Distance from Cape Town to Mthatha

N Cape Town → Mthatha
Road distance
1261.5 km
Highway dominant · N2 / R72
Cape Town to Mthatha is a full long-distance road trip, covering about 1,261.5 km in roughly 15 hrs 7 min.
Geodesic Direct point-to-point reference
1,003.5 km
Road multiplier Route-to-direct distance ratio
1.26×
Navigation steps Instruction count in route set
40
Info Travel board
Travel time
15 hrs 7 min
Start point
Paddock Avenue
Return: 30 hrs 15 min
Rolling runtime Engine-calculated drive duration
907 min
Average velocity Distance over route runtime
83.4 km/h
Stop-adjusted ETA 7 planned rest stops
16 hrs 52 min
Fuel Service sign
Estimated fuel cost - 7.2 L/100km
93 Petrol R27.16 / litre
R2,466.85
95 Petrol R27.19 / litre
R2,469.58
Diesel 500ppm R27.05 / litre
R2,456.86
Diesel 50ppm R28.00 / litre
R2,543.15
93 Petrol R27.16 / litre
R3,254.88
95 Petrol R27.19 / litre
R3,258.47
Diesel 500ppm R27.05 / litre
R3,241.69
Diesel 50ppm R28.00 / litre
R3,355.54
93 Petrol R27.16 / litre
R4,282.73
95 Petrol R27.19 / litre
R4,287.46
Diesel 500ppm R27.05 / litre
R4,265.39
Diesel 50ppm R28.00 / litre
R4,415.19
See more fuel details from Cape Town to Mthatha
🧭 Route vector
Compass bearing
78° ENE
Forward azimuth heading
Return heading Reverse azimuth
258° WSW
Coordinate delta Lat / Lon shift
North-East
Start coords Origin point
-33.9288, 18.4172
End coords Destination point
-31.5896, 28.7878
Taxi Transport options
Shared taxi fare
Long-distance caution
Route class Operational trip category
Long-distance
Operator type Service format
Minibus taxi
Calculating arrival…
Travel modes
Cape Town → Mthatha
🚗
Car
1261.5 km
15 hrs 7 min
Road route
🏍️ Estimate
Two-wheeler
1261.5 km
~19 hrs 24 min
65 km/h avg
🧭 Google
Navigate now
Mthatha
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Places along your journey

Places from Cape Town to Mthatha

Fuel stops, restaurants, shops and services along or near your route.

48 places Submit a place
Convenience store Soon after Cape Town

Shell Select

33 Main Road, Riviersonderend, 7250, Western Cape 140 km from start
🍽️
Food & drink Before halfway

2 Victoria Bay Road, George, Western Cape 380 km from start
🍽️
Food & drink Around halfway

Familie Geheimpies

Wild Oats Market N2, Sedgefield 402 km from start
🍽️
Food & drink Around halfway

Fresh Bean Coffee Roastary

Wild Oats Community Farmers Market, Sedgefield, 6573 402 km from start
🍽️
Food & drink Around halfway

Prince of Tarts

N2 Wild Oats Community Farmers Market, Sedgefield, 6573 402 km from start
Convenience store Around halfway

Shell Select

6571, Western Cape 427 km from start
Convenience store Around halfway

Shell Select

6600, Western Cape 456 km from start
🛒
Convenience store Around halfway

Quickshop

Plettenberg Bay 457 km from start
🍽️
Food & drink Around halfway

Boxes & Bites

Old Nick Village N2, Plettenberg Bay 457 km from start
🛒
Supermarkets Approaching Mthatha

Checkers

East London, 5241, Eastern Cape 887 km from start
🛒
Supermarkets Near Mthatha

Shoprite

Butterworth, 4960, Eastern Cape 922 km from start
🛒
Supermarkets Near Mthatha

Shoprite

Butterworth, 4960, Eastern Cape 923 km from start
Fuel stations Near Mthatha

Shell

5240, Eastern Cape 930 km from start
🛒
Supermarkets Near Mthatha

Superspar

Nelson Mandela Drive, Mthatha, 5100 1,004 km from start
Fuel stations Near Mthatha

