EC are not wonderful, you will probably spend a large portion of the time driving at 80km/h
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Or at even less than 80.
The road is largely single-lane, bad condition and road hazards combine to make it a nightmare. If you have driven this route recently and you disagree - well pox on you, 'cause you're a liar.

Take the Bloem route. I took both within the last few months. Facts, not opinions.
 
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