Google maps is pretty accurate, but there is lots of construction that causes huge delays. I'd look into an equivalent to the usdot in S Africa for construction. Leave extra time as some roads are in pretty bad shape. They call them potholes, but it was basically torn up sections of road. We also drove slower than the speed limit often, as the secondary roads had lots of kids walking to/from school (few sidewalks) and livestock grazing near the roads. The major highways we used were flawless.

Don't get me wrong, we loved our self drive last year and can't wait to do it again. We just experienced longer drive times than expected.

Give this one a try -
http://www.infosight.co.za/planyourroute

regards - tom

Hi Melissa, try http://www.drivesouthafrica.co.za/driving-information/distance-chart/ The blog section also has some useful information you might be able to use when planning your trip.

Thanks you all! christabir, your tips are appreciated. I just need a web-site with estimated drive times so that I can put together our logical itinerary. For sure, we always take longer than expected, as well!

cary999 and Africhick, thanks I will try the web-sites you suggested.

If you detail your planned itinerary perhaps myself and other South Africans could help ito time / distance / road works etc based on our experience from travelling within our own country. Many South Africans travel extensively throughout SA - just a thought.

Glad I could help!

Kaapie: Yes I'd love help from South Africans as you definitely know the roads and travel times best! I'm hoping to post a question on our itinerary today. It's just hard to make even a tentative itinerary without knowing some ball-park drive times first. The web-sites that folks posted above definitely helped. In fact I'm excited about getting help from you folks who know South Africa best!

We'll be only to happy to help.

Hi Melissa,

Look at http://www.aa.co.za for al the info and road works. We learned to take it takes more time to drive someplace at least .30 / .45 minutes.
The Highways, toll roads, are very good, but often the Highways have just one lane. The others roads inside the country are bad and have pottholes, so be carefull And of course we have speeding camera;s! And TIP: NEVER pay a fine with cash, it is not allowed by law in S.A.! Ask for a ticket always, if the donot want to give that ask them to follow you to the next police station. 99% thye let you go. (they wanted just what we call "lunch money")
Have a great time.

Annemieke from South Africa

Hi Melissa

Are you hiring a car? From whom? I need a hire car in October in Durban for 8 days and wondering who to go to. Do not want Avis.

Kind regards

Kaye

Thanks everyone! KayeN: We haven't looked at cars yet, but we will be renting a car.

Thanks for the links, the drive times helped a lot! I'll remember to add extra time for road works and delays.

What do you all think of this itinerary, below, to enjoy wildflowers and scenery, beautiful unspoiled natural areas, and good food in the spring (September)? We'd like the drive times between our "bases" to be less than 6 hours. We like to spend at least 3 nights at each "base" and do day-trips in our car to explore each area.

Fly into Cape Town

5 nights: Cape Town

3 nights: West coast: Bushman's Kloof Wilderness Reserve, Cederberg; or Clanwilliam; or Paternoster)

3 nights: Swellendam

3 nights: Plettenberg Bay or The Craggs or Tsitsikamma, (Storms River Mouth)

3 nights: Hermanus

Fly home from Cape Town

WOOPS sorry I left something out of the above itinerary! This is my newest itinerary, which is still too busy in my opinion:

Fly into Cape Town

5 nights: Cape Town

3 nights: West coast: Bushman's Kloof Wilderness Reserve, Cederberg; or Clanwilliam; or Paternoster)

2 nights: Swellendam

3 nights: Tsitsikamma (Storms River Mouth); or Plettenberg Bay or The Craggs

2 nights: Garden Route: Gondwana reserve near Mossel Bay; or Wilderness; or Knysna

2 nights: Hermanus

Fly home from Cape Town

The above itinerary gets us as far east as Tsitsikamma on the Garden Route...but it's a bit fast-paced for us, as we don't like to change accommodations so often. Ideally we prefer 4- or 5-night stays, with day-trips. I still can't fit in the Addo Elephant National park or any of the East Cape.

I'd appreciate any input or tips regarding the best itinerary for spring in the West Cape. Thanks very much.

I'd used google maps to plan our route for next month...we will leav our friends' home in Hout Bay, pick up rental car and drive to Wilderness for two nights. Then we drive to Addo for two nights, and then to Prince Albert ( otherside of Swartberg Pass for 2 nights. I think that drive from Addo to Prince Albert will be the longest. Then we will decide where we want to spend the last night as we'll drop the car and fly to JNB to catch our flight back to the States.

Now i can cross check my routes with these other sites. What a valuable thread this is!

Hout Bay to Wilderness is quite a long drive! Should you wish to consider a stop overnight I can recommend Witsand, a hidden jewel. Why not get the rental delivered ?

We are thinking about getting the rental delivered. We already have reservations for Wilderness. We were expecting it to take abt 6 hrs