Getting to the City Center from King Shaka Intl. Airport
Taxis and shuttle buses take passengers from the newly built King Shaka Airport, which is 40 kilometres from the city of Durban. If you wish to take private transportation then there are many car rental companies within the airport. A Hassan, Cabz4U, City Cabs, Checker and Eagle taxi companies compete with each other to take passengers into the city but they have an agreed fixed price among themselves. Since there is a fixed fee, you can share the ride with some other people looking to reach the city instead of travelling alone. This is the most economic option to get to the city centre. You can take shuttle buses from either the Airport Bus Shuttle Service or Margate Mini Coach from in from of the arrivals terminal. There are only four departure times per day and while your first luggage is free, a second one will require you to pay a little extra. Avis, Budget and Tempest provide car rental at King Shaka Airport, but they are not open on Sundays. They are open from 5:00 in the morning to 23:00 at night.Taxi
Shuttle Bus
Car Rental
Getting to King Shaka Intl. Airport from the City Center
Taking a taxi in the morning or evening outside of rush hours is probably the most reliable method of transport to the airport in densely populated Durban. It’s also possible to reach the airport with rented cars or shuttle company buses.
Taxi
You can reach the airport by taxi from the city centre in around 30 to 50 minutes depending on traffic conditions. It might be a good idea to speak with the taxi driver beforehand and let them know your time of departure to not have any bad surprises for your journey.
Shuttle Bus
The shuttle buses that leave for the airport depart from Durban Station in the city centre, depart once every day at 8:00, 11:00, and 16:00 and reach the airport in around half an hour.
Car Rental
The traffic flows on the left side in Durban, so if you come from a country where you drive on the right it might be a better idea to hire a car with a driver rather than getting behind the steering wheel yourself. If you come from country where cars drive on the left side, you might be more at home with this option.
Airport Information
There is only one terminal in King Shaka Airport where there is an ABSA bank, which opens half an hour before the first flight and closes half an hour after the last flight. In addition, you can find financial services from the ATMs of First National Bank, Nedbank, and Standard Bank. There is a prayer room for Muslims, and a post office that offers services depending on the first and last flights of the day. There are baby and childcare rooms that mothers can use.
In addition to these services, the airport has many lounges. The most exclusive ones are the South African Airways Business Class Lounge, found near the entrance of the terminal, and BIDVest Premier Lounge. In these lounges you can order some food and rest on comfortable seating areas to read books or newspapers.
Airport restaurants include; Cape Town Fish Market, Cosmic Candy, Big Five Duty Free, Fego Coffee Shop, Kauai, KFC, Milky Lane, Mugg&Bean, Panarottis, Rhapsody’s, Spur, Steers, Sweet Treat, The Airport Cellar, and Wimpy. There is also a Yemaya Nail Express, Woolworts, Vodashop, Tie Stop, The Urban Retreat, The Scoin Shop, NWJ Fine Jewellery, Sneakers, Sunglass Hunt, Nike, MTN, Moda Luggage&Leather, Khasav, Jeep, EM Native, and Electro Electronics for your shopping needs.
