Is Cape Town Safe?

Are you thinking about travelling to Cape Town or South Africa, but worried about the safety situation? This guide contains safety tips and information based on our recent three-month stay in South Africa for tourists travelling to Cape Town or wider South Africa.

I wanted to write this blog because I found that a lot of what I had read about Cape Town online was out-of-date, misleading or inaccurate. Everything in this guide is up-to-date information for 2023. It’s all based on either our personal experiences or advice from locals unless otherwise explained. As always, travellers should check their government website for the latest travel information for South Africa. 

First up, the good news. Charlie and I (Luke, here) spent three amazing months in South Africa. We spent most of our time in Cape Town and it was a truly incredible place to visit. We were not the victims of any crime in any way. The South Africans we met, almost without exception, were friendly and welcoming to tourists. We feel lucky to have met so many amazing people and learned so much about South African culture.

Now onto the bad news. Statistically speaking, South Africa has a high rate of homicide. It’s usually in the top ten countries worldwide for homicide, far ahead of most other African countries and not far behind countries like El Salvador, Venezuela and Belize. In my experience, there were lots of places in Cape Town and the surrounding areas that made me feel uneasy. A fair number of them made me feel unsafe. This included parts of the City Bowl (CBD).

I recommend that travellers to South Africa follow the following safety rules at all times:

How To Stay Safe in Cape Town and South Africa

1. When out after dark, take an Uber (even if it’s just a few blocks)
2. Don’t flash your cash/valuables
3. Keep a close eye on your cash/valuables 
4. Know where you’re going before you get there (and walk there quickly and directly)
5. Don’t take public transport (as tourists, we’re easy to spot and that means we may be more at risk of crime on public transport)
6. Be careful when drinking alcohol 

Use Uber if you’re out and about after dark

Using Uber after dark is something that I was told to do by my South African friend. This is because Cape Town quickly becomes more dangerous after dark. 

The good news is that Ubers are safe and inexpensive. Drivers tend to have thousands of five-star reviews, so you can be sure you’re in good hands. 

For additional safety, you can ask your driver to give you a pin so you can be sure you’re getting into the right car. Also, you can share your Uber trip, in real-time, with a friend or family member who can check that you’ve got to your destination safely. 

I recommend avoiding the temptation to walk around after dark, especially if it’s part of the city that you don’t know well. 

We walked through Company’s Garden as the sun was setting and the vibe changed from very relaxed to very sketchy much quicker than we were expecting. If in doubt, get an Uber. 

Don’t flash your cash or place your valuables on display

Not flashing your cash and/or valuables is a common sense rule that applies in any big city.

If you’re sitting at a bar or restaurant and you have a bag, keep it between your feet so someone can’t grab it and run off. Don’t leave it unattended and don’t hang it on the back of your chair or leave it on a spare chair at the table. I’d recommend having a small bag that you can wear comfortably even when inside if your valuables can’t fit in your front trouser pockets.

I went out with just my debit card, phone and ID. I made sure that the debit card never had too much money on it and kept a spare card at my accommodation, just in case. 

This is something I normally do when travelling and isn’t specific to South Africa.

Charlie with her trusty Eastpak bag

Know where you’re going before you get there

If you plan to walk somewhere in Cape Town, it’s a good idea to have a look at the route on Google Maps before you start walking.

I found that some streets went from very nice to very sketchy in a matter of minutes. If you find yourself accidentally in a part of town that doesn’t look good, just trust your gut and walk back the way you came.

Try not to slow down too often to look at Google Maps on your phone. For one, this makes it very obvious that you’re a tourist and that you don’t know where you’re going. Using Google Maps too often whilst walking will distract you and slow you down. 

Walking quickly, on the other hand, makes you less of a target. Don’t interact with anyone who stops you. This includes people in “official” looking outfits, who might be trying to scam you. Just say “no, thank you” and keep walking.

Be especially careful of anyone who attempts to direct you to an ATM to withdraw money. A common scam is for someone in official-looking gear to tell a tourist they need a ticket from the ATM because a road is closed. Accomplices wait at the ATM and jump the tourist when they get there.

Don’t use public transport

My South African friend told me never to use public transport in Cape Town. That includes both buses and trains. Whilst locals do use public transport, us tourists are easily recognisable and crime does happen on public transport in South Africa.

Again, Uber is relatively inexpensive, so this wasn’t a big problem. I’ve seen online that the MiCiti buses in Cape Town are considered safe, and the ones I saw looked fine, but I did not test them myself given that Uber was so affordable.

Be careful when drinking alcohol

Lastly, be careful when drinking alcohol. This is true for any big city (or anyone anywhere really) but especially true in Cape Town. This is because alcohol increases risk-taking behaviour and impairs your judgement — you’re more likely to do something stupid and get yourself in trouble when you are drunk. 

Drink responsibly and take an Uber home at the end of the night.

Also, don’t accept drinks offered to you by strangers – even good-looking ones. 

Things to Consider Before you Visit Cape Town

South Africa is a fantastic travel destination; one that I know many people would enjoy hugely. But it’s not for everyone. Consider the following before booking your ticket:

• How experienced are you at travelling? 
• Are you nervous about travelling? 
• Are you good at planning and staying alert? 
• Are you travelling alone?

Firstly, how experienced are you at travelling? Of course, you can be the victim of crime no matter how experienced or inexperienced you are. But I do think that Cape Town is a better destination for experienced travellers.

If you’ve done backpacking in Central or South America, or Southeast Asia, you’ve probably picked up some safety lessons that will be helpful for your time in South Africa.

