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Your complete guide on moving from Johannesburg to Cape Town

From costs to logistics and lifestyle changes, here’s everything you need to know when making this big move.
Charles Ames
· Updated February 28, 2025
Your complete guide on moving from Johannesburg to Cape Town

Cost of Moving from Johannesburg to Cape Town

Vetted moving companies service trusted by thousands of customers. Fixed Prices. Quick and Easy

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What are you moving?

Cape Town and Joburg have always had a love-hate relationship—and the precise mix between those two emotions can fluctuate wildly.

In the heat of December beachfront traffic, when a finger-wagging showdown erupts between a local ‘CA’ and a visiting ‘GP’, then ‘hate-hate’ seems more accurate. But when it comes to deciding where to live, Joburg residents have been showing Cape Town some pure love in recent years.

How many people are moving from Johannesburg to Cape Town

In 2023-2024, some 3500 Joburg-based homeowners sold up and moved to Cape Town—that’s nearly 10 moves a day.

And that excludes all the renting migrants not captured in a report compiled by Lightstone. By contrast, only about 1600 Cape homeowners packed up and headed in the other direction.

What to expect

The move down to Cape Town is a long haul physically—1400km of steaming tar through the Karoo. But it also involves bridging some other intangible gaps between the cities when it comes to lifestyle, climate and culture.

And if you’re a Cape-bound Joburger, don’t expect to feel that love is all around down there. The wind, the traffic, the rain and the apparent stand-offishness of many Capetonians may never float your boat. No city is perfect, after all.

When you make the decision to move to Cape Town

What you don’t want to do is get the practical stuff wrong. You want to minimise stress, risk and expense—and land on your feet, so you can start adapting in the right frame of mind.

So read on for a Joburger’s guide to the big Cape Town move—featuring the telling facts, the cost ranges, and the best course of action to take.

The long and the short: some facts to know

N! South via BloemfonteinThe distance of the move is 1398km, straight down the N1 South via Bloemfontein. This is by far the most popular route to take.

The alternative route via Kimberley and the northern Karoo may spare you toll fees, but the extra mileage will raise your petrol bill more than the toll saving.

In fact, it’s estimated that fuel makes up 30% of your move cost—so save where you can.

  1. The trip takes a passenger vehicle between 14 and 16 hours, but your removal truck will take longer.

  2. Your move could cost anywhere between R6000 (for a simple one-bedroom move) and R36000 (for a 4+ bedroom move including bulky or fragile furniture).

  3. Moving on the weekend is pricier than on weekdays, thanks to stronger demand. Midweek moves are typically the cheapest option.

  4. A high-season move—in December or January, when families typically relocate—will likely be pricier.

What else will affect the cost?

The cost of your move will vary with the size, weight and fragility of your furniture. Filling out a detailed online inventory form can give you an accurate number to start.

Here are the average JHB-CT costs for 2024

Home Size

Average Inventory (CBM)

A Cost to Move / CBM

Total Cost

1-Bed Apartment

8.6

R750

R6450

2-bed House

20

R825

R16 500

4+ Bed House

47.8

R750

R35 850

The most important thing to remember is that your budget matters. You may be moving for a new work opportunity, or to be closer to family. So, finding a price that suits your budget is key.

Cost increases that can affect your moving quote from JHB to CPT

  • If your moving service will need to take a longer route to Cape Town than the N1, for whatever reason, the cost will rise accordingly.

  • If you want your goods to be packed by the moving service at your current property, that will increase the bill—as will adding insurance, or any storage service you may need during the journey from one home to the next.

  • If it’s a big and complex move, you may need more than one or two movers to load and unload—this will also add some bucks to your bill.

Savings tip: don’t be a ‘too-early’ bird!

Another thing to bear in mind is the 'optimal date' to book a move. The conventional wisdom was always that it was best to book your move as early as possible.

But these days, that’s no longer true—thanks to some healthy competition between movers who want their trucks fully loaded.

The advice from Wise Move is that if you book 3 to 4 weeks before your move date, you have the best chance of being offered a great deal — whether due to sharing a load with another client or by taking up an empty “backload” (a Cape-based truck’s return journey from Joburg.)

  • If you’re flexible on the delivery date, movers can add you as an empty backload—decreasing your overall quote.

  • You'll also reduce your moving quote if you’re willing to share. Shared loads offer significantly better rates than a dedicated load, but may take longer.

