The answer
Uber or Bolt into the city is the default: ~R200–400 to central Durban (app-quoted range), 30–45 min over the 35 km on the N2 — but the pickup is on the DEPARTURES level, not kerbside.
King Shaka handles everything by road — no rail, one published fixed fare (the R140 coach) — and the app shows your price before you confirm, which beats negotiating in a city with no regulated taxi tariff.
On a budget, midday? Margate Coach to Durban Station: fixed R140, ~25 min, but only 4 daily trips.
Hotel in uMhlanga/Ballito? You're 15–20 min north of the airport: apps typically R120–220.
⚠️ The traps (walk past these)
Waiting kerbside at arrivals for your app car
KSIA regulations require all rideshare pickups on the departures level; drivers who take riders at arrivals get cited and banned. Your driver won't come down to you — the app sends you up.
Do this: request the ride after baggage claim, go upstairs to departures and read the door number to your driver
Assuming the bus is a hourly shuttle
Margate Coach runs Durban Station 4 trips a day from the airport (10:00, 13:30, 15:30, 18:30) — not an airport express. Land at 19:00 and there is no bus at all.
Do this: check the day's departure times before you plan on R140; plan an app or taxi after ~19:00
The 'Durban Airport' that no longer exists
Old Durban International, south of the city, closed in 2010; everything flies from King Shaka, 35 km north at La Mercy. Price-your-trip-from-the-old-airport figures are fiction.
Do this: quote King Shaka / DUR / La Mercy in every booking, and budget the 30–45 min N2 run
Touts working the arrivals hall
Durban has no citywide regulated tariff, so anyone approaching you indoors with a 'taxi' is quoting their own price — 2026 guides flag these informal cars as the ones to walk past.
Do this: walk out to the supervised rank or use the app — never hire from inside the terminal