The next and perhaps most important thing to consider is your general anxiety/sensitivity levels to safety concerns. What I mean by this is that you might not have a good time if you’re very worried about crime. 

I personally felt more stressed than normal for my first couple of weeks in Cape Town. This was partly because I didn’t choose a particularly safe part of town, so I was hassled every time I left my Airbnb and it took time to understand which streets beggars frequented. 

This didn’t stop me from having a good time, but it would have been a less enjoyable trip if I’d only been there for a two-week holiday.

If you’re travelling alone, you’ll need to be even more careful. There’s safety in numbers.

Activities like hiking can be dangerous if you are alone and it would be best to either hire a guide, stick to the most popular routes that are always busy, or better still, join a hiking group.

I hiked both Table Mountain (Platteklip Gorge) and Lion’s Head with Charlie in November 2022. The routes are very popular and it felt like the number of people on the trails makes crime unlikely on those specific routes. We did both hikes on weekend mornings after the sun had already risen when we knew other walkers would be on the routes and knowing we would finish our walk before sunset.

Which Areas of Cape Town are Safest?

I really wanted to write this guide because I read a few places online that most places in the City Bowl District (CBD) are safe. 

This might have been true a few years ago, but it didn’t feel that way to me. 

Having said this, I know other people who have visited Cape Town and say it’s no more dangerous than big cities in Europe or the United States. I disagree, but respect that everyone’s personal experience and opinions may be different.

For our first apartment, we stayed on Darling Street, which is right in the middle of the city centre. It’s close to Long Street, which can be thought of as the “main” street in the city. We were hassled by homeless people asking for money, every time we left the apartment. They were not aggressive but they were sometimes confrontational. 

For our second apartment, we stayed on Leeuwen Street (right by Bree street). It made a huge difference and we barely got hassled at all. It made me realise that location is very important when staying in Cape Town. This street was only around five blocks away from our first apartment to put into perspective how quickly the safety of an area can change.

If I was recommending Cape Town to someone visiting for just a couple of weeks, I’d suggest the following areas: 

• Camp’s Bay — expensive beach location, away from the centre of Cape Town
• Bakoven — expensive beach village, far from the CBD
• Clifton — expensive beachfront area
• Waterfront — upmarket part of the CBD, next to the docks
• Kalks Bay — beach village with tidal pools for swimming, far from the CBD
• Bree Street — trendy street in the CBD, but surrounding areas are less safe
• Kloof Street — trendy street in the CBD, but surrounding areas are less safe

I’d certainly suggest looking for somewhere with a 24/7 security guard at the foyer. We had this and I always felt perfectly safe inside both apartments in Cape Town. We also specifically chose not to stay in ground-floor apartments when staying in Cape Town’s CBD.

What Does the Safety Situation Feel Like in Cape Town?

I read a lot about Cape Town’s safety situation before I visited, but I don’t think anything I read really described the situation as it felt to me. I’ve tried to do that here: 

• Informal settlements (townships) are common but they are avoidable
• You will probably notice more security features than you are used to
• Beggars and homeless people can be confrontational
• Uber drivers can be very tense when driving

The townships are the informal settlements that poor South African communities live in. They are affected by the highest crime rates in the country. 

They look like the favelas of South America and can be found all over, including on the drive between Cape Town airport and Cape Town itself. However, it’s very difficult to end up in a township by accident, so this is unlikely to affect your trip unless you visit one, which is not recommended.

One of the things you’ll notice immediately is that people take security very seriously. There are lots of private “armed response” companies and you’ll see their vehicles, staff and promotional posters dotted all around. 

Electric fences are common, as are barbed wire fences, security cameras, barred windows and dogs. One of the gyms we used had emergency panic buttons. I also saw panic buttons on lamp posts.

There are people hired to promote public safety all over the CBD. They normally wear high-visibility vests that say “CCID.” Unfortunately, I don’t think you can rely on these people in an emergency. 

Whilst some are no doubt hard-working and professional, a lot of them simply play on their phone or find a shady spot to nap in. 

Cape Town has a lot of homeless people and some of these people are in really bad shape. A lot of them are hungry and some are dressed in little more than rags. 

Some of them have obvious mental health problems. Most of the homeless people we encountered were friendly and polite, but many of them asked us for food or money and some became confrontational. In these situations, the public safety officers did not intervene or support in any way, even if they were close by. 

Many live on the streets under pieces of tarpaulin or whatever they can get together to provide some protection from the elements. You’ll find these shanty towns under freeways and in parks and green spaces across the city, including the CBD.

We also noticed that some Uber drivers were very tense. We spoke to one Uber driver who’d recently been attacked by a homeless person with a rock. Others were very jumpy no doubt as a result of working in conditions that could sometimes be dangerous. 

They will normally lock the doors as soon as you get in and some will want to know your name to check they have the right person in their car. I’m not judging the Uber drivers for this at all, but it does tell you that the locals don’t feel particularly safe either. 

To summarise:

• Cape Town is an awesome destination and South Africans are amazing
• If you’re planning to stay in Cape Town, choose your location carefully
• When in Cape Town, follow the safety tips and stay vigilant 

If you’ve read this blog and you’d still like to visit, I highly encourage you to do so. Cape Town is a simply stunning place and there are many incredible things to see and do. 

If you’re less sure about visiting, I recommend that you take a look at places like Camp’s Bay, Kalk Bay and even Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. These places are far from the city centre and feel much safer and more relaxing, so you can still experience South Africa. 

If you’re planning to visit Cape Town and you have safety questions, leave a comment below and we’ll get back to you!