There is no better way to explore South Africa than going on a road trip. In this blog post we will tell you everything you need to know in order for you to plan your next halal friendly road trip adventure. This post also includes Halaal (Halal) food options along the way.
1. PICK A ROAD TRIP ROUTE
The first thing you need to decide on is the route you will be choosing to drive along. If you are planning a road trip from Cape Town to Durban, you have two options to choose from. Here is a breakdown of the roads for each option.
N2 Garden Route
This is the more scenic of the 2 routes and spans approximately 1700 km with around 21 hours of driving time excluding stops along the way.
N1 Karoo
This route is more direct and spans approximately 1600 km with about 19 hours of driving time excluding stops. It is not scenic at all.
We chose to do the latter route due to it being a shorter drive time. We have been along the N2 up until Plettenberg Bay and if you have the time and would like a very scenic road trip, then this would be my pick for you. The scenery and coastal towns that you get to see along this route are truly unmatched and this Garden Route can make for an entire two week destination all on its own!
2. LOOK AT THE WEATHER ALONG THE ROUTE
You will be driving through 1600 km, so checking the weather at various places along your route is a good idea. This will help you decide what to pack. Along the N1 if you are stopping in Colesburg, be warned that in winter and even in spring the weather here is really ICE COLD. So you will definitely need your warm jackets. This is something we were warned about by many family members and then this was then reaffirmed via Instagram. Our community on Instagram attested to the town of Colesburg being extremely hot during the summer months.
N1 Route
Day 1
FIRST STOP: Touws River
STOP 2: Beaufort West
STOP 3: Colesberg
FINAL STOP: Bloemfontein
We stopped over for the night at the Southern Sun Bloemfontein. Click here to read a review of why we chose to stay here and what you can expect on a nights stay.
Halaal Food Options in Bloemfontein:
Khatija – 072 229 8279
Fatimas Kitchen
Zaika Restuarant – Muslim owned
McDonald’s at one of the malls
Chicken Licken – At a shopping centre, there is a drive through option
Masjids and musallahs in Bloemfontein
TIP: If you are driving a vehicle that uses Diesel, fill up at truck filling stations along your route, as you will get your Diesel at a cheaper price.
3. FLYING VS DRIVING
At these prices of over R5,000 per person return with no checked-in bags it was an easy decision to drive down as for a family of 5 it would have costed over R25,000 to fly down. Bear in mind that this is only the flight costs and we would still have to hire a car to use in Durban. Renault South Africa partnered with us for this road trip. We used the Renault Duster for this road trip to Durban.
4. MAKE A ROAD TRIP BUDGET
If you have unlimited funds then you can skip this section 🙂
However, if you don’t then it is always a good idea to make a road trip budget in the planning stages. Planning a budget before your road trip helps you avoid the otherwise unavoidable overspending that tends to occur when you don’t have a budget. It also helps you save up if need be. Knowing how much you would need to save up is a game changer.
5. CHOOSE THE RIGHT CAR
Once you have selected your road trip destination and mapped out your preferred route, you can now decide which car would be appropriate. In determining the right car, the landscape you will be driving on, the weather conditions along the route as well as how many passengers and boot space required are all important factors to consider.
If you will be around 4 or 5 people and need space for bags then consider a SUV for the space. If you are only 2 or 3 people and will be doing lots of city travelling then maybe a B segment car would make for better value for money. Maybe you are travelling off the beaten track, with many km’s on gravel road then all wheel drive and ground clearance will be very important factors. For this you would more likely be comfortable in a 4×4 type of vehicle.
Renault Duster:
Click the link below to access the video on the Renault Duster that we used for our road trip to Durban. You can view other car video reviews on this channel as well.