What kind of move works for you?

There are four basic service options for your move

  1. In the full-service option, the moving company does all the packing and inventory-keeping, supplies the insurance, plus the move itself.
  2. A dedicated load option means you don’t have to share the truck with another client, which means you are the king customer, with fewer timing variables.
  3. With the cheaper shared-load option, you save money in exchange for possible timing variability.
  4. And lastly, if you’re lucky, you can get a dedicated empty backload. That means the truck is returning home and it’s either your load or no load.

These are the pros and cons of each option…

Type of move

Pros

Cons

Full service

Simplicity and peace of mind. A luxury moving experience.

Higher costs

Dedicated load

Cheaper than full service, with very predictable timing.

More packing work and insurance paperwork than full-service. Higher carbon footprint if you don’t fill the truck.

Shared load

Lower costs & smaller carbon footprint.

Less predictable timing than a dedicated load.

Empty Back Load

Best of both worlds, great service, best price.

Not always possible, so don’t hold your breath.

How to get online moving quotes

Needless to say, the earth won’t move for you. Your belongings (furniture, cars, and even your pets) have to somehow find a way down to the Cape. 

If you’re over the DIY route and looking for a stress-free solution, you could have everything transported while you grab the next FlySafair flight.

Here’s what you do to book your move

1. Go to Wise Move and submit your moving request. You will need to enter details such as your pick-up and delivery addresses, the move date, and the inventory list.  And, you can make different requests for your household items, vehicles and pets.

2. Compare quotes: you will receive a range of quotes from approved, trusted carriers.

3. Pick a winner! Your decision will be guided by price, by reviews uploaded to the Wise Move platform, and by the services offered.

4. Confirm your mover. Pay the deposit (if necessary) to your chosen moving service.

5. Communicate with your movers directly to finalise the details and tweak the options if and when your plans change.

Why Wise Move?

Hiring movers is scary—or at least it USED to be. It was hard to know for sure which companies were dependable custodians of your worldly possessions—and whether the prices you were being offered were competitive when so many smaller rival movers were out there.

With Wise Move, all that doubt and confusion is removed—because you can compare multiple quotes by a range of respected movers, all in one place, with the power of full transparency and like-for-like variables.

Moving across the country is stressful enough in itself. There’s no way to get around that. But the Wise Move platform makes the process of choosing your moving service quick, painless and accurate.

It vastly reduces the risk of a bad experience. And that could help make your new life in the Cape a very good experience.

Cost of Moving from Johannesburg to Cape Town

Vetted moving companies service trusted by thousands of customers. Fixed Prices. Quick and Easy

9.4 · 8,623 reviews
What are you moving?

What do our customers say?

Read reviews of Wise Move to learn stories from our customers.
R 5,590
Renault CLIO 3
Cape Town, Western Cape
Westville, Dawncliffe
10
Mark
Reviewed 6 hours ago
What a service offered by professional and caring staff. Well done guys
R 7,999
Nissan Np200
Roodepoort, Gauteng
Cape Town, Burgundy Estate
9.5
Mario
Reviewed 11 hours ago
Petrus has delivered an outstanding service. Definitely someone I will always consider when moving my belongings. Thank you Wise Move and thank you Rock Steady Services!
R 600
Sandton, Pine Slopes AH
Randburg, Olivedale
10
Shelby
Reviewed 11 hours ago
Fred was absolutely fantastic. His communication was constant and clear, and he was very careful when carrying my belongings up and down the stairs.
R 6,720
3 cats to be transported from Johannesburg to Durban
Sandton, Fourways
Dolphin Coast, KwaZulu-Natal
10
Rosana
Reviewed 12 hours ago
Paul was very kind in answering all my questions and getting my fur babies safely to our new home in KZN.
R 2,000
Pringle Bay, Western Cape
Cape Town, Western Cape
10
Ludwig
Reviewed 18 hours ago
I recently used Parcels and Wheels for my move, and I couldn't be happier with their service. From start to finish, the entire process was effortless. The team arrived precisely on time, which I greatly appreciated. They were incredibly efficient, making the loading process very quick, yet still handling all my belongings with care. Beyond their professionalism, the movers were also very friendly and made what can often be a stressful day feel much more pleasant. I highly recommend Parcels and Wheels for anyone looking for a reliable, efficient, and friendly moving service.