Shell

Mthatha, 5100, Eastern Cape 1,004 km from start
🏦
Banks 0.2 km

ABSA

60 Sutherland Drive
🏦
Banks 0.2 km

FNB

76 York Road
Fuel stations 0.2 km

Shell

Mthatha, 5100, Eastern Cape
🛒
Convenience store 0.3 km

Bonjour

Mthatha, 5100
🏫
Schools & education 0.4 km

Umtata High School

Mthatha, 5099, Eastern Cape
🛒
Supermarkets 0.4 km

Superspar

Nelson Mandela Drive, Mthatha, 5100
🏬
Shopping malls 0.5 km

Mthatha Plaza

35 Nelson Mandela Drive, Mthatha, 5100
🛒
Supermarkets 0.6 km

Shoprite

Mthatha, 5100, Eastern Cape
🏫
Schools & education 0.7 km

Transkei Primary School

Mthatha, 5099, Eastern Cape
🔧
Car services 0.8 km

Mag-Rite

65 Nelson Mandela Drive
🛒
Convenience store 0.8 km

Quickshop

71 Nelson Mandela Drive, Mthatha
🏫
Schools & education 0.9 km

St Joseph's Junior Secondary School

2nd Avenue, Mthatha, 5099, Eastern Cape
🛒
Convenience store 0.9 km

Quickshop

Mthatha
🏫
Schools & education 1.0 km

St John's College

50 Callaway Street, Mthatha, 5099, Eastern Cape
🏫
Schools & education 1.1 km

Mennonite Bible School

1 Callaway Street, Mthatha, 5100
🏫
Schools & education 1.9 km

Mbuqe Junior Secondary School

Mthatha, 5099, Eastern Cape
🛒
Convenience store 2.0 km

Bonjour

Mthatha, 5100
🏫
Schools & education 2.2 km

Umtata Christian School

Mthatha, 5099, Eastern Cape
🏫
Schools & education 2.7 km

Southernwood Junior Secondary School

Mthatha, 5099, Eastern Cape
🛒
Convenience store 3.6 km

Quickshop

Mthatha
Convenience store 5.8 km

Shell Select

5100, Eastern Cape
Route

Route overview

Live map, directions, tolls and route services.

Map Directions Tolls Trip planning
Route map

Live map

Start, destination and route line.

1261.5 km 908 min
Start Cape Town
Finish Mthatha
Map key
Start point
Destination
Driving route
Navigation sign

Turn-by-turn directions

  1. Directions from Cape Town to Mthatha via N2
    National highway N2
  2. Directions from Cape Town to Mthatha via R72
    Provincial road route R72
  3. Head on Paddock Avenue
    0.1 km
  4. Turn left onto Saint Johns Road
    0.2 km
  5. Turn right onto Roeland Street
    1.0 km
  6. Continue straight onto Philip Kgosana Drive
    2.8 km
  7. Keep slight left at the fork towards N2: Cape Town International Airport
    0.6 km
  8. Merge slight right onto Hospital Bend
    0.5 km
  9. Continue straight onto Settlers Way
    376.1 km
  10. Take the exit ramp straight towards N2: George
    0.9 km
  11. Continue straight
    50.9 km
  12. Keep slight right at the fork towards N2: Knysna
    1.2 km
  13. Continue straight
    0.6 km
  14. At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit
    0.0 km
  15. Continue
    10.6 km
  16. At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit
    0.0 km
  17. Continue
    5.8 km
  18. Continue straight
    0.3 km
  19. Continue straight
    1.9 km
  20. Continue straight
    62.5 km
  21. Continue straight
    3.5 km
  22. At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit
    0.0 km
  23. Continue
    1.5 km
  24. Keep slight right at the fork
    0.2 km
  25. At the roundabout, take the 1st exit
    0.0 km
  26. Continue
    276.1 km
  27. Take the exit ramp slight left towards N2: Grahamstown
    0.9 km
  28. Continue straight
    0.7 km
  29. Take the exit ramp slight left towards R72: Port Alfred
    0.3 km
  30. At the end of the road, turn right
    236.1 km
  31. Turn left onto Currie Street
    1.1 km
  32. Continue straight onto Fitzpatrick Road
    0.3 km
  33. Continue straight onto Valley Road
    0.9 km
  34. Continue straight onto North East Expressway
    4.0 km
  35. Continue straight
    0.3 km
  36. Turn right towards N2
    0.5 km
  37. Merge slight right
    217.7 km
  38. Turn left onto Madeira Street
    0.5 km
  39. Turn left onto Sutherland Drive
    0.3 km
  40. Turn left onto Owen Street
    0.2 km
  41. Turn left
    0.1 km
  42. You have arrived at your destination
    0.0 km
Navigation sign

