South Africa’s busiest roads over December: And worst travel times
Be prepared for the festive season by knowing which are South Africa’s busiest roads over December. Read to the end for the ideal travel day.
The festive season is upon us and these are South Africa’s busiest roads over December. Not only that, but we’ll also share the worst times/days to travel, too. The fuel price drops tomorrow (Wednesday 6 December 2023) and that will no doubt embolden a lot of travellers to drive to their destinations.
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That will mean record numbers of motorists on South Africa’s busiest roads over December. So, best to prepare your December holiday now. SANRAL has a bunch of historic data on South Africa’s busiest roads over December, and it’s revealed key dates and roads it believes will see high traffic volumes, reports Business Tech.
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SOUTH AFRICA’S BUSIEST ROADS OVER DECEMBER
1. N1 TO BEITBRIDGE
As we’ve already reported, the N1 toll road is going to be teaming with traffic this December. Not so much from Johannesburg to Cape Town but rather Northwards to the border. Nevertheless, if you’re travelling from Limpopo towards the Zimbabwe, best be prepared and leave time for trafiic, delays, accidents and more.
2. N3 TO DURBAN
The beaches may not be so ayoba in Durbs this holiday season, but the N3 will still be one of South Africa’s busiest roads over December. Three provinces are along the way and plenty of city dwellers make it a ritual to travel to the KZN coast this time of year. There are toll-road back-ups and accidents aplenty on this route, too.
3. N4 TO MAPUTO
From North West, through to Gauteng, into Mpumalanga and beyond. The road connecting South Africa with Mozambique is a popular one for holidaymakers. Border posts and frequent roadworks mean that a drive on the N4 is not so much about the journey and more about making it to your destination in one piece. Allow plenty of times for disruptions.
THE BUSIEST DAYS TO DRIVE IN DECEMBER
You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to work out that Thursday 14 December, the last working day of the year for many before our Rugby World Cup public holiday, is going to be crazy busy. Traditionally, SANRAL singles this day out as it falls ahead of the Day of Reconciliation long weekend. Please leave early and travel carefully over this period.
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Beyond that, South Africa’s major travel routes see spikes in volume from 20-24 December before the calm of Christmas eve. For return journeys, 27-30 December will be the most frustrating for road users. Interestingly, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and Sunday 17 December are predicated to be the lightest dates to travel, according to SANRAL guidelines. Traveling on these days is your secret ticket to skipping South Africa’s busiest roads over December!
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Are you driving to your holiday destination this festive season? What do you think of South Africa’s busiest roads over December? Be sure to share your thoughts with our audience in the comments section below. And don’t forget to follow us @TheSANews on X and The South African on Facebook for the latest updates.