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If you’re one of those people forced to take the red-eye flights every so often, you’ve probably asked the question that never seems to go away.

Hey, what’s the best way to get to OR Tambo International Airport?

Us Capetonians don’t suffer from the same problem, because our airport isn’t located in such an out of the way area, but up in Jozi the struggle is real.

Naturally, the best way to get to OR Tambo is to get dropped off by a friend. Judging by the results of Traveller24′s Twitter poll, social media agrees:

61 votes isn’t exactly a massive sample size, though, so Traveller24 decided to crunch the numbers to see which mode of transport is the smartest to use.

We will rule out a friend dropping you off, and start with the Gautrain:

A single ticket will put you back between R165 – R192, depending on which station you’re going to, whereas a return is between R330 – R384.

And that doesn’t factor in the potential extra R100 or more you’d spend on Ubering to and from the Gautrain station to get to and from your home or place of work.

You may also have to buy a Gautrain card if you’re using it for the first time, so those costs are mounting.

Uber:

A normal UberX ride could set you back around R300 – 400, one way. It’s an efficient, quick and easy direct route, however it is pricier than the Gautrain.

Travelling to the airport with another person and splitting the fare makes it pretty competitive and affordable, though.

If you can get a second person in the car with you, bonus. If you’re travelling solo, it’s not ideal.

Shuttle service:

On Twitter, a reader told Traveller24 that he uses a very reliable and efficient shuttle service, added that it’s cheaper than valet parking at the airport. However, upon further investigation, I confirmed that many shuttle services will cost you up to R480, one way. A shuttle service is expensive if you’re just a single passenger, however travelling in a group, this type of service makes more sense.

Again, the solo traveller getting stung with that bill.

OR Tambo airport normal parking:

Normal parking – i.e. 12-24h will cost you R180 at a normal parkade and an added R90 thereafter every 12 hours or part thereof. For a day trip from Jo’burg to Cape Town it makes sense to park here for the day.

Choosing the long stay for R310 for 5 days is more expensive, with competition now offered from valet parking services, who will throw in a car wash for a similar price.

OK, for a day trip, it’s actually worth taking your own car, and parking it in OR Tambo airport’s normal parking. Good to know.

Valet parking:

There are a number of different recommendations on this front, and we’ll just look at the top three:

Valet park

Just away for the weekend? This service costs only R160 for 2 days – plus you will get a car wash! Three days will set you back R240, plus you’ll get a car wash. Factoring in some petrol money to get to and from the airport – this will still work out cheaper than paying a drop-off service or taking a car-hailing service.

Mr Parking

Similarly, 4 days cost only R240, plus your car gets a polish.

Air o car

When it comes to long-term parking it usually gets cheaper. For 15-30 days, this service will charge you R780 – adding on only R30 extra a day as the days increase. So for those lucky enough to take super long holiday, basically.

Still a little lost, and just want to be told what to do?

I’m with you on that one, and thankfully Traveller24 finishes with a verdict:

If we compare the valet parking services at OR Tambo, all offering fairly similar services (pick-up, drop-off and car wash), it seems that many services are cheaper in the short term (1-4 days) than taking a shuttle, Uber or Guatrain (if you factor in the cost of getting to and from the Gautrain station).

Long term parking is very reasonable if you consider how long your car will be at the service with 24h security, however it doesn’t make sense to pay R1 200 for a single traveller to keep their car at the airport, whereas they could just use a public service like the Gautrain, which would work out much cheaper for them, in this case.

In summary, day-trippers are probably best served by using their own cars and using the normal parking at OR Tambo, although longer trips will require some number crunching on your part.

Use it, don’t use it – whatever.

[source:traveller24]