South Africa Travel Safety Guide
- Country South Africa
- Guide Safety
- Reviewed 16 August 2026
- Length 2 min read
Credit Discott, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Last reviewed 16 August 2026
This is the page most people arrive at first, and the honest version of it is uncomfortable in both directions. South Africa has a serious crime problem, which the government and every foreign ministry state plainly. It also receives a great many visitors a year, the overwhelming majority of whom go home having enjoyed themselves and lost nothing.
What follows is what the authorities actually say, without softening it and without the lurid version either.
What the advisories say
The British government describes a high crime rate and names the categories: violent muggings, snatching of jewelry and valuables, carjacking, smash and grab attacks on vehicles stopped in traffic, house robbery, rape and sexual assault, and murder. It also names kidnapping, including the short kidnapping intended to extract cash from a bank account, and fraud including card skimming.
It is explicit that violent crime can happen anywhere, including in tourist areas and at transport hubs. Reading it as a problem confined to certain districts is the mistake it specifically warns against.
Where extra care is advised
Townships and informal settlements are where most violent crime takes place, and the advice is not to go independently. That is not the same as not going: township tours with established local guides are a normal and worthwhile part of a visit, and the guiding is the point.
The advisories also name isolated beaches and picnic spots, transport hubs, the quieter paths of Table Mountain National Park early in the morning and toward evening, and the roads between Cape Town airport and the city, where drivers of hired cars have been targeted. Demonstrations can turn disruptive and are best avoided rather than observed.
The habits that account for most of it
- Nothing visible: no phone in your hand on the street, no camera round your neck, no jewelry
- Windows up and doors locked while driving, particularly stopped at junctions
- Bags and phones out of sight in a parked car, not under a seat while somebody watches you put them there
- ATMs inside a bank or a shopping center, never one standing alone on a street
- Refuse help at a cash machine from anyone at all, however official they look
- Ride hailing rather than walking after dark, even for a short distance
- Ask your accommodation which specific streets are fine and which are not, and believe the answer
If the worst happens
These are the numbers published by the authorities. Save them offline before you travel, alongside your travel insurer’s emergency line.
- Police: 10111
- Emergency services from a mobile: 112
- Ambulance: 10177
- Hand over what is asked for, because possessions are replaceable and resistance is what turns a robbery violent
- Report the crime and get a case number, because your insurer will need it
- Contact your embassy or consulate if your passport is gone
Keeping it in proportion
The advice above is not a reason to stay away, and reading a safety page as a verdict on a country is a mistake this publication would rather you did not make. It is a set of habits that residents follow without thinking, and adopting them for a fortnight costs nothing.
The single most useful safety resource is a local who will tell you honestly where to walk and where to take a car. Ask, early, and take the answer at face value.