Johannesburg City Guide - Getting There By Road

South Africa has by far the best-maintained and most extensive network of road transport infrastructure in Africa. National roads (designated by an ‘N') link all of South Africa's major cities to Johannesburg, while major routes (designated by an ‘R') connect Johannesburg to most other areas. The generally high standard of roads means that almost anywhere in South Africa is accessible, without the need for a 4-wheel drive vehicle.

By law, it's obligatory to wear seat belts. All vehicles must carry two red triangular warning chevrons to be placed 20m (66ft) in front of and behind the vehicle in case of breakdown or accident. Speed cameras are common and fines are high. Random breath tests can be imposed and the penalties for drink driving are severe - the maximum legal alcohol to blood ratio is 0.08%. Driving is on the left, with the general speed limit being 60kph (37mph) in ‘built-up' (suburban and city) areas, 100kph (62mph) on the ‘open road' (rural areas) and 120kph (75mph) on national roads. The latter are toll roads; expect to pay around R0.25 per kilometre. There are 24-hour service stations with convenience stores, restaurants and ATMs at regular intervals along all major routes, but it should be noted that credit cards cannot be used for fuel purchases.

Emergency breakdown service: Automobile Association of South Africa (AA) (tel: 083 84322; website: www.aa.co.za). The AA provides excellent maps, invaluable roadside medical rescue, technical assistance and advice (car hire, insurance, road conditions and recommended routes). The AA can also provide further information on driving in South Africa.

Routes to the city: The north-south road artery of South Africa, the N1, links Johannesburg to Cape Town and Bloemfontein to the south, and Pretoria, Polokwane, Makhado, Musina and Zimbabwe to the north. The N3 provides access to Harrismith, Pietermaritzberg, Durban and the coast of KwaZulu-Natal. The N4 runs west to Rustenburg, from where Sun City can be accessed, and then to Zeerust and on through Botswana and Namibia to the Atlantic Ocean, while the N4 Maputo Corridor runs east to Witbank, Middleberg and Nelspruit and on to Maputo in Mozambique, on the Indian Ocean. The Kruger National Park can be reached by taking the R40 off the N4, which then connects to the R536 toward Skukuza and the Paul Kruger Gate.

Driving times to Johannesburg: From Sun City - 2 hours 45 minutes; Kruger Park (Skukuza) - 5 hours 30 minutes; Durban - 6 hours 15 minutes; Cape Town - 17 hours.

Coach services: Johannesburg is linked by air-conditioned, deluxe and standard bus services to all major destinations in South Africa. These include Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth, as well as some international destinations, such as Bulawayo and Harare in Zimbabwe, Maputo in Mozambique and Windhoek in Namibia. The Park City Transit Centre on Rissik Street in Braamfontein is the departure point for all bus services.

Service providers include Intercape (tel: 021 380 4400 or 0861 287 287; website: www.intercape.co.za), Greyhound (tel: 011 276 8500 or 083 915 9000; website: www.greyhound.co.za), and Translux (tel: 011 774 3333 or 0861 589 282; website: www.translux.co.za). The national booking agency Computicket (tel: 011 340 8000 or 083 915 8000; website: www.computicket.com), which has branches in most shopping malls, provides centralised information and reservations for all inter-city bus routes.

The Baz Bus (tel: 021 439 2323; website: www.bazbus.com) is a hop-on hop-off bus service aimed at backpackers and picks up and drops off from backpacker hostels. There are two routes between Johannesburg and Durban; one via the Drakensberg and one via Swaziland. From Durban, the service then continues along South Africa's coast to Cape Town.