Luxury coach company InterCape will launch a new bus service on 6 September that will connect Durban to Maputo.
The nine-and-a-half-hour journey will depart from Durban on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays leaving at 7:15am and arriving in Maputo at 16:45pm the same day. While the return trips leave Maputo on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8am, arriving in Durban via Ponta do Ouro at 5pm the same day.
A one-way ticket costs R280 per person. A return ticket costs R560 per person.
‘We previously had this connection, but had to suspend it because of poor road conditions, but now, with the construction of the Maputo-Katembe bridge and other new roads, we will be able to transport passengers to Durban via Ponta do Ouro,’ said Intercape marketing manager Sérgio Van Winsen.
The three-kilometre-long Maputo-Katembe suspension bridge, over Maputo Bay officially opened on 10 November 2018 and shortened the drive time from Maputo to the South African border near Kosi Bay from six hours to about 90 minutes.
Currently there are no direct flights between Durban and Maputo, travellers need to fly via Johannesburg. Although this option is a bit quicker, it does cost over R3,000 each way, about 10 times what the bus trip costs.
Image: Wikkemedia/ Creative Commons
