Is South Africa a safe place to visit as a tourist?

Question: Is South Africa a safe place to visit as a tourist?
I would like to visit South Africa one day on a tour. I would like to visit Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban. However, I met a South African couple who said that it is not very safe and sometimes strangers can knock on your door and rob you and threaten you with a gun. Is this true? Is South Africa a dangerous place? Or only certaina areas? Are the police effective or corrupt?
What about those cities I mentioned?
(visit africa)

Best answer:

Answer by Gtiboy
dude, firstly, chill :)
SA is not bad, if we were so bad, we would not be hosting the Fifa 2010 WC, nor would we have hosted the cricket WC or the Rugby WC and other international events.
Yes there is crime in SA, is it so bad to the extent that tourists should not visit? NO :) the crime varies in different areas.
Cape Town, is the best place to visit, so much amazing things to do and great weather, it is the most visited place in SA and second in Africa :)
I’l be honest, Johannesburg is dangerous but not to the extent that you should not visit. South Africans welcome tourists and we are proud of our beautiful home. If we weren’t, do you think we would have fought so hard abolish the laws of Apartheid?
Dont worry , just come visit

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Comments (9)
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#1 written by jazoj 1 year ago

Read this!! Honestly, South Africa, and Johannesburg in particular, many refer to it as dangerous – HONESTLY, they exaggerate, and danger presents itself all over the PLANET. (which many people don’t get!)

SO don’t listen to them….

I live, work, study and play in Johannesburg and it’s your average, busy city, and it is SAFE, YES it is! =]

Read the article =] Come visit us, you’ll have the best time.

This from a Jo’burger! =]

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#2 written by coronat 1 year ago

LOL..its completly safe just make sure you stand out from the crowd eg; make sure your rolex is visible, drive around JHB with your windows down, flash as much cash as you can and generally act like a tourist,btw the best place to do this is central JHB..let me know how it goes

ps, dont worry about the police you can mug just about anyone you like (i would suggest you select a group of young guys that appear to loiter around taxi ranks or the larney hotels) they usually have lots of stuff worth taking and they wont report you as they just got thru mugging someone else of it all.

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#3 written by Tony J 1 year ago

Let me start with are the police effective or corrupt? The police have a reputation for being corrupt and cases of corrupt policeman are on the increase. Jackie Selebe, the commissioner of police is facing criminal and corruption charges, amongst a number of others and this is what has been exposed, it is too frightening to even think how rife it is.

Crime is everywhere in the world but some of our crime statistics unfortunately speak for themselves, so it is important irrespective of where you are in SA to take common sense precautions as well as consistently being vigilant.

I have either spent quite some time in or lived in the 4 cities you have mentioned and without exception each city has its “no go” areas, but each city also has a lot to do and see. The CBD of Johannesburg is the worst of the 4. Cape Town for me is by far the best city and if I were you I would spend more time there than in the other cities.

Here is a helpful link in terms of safety in SA, there are many more just search for them on this forum.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

Do not believe everything you read about SA, SA is without a doubt worth a visit, and that is not a biased opinion, the number of tourists visiting SA is on the increase.

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#4 written by Mr D 1 year ago

I don’t know where you from but ” sometimes strangers can knock on your door and rob you and threaten you with a gun. Is this true? ” were you live ? and “Are the police effective or corrupt? ” any other place in the world?

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#5 written by Jennifer L 1 year ago

We just got back from a vacation to SA. We spent one night in Johannesburg before going to Kruger park. Everyone was very warm, friendly and welcoming. We never once felt unsafe or threatened. I think like any other place, it’s a matter of using common sense.

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#6 written by Dee 1 year ago

On average, South Africa is maybe a more dangerous place than some other countries in the world. Yes, we do have crime in South Africa, and yes, people are sometimes threatened with weapons.
If you use common sense, you can be save in almost any area.
Some of the rural areas should not be visited without a trustworthy guide/tourgroup. Do not drive in areas that you are not familiar with, and make sure that you know where you are going. Do not visit areas alone at night, make sure that you are in a group.
I think of the cities you mentioned, Johannesburg is most likely to be the more dangerous city.
I would suggest that you do not visit South Africa on your own, espesially if you are a girl.
Unfortunately we do have corrupt police officials, and they are not always effective.
South Africa is a beautiful country with lots to see and do.
And by the way, South Africa – Johannesburg – presented the Miss World competition in December 2008 without any problems.

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#7 written by Ekke 1 year ago

Judge for yourself.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/21674/Crime-Statistics-Assaults

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_percap-crime-murders-per-capita

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_homicide_rate

http://www.geocities.com/dtmcbride/reference/crime_world.html

And then our Scorpions (equivalent to say… FBI or CIA):

http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/Politics/0,,2-7-12_2461561,00.html

http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2255831,00.html

http://www.mg.co.za/article/2008-01-21-scorpions-disbanding-is-to-protect-anc

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#8 written by Guy VS 1 year ago

i’ve been to South Africa several times over the past few years … and i’m still alive. this doesn’t mean there’s no crime or danger, but if you take care, you shouldn’t have any problems.

you say you want to visit Jo’burg, Cape Town, Pretoria and Durban. now i must say that the most interesting, beautiful parts of the country aren’t in these cities. OK, you don’t want to miss Table Mountain so you have to get to Cape Town, but you also have to see Hluhluwe, Drakensbergen, Karoo, West Coast, Mpumalanga, Garden Route, and many, many more and i can assure you that you will not get into trouble there.

in fact, as in other countries, it’s mainly the big cities, where you get large concentrations of people looking for a better life, that are the most dangerous spotsso if you really want/have to go to Jo’burg or Pretoria, be vigilant and don’t go out at night

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#9 written by LieweHeksie 1 year ago

Just be vigilant and use common sense. Its no more or less safe than other places.

But what you will need is a jar of Gypsy tears to protect you from AIDS.

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Is South Africa a safe place to visit as a tourist?

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