Port Elizabeth to Mthatha runs about 2 times a day, with the first departure around 07:30 and the last around 07:30. One passenger pays €61.39, every fee included. The fastest door to door is 5h 6m over 474 km, on services run by 2 operators across 1 mode.
What one seat costs
Every operator we hold on this corridor starts at €61.39, so there is no spread to show.
Typical fares · Priced for 12 October 2026
€61.39
- 168%Moves across the booking window
168%When it runs, leaving Port Elizabeth
Typical first and last departure on this corridor.
- 07:30First departure
- 07:30Last departure
- 2Services per day
- 0%Run direct
07:30
07:30
2
0%Fares by date
What this journey usually costs, by departure date. It shows which days run dearer.
Typical fares
- about €142.79Wed23
- about €137.84Thu24
- about €157.09Fri25
- about €118.04Sat26
- about €108.14Sun27
- about €104.29Mon28
- about €102.64Tue29
- about €80.09Wed30
- about €89.44Thu1
- about €77.89Fri2
- about €80.09Sat3
- about €82.29Sun4
- about €76.79Mon5
- about €65.24Tue6
- about €64.69Wed7
- about €67.44Thu8
- about €71.29Fri9
- about €69.64Sat10
- about €69.64Sun11
- about €61.39Mon12
- about €63.04Tue13
Based on what this route has cost recently. The live fare is confirmed when you book.
The train gets you into Mthatha. These two partners take it from there, and the bed is theirs to book.
A room in Mthatha for the night the train gets in
Sort by distance from Intercape and you can see which places are ten minutes on foot and which are not.
Partner links. We earn a commission when a booking completes, and it never changes what you pay.
When to book Port Elizabeth to Mthatha
The same search run across the whole booking window, so the shape of the curve is visible rather than described.
- €63.5990 days
- €59.7460 days
- €58.6445 days
- €66.3430 days
- €63.0421 days
- €65.2414 days
- €102.647 days
- €157.093 days
- €142.791 days
- Cheapest lead time
- Fares bottom out around 45 days ahead, at €58.64.
- How much it moves
- The gap between the cheapest and dearest lead time is 168 percent. The dearest point is €157.09, 3 days out.
- What that means
- Today sits inside the cheap window, which closes about 45 days before departure. Waiting from here has usually cost money on this corridor rather than saved it.
Book now Fares on this route are lowest around 45 days ahead. You are inside that window.
This corridor, specifically
Facts that apply to Port Elizabeth to Mthatha and to no other route on the site.
Clocks
Both ends keep the same time, so the arrival is the departure plus the journey.
The shape of it
474 km
397 km as the crow flies, 19% further by the route services take. The bearing runs north-east.
Who lives at each end
1,050,078 → 164,848
Population at the departure city and at the arrival city, which is usually what decides how often anything runs.
The route
What the journey looks like
Direct or connecting, how far the route really runs, and what happens when a connection is missed.
- Direct or connecting
- 0% of the services we sell on this corridor run through without a change. The remaining 100% involve one connection.
- How far it really runs
- The route covers 474 km against 397 km in a straight line, a detour of 19 percent. Track and road geometry account for the difference.
- Where the change is
- Connections are made at East London, Mdantsane. The gap between arriving and leaving is 58 minutes, of which about 5 is walking.
- If the connection is missed
- The tightest connection we sell here has a 16 percent chance of not being made on the timetable alone. Part of this journey is a self transfer between separate tickets, so leave more time than the minimum and expect to check in again.
The fare from UTT into Mthatha is set by whoever drives it.
A car waiting when you land in Mthatha
Settled in advance, so the ride into Mthatha costs what it said it would rather than what the rank says.
Book a transfer from UTT with Daytrip
Partner links. We earn a commission on a booking, and the fare is the same as going direct.
Who runs this route
The train gets in hours before any room is ready. Holding a bag is not what we sell.
Left luggage near Intercape
Most of the points near Intercape open before the first train and shut after the last one.
Check Mthatha on StasherOr try Bounce
Partner links. We earn a commission on a booking, and the price is the same as going direct.
Questions about Port Elizabeth to Mthatha
The questions people actually ask about this journey, answered from the same prices and times the page above is built on rather than written once and left to go stale.
How long does it take to get from Port Elizabeth to Mthatha?
