Are the roads safe to drive between Durban and Cape Town?

We are renting a car and plan on driving from Durban to East London and Port Elizabeth along the Garden Route and ending up in Cape Town.

However, a friend recently told me that parts of that road are not safe and should not be driven Can anyone shed light on this advice?

Which parts are unsafe and is there another way we can go? We want to drive the Garden Route and need to end up in Cape Town ( and are not attached to being in PE or EL).

Thanks for any suggestions you may have.

This is one of the most undeveloped parts of the country and very rural. I would not say that it is particularly unsafe, especially if you stay on the main N2 road and follow the normal suggested safety rules for driving in South Africa (not driving at night, keep doors and windows locked etc). They fixed the N2 (it used to be much more potholed as far as I remember) and this is a nice road to drive now. If you want to leave the N2 just make sure that you know where you are going and that the side road that you're taking is in good condition for driving. Just be extra aware of your surroundings when driving through the towns or stopping for fuel in Mthatha, it can be quite crowded in some places. I recommend visiting Hogsback, it is really beautiful there :-)

Great drive, there are great spots all the way along it. Don't drive at night in the wild coast (animals and the mist) and Mthatha does have a lot of traffic but I've never had any issues stopping there.

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