Lebombo - busy gateway to Mozambique beaches

Lebombo border post between South Africa and Mozambique is rated as one of the 5 busiest ports of South Africa. The normal operating hours are from 6:00 to midnight, but these hours are often extended to deal with the large number of people. The staff on the South African side of the border post expressed their wish for a 24 hour operation to ease the load during early mornings. Sometimes staff cannot reach the border post to change shifts as the 2-lane road entry becomes a 4-lane block-the-road.

Expect delays of up to 4 hours. Keep in mind that the public toilets within the border post area are not in a good condition and you would probably not want to use them.

Saturday mornings are always exceptionally busy when thousands of Mozambique people cross to South Africa to do their shopping.  Mbombela (Nelspruit) is only 85 km from the border post. Komatipoort, a small town with numerous Chinese shops, are only 5 km from the border post.

The border post is reached by the N4 national road from Mbombela. At the time of our visit there were major construction work happening and stop-go delays of up to 40 minutes are common on a 25 km stretch of road. This leads to frustration and as if that is not bad enough, a toll fee of R51 is paid just at the end of the construction work. The toll road continues for 90 km past the border post to Maputo. Toll fees on the Mozambique side is accepted in South African rands, but no cards.