Cape Town Crime and Safety

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Cape Town crime and safety is an evergreen topic on all the major tourist forums.

At times it can get tedious answering the questions. And you may want more than a single opinion (mine!), so here are other people's answers to the most recent "Tourist Crime in CapeTown...?" question I saw.

Unfortunately these problems do exist in our beautiful country, and the best thing to do, is what everyone else has already said... take the necessary precautions.
Avoid walking streets at night, etc, etc.
Your hotel/guest house host will definitely be able to assist in staying safe, and recommending which area's to avoid, etc.

I am an American that lives in Cape Town and have never had any problems with crime here or anywhere else in the country.
The bad press that SA is getting in the news is pretty amazing.
There is no doubt that crime is high here, but I just don't think that it is something that a traveler needs to concern themselves too much with and is definitely not a reason to stay away.

We have travellers to our shores all the time who have the same concerns as you and yes the media do highlight the reality of SA, but it is not the total reality, many tourists on the Trip advisor will tell you that they came and had an amazing time. Do take the necessary precautions though.

My wife and I have travelled independently in South Africa on two occasions recently and never felt unsafe.
Just take the usual precautions you would in any large city and don't go to areas that people tell you not to go to.
Thousands of people will be travelling independently to SA for the World Cup. Don't obsess about the stories of crime you may hear.