Portugal to South Africa by Car: What Google Maps Really Shows

A post that went viral on X this week said Google Maps wants 24,220 km for the trip, looping round the Mediterranean through Türkiye. We couldn’t get Google to show that route, even with “avoid ferries” switched on.

The legs add up to slightly less than the total because Google also counts a few short connecting stretches. On the web, Google offered one alternative: 11,790 km via the Trans-Sahara Hwy, N1 and B1.

Why the route starts with a ferry to Algeria

You’d expect Google to cross from Spain to Morocco, the shortest sea crossing. It doesn’t, because the land border between Morocco and Algeria is closed. The UK government’s travel advice says so plainly and adds: “Do not attempt to cross it.”

So Google drives you 876 km across Portugal and Spain to Almería, then puts you on the ferry to Ghazaouet in western Algeria. That crossing is real: the Spanish ferry company Baleària lists an Almería–Ghazaouet route. Google times the crossing at 8 hr 10 min.

Why it’s not a straight line through the middle

From Algeria, Google labels the route “via Trans-Sahara Hwy/N1” and heads south through Niger to Nigeria. That’s the line of an official road: the African Union’s Trans-African Highway network includes Algiers to Lagos.

A route further east, through Chad and Sudan, isn’t a good alternative either. The UK government advises against all travel to Sudan “because of the ongoing military conflict”.

Further south there’s one more crossing: the Congo River, by ferry from Brazzaville to Kinshasa. It’s only 4.1 km, about 30 minutes. From there it’s 4,096 km on through Angola and Namibia to Cape Town.

What about the 24,220 km route?

We couldn’t reproduce it. Our first thought was that it was the “avoid ferries” route: without the ferries, you’d have to drive round the Mediterranean through Türkiye. But when we switched “avoid ferries” on, Google showed the same 11,966 km route, ferries included. We’ve seen this before: in our toll and ferry test, “avoid ferries” still gave a ferry to the Isle of Wight.

So we couldn’t reproduce the 24,220 km figure. The screenshot may be older, or use different start and end points or settings. We can’t tell from the post. What Google shows for Lisbon to Cape Town now is the route above.

The warnings Google shows

Tap the alerts on the route card and Google Maps lists four:

• “This route crosses through multiple countries/regions.”
• “Your destination is in a different time zone.”
• “This route includes a ferry.”
• “This route has tolls.”

These are notes, not errors. The ferry and toll alerts are explained in our error messages guide. To change them, see how to avoid tolls and ferries.

Can you actually drive it?

A line on Google Maps isn’t a promise that a road is open or safe. Google’s route runs straight through Niger, and the UK government currently advises against all travel to Niger. It also advises against all travel within 30 km of Algeria’s border with Niger, which Google’s route has to cross.

So treat this as a map answer, not a travel plan. We don’t recommend driving this route. Before any cross-border drive, check each country’s official travel advice first.

Planning a long drive in Google Maps

For a long road trip on routes that are safe to travel, these help:

• Split it into stages. Google Maps takes up to 9 stops, so a long drive works better as daily legs. See our multiple stops guide.
• Download maps before you lose signal, and check offline maps work in each country on the way. Our Google Maps offline guide covers it.
• Check the ferries separately. Google times the crossing but not the timetable. Look up the operator’s sailings yourself.
• Want a smaller African road trip first? Our Kenya road trip runs from Nairobi to the coast, with a toll road and a ferry of its own.

How we checked: Google Maps app on Android and Google Maps on the web, both signed out, on 10 November 2026. Routes and times change with roads, borders and traffic.