Tolls on this route

R
Tolls found 3
Known total R219.00
Main toll road N2 - North Coast Toll Road
This route includes 3 toll points from our database. The strongest toll-road match is N2 - North Coast Toll Road.
Tsitsikamma
Road: Road not linked yet
R73.00
Tsitsikamma
Road: Road not linked yet
R73.00
Tsitsikamma
Road: Road not linked yet
R73.00
Stop Stopover sign
Halfway point
630.3 km
Mid-route position Road corridor partition
50 / 50
Time partition Start / finish split
7 hrs 33 min • 7 hrs 33 min
Waypoint reference Nearest route marker
Mid-route reference
Vec Consumption & emissions
Consumption & emissions profile
90.8 L needed
Moderate efficiency • 7.2 L/100km baseline
CO2 emitted Estimated tailpipe output
209.8 kg
Fuel mass Approximate tank weight
68.1 kg
Cost per km Based on 95 Petrol
R1.96
Directness index As-the-crow-flies ratio
79.5%
Solar data
Daylight window at Mthatha
06:57 – 17:08
Outside daylight hours
Solar noonHighest sun position
12:02
Total daylightUsable driving light
10 hrs 10 min
Light remainingUntil sunset
11 hrs 37 min
SunriseDawn break
06:57
Fin Tax & wear
Wear & SARS deduction
R5,273.00
Single trip SARS allowance
SARS rate R4.18/km fixed rate
R4.18/km
Tyre wear Estimated tread cost
R25.23
Service wear Oil & filter allocation
R252.30
Total trip wear Excludes fuel & tolls
R5,550.52
Nav Maneuver index
Navigation complexity
Very High (33)
Turn difficulty rating
Roundabouts Multi-path navigation
4
Lane merges Yield required
2
Complex forks Path selection
3
Highway exits Deceleration zones
7
Route atlas

Atlas Route Specification

Route sheet

ZA-ATLAS
Origin Cape Town Start: Paddock Avenue -33.92883, 18.41722
Midpoint
630.3 km
Total: 1261.5 km
Midpoint 630.3 km
1261.5 km 908 min
Destination Mthatha -31.58959, 28.78777

Route sheet

Route class Resolved South Africa route
Province span South Africa
One-way road span 1261.5 km
Return-cycle span 2523 km
Traversal time 908 min
Maneuver count 40
Maneuver density 3.2 /100 km
Midpoint chainage 630.3 km

Coordinate frame

Start -33.92883, 18.41722
Midpoint -34.04805, 24.42831
End -31.58959, 28.78777
Destination brief

Travelling to Mthatha

A polished arrival snapshot covering what stands out, who the place suits best and what to keep in mind before you get there.

Signature Eastern Cape inland hub
Standout Regional city with Wild Coast links
Mthatha matters as a service and access city for the eastern side of the province, with nearby nature reserves, airport links and Wild Coast direction giving it more than a simple inland-city role.
Best for Who this destination suits
Regional hub stay Wild Coast access Business trip Eastern Cape inland stop
Arrival What to expect on arrival
Airport-side, town-centre and dam-side movements can feel quite different, so the exact address matters before departure.
Regional base Good base for nearby trips
Use Mthatha as a practical Eastern Cape inland base for city services, regional travel and routes toward Coffee Bay and the wider Wild Coast.
Destination facts Quick reference details
King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality tourism highlights Luchaba Nature Reserve, Mthatha Dam and wider attractions
The area is linked to Coffee Bay and Wild Coast travel
The city has a stronger regional-hub role than a pure holiday-town role
Route support

Route FAQ

Tap a question to expand the answer and keep the section compact while browsing the route page.

Questions 9
How far is Cape Town from Mthatha? +
Cape Town is about 1261.5 km from Mthatha by road.
How long does it take from Cape Town to Mthatha? +
The drive usually takes about 908 min depending on traffic, stops, and road conditions.
Is it possible to drive from Cape Town to Mthatha in one day? +
It is possible, but for many travellers this is better treated as a very long same-day trip or an overnight trip.
Is taxi available from Cape Town to Mthatha? +
Taxi may be available, but for this route it is better to confirm the latest fare at the local taxi rank.
What's the estimated fuel amount from Cape Town to Mthatha? +
Using an estimated consumption of 7.2 L/100km for this route, 93 Petrol is about R2,466.85 (R27.16 / litre), 95 Petrol is about R2,469.58 (R27.19 / litre), Diesel 500ppm is about R2,456.86 (R27.05 / litre), Diesel 50ppm is about R2,543.15 (R28.00 / litre). Actual fuel spend can vary by vehicle, traffic and driving style.
Are there any tollgates from Cape Town to Mthatha? +
Yes. There are 3 tollgates currently matched for this route.
What is the route verdict for this trip? +
Very long trip: This is a demanding long-distance route. Treat it as a serious travel day and consider an overnight stop.
Is there a long-trip warning on this route? +
This is a long trip. Plan rest stops, avoid driving tired, and be careful with late-night travel.
Is there a road note for this route? +
This is a longer road trip, so a fuel or rest stop is recommended. Take a short break about every 2 hours if possible. National roads appear in this route, so watch for toll signs and busier sections.
Route support

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