The fastest journey from Port Elizabeth to Mthatha takes 5h 6m door to door, of which 3h 34m is spent moving, on the train. Most services take around 5h 21m, because that average includes slower stopping services and journeys with a connection. Times include reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end.
How much does it cost to travel from Port Elizabeth to Mthatha?
The cheapest fare from Port Elizabeth to Mthatha is €61.39, as of 22 September 2026. A typical fare across the next three weeks is €80.09. Both figures are the total for one passenger, including taxes, supplier fees and our service fee, so nothing is added at checkout.
What is the cheapest way to get from Port Elizabeth to Mthatha?
The cheapest way from Port Elizabeth to Mthatha is by train, at €61.39 for one passenger on 12 October 2026. That journey takes 5h 16m door to door. Cheaper is rarely faster on this corridor, and the comparison table on this page shows what each mode costs against what it saves.
When should I book Port Elizabeth to Mthatha?
Fares from Port Elizabeth to Mthatha bottom out around 45 days before departure, at €58.64. Across the whole booking window the gap between the cheapest and the dearest lead time is 168 percent, measured on 22 September 2026. Booking inside the last week has consistently cost more on this corridor.
Which day of the week is cheapest for Port Elizabeth to Mthatha?
Tuesday is the cheapest day to depart from Port Elizabeth to Mthatha, at €65.24. That is the median of 21 priced departure days across the next three weeks, as of 22 September 2026. Shifting a departure by one day is usually worth more than shifting the booking by one week.
Which month is cheapest for Port Elizabeth to Mthatha?
February is the cheapest of the next 5 months to travel from Port Elizabeth to Mthatha, at €54.24 for one passenger. Each month is priced on its fifteenth, so the comparison is like for like rather than a mix of weekends and midweek departures.
Who runs services from Port Elizabeth to Mthatha?
2 operators sell services from Port Elizabeth to Mthatha across 1 mode: Kei Rail, Shosholoza Meyl. Journey times, fares and fare conditions differ between them, and the operator table on this page compares all of them on speed, flexibility and what is provided on board.
Is there a direct service from Port Elizabeth to Mthatha?
0 percent of the services we sell from Port Elizabeth to Mthatha are direct. The rest connect at East London, Mdantsane, with about 58 minutes between the two services. Both legs are sold on one booking, so a missed connection is rebooked at no charge.
Which station or terminal do services from Port Elizabeth to Mthatha use?
Services from Port Elizabeth to Mthatha by train leave from Redhouse and arrive at Mthatha station. Allow about 44m in total for reaching the departure terminal and leaving the arrival one, which is already included in every door to door time on this page.
Can I change or refund a ticket from Port Elizabeth to Mthatha?
2 of the 2 operators we sell from Port Elizabeth to Mthatha allow a change or a refund. A change on a changeable fare costs €5.00. The operator table on this page names which is which, and the condition is shown again before you pay.
Where these numbers come from
Places, coordinates, operators, which operator serves which pair, and every distance on this page are real and come from open data. Where a corridor has a filed timetable the departure times are real too, and ferry fares are the prices the operators publish themselves.
Observed service A carrier record names this operator on this pair, carried through unchanged.
Prices come from the supplier wherever we hold a live quote. Elsewhere we show an indicative price built from the real distance, the real operator and a fare curve over lead time, day of the week and season. Those are labelled Estimated fare and cannot be booked.
Defined in full at Door to door, Fares, The booking window, Carbon, Distances
- On this page
- Every figure above was computed for Port Elizabeth to Mthatha on 22 September 2026: 474 km of route against 397 km in a straight line, 2 services a day, 2 operators a cheapest fare of €61.39, and 5h 6m door to door on the fastest mode. The return direction is computed separately and its numbers are not these numbers.
The train is the simple part. What you do once you are in Mthatha is somebody else's catalogue.
Day trips out of Mthatha and across South Africa
Day trips that leave Mthatha in the morning and cover a good part of South Africa by evening.
See Mthatha on GetYourGuideOr browse Viator
Partner links. We earn a commission on a booking, and it never changes the price.
The two ends, compared
Port Elizabeth reaches 36 places in 1 countries on services we hold, over distances from 112 to 947 km. Mthatha reaches 7 places in 1 countries, from 102 to 1,003 km.
Other ways to make this journey
Leaving Port Elizabeth
- 36Places you can leave for
- 1Countries
- 7Operators
1
7Arriving in Mthatha
Leaving Mthatha
- 7Places you can leave for
- 1Countries
- 2Operators